The same fivefold template, closing the mirror series
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, closing a nine-discourse arc
Why this discourse
This discourse reverses SN 37.13's own muṭṭhassati (unmindful, forgetful) into upaṭṭhitassati (established mindfulness) — the ninth and final confirmed counterpart in this vagga's own mirror series. With this discourse, all nine dark-side qualities named at SN 37.5–13 (irritable, acrimonious, jealous, stingy, unfaithful, unethical, unlearned, lazy, unmindful) now have confirmed bright-side reversals (loving, free of acrimony, free of jealousy, generous, faithful, ethical, learned, energetic, mindful), each anchored by the same four fixed positive qualities: faithful, conscientious, prudent, and wise.
Reading guide
Established mindfulness, closing on the same faculty this project has already met centrally elsewhere
Upaṭṭhitassati (literally “mindfulness stood near” or established) closes the series on the same faculty this project has already met treated as a core meditative capacity in Book IV's own earlier discourses, not merely a minor character trait.
A complete nine-item mirror, confirmed term by term
Looking back across both series together: kodhana/akkodhana, upanāhī/anupanāhī, issukī/anissukī, maccharī/amaccharī, aticārī/anaticārī, dussīla/susīla, appassuta/bahussuta, kusīta/āraddhavīriya, and muṭṭhassati/upaṭṭhitassati — nine pairs, each a direct term-by-term reversal, confirming the two series were composed as a single deliberate structure.
One discourse remains before the vagga's own colophon
With the nine-part template series now complete on both sides, SN 37.24 will close this vagga the same way SN 37.14 closed its own counterpart — not with another template variant, but with the five precepts (in their positive, kept form) and the vagga's own colophon.
A prediction about that colophon, made now and testable next
Given SN 37.14's own colophon named the first vagga “kaṇhapakkhe pakāsito” (dark side), this reading guide predicts SN 37.24's own colophon will name this vagga “sukkapakkhe pakāsito” (bright side) — a prediction the next discourse will either confirm or correct.
Key terms
upaṭṭhitassati — established mindfulness, literally “mindfulness stood near” — this discourse's own variable fifth quality, directly reversing SN 37.13's own muṭṭhassati
muṭṭhassati — unmindful, forgetful — SN 37.13's own quality, reversed here
saddhā... hirimā... ottāpī... paññavā — the four fixed qualities, unchanged throughout this entire mirror series
terasamaṁ — “thirteenth” — this discourse's own untranslated closing marker, matching SN 37.13's own position within its own vagga
kaṇhapakkha / sukkapakkha — the dark side and bright side — the two labels this project expects will confirm this pairing outright at SN 37.24, tested directly rather than assumed
The text
The complete translated content of this discourse as bilara-data preserves it, closing this nine-discourse mirror series. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“… They’re faithful, conscientious, prudent, mindful, 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 quality closes this vagga's own nine-discourse mirror series?
Correct: A. The ninth and final confirmed counterpart in this vagga's own series.
Question 2 of 5
How many complete term-by-term reversals does this project's own coverage confirm across both series?
Correct: A. Confirming the two series were composed as a single deliberate structure.
Question 3 of 5
What does this reading guide expect SN 37.24 will do, beyond continuing the nine-part template?
Correct: A. Not another template variant, but a precept-based closing discourse matching SN 37.14's own role.
Question 4 of 5
What specific prediction does this reading guide make about SN 37.24's own colophon?
Correct: A. A prediction explicitly flagged as testable, to be confirmed or corrected by the next discourse.
Question 5 of 5
What does upaṭṭhitassati's own literal meaning suggest about mindfulness in this tradition?
Correct: A. Matching this project's own earlier treatment of mindfulness as a core meditative capacity.
