Dānavatthusutta — Dānavagga — the fourth chapter of the Eights
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A bare eight-item list of grounds for giving, unranked, structurally similar to AN 8.31 but only partially overlapping in content
Length
under 1 minute to read
Not a repeat of AN 8.31
Both discourses list eight unranked grounds for giving, but this list opens with the four biases (favoritism, hostility, stupidity, cowardice) that AN 8.31 doesn't mention at all, sharing only family tradition and the closing item, giving as equipment for the mind
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and descriptive, best read alongside AN 8.31 to see where the two lists genuinely overlap
Why this discourse
AN 8.33 names eight grounds for giving — out of favoritism, hostility, stupidity, or cowardice, out of family tradition, in hope of a heavenly rebirth, for the mental clarity and joy giving itself produces, or as equipment for the mind — overlapping with AN 8.31's own eight motives in only a couple of places.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
People give for eight different grounds — the four biases of favoritism, hostility, stupidity, and cowardice; family tradition; hope of heavenly rebirth; the mental clarity and joy giving produces; or as equipment for the mind — named here without ranking, much as AN 8.31 named its own different eight.
Four biases, opening a different list
This discourse's own first four grounds — favoritism (chanda), hostility (dosa), stupidity (moha), and cowardice (bhaya) — are the four classic biases (agati) that corrupt judgment elsewhere in this literature, applied here specifically to the decision of whether and what to give, a starting point AN 8.31's list doesn't share at all.
Where the two lists genuinely converge
Despite their different openings, this discourse and AN 8.31 converge on two points: both name family or social obligation as a motive (framed here as honoring one's father and grandfather's own practice of giving), and both close with the identical final item, giving as “an adornment and requisite for the mind.”
Two lists, one honest catalog of human motive
Read together, AN 8.31 and AN 8.33 don't contradict each other; they simply survey the same broad territory — why people actually give — from two different angles, neither claiming to be exhaustive, both landing on the same final, most reflective motive.
Key terms
chandā, dosā, mohā, bhayā — “out of favoritism, hostility, stupidity, or cowardice” — this discourse's own opening four grounds, the four classic biases (agati) applied here to giving.
pitupitāmahaṁ — “my father and my father's father” — the family-tradition ground, framed here as inherited practice rather than personal conviction.
cittaṁ pasīdati, attamano hoti — “my mind becomes clear, and I become happy and joyful” — a ground focused on the immediate inner effect of giving itself, distinct from any external outcome.
cittālaṅkāraparikkhāranti — “this is an adornment and requisite for the mind” — the eighth and closing ground, identical in wording to AN 8.31's own final item.
dānavatthūni — “grounds for giving” — this discourse's own title term, distinct from AN 8.31's simple dānāni, 'gifts.'
The text
The discourse in full: eight grounds for giving, overlapping only partly with AN 8.31's own eight. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Eight grounds for giving
§1“Mendicants, there are these eight grounds for giving. What eight? Someone might give a gift out of favoritism or hostility or stupidity or cowardice. Or they give thinking, ‘Giving was practiced by my father and my father’s father. It would not be right for me to abandon this family tradition.’ Or they give thinking, ‘After I’ve given this gift, when my body breaks up, after death, I’ll be reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.’ Or they give thinking, ‘When giving this gift my mind becomes clear, and I become happy and joyful.’ Or they give a gift thinking, ‘This is an adornment and requisite for the mind.’ These are the eight grounds for giving.”
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Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 6
What four grounds open this discourse's list?
Correct: B. The agati, biases that corrupt judgment elsewhere in this literature, here applied to the decision to give.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, where do this discourse and AN 8.31 genuinely converge?
Correct: B. Two overlapping points, despite otherwise different openings.
Question 3 of 6
What ground focuses on the immediate inner effect of giving itself?
Correct: B. A ground distinct from any external outcome like reputation or rebirth.
Question 4 of 6
How does the guide characterize the relationship between AN 8.31 and AN 8.33?
Correct: B. Two honest, non-exhaustive catalogs converging on the same reflective closing motive.
Question 5 of 6
What is this discourse's own Pāli title term, and how does it differ from AN 8.31's?
Correct: B. A related but distinct title, matching the related but distinct content.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare formula, matching AN 8.31 and 8.32's own lack of a stated setting.
