Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 56.10

Low Talk

Tiracchānakathāsutta — Samādhivagga

Setting
Not given — continuing directly from SN 56.9's own setting
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
A long catalogue of worldly topics, its own reason given, then a direct instruction, then this vagga's own closing colophon and uddāna
Length
1–2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★★ — confirmed by direct reading of the root colophon as the close of Vagga 1, ten discourses

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct reading of its own root colophon, this discourse closes Vagga 1 (“Samādhivaggo paṭhamo”) with an extensive catalogue of ordinary worldly talk — kings, bandits, armies, food, clothes, family, villages, women and heroes, gossip at the well, the departed, tales of land and sea — all instructed against in favor of discussing the four noble truths, closing this vagga's own opening sequence with its own widest catalogue yet.

Reading guide

The widest catalogue in this vagga

Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse's own list of worldly topics is by far the longest and most concrete in this vagga — specific enough to name gossip “at the well” and talk about “women and heroes” — closing this vagga's own progression from abstract claims about who comprehends the truths (SN 56.1-6) through instructions about thought and debate (SN 56.7-9) to this final, most vivid instruction about ordinary conversation itself.

A ten-title uddāna, confirmed against this project's own SN 56.1-10

Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse's own closing uddāna (“Immersion, retreat, two more gentlemen; ascetics and brahmins, thought, thinking, arguing, and talk”) lists exactly ten titles, matching this project's own SN 56.1 through SN 56.10 precisely.

Key terms

anekavihitaṁ tiracchānakathaṁ — “all kinds of low talk” — this discourse's own subject, literally speech that goes "sideways" or "crosswise" from the path
rājakathaṁ corakathaṁ...ñātikathaṁ yānakathaṁ — “talk about kings, bandits...family, vehicles” — a sample from this discourse's own extensive catalogue
itthikathaṁ sūrakathaṁ visikhākathaṁ kumbhaṭṭhānakathaṁ — “talk about women and heroes; street talk and talk at the well” — among this discourse's own most concrete, socially specific examples
dasamaṁ. samādhivaggo paṭhamo — “tenth. the first vagga [ends]” — the root colophon's own vagga-closing marker
samādhi paṭisallānā, kulaputtā apare duve; samaṇabrāhmaṇā vitakkaṁ, cintā viggāhikā kathāti — the closing uddāna's own ten titles, confirmed by direct reading to match SN 56.1 through SN 56.10 exactly

The text

Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source. The vagga-closing colophon and uddāna verse are left untranslated in the consulted English source, as at several earlier vagga closes throughout this project's own work. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, don’t engage in all kinds of low talk, such as talk about kings, bandits, and ministers; talk about armies, threats, and wars; talk about food, drink, clothes, and beds; talk about garlands and fragrances; talk about family, vehicles, villages, towns, cities, and countries; talk about women and heroes; street talk and talk at the well; talk about the departed; motley talk; tales of land and sea; and talk about being reborn in this or that place. Why is that? Because those discussions aren’t beneficial or relevant to the fundamentals of the spiritual life. They don’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.

§2When you discuss, you should discuss: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’. …

§3That’s why you should practice meditation …”

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Self-check quiz

3 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 3
What does this discourse's own root colophon confirm, according to this project's own direct reading?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading of the root Pali colophon, not assumed in advance.
Question 2 of 3
How does this discourse's own catalogue of worldly talk compare to its own companions earlier in this vagga, per this project's own reading?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — this vagga's own widest and most vivid catalogue, closing its own progression.
Question 3 of 3
What does this discourse's own closing uddāna confirm about this project's own SN 56.1-10?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — a clean, exact match to this project's own tracked structure.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

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