Untitled in the source — Rāgapeyyāla — the tenth chapter of the Nines, closing the Book of the Nines
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
Sixteen further defilements crossed against ten verbs and the two nine-fold sets, compressed into a single peyyāla page standing for 320 individually numbered discourses
Length
~2 minutes to read the compressed text; the full 320-discourse expansion would take many hours
The sixth time this project has met this exact list
The same seventeen-item defilement list already closed AN 3, AN 4, AN 6, AN 7, and AN 8 — now confirmed a sixth time as this collection's standard closing template, and closing AN 9 itself
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — the compressed text is brief; understanding what it stands for requires holding a genuinely large multiplication in mind
Why this discourse
AN 9.113–432 takes the sixteen further defilements — hate, delusion, anger, acrimony, disdain, contempt, jealousy, stinginess, deceitfulness, deviousness, obstinacy, aggression, conceit, arrogance, vanity, and negligence — and multiplies each against ten verbs (the same nine as AN 9.95–112, plus direct knowledge, abhiññā, folded into the peyyāla) and the two nine-fold sets established at AN 9.93–94, compressing 320 discourses into a single page and closing the entire Book of the Nines.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Each of the sixteen remaining defilements — hate through negligence — should likewise be met with the two nine-fold sets already established for greed, developed for direct knowledge, complete understanding, complete ending, giving up, ending, vanishing, fading away, cessation, giving away, and letting go of each defilement in turn.
The same seventeen-item list, a sixth time
Readers of this project will recognize this list immediately: hate, delusion, anger, acrimony, disdain, contempt, jealousy, stinginess, deceitfulness, deviousness, obstinacy, aggression, conceit, arrogance, vanity, and negligence are the same sixteen items (plus greed, already covered at AN 9.93–112) that closed AN 3.183-352, AN 4.304-783, AN 6.170-649, AN 7.645-1124, and AN 8.148-627 — the sixth consecutive nipāta to close on this identical roster, now beyond any doubt this collection's standard editorial template rather than a coincidence.
A tenth verb hidden in the peyyāla
As at AN 8.148-627, the tenth verb, abhiññā (direct knowledge), is not spelled out as its own separate line in the translated text but folded into the peyyāla immediately after the sixteenth defilement, negligence — ‘pamādassa abhiññāya’ in the Pāli root, before the same nine verbs already met at AN 9.95-112 continue. Checked against the root text before writing this page, not assumed from the English alone.
The arithmetic, and the book's own close
16 defilements × 10 verbs × 2 nine-fold sets = 320, matching the discourse range AN 9.113 through AN 9.432 exactly. The source's own closing lines mark a double closure: first ‘Rāgapeyyālaṁ niṭṭhitaṁ’ (“the peyyāla beginning with greed is finished”, left untranslated in the English), then ‘the Book of the Nines is finished’ — closing not just this chapter but AN 9 itself, and, with it, this project's work through nine of the eleven nipātas of the Aṅguttara Nikāya.
Key terms
dosassa, mohassa, kodhassa — “hate, delusion, anger” — the first three of the sixteen defilements, opening the same standard list met five times before in this project.
upanāhassa, makkhassa, paḷāsassa, issāya, macchariyassa — “acrimony, disdain, contempt, jealousy, stinginess” — five further defilements, matching the identical list and order established at AN 3.183-352.
pamādassa abhiññāya — “for direct knowledge of negligence” — the hidden tenth verb, folded into the peyyāla immediately after the sixteenth and final defilement rather than given its own separate line.
ime nava dhammā bhāvetabbā — “these nine things should be developed” — the shared closing formula, repeated for each of the sixteen defilements crossed against ten verbs and two nine-fold sets.
navakanipātapāḷi niṭṭhitā — “the Book of the Nines is finished” — the source's own closing declaration, ending both this chapter and AN 9 itself.
The text
The discourse in full: sixteen defilements, crossed against ten verbs and the two nine-fold sets, closing the Book of the Nines. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Sixteen defilements, ten verbs, compressed
§1“For insight into hate … delusion … anger … acrimony … disdain … contempt … jealousy … stinginess … deceitfulness … deviousness … obstinacy … aggression … conceit … arrogance … vanity … for insight into negligence … complete understanding … complete ending … giving up … ending … vanishing … fading away … ceasing … giving away … letting go of negligence … these nine things should be developed.”
The Book of the Nines is finished
§2The Book of the Nines is finished.
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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 does this compressed page stand for?
Correct: B. 16 x 10 x 2 = 320, matching the AN 9.113-432 range exactly.
Question 2 of 6
How many times has this project now met this exact seventeen-item defilement list closing a nipāta?
Correct: B. Confirmed well beyond coincidence as this collection's standard closing template.
Question 3 of 6
Where is the tenth verb, abhiññā, actually located in this page's text?
Correct: B. Checked against the Pāli root text before writing this page, matching AN 8.148-627's identical pattern.
Question 4 of 6
What two things does this page's closing colophon mark?
Correct: B. A double closure, the first line left untranslated in the English.
Question 5 of 6
What arithmetic produces this page's 320-discourse range?
Correct: B. Fewer discourses than AN 7 or AN 8's equivalent closing pages, since this nipāta has only two foundational sets rather than three.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare formula, matching every other page in this closing peyyāla.
