Abhabbasutta — Upālivagga — the tenth chapter of the Tens, closing the Second Fifty
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
Two matched ten-item lists, framed as impossibility and possibility
Length
under 1 minute to read
Closing this chapter and the Second Fifty
This discourse closes Upālivagga, the tenth chapter, and the entire Second Fifty of the Tens, with its own untranslated double colophon and uddāna verse
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — brief, closing on familiar vocabulary
Why this discourse
In the briefest possible terms, this discourse closes an entire fifty-discourse span of the Tens by naming exactly what must be given up to realize arahantship — the first ten items of a defilement list this project has met closing several other nipātas before.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Without giving up ten things — greed, hate, delusion, anger, acrimony, disdain, contempt, jealousy, stinginess, and conceit — you cannot realize perfection; after giving them up, you can.
The seventeen-item list, truncated to exactly ten
These ten items are the first ten of a longer, seventeen-item defilement list — lobha, dosa, moha, kodha, upanāha, makkha, paḷāsa, issā, macchariya, māyā, sāṭheyya, thambha, sārambha, māna, atimāna, mada, pamāda — already met closing several earlier nipātas in this project's peyyāla sections; here, fitted to the number ten, the list simply stops after exactly the right count.
Impossibility and possibility, stated with total symmetry
As with AN 10.82 earlier in this chapter, the discourse states its negative and positive versions in perfectly matched language, differing only in whether the ten things are given up or not — the same list, judged twice, once as an obstacle and once as an absence that clears the way.
A double closing, ending the fiftieth discourse of the second half
The source's own colophon marks this discourse as both the tenth of Upālivagga and the close of Dutiyapaṇṇāsaka, the Second Fifty of the Tens — the hundredth discourse of the entire nipāta, with its own uddāna verse naming all ten discourses of this final chapter.
Key terms
abhabbo arahattaṁ sacchikātuṁ — “you can't realize perfection” — this discourse's own title and central claim, reversed in its second half.
rāgaṁ, dosaṁ, mohaṁ — greed, hate, and delusion — the first three items, the classic three unwholesome roots opening this discourse's list.
kodhaṁ, upanāhaṁ, makkhaṁ, paḷāsaṁ — “anger, acrimony, disdain, contempt” — four more items from the familiar seventeen-item defilement list already met closing earlier nipātas in this project.
issaṁ, macchariyaṁ, mānaṁ — “jealousy, stinginess, and conceit” — the final three items, closing this discourse's list at exactly ten.
Dutiyo paṇṇāsako samatto — “the Second Fifty is finished” — the source's own closing declaration, left untranslated in the English text, marking the halfway point of the entire nipāta.
The text
The discourse in full: the ten things that must be given up to realize perfection. The chapter's own colophon and uddāna verse, in Pāli only, are described but not reproduced. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Without giving up ten things
§1“Mendicants, without giving up ten things you can’t realize perfection. What ten? Greed, hate, delusion, anger, acrimony, disdain, contempt, jealousy, stinginess, and conceit. Without giving up these ten things you can’t realize perfection.
After giving up ten things
§2After giving up ten things you can realize perfection. What ten? Greed, hate, delusion, anger, acrimony, disdain, contempt, jealousy, stinginess, and conceit. After giving up these ten things you can realize perfection.”
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Self-check quiz
5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 5
What does this discourse claim is impossible without giving up ten specific things?
Correct: B. The discourse's own title and central claim.
Question 2 of 5
According to the guide, what is the relationship between this discourse's ten items and the seventeen-item defilement list met elsewhere in this project?
Correct: B. A familiar list, truncated to fit the Tens' format.
Question 3 of 5
How are the negative and positive versions of this discourse's teaching related?
Correct: B. The same list, judged twice, as obstacle and as cleared path.
Question 4 of 5
What does this discourse close, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A double closing, marking a major structural milestone.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this brief, closing discourse.
