Cetokhilasutta — Kimilavagga — the twenty-first 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
five parallel structures, each ending in the same diagnostic formula
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — a classical formula, worth reading slowly
Why this discourse
A classical, precisely repeated diagnostic: five specific states of doubt or resentment, each one shown to produce the identical result — a mind that simply won't incline toward keenness, commitment, persistence, and striving, no matter how much effort is nominally being made.
Reading guide
Four kinds of doubt, one kind of resentment
Doubt about the Teacher; doubt about the teaching; doubt about the Saṅgha; doubt about the training; and, differently from the first four, anger and resentment toward one's spiritual companions, closed off and unhappy with them.
A direct echo of AN 5.201's five objects
The first four kinds of hard-heartedness map exactly onto four of AN 5.201's five objects of respect — Teacher, teaching, Saṅgha, training — recast here not as things to respect or disrespect, but as things one might doubt, with the same practical consequence either way: a mind that won't engage.
The same closing formula, five times over
Each of the five is stated with the identical diagnostic ending: ‘their mind doesn't incline toward keenness, commitment, persistence, and striving’ — a deliberate repetition underscoring that all five, despite their different objects, produce exactly the same practical paralysis.
Cetokhila, a vivid image
Khila means barren, hardened ground — unreceptive soil that won't take seed no matter how much is planted. Applied to the heart, the image is precise: not an absence of effort, but a condition in which effort itself can't take root.
A companion list follows immediately
AN 5.206 pairs directly with this discourse: where hard-heartedness names doubt and resentment as what blocks the mind, the ‘shackles of the heart’ that follow name attachment and craving as producing the identical result.
Key terms
cetokhila — “hard-heartedness” — literally barren, unreceptive ground applied to the heart, this discourse's title concept.
kaṅkhati vicikicchati — “has doubts, is uncertain” — the state named for the first four kinds of hard-heartedness.
kupito hoti anattamano āhatacitto — “angry and upset, resentful and closed off” — the fifth kind, directed toward spiritual companions rather than doctrine or institution.
cittaṁ na namati ātappāya anuyogāya sātaccāya padhānāya — “the mind doesn't incline toward keenness, commitment, persistence, and striving” — the identical diagnostic formula closing all five kinds.
sabrahmacārī — “spiritual companions” — the object of the fifth kind of hard-heartedness.
The text
The discourse in full: five kinds of hard-heartedness, and their shared consequence. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five kinds of hard-heartedness
§1“Mendicants, there are these five kinds of hard-heartedness. What five? Firstly, a mendicant has doubts about the Teacher. They’re uncertain, undecided, and lacking confidence. This being so, their mind doesn’t incline toward keenness, commitment, persistence, and striving. This is the first kind of hard-heartedness. Furthermore, a mendicant has doubts about the teaching … the Saṅgha … the training … A mendicant is angry and upset with their spiritual companions, resentful and closed off. This being so, their mind doesn’t incline toward keenness, commitment, persistence, and striving. This is the fifth kind of hard-heartedness. These are the five kinds of hard-heartedness.”
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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 are the five kinds of hard-heartedness this discourse names?
Correct: A. Four kinds of doubt, plus one kind of interpersonal resentment.
Question 2 of 10
What does each of the five kinds of hard-heartedness produce, according to this discourse?
Correct: A. The identical diagnostic formula, repeated for all five.
Question 3 of 10
How do the first four kinds of hard-heartedness relate to AN 5.201's five objects of respect?
Correct: A. Recast as objects of doubt rather than respect.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'khila' mean, as part of 'cetokhila'?
Correct: A. A precise image applied to the heart in this discourse's title.
Question 5 of 10
How does the fifth kind of hard-heartedness differ from the first four?
Correct: A. Anger and closed-off resentment, rather than uncertainty about doctrine or institution.
Question 6 of 10
What discourse pairs directly with this one, following immediately after?
Correct: A. A companion list, replacing doubt with attachment as the obstacle.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'sabrahmacārī' mean?
Correct: A. The object of the fifth kind of hard-heartedness.
Question 8 of 10
What is the practical consequence this discourse identifies, regardless of which of the five is present?
Correct: A. Effort itself can't take root, exactly as barren ground won't take seed.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'kaṅkhati vicikicchati' describe?
Correct: A. The state named for the first four kinds of hard-heartedness.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'With Kimbila', this session's twenty-first chapter.
