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← Aṅguttara Nikāya

Deceivers

AN 4.26 · Kuhasutta

Braided river channels flowing around pale gravel islands.

“Mendicants, those mendicants who are deceivers and flatterers, pompous and fake, insolent, and scattered: those mendicants are no followers of mine. They’ve left this teaching and training, and they don’t achieve growth, improvement, or maturity in this teaching and training.

But those mendicants who are genuine, not flatterers, attentive, amenable, and serene: those mendicants are followers of mine. They haven’t left this teaching and training, and they achieve growth, improvement, or maturity in this teaching and training.

Those who are deceivers and flatterers, pompous and fake, insolent and scattered: these don’t grow in the teaching that was taught by the perfected Buddha.

But those who are genuine, not flatterers, attentive, amenable, and serene: these do grow in the teaching that was taught by the perfected Buddha.”

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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.