True DhammaLibrary · Community
SN 56.10PTS SN 5.4191 min read

Low Talk

Tiracchānakathāsutta

Don’t gossip. Instead, talk about the four noble truths.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 56.10Linked Discourses 56.10
  • 0.21. Samādhivagga1. Immersion

0.3TiracchānakathāsuttaLow Talk

1.1PTS 5.420“Mā, bhikkhave, anekavihitaṁ tiracchānakathaṁ katheyyātha, seyyathidaṁ—“Mendicants, don’t engage in all kinds of low talk, such as11.2rājakathaṁ corakathaṁ mahāmattakathaṁ senākathaṁ, bhayakathaṁ yuddhakathaṁ, annakathaṁ pānakathaṁ vatthakathaṁ sayanakathaṁ mālākathaṁ gandhakathaṁ, ñātikathaṁ yānakathaṁ gāmakathaṁ nigamakathaṁ nagarakathaṁ janapadakathaṁ itthikathaṁ sūrakathaṁ visikhākathaṁ kumbhaṭṭhānakathaṁ, pubbapetakathaṁ nānattakathaṁ, lokakkhāyikaṁ samuddakkhāyikaṁ itibhavābhavakathaṁ iti vā.talk about kings, bandits, and chief ministers; talk about armies, threats, and wars; talk about food, drink, clothes, and beds; talk about garlands and fragrances; talk about family, vehicles, villages, towns, cities, and countries; talk about women and heroes; talk at the street market and the place for water pots; talk about the departed; motley talk; tales of land and sea; and talk about being reborn in this or that place.21.3Taṁ kissa hetu?Why is that?1.4Nesā, bhikkhave, kathā atthasaṁhitā nādibrahmacariyakā na nibbidāya na virāgāya na nirodhāya na upasamāya na abhiññāya na sambodhāya na nibbānāya saṁvattati.Because those discussions aren’t beneficial or relevant to the fundamentals of the spiritual life. They don’t lead to disillusionment, dispassion, cessation, peace, insight, awakening, and extinguishment.

2.1Kathentā ca kho tumhe, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti katheyyātha, ‘ayaṁ dukkhasamudayo’ti katheyyātha, ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodho’ti katheyyātha, ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti katheyyātha.When you discuss, you should discuss: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’. …2.2Taṁ kissa hetu?2.3Esā, bhikkhave, kathā atthasaṁhitā, esā ādibrahmacariyakā, esā nibbidāya virāgāya nirodhāya upasamāya abhiññāya sambodhāya nibbānāya saṁvattati.

3.1Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṁ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo …pe… ‘ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti yogo karaṇīyo”ti.That’s why you should practice meditation …”

3.2Dasamaṁ.

3.3Samādhivaggo paṭhamo.

4.0Tassuddānaṁ

4.1Samādhi paṭisallānā,4.2kulaputtā apare duve;4.3Samaṇabrāhmaṇā vitakkaṁ,4.4cintā viggāhikā kathāti.

Translator’s notes

  1. Tiracchānakathā literally means “animal talk”. The Pali word for animal, tiracchāna has the sense of “moving horizontally”, and “low talk” is that which does not elevate.

    ↩ sn56.10:1.1

  2. Bhavābhava does not mean “existence and non-existence” but is a distributive compound, “this or that state of existence”. Indian religious texts are full of discussions about different heavens and hells.

    ↩ sn56.10:1.2