Dutiyadānasutta — Dānavagga — the fourth chapter of the Eights
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single four-line verse, with no prose framing at all
Length
a few seconds to read
The shortest discourse in this chapter
Unlike AN 8.31's eight-item prose catalog, this discourse's entire content is four lines of verse naming only three qualities, not eight, despite sharing AN 8.31's title numbering
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief enough to read in seconds
Why this discourse
AN 8.32 names, in a single verse, the qualities true persons follow — faith, conscience, and skillful giving — as the path of the gods leading to the heavenly realm.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Faith, conscience, and skillful giving are the qualities that true persons follow, said to constitute the path of the gods leading to the heavenly realm.
Three qualities, not eight
Despite carrying the “2nd” in a title pair with AN 8.31, this discourse's actual content names only three qualities — faith, conscience, and skillful giving — not eight. Like AN 8.16 and AN 8.36 elsewhere in this book, it belongs to the Book of the Eights by collection placement, not by presenting an eightfold list.
A verse without prose framing
Where nearly every other discourse in this book opens with at least a brief prose setting or address to the mendicants, this one is entirely verse, with no narrative frame at all — the shortest and most condensed discourse met in this chapter so far.
The path of the gods
The verse's closing image, “the path of the gods, which leads to the heavenly realm,” names a specific destination rather than describing awakening itself — a modest, this-worldly goal appropriate to a verse about ordinary virtues like faith, conscience, and giving.
Key terms
saddhā, hiri, dānañca — “faith, conscience, and giving” — the three qualities this brief verse names, sharing the second and third terms with values met throughout this book's blocking-and-reversal lists.
sappurisā — “true persons” — those who follow these three qualities, a term this book applies elsewhere to figures like Hatthaka of Āḷavī.
devayānaṁ — “the path of the gods” — the verse's own name for the destination these three qualities lead to.
saggagāmī — “leads to the heavenly realm” — the verse's closing destination, a modest, this-worldly goal rather than final awakening.
dānāni — “gifts” — the shared title root linking this discourse to AN 8.31, despite their otherwise unrelated content and scale.
The text
The discourse in full: a single four-line verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The verse
§1“Faith, conscience, and skillful giving are qualities true persons follow. For this, they say, is the path of the gods, which leads to the heavenly realm.”
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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 many qualities does this discourse's verse actually name?
Correct: B. A discourse included by collection placement, not by presenting a clean eightfold list, like AN 8.16 and AN 8.36 elsewhere in this book.
Question 2 of 6
What form does this entire discourse take?
Correct: B. The shortest and most condensed discourse in this chapter so far.
Question 3 of 6
What destination does the verse name for those who follow faith, conscience, and giving?
Correct: B. A modest, this-worldly goal, appropriate to a verse about ordinary virtues.
Question 4 of 6
How does this discourse relate to AN 8.31, which it is titled as a pair with?
Correct: B. A shared title, but genuinely different content, like AN 8.27/8.28's 'Powers' pair.
Question 5 of 6
Who is said to follow these three qualities?
Correct: B. A term this book applies elsewhere to lay figures like Hatthaka of Āḷavī.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare verse with no narrative frame at all.
