Aṇguttara Nikāya
X. Dasaka-Nipāta
XIX: Ariya-Magga-Vagga
The Book of the Tens
Suttas 189-198
The Aristocratic Highway
Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds
Sutta 189
Ariya-Magga Suttaṃ
The Aristocratic Highway
[189.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on the Aristocratic Highway and
the non-aristocratic highway.[1]
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 non-aristocratic highway?
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.[2]
That, beggars,
is what is called
the non-aristocratic highway.
■
And what, beggars,
is the Aristocratic Highway?
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 Aristocratic Highway."
Sutta 190
Sukka-Magga Suttaṃ
The Bright Highway
[190.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on the Bright Highway and
the dark highway.
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 dark highway?
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 dark highway.
■
And what, beggars
is the Bright Highway?
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 Bright Highway."
Sutta 191
Sad'Dhamma Suttaṃ
True Dhamma
[191.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on True Dhamma and
untrue 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 untrue 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.
That, beggars,
is what is called
untrue dhamma.
■
And what, beggars,
is True 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.
That, beggars,
is what is called
True Dhamma."
Sutta 192
Sappurisa Dhamma Suttaṃ
The Good Man's Dhamma
[192.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on the Good Man's Dhamma and
the not good man's 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 the not-good man's 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.
That, beggars,
is what is called
the not-good man's dhamma.
■
And what, beggars,
is the Good-man's 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.
That, beggars,
is what is called
the Good-man's dhamma."
Sutta 193
Uppādetabba Suttaṃ
Productive
[193.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on a productive Dhamma and,
one that is not productive.
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 that is not productive?
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 that is not productive.
■
And what, beggars,
is a Dhamma that is productive?
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 that is productive."
Sutta 194
Āsevitabba Suttaṃ
Indulging
[194.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on a Dhamma to be indulged in and
one not to be indulged in.
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 not to be indulged in?
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 not to be indulged in.
■
And what, beggars,
is the Dhamma to be indulged in?
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 to be indulged in."
Sutta 195
Bhāvetabba Suttaṃ
Improvement
[195.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on a Dhamma that improves and
one that does not improve.
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 that does not improve?
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 that does not improve.
■
And what, beggars,
is the Dhamma that improves?
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 that improves."
Sutta 196
Bahulīkāttabba Suttaṃ
To Be Made Much Of
[196.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on a Dhamma to be made much of and
one not to be made much of.
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 not to be made much of?
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 not to be made much of.
■
And what, beggars,
is the Dhamma to be made much of?
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 to be made much of.
Sutta 197
Anussaritabba Suttaṃ
Called to Mind
[197.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on a Dhamma to be called to mind and
one not to be called to mind.
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 not to be called to mind?
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 not to be called to mind.
■
And what, beggars,
is the Dhamma to be called to mind?
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 to be called to Mind."
Sutta 198
Sacchikātabba Suttaṃ
To Be Seen as Righteous
[198.1][pts] "I will discourse to you, beggars,
on the Dhamma to be seen as righteous and
one that is not to be seen as righteous.[3]
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 not to be seen as righteous?
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 that is not to be seen as righteous.
■
And what, beggars,
is the Dhamma that is to be seen as righteous?
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 that is to be seen as righteous."
[1] The suttas in this chapter have no nidanas.
[2] Woodward:
Micchā-diṭṭhi. "There is no gift,
no offering,
no sacrifice;
there is no fruit or ripening of deeds
well done or ill done;
this world is not,
the world beyond is not;
there is no mother,
no father,
no beings supernaturally born;
there are no recluses and Brahmins in the world
who have gone right,
who fare rightly,
men who by their own comprehension
have realized this world
and the world beyond
and thus declare.'
Sammā-diṭṭhi. "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."
See also AN 10.155-166, AN 10 176, AN 10.178-188 and others.
[3] Sacchikātabbañ ca vo bhikkhave dhammaṃ desissāmi, na sacchikātabbañ ca. This one beats me for a meaningful translation. Sacchikāta means 'seen as true". This would apply to seeing both the True Dhamma and the misguided dhamma as true. But the text wants us to say that the True Dhamma is to be seen as true, but not the misguided dhamma. Woodward and Bhikkhu Bodhi both use "realized," but it seems to me that the same problem exists for that word.
