Paṭhamakāyaduccaritasutta — Duccaritavagga — the twenty-fifth chapter of the Fives
Setting
None stated; the discourse continues from AN 5.1, whose setting at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove is understood to hold
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
a single abbreviated line, the source's own extreme compression
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — extremely short, compressed by the source itself
Why this discourse
The first of this chapter's three conduct-channels, and the shortest possible statement of it: the source text compresses this discourse to a single line, trusting the reader to supply AN 5.241's full five-item pattern, applied specifically to bodily conduct.
Reading guide
A single surviving line
Unlike AN 5.241's full statement, this discourse is reduced in the source itself to one abbreviated line: ‘drawbacks in bad bodily conduct…benefits in good bodily conduct…’, with the actual five-item content omitted entirely. This is the compilers' own choice, not an omission on this guide's part.
Narrowing conduct to its bodily channel
Kāyaduccarita names conduct specifically expressed through the body — one of the three classical channels of action (body, speech, mind) that together comprise the full scope of conduct AN 5.241 addressed in general terms.
The same five items, presupposed
Even reduced to a single line, this discourse presupposes AN 5.241's full five-item pattern: self-blame, criticism, reputation, confused death, and hell for bodily misconduct; the clean mirror for bodily good conduct.
Why this compression is worth noticing
By the second discourse in this chapter, the compilers judged the underlying five-item pattern so firmly established that spelling it out again, even for a genuinely distinct conduct-channel, had become unnecessary — a structural choice, not a loss of content.
What follows
AN 5.243 continues this same single-line compression, applied to verbal conduct; AN 5.244 then breaks the pattern, spelling out at least the positive half in full.
Key terms
kāyaduccarita, kāyasucarita — “bad bodily conduct” and “good bodily conduct” — this discourse's title concepts.
pe — the standard abbreviation marker; here the entire five-item analysis is reduced to this single mark, twice over.
kāya, vacī, mano — “body, speech, mind” — the three classical channels of conduct this chapter addresses in turn.
duccarita — “bad conduct” — this chapter's title concept, narrowed here to its bodily expression specifically.
ādīnavā, ānisaṁsā — “drawbacks” and “benefits” — the two halves this discourse's single line compresses together.
The text
The discourse as it survives in the source: a single abbreviated line. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Bad and good bodily conduct
§1“Mendicants, there are these five drawbacks in bad bodily conduct … benefits in good bodily conduct …”
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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 does 'kāyaduccarita' mean?
Correct: A. This discourse's title concept, narrowing AN 5.241's general formula.
Question 2 of 10
How much of this discourse survives in the source text?
Correct: A. The compilers' own choice, not an omission by this guide.
Question 3 of 10
What three classical channels of conduct does this chapter address in turn?
Correct: A. This discourse addresses the first, bodily conduct.
Question 4 of 10
What does this discourse's single line presuppose?
Correct: A. Self-blame, criticism, reputation, confused death, and hell — or their mirror.
Question 5 of 10
What does this discourse's extreme compression suggest, by this point in the chapter?
Correct: A. A structural choice, not a loss of content.
Question 6 of 10
What discourse follows, continuing this same single-line compression?
Correct: A. The second channel of conduct, given the same treatment.
Question 7 of 10
What discourse breaks this compression pattern, spelling out at least part of its content?
Correct: A. The third channel, mental conduct, given fuller treatment.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'pe' signal in this discourse's Pali text?
Correct: A. Used twice in this discourse's single surviving line.
Question 9 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'Bad Conduct', this session's twenty-fifth chapter.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'ādīnavā, ānisaṁsā' mean together?
Correct: A. Both halves compressed into this single abbreviated statement.
