Pharusavācāsutta — 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 harsh 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 sixth of ten, third of the verbal group
Why this discourse
Harsh speech, the third of the four verbal courses treated in this chapter, given the same four-degree structure as lying and divisive speech before it.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Speaking harshly 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 term already defined for its effect on the hearer
Pharusavāco, one who speaks harshly, fills this chapter’s recurring frame. When this series first read pharusā vācā at AN 4.148, it noted the term is about the effect on the hearer rather than about anger in the speaker — rough, cutting speech that wounds, regardless of the emotional state behind it. This discourse asks not just whether a person speaks this way but whether they promote, endorse, or celebrate it in others.
Praising harshness, a specific and uncomfortable case
Of the four verbal courses in this chapter, harsh speech is perhaps the one where ‘praising’ is easiest to picture concretely: admiring someone’s cutting put-down, celebrating a reputation for verbal severity, treating cruelty of speech as a kind of wit or strength. The discourse does not soften this; praise for harsh speech is placed on exactly the same footing as speaking harshly oneself.
Position in the sequence
The third of the four verbal courses, following lying and divisive speech, with only nonsense remaining to complete the group.
Key terms
pharusā vācā — “harsh speech” — rough, cutting speech defined by its effect on the hearer, first read in this series at AN 4.148.
attanā, samādapeti, samanuñño, vaṇṇaṁ bhāsati — the same four degrees of involvement continued across this chapter.
vaṇṇaṁ bhāsati — “speaks in praise of” — here applied to a case, admiring cutting speech as wit or strength, worth naming concretely.
samphappalāpa — “nonsense” — the fourth and final verbal course, closing the group at the next discourse.
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 speak harshly … … They themselves don’t speak harshly …”
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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 third of the four verbal courses of action treated in this chapter.
Question 2 of 10
How did this series first characterize harsh speech, at AN 4.148?
Correct: B. Rough, cutting speech that wounds, whatever the speaker's own state of mind.
Question 3 of 10
What case does the guide say makes "praising" easiest to picture concretely for this course of action?
Correct: B. Placed on the same footing as speaking harshly oneself.
Question 4 of 10
What position does this discourse hold in the chapter's verbal group?
Correct: B. One course of action remains to complete this group.
Question 5 of 10
What structure does this discourse apply?
Correct: B. Doing it, encouraging, approving, and praising.
Question 6 of 10
What form does this discourse take?
Correct: B. Continuing the chapter's compression pattern.
Question 7 of 10
What formula wraps this discourse?
Correct: B. Unbroken across this chapter.
Question 8 of 10
What discourse in this series first defined harsh speech?
Correct: B. Where the collection's treatment of the four kinds of bad speech was first given.
Question 9 of 10
What course of action completes the verbal group after this discourse?
Correct: B. The fourth and final verbal course of action.
Question 10 of 10
How does the guide describe this discourse's treatment of praise for harsh speech?
Correct: B. Consistent with the chapter's treatment of all four degrees as equally sufficient.
