Paṭhamaāghātapaṭivinayasutta — Āghātavagga — the seventeenth 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/negative mirror
Length
~1.5 minutes to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, opening a new chapter
Why this discourse
This chapter opens with a directly practical concern: not doctrine for its own sake, but five concrete techniques for dissolving resentment toward a specific person — three meditative, one a deliberate redirection of attention, and one a doctrinal reflection on kamma-ownership.
Reading guide
A new chapter: resentment
The Āghātavagga (“Resentment”) shifts from the previous chapter's concern with the true teaching's institutional survival to something more immediate: what to do when resentment (āghāta) toward a specific individual has already arisen.
Three meditative reversals
Developing love (mettā), compassion (karuṇā), and equanimity (upekkhā) toward the resented individual — three of the four classical divine abodes (brahmavihāra). Notably absent is the fourth, sympathetic joy (muditā), which fits awkwardly with an object of resentment in a way the other three don't.
A fourth technique: simply not attending
Disregarding the person entirely, paying them no attention — a more blunt, non-meditative technique than the three divine abodes: not transforming the feeling toward them, but simply withdrawing attention from them altogether.
The fifth: kamma-ownership
Reflecting explicitly on the resented person as ‘the owner of their deeds, heir to their deeds’ — the same kamma-ownership formula used elsewhere for reflection on one's own mortality and moral responsibility, here redirected toward someone who has provoked resentment, reframing them as simply another being subject to the same universal law.
What follows
AN 5.162 gives this same theme a far richer treatment: five types of person, each paired with an elaborate simile for how to relate to their mixture of virtue and fault.
Key terms
āghāta — “resentment” — this chapter's title concept, the object all ten discourses address.
mettā, karuṇā, upekkhā — love, compassion, and equanimity — three of the four brahmavihāras, used here as direct antidotes to resentment.
asatiamanasikāra — “disregard, paying no attention” — the fourth, non-meditative technique.
kammassakatā — “ownership of deeds” — reflecting that the resented person is heir to their own kamma, good or bad.
kammadāyādo — “heir to their deeds” — part of the kamma-ownership formula applied to the resented individual.
The text
The discourse in full: five ways to completely get rid of resentment toward anyone. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five ways to get rid of resentment
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant should use these five ways to completely get rid of resentment when it has arisen toward anyone. What five? You should develop love for an individual you resent. That’s how to get rid of resentment for that individual. You should develop compassion for an individual you resent. … You should develop equanimity for an individual you resent. … You should disregard an individual you resent, paying no attention to them. … You should focus on the ownership of deeds regarding that individual: ‘This venerable is the owner of their deeds and heir to their deeds. Deeds are their womb, their relative, and their refuge. They shall be the heir of whatever deeds they do, whether good or bad.’ That’s how to get rid of resentment for that individual. A mendicant should use these five ways to completely get rid of resentment when it has arisen toward anyone.”
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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 chapter does this discourse open?
Correct: A. This session's seventeenth chapter.
Question 2 of 10
What three brahmavihāras does this discourse name as antidotes to resentment?
Correct: A. Mettā, karuṇā, and upekkhā — three of the four brahmavihāras.
Question 3 of 10
Which of the four brahmavihāras is notably absent from this list?
Correct: A. It fits awkwardly with an object of resentment.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'asatiamanasikāra' describe?
Correct: A. A blunt, non-meditative technique — simply withdrawing attention.
Question 5 of 10
What does the fifth technique involve?
Correct: A. The kamma-ownership reflection, redirected toward the resented individual.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'kammadāyādo' mean?
Correct: A. Part of the kamma-ownership formula.
Question 7 of 10
How does the fourth technique differ from the first three?
Correct: A. A more blunt approach than the meditative reversals.
Question 8 of 10
What structural form does this discourse take?
Correct: A. Unlike many AN 5 discourses, no negation is mirrored here.
Question 9 of 10
What does AN 5.162 add to this same theme?
Correct: A. A far richer treatment of the same underlying concern.
Question 10 of 10
What shift does this chapter mark from the previous one?
Correct: A. Though several later discourses in this chapter are voiced by Sāriputta.
