Dutiyavohārasutta — Āpattibhayavagga — the twenty-fifth chapter of the Fours
Setting
None stated; the Āpattibhayavagga gives no location for this discourse, and it is addressed to the mendicants directly
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single sentence naming one of four noble expressions
Length
under a minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number for this discourse
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the second of four, best read in sequence
Why this discourse
Truthfully saying one has not seen, heard, thought, or known something one has not — the honest counterpart to AN 4.250's false claim, given here its own discourse as one of the four noble expressions. Where AN 4.217 folded this same content into a single discourse's heaven half, this chapter gives it independent standing.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Truthfully saying one has not seen, heard, thought, or known something one has not is one of the four noble ways of speaking.
The honest counterpart, standing alone
Adiṭṭhe adiṭṭhavāditā, asute asutavāditā, amute amutavāditā, aviññāte aviññātavāditā — truthfully denying what one has not experienced, across all four modes. At AN 4.217 this content filled the heaven half of a single discourse, following the false claim named in its hell half. Here it receives its own discourse, with its own opening formula and its own closing restatement, rather than functioning as the second half of a paired structure.
What independence changes, and what it does not
Nothing about the content is different. What changes is emphasis: giving truthful denial its own discourse states it as a positive practice worth naming on its own terms, not merely as the absence of AN 4.250's fault. A reader encountering this discourse without AN 4.250 beside it would still receive a complete, self-standing instruction — unlike AN 4.217's heaven half, which depended on its neighboring hell half for its full sense as one term of a pair.
The pattern this chapter is building
With this discourse, two of the four combinations have now been given independent treatment: the false claim at AN 4.250, and its honest mirror here. Two remain, and the chapter’s evident plan is to give each of the remaining two — false denial and honest claim — the same independent standing, completing the set of four as four separate, self-contained statements rather than two paired discourses.
Key terms
adiṭṭhe adiṭṭhavāditā — “truthfully saying one has not seen what one has not seen” — the honest counterpart to AN 4.250's false claim.
ariyavohāra — “noble expression” — this discourse's frame, opposed to AN 4.250's anariyavohāra.
diṭṭha suta muta viññāta — the fourfold division of experience, unchanged from its first definition at AN 4.24.
saccavāditā — “truth-telling” — not named directly in this discourse, but the quality its content embodies.
vohāra — “expression, way of speaking” — naming this discourse and its three companions.
The text
The discourse in full: one of the four noble expressions, named. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
A noble expression
§1“Mendicants, there are these four noble expressions. What four? Saying you haven’t seen, heard, thought, or known something, and you haven’t. These are the four noble expressions.”
· · ·
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What does this discourse describe as a noble expression?
Correct: B. The honest counterpart to AN 4.250's false claim.
Question 2 of 10
How was this same content presented at AN 4.217?
Correct: B. Dependent there on its neighboring hell half for its full sense as a pair.
Question 3 of 10
What does the guide say changes by giving this content its own discourse, versus pairing it?
Correct: B. A reader encountering this discourse alone still receives a complete instruction.
Question 4 of 10
How many of the four possible combinations have received independent treatment after this discourse?
Correct: B. Two remain: false denial and honest claim.
Question 5 of 10
What frame does this discourse use?
Correct: B. The positive counterpart to AN 4.250's frame.
Question 6 of 10
What is the chapter's evident plan, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Completing four separate, self-contained statements.
Question 7 of 10
Where was the diṭṭha-suta-muta-viññāta vocabulary first defined?
Correct: B. Describing a Realized One's poise, unaffected amid experience.
Question 8 of 10
What discourse comes next, addressing false denial?
Correct: B. The third of the four combinations, given its own discourse.
Question 9 of 10
What is suta, the second of the four terms?
Correct: B. Unchanged across all four appearances of this vocabulary in this series.
Question 10 of 10
How does this discourse compare in form to AN 4.250?
Correct: B. Matching the atomized pattern this chapter is building.
