Ariyavohārasutta — Bhūmicālavagga — the seventh chapter of the Eights
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical 4×2 structure as AN 8.67, with truthful rather than false claims
Length
a few seconds to read
A deliberate mirror, not a variant
Every category and every direction in this discourse matches AN 8.67's structure exactly; only truthfulness replaces falsehood, a symmetry this reading guide treats as the pairing's own point
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — identical in structure to AN 8.67, best read immediately after it
Why this discourse
AN 8.68 names eight noble expressions, the exact structural mirror of AN 8.67's ignoble ones: truthfully claiming not to have seen, heard, thought, or known something when you haven't, and truthfully claiming to have when you have.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Eight noble expressions arise from the same 4x2 structure as AN 8.67's ignoble ones — four categories of experience crossed against two directions of claim — but here every claim matches the actual facts: denying what didn't happen, and affirming what did.
An exact structural mirror
This discourse changes nothing about AN 8.67's underlying structure — the same four categories (seeing, hearing, thinking, knowing), the same two directions of claim (affirming, denying). The only change is that every claim now accurately tracks reality rather than misrepresenting it.
Truthfulness as simple correspondence
Nothing in this discourse frames noble speech as requiring eloquence, tact, or diplomatic softening — the entire content of “noble expression” here is simple correspondence between what one claims and what actually happened, in either direction, across all four categories of experience.
A pair that makes truthfulness structurally visible
Read together, AN 8.67 and AN 8.68 make truthfulness visible as a structural property rather than a vague virtue: the identical eight-slot grid can be filled with lies or with truth, and nothing about the grid itself changes — only whether each claim actually matches what happened.
Key terms
ariyā vohārā — “noble expressions” — this discourse's own title term, the exact structural mirror of AN 8.67's ignoble expressions.
adiṭṭhe adiṭṭhavāditā — “saying you haven't seen something, and you haven't” — the first noble expression, truthful denial matching AN 8.67's first ignoble expression's false affirmation.
diṭṭhe diṭṭhavāditā — “saying you've seen something, and you have” — the mirror truthful affirmation, completing the first pair.
suta, muta, viññāta — “heard, thought, known” — the same three remaining categories as AN 8.67, each crossed against truthful affirmation and truthful denial.
vohārā — “expressions” — the identical subject term as AN 8.67, now applied to accurate rather than false claims.
The text
The discourse in full: eight noble expressions, the mirror image of AN 8.67. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Eight noble expressions
§1“Mendicants, there are these eight noble expressions. What eight? Saying you haven’t seen, heard, thought, or known something, and you haven’t. And saying you’ve seen, heard, thought, or known something, and you have. These are the eight noble expressions.”
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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 structure compare to AN 8.67's?
Correct: B. An exact structural mirror, changing only whether claims match reality.
Question 2 of 6
What does this discourse's framing of 'noble expression' consist of?
Correct: B. Truthfulness as accurate correspondence, not as tact or eloquence.
Question 3 of 6
What four categories does this discourse share with AN 8.67?
Correct: B. The identical four categories, now crossed against truthful rather than false claims.
Question 4 of 6
According to the guide, what does reading AN 8.67 and AN 8.68 together make visible?
Correct: B. A structural, not merely moralistic, way of understanding truthful versus false speech.
Question 5 of 6
What is the first noble expression named?
Correct: B. A truthful denial, mirroring AN 8.67's first ignoble expression.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare formula, matching AN 8.67's own lack of a stated setting.
