AN 5.165

Pañhapuccha Sutta: On Asking Questions

translated from the Pali by

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Then Ven. Sariputta addressed the monks: "Friend monks."

"Yes, friend," the monks responded to him.

Ven. Sariputta said: "All those who ask questions of another do so from any one of five motivations. Which five?

"One asks a question of another through stupidity & bewilderment. One asks a question of another through evil desires & overwhelmed with greed. One asks a question of another through contempt. One asks a question of another when desiring knowledge. Or one asks a question with this thought, [1] 'If, when asked, he answers correctly, well & good. If not, then I will answer correctly [for him].'

"All those who ask questions of another do so from any one of these five motivations. And as for me, when I ask a question of another, it's with this thought: 'If, when asked, he answers correctly, well & good. If not, then I will answer correctly [for him].'

Note

1 .: Reading panevam-citto with the Thai edition. The PTS reading — pakuppanto citto, "with a provoked heart" — does not fit the context at all.

See also: AN 3.67 ; AN 4.42

The text of this page ("Pañhapuccha Sutta: On Asking Questions", by Thanissaro Bhikkhu) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License . To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ . Documents linked from this page may be subject to other restrictions. Transcribed from a file provided by the translator. Last revised for Access to Insight on 30 November 2013.

How to cite this document (a suggested style): "Pañhapuccha Sutta: On Asking Questions" (AN 5.165), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition) , 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an05/an05.165.than.html .