Paṭhamaappiyasutta — Mettāvagga — the first chapter of the Eights
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
Two matched eight-item lists, cause and its direct reversal, in the bare formula familiar from AN 7.1
Length
under 1 minute to read
The same shape, one item longer
AN 7.1 opened the Sevens with an identical structure at seven items; this discourse runs the same blocking-and-reversal shape at eight, the Eights' own numerical theme
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and formulaic, no setting given
Why this discourse
AN 8.3 gives eight qualities that make a mendicant disliked by their spiritual companions — praising the disliked, criticizing the liked, desiring material things and honor, lacking conscience and prudence, and having corrupt wishes and wrong view — and their eight direct reversals, which make one liked.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant who praises the disliked and criticizes the liked, desires material things and honor, lacks conscience and prudence, and has corrupt wishes and wrong view is disliked by their spiritual companions; the eight direct opposites make a mendicant liked.
AN 7.1's shape, now at eight
This discourse reruns the exact structure that opened the Sevens at AN 7.1: a bare blocking list matched by its point-for-point reversal, no setting given. What changes is only the count, now eight items instead of seven, this book's own numerical theme.
Praise and blame toward others, named first
Where AN 7.1's blocking list opened with desire for material things, this one opens with something more social still: praising whoever is disliked and criticizing whoever is liked — a contrarian reflex named before desire, conscience, or view are even mentioned.
Eight items in four matched pairs
The Pāli names eight distinct terms, falling into four natural pairs: praising-the-disliked and criticizing-the-liked; desiring material things and desiring honor; lacking conscience and lacking prudence; corrupt wishes and wrong view. Each pair reverses cleanly in the second list.
Key terms
appiyapasaṁsī, piyagarahī — “praises the disliked, criticizes the liked” — the first pair of the blocking list, a contrarian reflex named before any of the other seven items.
lābhakāmo, sakkārakāmo — “desires material things, desires honor” — the second pair, echoing (but not fully repeating) the three-item opening of AN 7.1's own blocking list.
ahiriko, anottappī — “lacks conscience, lacks prudence” — the third pair, terms already familiar from the Sixes and Sevens.
pāpiccho, micchādiṭṭhi — “corrupt wishes, wrong view” — the fourth and final pair, closing the blocking list exactly as it closed AN 7.1's.
appiyo, piyo — “disliked, liked” — this discourse's own title term and its reversal, the outcome the two eight-item lists are said to produce.
The text
The discourse in full: eight qualities that make a mendicant disliked, and their eight reversals. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Eight qualities that make a mendicant disliked
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant with eight qualities is disliked and disapproved by their spiritual companions, not respected or admired. What eight? It’s when a mendicant praises the disliked and criticizes the liked. They desire material things and honor. They lack conscience and prudence. They have corrupt wishes and wrong view. A mendicant with these eight qualities is disliked and disapproved by their spiritual companions, not respected or admired.
Eight qualities that make a mendicant liked
§2A mendicant with eight qualities is liked and approved by their spiritual companions, and respected and admired. What eight? It’s when a mendicant doesn’t praise the disliked and criticize the liked. They don’t desire material things and honor. They have conscience and prudence. They have few desires and right view. A mendicant with these eight qualities is liked and approved by their spiritual companions, and respected and admired.”
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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
What structure does this discourse share with AN 7.1, the opening discourse of the Sevens?
Correct: B. The identical shape, one item longer, matching this book's numerical theme.
Question 2 of 6
What is named first in this discourse's blocking list, before desire, conscience, or view?
Correct: B. A contrarian social reflex, named before the other seven items.
Question 3 of 6
How do the eight items fall, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Four natural pairs, each reversing cleanly in the second list.
Question 4 of 6
What quality closes both the blocking list and its reversal?
Correct: B. The same closing pair AN 7.1 used, now in an eight-item list.
Question 5 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare formula, matching AN 7.1's own lack of a restated setting.
Question 6 of 6
What does this discourse's own title term, appiyo, mean?
Correct: B. The outcome the first eight-item list is said to produce; its reversal, piyo, closes the second.
