Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant who is perfected can't transgress in nine respects: the same five Sajjha already knew — killing, stealing, sex, lying, and hoarding — plus four more, abandoning the Buddha, the teaching, the Saṅgha, or the training.
The same opening as AN 9.7, almost word for word
Down to the setting, the wanderer's phrasing, and the Buddha's reply, this discourse repeats AN 9.7 closely enough that a reader moving quickly could mistake it for the same discourse twice. Only the wanderer's name, Sajjha rather than Sutavā, signals a different occasion.
Where it actually differs
The four items that expand five to nine are not the favoritism, hostility, stupidity, and cowardice of AN 9.7. Here they are refusals of a different kind entirely: a perfected mendicant cannot abandon the Buddha as teacher, the Dhamma as teaching, the Saṅgha as community, or the training itself — loyalty to the triple gem and its discipline, not freedom from bias.
Why this pairing matters for reading the collection
Two wanderers, two near-identical dialogues, two different sets of four — this is the same “same frame, different content” pattern that recurs throughout this collection. The shared opening is not a scribal accident to smooth over; it is exactly what makes the difference in the closing four worth noticing.
Key terms
The text
The same opening as AN 9.7
§1At one time the Buddha was staying near Rājagaha, on the Vulture’s Peak Mountain. Then the wanderer Sajjha 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, this one time the Buddha was staying right here in Rājagaha, the Mountainfold. There I heard and learned this in the presence of the Buddha: ‘A mendicant who is perfected—with defilements ended, who has completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their heart’s goal, utterly ended the fetter of continued existence, and is rightly freed through enlightenment—can’t transgress in five respects. A mendicant with defilements ended can’t deliberately take the life of a living creature, take something with the intention to steal, have sex, tell a deliberate lie, or store up goods for their own enjoyment like they did as a layperson.’ I trust I properly heard, learned, applied the mind, and remembered that from the Buddha?” “Indeed, Sajjha, you properly heard, learned, applied the mind, and remembered that. In the past, as today, I say this:
Five becomes nine — a different four
§2‘A mendicant who is perfected—with defilements ended, who has completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their heart’s goal, utterly ended the fetter of continued existence, and is rightly freed through enlightenment—can’t transgress in nine respects. A mendicant with defilements ended can’t deliberately kill a living creature, take something with the intention to steal, have sex, tell a deliberate lie, or store up goods for their own enjoyment like they used to as a layperson. And they can’t abandon the Buddha, the teaching, the Saṅgha, or the training.’ In the past, as today, I say this: ‘A mendicant who is perfected—with defilements ended, who has completed the spiritual journey, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, achieved their heart’s goal, utterly ended the fetter of continued existence, and is rightly freed through enlightenment—can’t transgress in these nine respects.’”
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