Reading guide
A precept recast as an observation
This project's own reading: rather than instructing mendicants or lay followers to abstain (as the fifth precept itself does elsewhere in the canon), this discourse simply observes how rare such abstinence already is — a descriptive claim about prevalence rather than a prescriptive rule.
Key terms
surāmerayamajjappamādaṭṭhānā paṭiviratā — “refrain from beer, wine, and liquor intoxicants” — the rare category, matching this vagga's own recurring fifth precept
surā — “beer, spirits” — distilled or brewed intoxicants
meraya — “wine, fermented drink” — the second named category of intoxicant
majjappamādaṭṭhānā — “intoxicants that are a basis for negligence” — the broader category encompassing both named drinks
… — the elision marking, standing in for the fingernail demonstration already given in full at SN 56.61-62
The text
Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source, which itself preserves the elision back to SN 56.61's own full statement. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“… the sentient beings who refrain from beer, wine, and liquor intoxicants, are few, while those who don’t refrain are many. …”
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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 claim about those who refrain from intoxicants?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — matching this vagga's own recurring comparative structure.
Question 2 of 3
How does this project characterize this discourse's own framing of the fifth precept?
Correct: A. This project's own reading of the discourse's own observational rather than instructive tone.
Question 3 of 3
What two categories of intoxicant does this discourse name specifically?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — the two specific terms making up this discourse's own title.