Dutiyavacīduccaritasutta — 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, matching this chapter's earlier compressions
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 second channel in this chapter's second pass, applying AN 5.245's doctrinal-drift variant to verbal conduct with the same extreme compression already seen at AN 5.243's first-pass treatment of speech.
Reading guide
A mirror of AN 5.243, with a different underlying formula
This discourse's single line matches AN 5.243's structure exactly, but now presupposes AN 5.245's variant ending — drifting toward or away from the true teaching — rather than AN 5.241's death-and-rebirth consequence.
Speech and doctrinal drift, a genuinely fitting pairing
Though this discourse offers no elaboration, the pairing of verbal conduct specifically with drifting toward or away from the true teaching makes intuitive sense: speech is the primary medium through which the teaching itself is transmitted, learned, and eroded, as this project's earlier discourses on listening and recitation (AN 5.151–156) have already explored at length.
A pattern completing its second full cycle
With this discourse, the chapter has now given both variant endings (AN 5.241's and AN 5.245's) to both bodily and verbal conduct, in each case via the same minimal single-line treatment — leaving only mental conduct's second-pass statement still to come.
Consistency across an otherwise uneven chapter
Despite this chapter's genuinely uneven pacing — full statements, partial statements, and bare stubs, mixed together — the underlying logic remains fully consistent: every discourse either states or presupposes one of exactly two five-item formulas, applied to one of four possible subjects.
What follows
AN 5.248 completes this second pass, breaking the compression one final time to spell out mental conduct's positive half in full, exactly as AN 5.244 did before it.
Key terms
vacīduccarita, vacīsucarite — “bad verbal conduct” and “good verbal conduct” — this discourse's title concepts, unchanged from AN 5.243.
pe — the standard abbreviation marker, compressing this discourse's entire content.
saddhammā vuṭṭhāti, asaddhamme patiṭṭhāti — “drifts away from the true teaching, settles on untrue teachings” — the variant ending this discourse presupposes, from AN 5.245.
vacī — “speech, verbal” — the second of the three classical conduct-channels.
dutiya — “second” — marking this discourse as the second pass through this specific channel.
The text
The discourse as it survives in the source: a single abbreviated line. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Bad and good verbal conduct
§1“Mendicants, there are these five drawbacks in bad verbal conduct … benefits in good verbal 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 discourse does this one structurally mirror, with a different underlying formula?
Correct: A. Identical compression, applying AN 5.245's variant instead of AN 5.241's.
Question 2 of 10
Why does the guide suggest speech pairs fittingly with doctrinal drift?
Correct: A. Already explored at length in AN 5.151-156.
Question 3 of 10
What does this discourse complete, in terms of this chapter's overall pattern?
Correct: A. Leaving only mental conduct's second-pass statement still to come.
Question 4 of 10
What does this guide say about this chapter's overall consistency, despite its uneven pacing?
Correct: A. A fully consistent structure beneath apparently uneven treatment.
Question 5 of 10
What discourse follows, completing this second pass?
Correct: A. Mirroring AN 5.244's role in the first pass.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'vacīduccarite' mean?
Correct: A. This discourse's title concept, unchanged from AN 5.243.
Question 7 of 10
What earlier discourses in this project explore speech and the teaching's transmission at length?
Correct: A. The 'sure path' and 'decline of the true teaching' discourses.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'saddhammā vuṭṭhāti' mean?
Correct: A. Part of the variant ending this discourse presupposes.
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 'dutiya' mean in this discourse's title?
Correct: A. Distinguishing this discourse from AN 5.243's first-pass treatment.
