Cetasovinibandhasutta — Iddhipadavagga — the ninth chapter of the Nines
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
Five shackles of the heart, then the four bases of psychic power given in full as the remedy
Length
~2 minutes to read
Closing three chapters at once
This discourse closes Iddhipadavagga, and the source's own uddāna verse explicitly names mindfulness meditation, right effort, and the bases of psychic power together as one deliberate series
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — substantial, closing this three-chapter series on the most pointed shared obstacle-list
Why this discourse
The same five shackles of the heart that closed ch.7 and ch.8 — unresolved greed for sensual pleasures, the body, physical form, comfort and sleep, and rebirth among the gods sought through spiritual practice — recur a third and final time, given up by developing the four bases of psychic power, and the source's own closing verse confirms that all three chapters were meant to be read as one deliberate sequence.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
To give up the five shackles of the heart, a mendicant should develop the four bases of psychic power: immersion due to enthusiasm, energy, mental development, and inquiry, each with active effort — the third and final remedy in a deliberate three-chapter series.
The source's own confirmation of the pattern
Unlike the more inferential cross-referencing this project has drawn between other discourses, the parallel across ch.7, ch.8, and ch.9 is confirmed by the text itself: this discourse's own closing verse states, in effect, that ‘just as the mindfulness meditations, so the [right] efforts, and likewise the four bases of psychic power should be combined’ with the same obstacle-lists — an explicit acknowledgment, rare in this collection, of a structural design spanning three separate chapters.
Three chapters, one lesson made explicit
What earlier discourses in this project could only demonstrate through repetition, this closing verse states outright: the identical ten obstacles this project has traced across thirty discourses (AN 9.63 through AN 9.92) can each be met by mindfulness meditation, by right effort, or by the bases of psychic power, three genuinely different approaches converging on the same ten targets.
Closing the chapter, and its own colophon
This discourse closes Iddhipadavagga, the ninth chapter; the source's own colophon numbers it ‘fourth’ within the Second Fifty, continuing the restarted numbering already noted closing ch.6 and ch.8. One chapter remains before this nipāta's own great closing peyyāla begins.
Key terms
cetaso vinibandhā — “shackles of the heart” — the identical five items already met closing ch.7 and ch.8.
cattāro iddhipādā — “the four bases of psychic power” — the third and final remedy in this chapter series, closing it exactly as it opened at AN 9.83.
yatheva satipaṭṭhānā, padhānā caturopi ca, cattāro iddhipādā ca, tatheva sampayojaye — “just as the mindfulness meditations, so the efforts, and likewise the four bases of psychic power should be combined” — the source's own closing verse, explicitly naming the three-chapter parallel.
dasamaṁ — “tenth” — the bare ordinal closing this discourse, marking its place as the tenth and final discourse in this chapter.
iddhipādavaggo catuttho — “Iddhipādavagga, fourth” — the source's own colophon, continuing the Second Fifty's restarted chapter numbering already noted closing ch.6 and ch.8.
The text
The discourse in full: the same five shackles of the heart as AN 9.72 and AN 9.82, now answered by the four bases of psychic power. The source's own closing colophon and uddāna verse are untranslated in the English and are described rather than quoted here. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five shackles of the heart
§1“Mendicants, there are these five shackles of the heart. What five? Firstly, a mendicant isn’t free of greed for sensual pleasures. … These are the five shackles of the heart.
Four bases of psychic power
§2To give up these five shackles of the heart you should develop the four bases of psychic power. What four? It’s when a mendicant develops the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to enthusiasm, and active effort. They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to energy, and active effort. They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to mental development, and active effort. They develop the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to inquiry, and active effort. To give up these five shackles of the heart you should develop these four bases of psychic power.”
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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 does this discourse's obstacle-list compare to AN 9.72 and AN 9.82's?
Correct: B. The same obstacle-list closing all three chapters in this deliberate series.
Question 2 of 6
How does this discourse's closing verse confirm the three-chapter parallel, unlike most cross-references in this project?
Correct: B. A rare, explicit textual confirmation of a design this project usually has to infer.
Question 3 of 6
How many discourses total does this three-chapter series span?
Correct: B. Three chapters of ten discourses each, sharing the identical ten obstacle-lists.
Question 4 of 6
What does the source's own colophon number this chapter, continuing which pattern?
Correct: B. The same internally restarted numbering met at each chapter's close in the Second Fifty.
Question 5 of 6
What remains after this chapter closes?
Correct: B. The final chapter, closing the entire Book of the Nines.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare doctrinal teaching, matching AN 9.72 and AN 9.82's closings of the earlier two chapters.
