Reading guide
The second of three bodily actions
This project's own reading: following SN 56.71's own killing, this discourse takes up stealing (adinnādāna, literally “taking what is not given”), the second of the three bodily courses of unwholesome action this vagga's own opening sequence addresses.
Key terms
appakā te sattā ye adinnādānā paṭiviratā — “the sentient beings who refrain from stealing are few” — the rare category, matching the tiny pinch of dirt
adinnādāna — “taking what is not given, stealing” — literally “taking of the not-given,” the second of the ten courses of unwholesome action
appaṭiviratā — “those who don't refrain” — the vast majority category, matching the whole earth
… — the elision marking, standing in for the fingernail demonstration already given in full at SN 56.61-62
dutiyaṁ — “the second” — this discourse's own root text confirming its own position directly, read rather than assumed
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 stealing 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 stealing?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — matching this vagga's own recurring formula.
Question 2 of 3
What does "adinnādāna" literally mean?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading of the term's own literal construction.
Question 3 of 3
What position does this discourse occupy in this vagga's own ten-discourse sequence?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading of the root text's own closing marker "Dutiyaṁ" ("second").