Uddhambhāgiyasutta — Satipatthanavagga — the seventh chapter of the Nines
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
Five higher fetters named in full, then the remedy compressed to an ellipsis, the last discourse in this chapter to do so
Length
~30 seconds to read
The counterpart to AN 9.67's lower fetters
Where ending the five lower fetters produces a non-returner, ending these five higher fetters is what full arahantship requires
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — brief in text, naming the final barrier to full awakening
Why this discourse
The five higher fetters — desire for rebirth in the realm of luminous form, desire for rebirth in the formless realm, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance — are given up the same way as every obstacle in this chapter, by developing the four kinds of mindfulness meditation.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
To give up the five higher fetters — desire for rebirth in the realm of luminous form, desire for rebirth in the formless realm, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance — a mendicant should develop the four kinds of mindfulness meditation, the same remedy given throughout this chapter.
The counterpart to AN 9.67's lower fetters
This discourse completes a pair with AN 9.67 three discourses earlier: where ending the five lower fetters marks non-return, ending these five higher fetters is what full arahantship itself requires — the standard doctrinal division of the ten fetters into two sets of five, named here across two separate discourses in this same chapter.
Subtler obstacles for a subtler stage
Where the lower fetters concern relatively coarse attachments — view, doubt, ritual, sensual desire, ill will — these higher fetters are correspondingly subtle: desire for the very meditative attainments this nipāta spends most of its length describing, along with conceit, restlessness, and the final residue of ignorance itself.
The last discourse in this chapter's compressed run
This is the final discourse to use this chapter's compressed formula; AN 9.71 and AN 9.72, closing the chapter, both return to giving their obstacle-lists in considerably fuller detail than the ellipsis met throughout AN 9.65 to AN 9.70.
Key terms
pañcuddhambhāgiyāni saṁyojanāni — “the five higher fetters” — this discourse's own title term, the counterpart to AN 9.67's lower fetters.
rūparāgo, arūparāgo — “desire for rebirth in the realm of luminous form, desire for rebirth in the formless realm” — the first two higher fetters, naming attachment to the very attainments this nipāta describes at length.
māno, uddhaccaṁ, avijjā — “conceit, restlessness, and ignorance” — the remaining three, closing the standard list of ten fetters' second half.
…pe… — the Pāli peyyāla marker, left untranslated as an ellipsis — marking the last use of this chapter's compressed form before AN 9.71 restores fuller detail.
cattāro satipaṭṭhānā — “the four kinds of mindfulness meditation” — the shared remedy, here applied to the final barrier before full awakening.
The text
The discourse in full, as it survives: five higher fetters given in full, then the remedy compressed to an ellipsis. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The five higher fetters
§1“Mendicants, there are five higher fetters. What five? Desire for rebirth in the realm of luminous form, desire for rebirth in the formless realm, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. These are the five higher fetters.
The remedy, compressed
§2To give up these five higher fetters you should develop the four kinds of mindfulness meditation. …”
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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 five higher fetters does this discourse name?
Correct: B. The standard second half of the ten fetters, ended only by full arahantship.
Question 2 of 6
How does this discourse's list relate to AN 9.67's lower fetters?
Correct: B. A completing pair, named across two separate discourses in this same chapter.
Question 3 of 6
What do the first two higher fetters concern?
Correct: B. Even attachment to the formless attainments themselves counts as a fetter to overcome.
Question 4 of 6
What is this discourse's position within this chapter's compressed run?
Correct: B. Closing the run begun at AN 9.65.
Question 5 of 6
What happens at AN 9.71 and AN 9.72, closing this chapter?
Correct: B. The chapter's closing pair breaks from the compressed pattern.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare doctrinal teaching, matching this chapter's compressed discourses.
