Sagacity

AN 3.122 · Moneyyasutta

A rounded grassy ridge curving between two misted valleys.

“Mendicants, there are these three kinds of sagacity. What three? Sagacity of body, speech, and mind.

And what is sagacity of body? It’s when a mendicant doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, or have sex. This is called ‘sagacity of body’.

And what is sagacity of speech? It’s when a mendicant doesn’t use speech that’s false, backbiting, harsh, or nonsensical. This is called ‘sagacity of speech’.

And what is sagacity of mind? It’s when a mendicant realizes the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom. And they live having realized it with their own insight in this very life due to the ending of defilements. This is called ‘sagacity of mind’. These are the three kinds of sagacity.

A sage in body, a sage in speech, a sage undefiled in heart; a sage, blessed with sagacity, has given up everything, they say.”

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.

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