The Buddha alone, addressing the assembled mendicants
Form
The convergence formula applied to the complete, traditional ten ways of performing deeds, broken and kept
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — assumes SN 14.25–26's build-up as background, completing a widely known traditional list
Why this discourse
This discourse completes the progression SN 14.25 and 14.26 have been building: to the seven bodily and verbal ways of performing deeds already given, it adds three purely mental ones — covetousness, ill will, and wrong view — arriving at the complete traditional list of ten unwholesome kammapatha (dasa akusala kammapatha) widely known throughout the tradition, mirrored by their ten wholesome counterparts. Where the seven items before this were entirely actions a person does — killing, stealing, lying, and the rest — these final three are states of mind that don't necessarily issue in any outward act at all.
Reading guide
The classic ten, now complete
Three bodily, four verbal, and now three mental items — this is the traditional list most widely referenced across the canon under the name dasa akusala kammapatha, the ten unwholesome ways of performing deeds.
A shift from action to intention alone
Covetousness, ill will, and wrong view don't require any outward act to count as kammapatha; unlike killing or lying, these three can be fully present in someone's mind without a single visible action following from them.
Wrong view as the list's final, most consequential item
Micchādiṭṭhi, wrong view, closes the negative list — and its positive counterpart, sammādiṭṭhi, right view, will reappear as the very first factor of the eightfold path in the discourse immediately after this one.
A list this vagga has now fully assembled
Read together, SN 14.25, 14.26, and this discourse form a single three-stage build: five precepts, then seven kammapatha, then the complete traditional ten — each discourse's list is a strict superset of the one before it.
A bridge into the path that follows
With wrong view named here, and right view about to open the eightfold path in SN 14.28, this discourse functions as the final hinge connecting ethical conduct to the path structure the vagga turns to next.
Key terms
dasa kammapathā — “the ten ways of performing deeds” — this discourse's title subject, the complete traditional list widely referenced across the canon.
abhijjhā — “covetousness” — the eighth item, the first of three purely mental additions to the seven already given.
byāpannacitta — “malicious” or “ill will,” literally “a corrupted mind” — the ninth item, mental hostility toward others.
micchādiṭṭhi — “wrong view” — the tenth and final item, whose positive counterpart, right view, opens the eightfold path in the very next discourse.
pañcamaṁ — “the fifth” — the closing numbering tag, marking this discourse's place in the vagga.
The text
The discourse in full, including the source's own elision of the seven items shared with SN 14.25–26. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, sentient beings join together and converge because of an element: those who kill living creatures with those who kill living creatures, those who steal … commit sexual misconduct … lie … backbite … speak harshly … talk nonsense … are covetous … are malicious … have wrong view …
§2Those who refrain from killing living creatures … who refrain from stealing … who refrain from sexual misconduct … who refrain from lying … who refrain from backbiting … who refrain from harsh speech … who refrain from talking nonsense … are not covetous … are not malicious … have right view with those who have right view.”
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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 items does this discourse add to SN 14.26's seven, completing the classic ten?
Correct: A. Three purely mental items, completing dasa akusala kammapatha.
Question 2 of 10
What distinguishes the three items added here from the seven given before them?
Correct: A. Covetousness, ill will, and wrong view can be fully present without any visible act.
Question 3 of 10
What item closes this discourse's negative list?
Correct: A. The tenth and final item, whose reversal opens the next discourse's path.
Question 4 of 10
How does this discourse's list relate structurally to SN 14.25 and 14.26?
Correct: A. A single three-stage build across three consecutive discourses.
Question 5 of 10
What connection does this discourse's final item have to SN 14.28?
Correct: A. Sammādiṭṭhi becomes the eightfold path's first factor.
Question 6 of 10
What is the traditional name for the complete list this discourse gives?
Correct: A. A widely referenced traditional list across the canon.
Question 7 of 10
What item is added as the ninth, describing mental hostility?
Correct: A. Literally "a corrupted mind," the second of the three mental additions.
Question 8 of 10
Who is the sole speaker in this discourse?
Correct: A. No interlocutor or visitor appears; the Buddha teaches directly.
Question 9 of 10
Where does the Buddha deliver this teaching?
Correct: A. The setting shared with most discourses in this collection.
Question 10 of 10
What numbering tag closes this discourse?
Correct: A. The fifth discourse of Kammapathavagga.
