Duppaṭivinodayasutta — Saddhammavagga — the sixteenth chapter of the Fives
Setting
None stated; the discourse continues from AN 5.1, whose setting at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove is understood to hold
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
single five-item list, no positive mirror; closes the chapter
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, but tonally distinctive
Why this discourse
A curious, almost wry closing list: the three classic poisons sit alongside two much more mundane, non-moral impulses — the urge to speak up once inspired, and the urge to travel once departure crosses the mind — suggesting a more general observation about mental momentum than a purely ethical teaching.
Reading guide
Five things hard to relinquish
Greed (rāga), hatred (dosa), and delusion (moha) — the three classic poisons — joined by two further items: the feeling of being inspired to speak (paṭibhāna), and thoughts of traveling (gamikacitta), once either has arisen.
No positive mirror, this time
Unlike nearly every other discourse in this chapter, this one offers no negated positive list — simply a bare five-item description, ending the chapter on a single, unmirrored observation.
An unexpected inclusion: paṭibhāna
Paṭibhāna — inspiration, eloquence, the inventive responsiveness of a ready speaker — is treated positively elsewhere in this collection (see AN 5.86). Here it's grouped with the three poisons as something ‘hard to get rid of’ once it arises, suggesting the discourse's real concern is not the moral valence of an impulse, but simply how difficult certain mental states are to relinquish once underway.
A psychological rather than purely ethical observation
Read this way, the list isn't a straightforward catalogue of vices: greed, hatred, and delusion are morally weighted, while an inspired urge to speak or a settled intention to travel are not inherently unwholesome at all — the shared thread is momentum, not moral status.
Closing the chapter
The chapter closes with its colophon, ‘Dasamaṁ. Saddhammavaggo paṭhamo’ (‘The tenth. The first chapter on the true teaching’), followed by an uddāna verse naming this chapter's ten discourses in brief — the same summarizing mechanism explained in full at AN 5.10.
What comes next
AN 5.161 opens the Āghātavagga (“Resentment”), this collection's next chapter.
Key terms
duppaṭivinodaya — “hard to get rid of” — this discourse's title concept, describing all five items.
rāga, dosa, moha — greed, hatred, delusion — the three classic poisons, the list's first three items.
paṭibhāna — inspiration or eloquence; positively framed at AN 5.86, here grouped instead with the poisons as hard to relinquish.
gamikacitta — “the thought of traveling” — a settled intention to depart, the list's fifth item.
uddāna — the summary verse closing a chapter, naming its discourses in brief; the mechanism explained in full at AN 5.10.
The text
The discourse in full, closing this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five things hard to get rid of
§1“Mendicants, these five things are hard to get rid of once they’ve arisen. What five? Greed, hate, delusion, the feeling of being inspired to speak out, and thoughts of traveling. These five things are hard to get rid of once they’ve arisen.”
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What five things does this discourse name as hard to get rid of, once arisen?
Correct: A. Three poisons plus two more mundane compulsions.
Question 2 of 10
What makes this discourse's list structurally unusual for this chapter?
Correct: A. A bare, unmirrored five-item list.
Question 3 of 10
How is 'paṭibhāna' treated elsewhere in this collection, and how does that differ from its treatment here?
Correct: A. A notable shift in framing for the same term.
Question 4 of 10
What does this discourse's inclusion of paṭibhāna and gamikacitta alongside the three poisons suggest?
Correct: A. Not every item is morally weighted the same way.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'gamikacitta' mean?
Correct: A. The list's fifth item, a settled intention to depart.
Question 6 of 10
What are the three classic poisons named in this discourse?
Correct: A. Greed, hatred, and delusion, the list's first three items.
Question 7 of 10
What colophon closes this chapter?
Correct: A. 'The tenth. The first chapter on the true teaching.'
Question 8 of 10
What is an 'uddāna'?
Correct: A. The mechanism explained in full at AN 5.10.
Question 9 of 10
What chapter does this discourse close?
Correct: A. 'The True Teaching', this session's sixteenth chapter.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter comes next, opening with 'Resentment'?
Correct: A. AN 5.161 begins this collection's seventeenth chapter.
