Dhamma Principles › The Niddesa on the Duṭṭhaṭṭhaka Sutta: When Slandered, and When Tempted to Boast
The Niddesa on the Duṭṭhaṭṭhaka Sutta: When Slandered, and When Tempted to Boast
Everyday life

The Niddesa on the Duṭṭhaṭṭhaka Sutta: When Slandered, and When Tempted to Boast

Duṭṭhaṭṭhakasuttaniddeso

The Mahāniddesa's explanation of the Duṭṭhaṭṭhaka Sutta: there are two ways a person gets drawn into an accusation — by having done it, or by reacting in anger. It separates virtue from observances, lists what people boast of unasked, describes three kinds of peace, and sets out many forms of conceit.

7 points

The Duṭṭhaṭṭhaka Sutta Niddesa belongs to the Mahāniddesa of the Khuddaka Nikāya, a commentary-style work that is itself part of the Tipiṭaka. It explains the verses of the Aṭṭhaka Vagga of the Sutta Nipāta word by word. This section explains the Duṭṭhaṭṭhaka Sutta, which opens: "Some speak with corrupt minds, and others, thinking it true, speak likewise; but the sage does not enter into the dispute that has arisen."

The Niddesa says this blame is untrue speech slandering the Buddha and the Saṅgha of monks. It mentions sectarians who thought that by killing the wanderer Sundarī and proclaiming the faults of the Sakyan ascetics they would win back gain and fame — yet the loss of fame came back upon them instead.

It then works through the key words of the remaining verses: how virtue differs from observances, what people boast of without being asked, how many kinds of peace there are, what deceit and conceit are, and why no one can find fault with a person who has no approach to lean on.

  1. 1

    Ill-willed people blame, and believers blame along with them Vadanti ve duṭṭhamanāpi eke

    The Niddesa explains that there are two groups of blamers. The first have minds struck by hatred and resentment, and they blame with untrue words. The second have no ill will of their own, but trust the first group, take it as true and genuine, and so blame along with them.

    Applying it in daily life

    Before sharing an accusation about someone, ask whether you are in the second group — believing because of who said it, not because you know.

  2. 2

    Two ways of being drawn into an accusation Vādañca jātaṃ muni no upeti

    The Niddesa explains that a person enters into a dispute of blame in two ways: by actually having done the thing, or, when accused, by getting angry, resentful and retaliating, displaying anger to insist they did not do it. The sage enters in neither way: he has not done it, and when accused he does not get angry or retaliate with resentment.

    Applying it in daily life

    When falsely accused, you may state the facts, but notice whether you are doing so in anger. Anger on display pulls you fully into the matter.

  3. 3

    Virtue and observances are not the same Yo attano sīlavatāni jantu

    Since the next verse speaks of someone who proclaims his own virtue and observances, the Niddesa first explains the terms. Restraint in the training rules is virtue (sīla); undertaking a practice is an observance (vata). Some things are both virtue and observance; some are observances but not virtue, such as the eight ascetic practices — living in the forest, eating only almsfood, wearing rag-robes — or the resolve not to rise from one's seat until the mind is liberated.

    Applying it in daily life

    Distinguish the principles you must keep — not harming, not cheating, not lying — from the extra practices you choose to take on. The extras are useful, but they are not a measure of who is better than whom.

  4. 4

    Boasting without being asked Anariyadhammaṃ kusalā tamāhu

    The verse says that one who, unasked, tells others of his own virtue and observances is said by the skilled to lack the noble Dhamma. The Niddesa gives a long list of what people boast of: virtue, observances, birth, clan, looks, wealth, work, craft, education, quick wit, fame, gains, memorising the discourses and the Vinaya, keeping ascetic practices, even attaining the jhānas and formless attainments. The peaceful monk does not boast in his virtue, "This is what I am," and the skilled say he has the noble Dhamma.

    Applying it in daily life

    For one day, notice in your conversations or posts how often you mention your goodness or success when no one asked. You need not forbid it outright, but be aware of the urge to be seen.

  5. 5

    Three kinds of peace Tannissito kuppapaṭiccasantiṃ

    The verse says the holder of views relies on a peace that can be shaken. The Niddesa distinguishes three kinds of peace: final peace, which is Nibbāna; peace in a particular respect, the partial calm within each jhāna, such as the stilling of the hindrances in the first jhāna; and conventional peace, the calm obtained from views — which is what this verse means. That kind of peace is fabricated, impermanent and can be disturbed.

    Applying it in daily life

    The comfort of having ready-made answers, or of belonging to a group that thinks alike, is a fragile peace; one objection and it trembles. Notice what your own peace depends on.

  6. 6

    Deceit and the many layers of conceit Māyañca mānañca pahāya dhono

    The Niddesa explains deceit as doing wrong and then deliberately concealing it — "let no one know" — by body, speech and mind. It sets out conceit in forms numbered from one to ten, such as thinking oneself better than, equal to or worse than others; conceit arising from gain, fame, praise and pleasure; and even the sense of inferiority that comes with loss or blame counts as a form of conceit. The wise one — the Niddesa calls wisdom dhonā, that which washes away defilements — abandons both deceit and conceit.

    Applying it in daily life

    When you feel inferior after criticism or a missed opportunity, recognise that this too is conceit, not humility. Dropping comparison helps both when you feel superior and when you feel inferior.

  7. 7

    Nothing grasped, so nothing to fault Attaṃ nirattaṃ na hi tassa atthi

    The last verse says that one with an approach enters into disputes, but with what could anyone fault one without it? The Niddesa explains that the two approaches are craving and views, and that whoever has something grasped also has something to release; the arahant has gone beyond both grasping and releasing.

    Applying it in daily life

    The more tightly you hold an image, a position or an opinion, the more points others can strike. Ask whether a criticism hurts because it is true, or because it touches something you are holding.

Try it in daily life

This section reads like a manual for handling accusations and praise. The point to use at once is to notice which way you are being drawn into a matter. If you did not do it, what remains to watch is the anger that wants to hit back.

The other side is boasting. The Niddesa's long list shows that people can boast of anything from family, wealth and education to goodness and spiritual attainments. The more admirable the thing, the more easily we boast of it without noticing.

Explaining the facts when wrongly accused is still allowed and sometimes necessary. The Niddesa's point is not to stay silent in every case, but to explain without letting anger do the talking.

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