A Lady

AN 10.213 · Mātugāmasutta

Dew-covered white flowers above green hills in warm morning light.

“A lady with ten qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there. What ten? She kills living creatures. … She steals. … She commits sexual misconduct. … She lies. … She backbites. … She speaks harshly. … She indulges in talking nonsense. … She’s covetous. … She has cruel intentions. … She has wrong view. … A lady with these ten qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there.

A lady with ten qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there. What ten? She doesn’t kill living creatures. … She doesn’t steal. … She doesn’t commit sexual misconduct. … She doesn’t lie. … She doesn’t backbite. … She doesn’t speak harshly. … She doesn’t indulge in talking nonsense. … She’s content. … She’s kind hearted. … She has right view. … A lady with these ten qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there.”

Connections

Collection & context

Aṅguttara NikāyaThe collection containing this text
The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting

Books

The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Aṅguttara NikāyaBhikkhu Bodhi; Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator) · Complete collection edition

About this edition

Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0

This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.