Aṇguttara Nikāya
X. Dasaka-Nipāta
XVIII: Sādhu-Vagga
The Book of the Tens
Suttas 178-188
Well Done
Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds
Sutta 178
Sādhu Suttaṃ
Well Done
The Lucky Man once said this to the beggars:[1]
"I will discourse to you, beggars,
on the well-done and
the not-well-done.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
And what, beggars,
is the not-well-done?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
the not-well-done.
■
And what, beggars,
is the well-done?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.[2]
This, beggars,
is what is called
the well-done."
Sutta 179
Ariya-Dhamma Suttaṃ
Aristocratic Dhamma
[179.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on the aristocratic Dhamma and
what is not the aristocratic dhamma.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is what is not
the aristocratic dhamma?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
not the aristocratic dhamma.
■
And what, beggars,
is the aristocratic Dhamma?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
the aristocratic Dhamma."
Sutta 180
Kusala Suttaṃ
Skillful
[180.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on the skillful and
the unskillful.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is the unskillful?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
the unskillful.
■
And what, beggars,
is the skillful?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
the skillful."
Sutta 181
Attha Suttaṃ
Attainment
[181.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on attainment and
non-attainment.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is non-attainment?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
non-attainment.
■
And what, beggars,
is attainment?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
attainment."
Sutta 182
Dhamma Suttaṃ
Dhamma
[182.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on Dhamma and
not-dhamma.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is not-dhamma?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
This beggars,
is what is called
not-dhamma.
■
And what, beggars,
is Dhamma?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
Dhamma".
Sutta 183
Sāsava Suttaṃ
With Corrupting Influences
[183.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on Dhamma with corrupting influences and
that which is without corrupting influences.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is dhamma
with corrupting influences?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
That, beggars,
is what is called
dhamma with corrupting influences.
■
And what, beggars,
is Dhamma
without corrupting influences?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
That, beggars,
is what is called
Dhamma without corrupting influences."
Sutta 184
Sāvajja Suttaṃ
Blameworthy
[184.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on Dhamma that is blameworthy and
that which is not blameworthy.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is dhamma that is blameworthy?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
dhamma that is blameworthy.
■
And what, beggars,
is Dhamma that is not blameworthy?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
That, beggars,
is what is called
Dhamma that is not blameworthy."
Sutta 185
Tapanīya Suttaṃ
Burning
[185.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on a Dhamma that burns and
that which does not burn.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is a dhamma that burns?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
a dhamma that burns.
■
And what, beggars,
is a Dhamma that does not burn?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
a Dhamma that does not burn."
Sutta 186
Ācaya-gāmī Suttaṃ
Piling-up Rebirths
[186.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on piling-up rebirths and
not-doing rebirths.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is piling-up rebirths?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
This, beggars,
is what is called
piling-up rebirths.
■
And what, beggars,
is not-doing rebirths?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
That, beggars,
is what is called,
not-doing rebirths."
Sutta 187
Dukkh'udraya Suttaṃ
Bringing Forth Pain
[187.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on Dhamma which brings forth pain and
that which brings forth pleasure.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is that dhamma
which brings forth pain?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
That, beggars,
is what is called
the dhamma which brings forth pain.
■
And what, beggars,
is the Dhamma
which brings forth pleasure?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
That, beggars,
is what is called
the Dhamma which brings forth pleasure."
Sutta 188
Dukkha-vipāka Suttaṃ
Painful Result
[188.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on a Dhamma with a painful result and
that which has a pleasant result.
Give ear!
Give your mind over to
studious attention!
I will speak!"
And the beggars responding:
"Even so, Bhante!"
The Lucky Man said:
"And what, beggars,
is the dhamma
with a painful result?
Destruction of life,
taking what is not given,
not-well-done sensual behavior,
false speech,
hateful speech,
harsh speech,
idle babble,
acquisitiveness,
deviance,
misguided views.
That, beggars,
is what is called
a dhamma
with a painful result.
■
And what, beggars,
is a Dhamma
with a pleasant result?
Abstaining from destruction of life,
abstaining from taking what is not given,
abstaining from not-well-done sensual behavior,
abstaining from false speech,
abstaining from hateful speech,
abstaining from harsh speech,
abstaining from idle babble,
non-acquisitiveness,
non-deviance,
consummate views.
That, beggars,
is what is called
a Dhamma
with a pleasant result."
[1] The suttas in this chapter have no nidanas
[2] Sammā-diṭṭhi. Woodward: "There are such things as gift,
offering,
oblation,
fruit and ripening of deeds
done well or ill;
that this world is,
that the world beyond is;
that mother, father and beings of supernatural birth
(in other worlds) do exist;
that there are in the world recluses and Brahmins
who have gone rightly,
who fare rightly,
men who of their own comprehension
have realized this world and the world beyond
and thus declare it."
The reverse of this list is called "Micchā Ditthi", misguided view. See just above, and AN 10 176 for both positive and negative examples of this version.
