Not given — continuing directly from SN 56.79's own setting
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
A single elided line, then this vagga's own closing colophon and uddāna
Length
<1 minute 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 8, ten discourses
Why this discourse
Confirmed by direct reading of its own root colophon, this discourse closes Vagga 8 (“Dutiyaāmakadhaññapeyyālavaggo aṭṭhamo”) by comparing sentient beings who refrain from wearing garlands, perfumes, and cosmetics to the rare pinch of dirt, and those who don't refrain to the vast earth — the final item among the precept-observance topics begun at SN 56.78, and this vagga's own tenth discourse.
Reading guide
Closing a recognizable eight-precept item
This project's own reading: “mālāgandhavilepanadhāraṇamaṇḍanavibhūsanaṭṭhānā” (“wearing garlands, perfumes, cosmetics, and jewelry”) names another of the standard eight precepts, closing the run begun with SN 56.78's own plants and seeds and SN 56.79's own eating at the wrong time.
A ten-title uddāna, confirmed against this project's own SN 56.71-80
Confirmed by direct reading, this vagga's own closing uddāna (“Killing, stealing, sexual misconduct; lying and divisive speech; harsh speech and nonsense; plants, wrong time, and perfume”) lists exactly ten titles, matching this project's own SN 56.71 through SN 56.80 precisely.
Key terms
appakā te sattā ye mālāgandhavilepanadhāraṇamaṇḍanavibhūsanaṭṭhānā paṭiviratā — “the sentient beings who refrain from garlands, perfumes, cosmetics, and jewelry are few” — the rare category, matching the tiny pinch of dirt
mālāgandhavilepana — “garlands, scents, and makeup” — the compound term giving this discourse its own title
dasamaṁ. dutiyaāmakadhaññapeyyālavaggo aṭṭhamo — “tenth. the eighth vagga [ends]” — the root colophon's own vagga-closing marker
appaṭiviratā — “those who don't refrain” — the vast majority category, matching the whole earth
pāṇaṁ adinnaṁ kāmesu, musāvādañca pesuññaṁ; pharusaṁ samphappalāpaṁ, bījañca vikālaṁ gandhanti — the closing uddāna's own ten titles, confirmed by direct reading to match SN 56.71 through SN 56.80 exactly
The text
Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source, which itself preserves the elision. 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“… the sentient beings who refrain from attiring and adorning themselves with garlands, fragrance, and makeup 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'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
What precept item does this discourse name?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — the final item in this vagga's own three-part precept-observance sequence.
Question 3 of 3
What does this discourse's own closing uddāna confirm about this project's own SN 56.71-80?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — a clean, exact match to this project's own tracked structure.
