Beings come together and associate according to disposition. The distracted come together and associate with the distracted, and other pairs of dispositions are mentioned.

SN 14.23  Asamāhita sutta - Distracted

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati.

At Sāvatthi.

“Dhātusova, bhikkhave, sattā saṁsandanti samenti. Assaddhā assaddhehi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samenti; ahirikā ahirikehi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samenti; anottappino anottappīhi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samenti; asamāhitā asamāhitehi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samenti; duppaññā duppaññehi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samenti.

“Bhikkhus, beings come together and associate |according to disposition::in line with their mental qualities or inclinations [dhātuso]|. The |faithless::without confidence, without conviction [assaddhā]| come together and associate with the faithless; the |unashamed::shameless, without conscience [ahirikā]| come together and associate with the unashamed; the |morally reckless::fearlessness of wrongdoing, lack of prudence [anottappa]| come together and associate with the morally reckless; the |distracted::with scattered attention, not collected, not well-composed [asamāhita]| come together and associate with the distracted; the |undiscerning::without wisdom [duppaññā]| come together and associate with the undiscerning.

Saddhā saddhehi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samenti; hirimanā hirimanehi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samenti; ottappino ottappīhi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samenti; samāhitā samāhitehi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samenti; paññavanto paññavantehi saddhiṁ saṁsandanti samentī”ti.

The |faithful::confident, believing, devoted, trusting [saddhā]| come together and associate with the faithful; the |conscientious::honorable [hirimana]| come together and associate with the conscientious; the |collected::composed, settled [samāhita]| come together and associate with the collected; the |wise::discerning, percipient [paññavanto]| come together and associate with the wise.”

Last updated on June 10, 2026