Āghātavatthusutta — Sattāvāsavagga — the third chapter of the Nines
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single list of nine, generated by crossing three tenses against three targets
Length
~1 minute to read
A three-by-three grid, like AN 9.22
Three tenses (past, present, future) crossed against three targets (myself, someone I love, someone I dislike) produces the nine grounds, the same multiplication logic already met at AN 9.22
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — a clear grid, worth reading alongside its direct antidote at AN 9.30
Why this discourse
Nine grounds for resentment arise from crossing three time-tenses — they did, are doing, or will do wrong — against three targets: wrong done to oneself, wrong done to someone loved, and help given to someone disliked, each combination a distinct occasion on which resentment can take root.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Resentment is harbored on nine grounds: thinking someone did, is doing, or will do wrong to me; did, is doing, or will do wrong to someone I love; or helped, is helping, or will help someone I dislike.
A grid, not a flat list
As with AN 9.22's horses and people, this discourse's nine items are not nine unrelated grievances but a clean three-by-three grid: three time-tenses (past, present, and future wrongdoing or favoritism) crossed against three targets (myself, someone I love, and someone I dislike).
Resentment extends beyond direct harm to oneself
Only the first three grounds concern wrong done directly to oneself. The middle three extend resentment to wrongs done to someone loved, and the final three extend it further still, to simple favor shown toward someone disliked — no direct harm required at all, only unwelcome kindness shown to the wrong person.
A catalogue, without yet offering a remedy
This discourse is purely diagnostic: it names the nine grounds without commenting on whether resentment is justified or how to release it. That work is left entirely to its companion discourse immediately following, AN 9.30, which answers each of these same nine grounds with a specific way to let it go.
Key terms
āghāto — “resentment” — the discourse's own title term, its nine grounds catalogued without comment here.
anatthaṁ me acari — “they did wrong to me” — the first ground, opening the three-tense, three-target grid.
piyassa me manāpassa anatthaṁ acari — “they did wrong to someone I love” — the fourth ground, extending resentment beyond direct harm to oneself.
appiyassa me amanāpassa atthaṁ acari — “they helped someone I dislike” — the seventh ground, extending resentment to simple favor shown to an unwelcome party.
nava āghātavatthūni — “nine grounds for resentment” — the discourse's own closing count, matched item for item by AN 9.30's nine ways of letting it go.
The text
The discourse in full: nine grounds for resentment, generated by crossing three tenses against three targets. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Nine grounds for resentment
§1“Mendicants, there are nine grounds for resentment. What nine? Thinking: ‘They did wrong to me,’ you harbor resentment. Thinking: ‘They are doing wrong to me’ … ‘They will do wrong to me’ … ‘They did wrong to someone I love’ … ‘They are doing wrong to someone I love’ … ‘They will do wrong to someone I love’ … ‘They helped someone I dislike’ … ‘They are helping someone I dislike’ … Thinking: ‘They will help someone I dislike,’ you harbor resentment. These are the nine grounds for resentment.”
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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
How are this discourse's nine grounds for resentment generated?
Correct: B. A three-by-three grid, the same multiplication logic already met at AN 9.22.
Question 2 of 6
What three targets does resentment extend across, according to this discourse?
Correct: B. Resentment isn't limited to direct harm to oneself.
Question 3 of 6
What does the seventh ground for resentment involve?
Correct: B. Unwelcome kindness shown to the wrong person, not harm at all.
Question 4 of 6
What does this discourse do about the nine grounds it names?
Correct: B. The remedy is left to its companion discourse, AN 9.30.
Question 5 of 6
How does AN 9.30 relate to this discourse?
Correct: B. A direct companion, matched item for item.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare diagnostic catalogue, like AN 9.30 immediately after it.
