Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A teaching is “apparent in the present life” in the specific sense that one can know directly, right now, whether greed, hate, delusion, and their corresponding ideas are present or absent in oneself — verification requires no external authority, only attention to one's own mind.
A phrase this series has used but not defined until now
This exact phrase — sandiṭṭhiko dhammo, and the fuller formula around it — has appeared repeatedly as part of the recollection-of-the-teaching formula, most recently at AN 6.25 and 6.26, always as something to recollect rather than something explained. AN 6.47 is where a questioner finally asks what grounds the claim, and the answer turns out to be simpler and more immediate than a doctrinal definition.
Verification by return-question, not by argument
Rather than explaining the phrase in the abstract, the Buddha asks Sīvaka directly: “when there's greed in you, do you understand ‘I have greed in me’?” Sīvaka's own confirmed “yes, sir” becomes the proof: the very fact that he can answer the question demonstrates the teaching's verifiability, without the Buddha needing to argue for it separately.
Six confirmed cases, three pairs
The pattern repeats across three named states — greed, hate, delusion — and, separately, their corresponding “ideas” (thoughts colored by greed, hate, or delusion, distinct from the states themselves), each checked in both directions: presence known as presence, absence known as absence. Six confirmed cases in total, each independently verifiable by the person asked.
A wanderer's conversion, and what it signals
Sīvaka's closing declaration — “excellent, sir!” and going for refuge for life — is a real outcome, not a formality. Persuaded by nothing more than being shown that he already has direct access to verify a basic claim about his own mind, he converts on the strength of a method rather than a doctrine asserted to him from outside.
Key terms
The text
Moḷiyasīvaka's question
§1And then the wanderer Moḷiyasīvaka went up to the Buddha, and exchanged greetings with him. When the greetings and polite conversation were over, he sat down to one side and said to the Buddha: “Sir, they speak of ‘a teaching apparent in the present life’. In what way is the teaching apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves?”
Greed, and the pattern established
§2“Well then, Sīvaka, I’ll ask you about this in return, and you can answer as you like. What do you think, Sīvaka? When there’s greed in you, do you understand ‘I have greed in me’? And when there’s no greed in you, do you understand ‘I have no greed in me’?” “Yes, sir.” “Since you know this, this is how the teaching is apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.
Hate, delusion, and their corresponding ideas
§3What do you think, Sīvaka? When there’s hate … delusion … greedy ideas … hateful ideas … When there are delusional ideas in you, do you understand ‘I have delusional ideas in me’? And when there are no delusional ideas in you, do you understand ‘I have no delusional ideas in me’?” “Yes, sir.” “Since you know this, this is how the teaching is apparent in the present life, immediately effective, inviting inspection, relevant, so that sensible people can know it for themselves.” “Excellent, sir! Excellent! From this day forth, may the Buddha remember me as a lay follower who has gone for refuge for life.”
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.