The same fivefold template, compressed to a single line
Length
Under 1 minute 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
★☆☆☆☆ — brief, mirroring SN 37.11 exactly
Why this discourse
This discourse reverses SN 37.11's own appassuta (unlearned) into bahussuta (learned, literally “much-heard”) — the quality and location this project's own SN 37.11 reading guide named in advance, now confirmed a second time in this series.
Reading guide
Knowledge, not conduct or temperament, reversed again
Bahussuta continues appassuta's own focus on learning specifically, one of only two qualities in this nine-part series (alongside kusīta/āraddhavīriya) concerned with capacity or effort rather than ethics or emotion.
A second confirmed forward reference
Following susīla's own confirmation at SN 37.20, this discourse marks the second instance in a row where an earlier reading guide's own named prediction proves accurate, reinforcing that this vagga's own mirror structure was mapped out reliably in advance.
Literally "much-heard," not merely "knowledgeable"
Bahussuta's own literal meaning — having heard much — reflects the oral transmission culture this entire canon was composed within, where learning meant hearing and retaining teachings rather than reading them.
The seventh of nine, two from this series' own close
With bahussuta confirmed, only āraddhavīriya and upaṭṭhitassati remain before this vagga's own closing discourse.
Key terms
bahussuta — “learned,” literally “much-heard” — this discourse's own variable fifth quality, directly reversing SN 37.11's own appassuta
appassuta — unlearned, little-heard — SN 37.11's own quality, reversed here
saddhā... hirimā... ottāpī... paññavā — the four fixed qualities, unchanged throughout this mirror series
ekādasamaṁ — “eleventh” — this discourse's own untranslated closing marker, matching SN 37.11's own position
sutamayā paññā — “wisdom born of learning” — the broader tradition's own category bahussuta belongs to, distinct from wisdom born of reflection or meditation
The text
The complete translated content of this discourse — a single line, the fivefold clause itself. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“… They’re faithful, conscientious, prudent, learned, and wise. …”
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Self-check quiz
5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 5
What does "bahussuta" literally mean?
Correct: A. Learning meant hearing and retaining teachings, not reading them, in this oral tradition.
Question 2 of 5
What does this discourse mark, following SN 37.20's own confirmation?
Correct: A. Reinforcing that the vagga's own mirror structure was mapped out reliably in advance.
Question 3 of 5
What quality does bahussuta reverse?
Correct: A. The specific deficiency in learning named at SN 37.11, now reversed.
Question 4 of 5
How many qualities in this nine-part series concern capacity or effort rather than ethics or emotion?
Correct: A. Learning and effort stand apart from the emotional and ethical qualities elsewhere in the series.
Question 5 of 5
How many qualities remain before this vagga's own closing discourse, after this one?
Correct: A. Moving the series toward its close at SN 37.23, before SN 37.24 closes the vagga itself.
