Killing Living Creatures

AN 4.264 · Pāṇātipātīsutta

A weathered seedpod and a fresh flower beside one another.

“Mendicants, someone with four qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there. What four? They themselves kill living creatures; they encourage others to kill living creatures; they approve of killing living creatures; and they praise killing living creatures. Someone with these four qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there.

Someone with four qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there. What four? They don’t themselves kill living creatures; they encourage others to not kill living creatures; they approve of not killing living creatures; and they praise not killing living creatures. Someone with these four 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.