Itivuttaka · Book of the Threes, Chapter Two · Iti 67
Sagacity
Moneyyasutta
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 verse stanza closely echoing the previous discourse
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
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and plain, best read alongside its close companion
Why this discourse
Moneyya, “sagacity” or sagehood, comes from the same root as muni, “sage” — the word behind the Buddha’s own epithet Sakyamuni, “sage of the Sakyans.” This discourse names three kinds of sagacity, by body, speech, and mind, in a structure and even a verse-shape almost identical to the purity discourse just before it. The two together read less like separate teachings than two related words — purity and sagehood — applied to the very same threefold pattern.
Reading guide
A sage’s three doors
“There are these three kinds of sagacity,” the prose says: sagacity of body, speech, and mind (kāyamoneyya, vacīmoneyya, manomoneyya). Moneyya is built from muni, “sage” — the same word used of solitary, silent forest renunciants throughout the canon, and later applied to the Buddha himself as an epithet. Sagacity here is not simply cleverness; it names the settled, restrained quality traditionally associated with such a figure.
Nearly the same verse as its neighbor
The verse’s shape closely tracks the previous discourse’s: “a sage in body, a sage in speech, a sage undefiled in mind; a sage, blessed with sagacity, has washed off all bad things, they say.” “Washed off all bad things” (ninhātapāpaka) stands in almost the same position, and means almost the same thing, as Purity’s closing “has given up everything” — two related images (washing away impurity; giving up entirely) for what is, in substance, a single accomplishment.
Purity and sagacity, read as a pair
Set beside Purity, this discourse looks less like an independent teaching and more like the same idea named twice, once through the image of cleanliness (soceyya) and once through the image of the settled sage (moneyya). Both use the identical body-speech-mind structure, both keep their verse to a single stanza, and both close without mentioning heaven, hell, or any future rebirth — a clear departure from the two conduct-discourses that opened this short run.
The form itself
As throughout this collection, Sagacity 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
moneyya — “sagacity” or sagehood, built from muni (sage); of three kinds: body, speech, and mind.
muni — “sage”: a settled, restrained figure, later applied to the Buddha as an epithet (as in Sakyamuni).
ninhātapāpaka — “has washed off all bad things”: the verse’s closing image, closely paralleling “has given up everything” in the previous discourse.
manomoneyya — “sagacity of mind”: called “undefiled” (anāsava) in the verse, echoing the previous discourse’s language for purity of heart.
The text
The discourse in full — a one-line prose list of three sagacities, followed by a single verse stanza closely echoing the previous discourse’s shape. 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 sagacity. What three? Sagacity of body, speech, and mind. These are the three kinds of sagacity.” The Buddha spoke this matter. On this it is said:
The verse
§3“A sage in body, a sage in speech, a sage undefiled in mind; a sage, blessed with sagacity, has washed off all bad things, 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 sagacity does the prose statement name?
Correct: C. This is the same body-speech-mind structure used throughout this run of discourses.
Question 2 of 10
What word is “moneyya” (sagacity) built from, according to the reading guide?
Correct: B. Moneyya shares its root with muni, later applied to the Buddha himself as an epithet (Sakyamuni).
Question 3 of 10
What phrase closes the verse, describing “a sage, blessed with sagacity”?
Correct: A. This image of washing closely parallels “has given up everything” in the previous discourse on purity.
Question 4 of 10
According to the reading guide, how does this discourse relate to Iti 66, Purity?
Correct: D. Both discourses share the body-speech-mind structure, a single-stanza verse, and an ending that isn’t about heaven or hell.
Question 5 of 10
Like Iti 66, does this discourse’s verse end by naming a rebirth in heaven or hell?
Correct: B. This marks a real shift from the two conduct-discourses (Iti 64, 65) that opened this run.
Question 6 of 10
What is sagacity of mind (manomoneyya) called in the verse?
Correct: C. This shared vocabulary reinforces the close relationship between Iti 66 and Iti 67.
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
How many verse stanzas does this discourse have?
Correct: D. Like Iti 66, this discourse keeps its verse to a single stanza.
Question 9 of 10
What later epithet for the Buddha shares its root with “moneyya”/“muni,” according to the reading guide?
Correct: B. Muni, “sage,” underlies this well-known title.
Question 10 of 10
What closing formula does this discourse share with the rest of the Itivuttaka?
Correct: C. This near-mirror of the opening formula closes every discourse in the collection.
