Dutiyabandhanasutta — Mahāvagga — the second chapter of the Eights
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical eight-item list and closing ranking as AN 8.17, with subject and object reversed
Length
under 1 minute to read
A deliberate mirror, not a variant
Every one of the eight features and the closing line match AN 8.17 word for word; only 'a woman catches a man' becomes 'a man catches a woman,' a symmetry this reading guide treats as the discourse's own point
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — identical in structure to AN 8.17, read together as a pair
Why this discourse
AN 8.18 restates AN 8.17's eight features — weeping, laughing, speaking, appearance, gifts of wildflowers, scents, tastes, and touches — and its closing claim that touch is the surest catch, with only the direction of “catching” reversed: a man catching a woman, rather than a woman catching a man.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A man catches a woman using the same eight features named in AN 8.17 — weeping, laughing, speaking, appearance, gifts of wildflowers, scents, tastes, and touches — and, as in AN 8.17, those caught by touch are said to be the most thoroughly caught.
A deliberate, exact mirror
Nothing in this discourse's content differs from AN 8.17 except the direction of the verb: where AN 8.17 says a woman catches a man, this discourse says a man catches a woman. Every one of the eight features and the closing evaluative line are otherwise identical, word for word.
Symmetry as the discourse's own point
Read as a pair, AN 8.17 and AN 8.18 make a claim through their very structure: attraction and capture by these eight means run in both directions equally, not as a fault attributed to one gender and a vulnerability attributed to the other. Neither discourse singles out women or men as the sole agent or the sole target.
Touch, ranked strongest again
As in AN 8.17, the discourse's only evaluative move comes at the close: of the eight features, touch is named the surest catch, “those beings who are caught by touch are well and truly caught” — the identical closing line, unchanged by the reversal of subject and object.
Key terms
bandhati — “catches, binds” — the same key verb as AN 8.17, and the root of this discourse's own Pāli title, Dutiyabandhanasutta, “the second discourse on binding.”
rodanena, hasanena, bhaṇitena — “with weeping, laughing, speaking” — the identical first three features named in AN 8.17, unchanged here.
ākappena — “appearance” — the fourth feature, physical presentation, identical in both discourses of this pair.
gandhena, rasena, phoṭṭhabbena — “with scents, tastes, and touches” — the final three features, closing this list exactly as they closed AN 8.17's.
phassabandhanā ye baddhā, susaṅkhātā tesaṁ bandhanā — “those beings who are caught by touch are well and truly caught” — the identical closing ranking as AN 8.17, unchanged by the reversal of who catches whom.
The text
The discourse in full: the same eight features as AN 8.17, with a man catching a woman. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Eight features that catch
§1“Mendicants, a man catches a woman using eight features. What eight? With weeping, laughing, speaking, appearance, gifts of wildflowers, scents, tastes, and touches. A man catches a woman using these eight features. But those beings who are caught by touch are well and truly caught.”
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Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 6
How does this discourse's content compare to AN 8.17's?
Correct: B. A deliberate, exact mirror, not an independent variant.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, what claim does the pairing of AN 8.17 and AN 8.18 make through its very structure?
Correct: B. A symmetrical treatment, neither discourse singling out one gender as sole agent or target.
Question 3 of 6
Which feature is again ranked as the surest catch?
Correct: B. The identical closing line as AN 8.17, unchanged by the reversal.
Question 4 of 6
What does this discourse's own Pāli title mean?
Correct: B. Dutiyabandhanasutta, paired with AN 8.17's Paṭhamabandhanasutta.
Question 5 of 6
How many of the eight features differ from AN 8.17's list?
Correct: B. A complete, word-for-word match apart from the reversed subject and object.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare formula, matching AN 8.17's own lack of a stated setting.
