The same fivefold template, now with both opening and closing clauses compressed
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, extending SN 37.8's own compression one step further
Why this discourse
This discourse swaps “unfaithful” (aticārī, committing adultery) into the template's own fifth position, and extends SN 37.8's own compression of the closing clause to the opening clause as well. Only the core “what five?” question and the fivefold list itself remain fully spelled out; everything surrounding them is now assumed from earlier discourses in the series rather than restated.
Reading guide
Both ends now compressed
Where SN 37.8 compressed only the closing clause, this discourse compresses the opening clause too — the surrounding formula on both sides of the fivefold list is now assumed rather than restated, leaving the quality-naming core as the only fully spelled-out content.
A quality distinct from the earlier five factors
Aticārī (unfaithfulness, adultery) names a specific ethical violation within marriage, distinct from the general character traits (irritability, grudge-holding, jealousy, stinginess) that occupied the same slot in the discourses before it.
A term that will recur in this vagga's own closing discourse
Marital infidelity resurfaces at SN 37.14's own fivefold list of precept violations (killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, intoxicants) — a different framing (precept violation rather than character trait) applied to related ethical territory.
The compression's own trajectory now fully visible
SN 37.6 dropped the narrative; SN 37.8 compressed the close; this discourse compresses the open as well — three discourses tracing one steady, cumulative process rather than three isolated editorial choices.
Key terms
aticārī — unfaithful, committing adultery — this discourse's own variable fifth quality
…pe… — the peyyāla marker, now compressing both the opening and closing clauses of this discourse
assaddha... ahirika... anottāpī... duppañña — the four fixed qualities, still named in full at the discourse's own structural core
navamaṁ — “ninth” — this discourse's own untranslated closing marker
methunasmiṁ micchācāro — sexual misconduct — the related term SN 37.14 will use for the same ethical territory, framed as a precept violation rather than a character trait
The text
The complete discourse as bilara-data preserves it — the fivefold list at its core, with both surrounding clauses compressed by peyyāla. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“… They’re faithless, shameless, imprudent, adulterous, and witless. …”
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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 new compression does this discourse introduce, beyond SN 37.8's own?
Correct: A. Only the core "what five?" question and list remain fully spelled out.
Question 2 of 5
What does "aticārī," this discourse's own variable fifth quality, name?
Correct: A. A specific ethical violation within marriage, distinct from the general character traits before it.
Question 3 of 5
Where does related ethical territory resurface later in this vagga?
Correct: A. A different framing — precept violation rather than character trait — applied to related territory.
Question 4 of 5
How do SN 37.6, SN 37.8, and this discourse relate to each other as a compression sequence?
Correct: A. A cumulative, traceable progression across three discourses.
Question 5 of 5
What remains fully spelled out in this discourse, despite the compression on both ends?
Correct: A. The quality-naming core, the one part of the formula every discourse in the series must state fresh.
