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← Aṅguttara Nikāya

Families

AN 9.17 · Kulasutta

A forested rocky island and its reflection rest in a misty lake.

“Mendicants, visiting a family with nine factors is not worthwhile, or if you’ve already arrived, sitting down is not worthwhile. What nine? They don’t politely rise, bow, or offer a seat. They hide what they have. Even when they have much they give little. Even when they have fine things they give coarse things. They give carelessly, not carefully. They don’t sit nearby to listen to the teachings. When you’re speaking, they don’t listen well. Visiting a family with these nine factors is not worthwhile, or if you’ve already arrived, sitting down is not worthwhile.

Visiting a family with nine factors is worthwhile, or if you’ve already arrived, sitting down is worthwhile. What nine? They politely rise, bow, and offer a seat. They don’t hide what they have. When they have much they give much. When they have refined things they give refined things. They give carefully, not carelessly. They sit nearby to listen to the teachings. When you’re speaking, they listen well. Visiting a family with these nine factors is worthwhile, or if you’ve already arrived, sitting down is worthwhile.”

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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.