Pisuṇavācāsutta — Kammapathavagga — the twenty-seventh chapter of the Fours
Setting
None stated; the Kammapathavagga gives no location for this discourse, and it is addressed to the mendicants directly
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
One elided line, the same four-degree structure applied to divisive speech
Length
under a minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number for this discourse
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the fifth of ten, continuing the verbal group
Why this discourse
Divisive speech, the second of the four verbal courses treated in this chapter, given the same four-degree structure as lying before it — a course of action this series has already examined closely for its mechanism, worth recalling briefly here.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Speaking divisively oneself, encouraging others to it, approving of it, and praising it deliver a person to hell; the four forms of abstention deliver them to heaven.
A course of action already examined for its mechanism
Pisuṇavāco, one who speaks divisively, fills this chapter’s recurring four-part frame. This series discussed the mechanism of divisive speech in detail when it first appeared at AN 4.148: repeating what was heard here to people there, specifically in order to break them apart. That definition applies to what this discourse now asks whether a person does, encourages, approves, or praises.
Complicity in something that requires an audience
Divisive speech is worth pausing on for how naturally it fits the encourage/approve/praise structure. Unlike a solitary act such as personal indulgence, divisive speech is inherently social — it requires at least two parties to divide, and the circulation of the harmful information often depends on more than one speaker carrying it forward. Approving of gossip that breaks a friendship, or praising someone’s skill at spreading it, are not abstract possibilities but ordinary ways this specific harm actually multiplies.
The middle of the verbal group
This is the second of the four verbal courses, following lying and preceding harsh speech and nonsense. The chapter continues its methodical progress through the traditional order, one discourse at a time.
Key terms
pisuṇā vācā — “divisive speech” — repeating what was heard here to people there, so as to break them apart; first defined in this series at AN 4.148.
attanā, samādapeti, samanuñño, vaṇṇaṁ bhāsati — the same four degrees of involvement continued across this chapter.
saṅghabheda — “schism” — the most extreme outcome divisive speech can produce, named among the gravest offenses at AN 4.236 and narrated in crisis at AN 4.243.
pharusā vācā, samphappalāpa — harsh speech and nonsense — the remaining two verbal courses this chapter will treat next.
yathābhataṁ nikkhitto — “placed as if delivered there” — the formula continued unbroken across this chapter.
The text
The discourse exactly as the source abridges it, ellipsis marks included. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The elided discourse
§1“… They themselves backbite … … They themselves don’t backbite …”
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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 course of action does this discourse address?
Correct: B. The second of the four verbal courses of action treated in this chapter.
Question 2 of 10
Where was divisive speech's mechanism first defined in this series?
Correct: B. That definition applies to what this discourse now asks about complicity.
Question 3 of 10
Why does the guide say divisive speech fits the encourage/approve/praise structure especially naturally?
Correct: B. Approving of or praising divisive gossip are ordinary ways this specific harm actually spreads.
Question 4 of 10
What extreme outcome can divisive speech lead to, named elsewhere in this series?
Correct: B. Connecting this discourse to material several chapters earlier in this series.
Question 5 of 10
What position does this discourse occupy in the chapter's verbal group?
Correct: B. The chapter's methodical progress through the traditional order.
Question 6 of 10
What structure does this discourse apply to divisive speech?
Correct: B. Doing it, encouraging, approving, and praising.
Question 7 of 10
What form does this discourse take?
Correct: B. Continuing the chapter's compression pattern.
Question 8 of 10
What formula wraps this discourse?
Correct: B. Unbroken across this chapter.
Question 9 of 10
What two courses of action remain to complete the verbal group?
Correct: B. The final two of the traditional four verbal courses.
Question 10 of 10
What discourse in this series gave a narrative account of a schism crisis connected to divisive speech's most extreme outcome?
Correct: B. Set at Kosambī, several chapters earlier in this series.
