Itivuttaka · Book of the Threes, Chapter Two · Iti 66
Purity
Soceyyasutta
Setting
None given — no place, audience beyond “mendicants,” or occasion, in keeping with the Itivuttaka’s spare form throughout
Speakers
The Buddha alone; the Itivuttaka’s bipartite form never includes an interlocutor
Form
A one-line list of three items, restated in a single, shorter verse stanza with no second stanza
Length
Under a minute to read the passage itself
Parallels
No complete Chinese Itivuttaka survives; a partial parallel collection exists in Tibetan translation, with scattered individual parallels across the Āgamas, none specifically identified for this short discourse
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — a brief, plain statement, though its ending is worth noticing
Why this discourse
This discourse uses the same “three, by way of body, speech, and mind” template as the two before it — but its verse takes a quietly different turn at the end. Bad Conduct and Good Conduct both closed by naming a rebirth destination, hell or heaven. This one, and its close companion right after it, do not. Purity of body, speech, and undefiled purity of heart together, the verse says, belong to one who “has given up everything” — a phrase that points past rebirth altogether, toward complete release.
Reading guide
Three purities, one more triad
“There are these three kinds of purity,” the prose announces: purity of body, speech, and mind (kāyasoceyya, vacīsoceyya, manosoceyya) — the same three doors used for conduct in the two previous discourses, now describing not right action but freedom from defilement itself.
A different ending: not heaven, but “given up everything”
The verse is shorter than either of its two predecessors — a single stanza, not two — and it ends differently. “Purity of body, purity of speech, and undefiled purity of heart” (cetosuci anāsava, purity of mind “without taints”): “a pure one, blessed with purity, has given up everything, they say.” There is no mention here of a body breaking up, no heaven or hell named as a destination. The phrase “given up everything” (sabbappahāyī) points somewhere past rebirth altogether — toward complete release, not merely a favorable one.
How this differs from its neighbors
Reading Bad Conduct, Good Conduct, and Purity in sequence traces a real shift in register. The first two discourses are about ethical cause and rebirth-consequence — conduct leading, predictably, to hell or heaven. This one, despite using the identical body-speech-mind scaffolding, has moved past the language of consequence into the language of a settled, undefiled condition, one that “has given up everything” rather than earned a better result.
The form itself
As throughout this collection, Purity opens with “This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard,” states its teaching in prose, restates it in a single verse stanza, and closes with a near-mirror of the opening line. No place, occasion, or listener is named beyond “mendicants” — nothing narrative frames it at all.
Key terms
soceyya — “purity,” of three kinds: body, speech, and mind.
anāsava — “undefiled” or free of āsava (taints); used in the verse to describe purity of heart specifically.
sabbappahāyī — “one who has given up everything”: the verse’s closing description, pointing past rebirth-consequence toward complete release.
cetosuci — “purity of heart” or mind; the third of the three purities named in the verse.
The text
The discourse in full — a one-line prose list of three purities, followed by a single, shorter verse stanza than its two predecessors. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.
The teaching
§2“Mendicants, there are these three kinds of purity. What three? Purity of body, speech, and mind. These are the three kinds of purity.” The Buddha spoke this matter. On this it is said:
The verse
§3“Purity of body, purity of speech, and undefiled purity of heart. A pure one, blessed with purity, has given up everything, they say.”
§4This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What three kinds of purity does the prose statement name?
Correct: B. This is the same three-door structure used for conduct in the two previous discourses.
Question 2 of 10
How many verse stanzas does this discourse have, compared to Iti 64 and Iti 65?
Correct: C. This is shorter than the two-stanza verses in Bad Conduct and Good Conduct.
Question 3 of 10
Unlike Iti 64 and Iti 65, what does this discourse’s verse NOT mention?
Correct: D. This discourse’s ending moves past the language of rebirth-consequence entirely.
Question 4 of 10
What phrase does the verse use to describe “a pure one, blessed with purity”?
Correct: A. This phrase (sabbappahāyī) points toward complete release, not a favorable rebirth.
Question 5 of 10
What does “anāsava,” used to describe purity of heart in the verse, mean?
Correct: B. The term specifically marks freedom from the taints (āsava) that keep beings bound to further existence.
Question 6 of 10
According to the reading guide, how does the register of this discourse differ from Iti 64 and Iti 65, despite sharing their body-speech-mind structure?
Correct: C. Purity is framed as a state achieved, not a cause producing a future result.
Question 7 of 10
Is any specific place, listener, or occasion named in this discourse?
Correct: A. Only the standing address “mendicants” appears.
Question 8 of 10
What is the closing formula of this discourse?
Correct: D. This near-mirror of the opening formula closes every discourse in the collection.
Question 9 of 10
What is the Pali term for “purity,” as reflected in this discourse’s title (Soceyyasutta)?
Correct: B. Soceyya, “purity,” gives the discourse its Pali title.
Question 10 of 10
What is the two-part literary form shared by this discourse and the rest of the Itivuttaka?
Correct: C. This bipartite form defines every discourse in the collection, though the length of the verse varies.
