Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourses 9.95–112

Nine Verbs on Greed

Untitled in the source — Rāgapeyyāla — the tenth chapter of the Nines, continued

Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
Nine verbs of ending crossed against the two nine-fold sets established at AN 9.93-94, compressed into a single peyyāla page standing for 18 individually numbered discourses
Length
~1 minute to read the compressed text; the full 18-discourse expansion would take much longer
A familiar multiplication, seen four times before
Nine verbs crossed against a small set of foundational lists is the same compression pattern already met at AN 4.277-303, AN 6.143-169, AN 7.618-644, and AN 8.121-147
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — the compressed text is brief; understanding what it stands for requires holding the multiplication in mind

Why this discourse

AN 9.95–112 takes the two nine-fold sets established at AN 9.93–94 — the nine perceptions and the nine progressive attainments — and multiplies each against nine verbs of ending — complete understanding, complete ending, giving up, ending, vanishing, fading away, cessation, giving away, and letting go — compressing what would be 18 individually numbered discourses into a single page.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Each of the two nine-fold sets already established for insight into greed — the nine perceptions, the nine progressive attainments — should also be developed for greed's complete understanding, complete ending, giving up, ending, vanishing, fading away, cessation, giving away, and letting go, nine further framings of the same underlying practice.

Nine verbs, one shared structure

The nine verbs move from cognitive grasp (complete understanding) through active relinquishment (giving up, giving away, letting go) to descriptions of the process itself unfolding (ending, vanishing, fading away, cessation) — nine angles on what amounts to the same underlying transformation, each treated as worth stating in the source's own accounting even though the practice prescribed (the same two nine-fold sets) never changes.

Two sets times nine verbs equals eighteen

The arithmetic is straightforward and exact: two nine-fold sets (perceptions, attainments), each crossed against nine verbs, produces exactly 18 — matching the discourse range AN 9.95 through AN 9.112 this single page stands for. This is a smaller multiplication than the corresponding pages in AN 4, 6, 7, and 8, since this nipāta has only two foundational sets rather than three.

A familiar closing mechanism, not a new discovery

By this point in the project, this compression pattern is well established: a small number of foundational lists, crossed against a fixed set of verbs, standing in for a large range of individually numbered but substantively identical discourses. This page follows that established mechanism exactly, scaled to this nipāta's own two foundational sets rather than three.

Key terms

rāgassa pariññāya — “for the complete understanding of greed” — the first of the nine verbs, opening the compressed sequence.
pahānāya — “giving up” — one of the nine verbs, naming active relinquishment rather than passive ending.
nirodhāya — “cessation” — one of the nine verbs, echoing the same term used for the third noble truth.
cāgāya, paṭinissaggāya — “giving away, letting go” — the eighth and ninth verbs, closing the sequence with two further framings of relinquishment.
nava dhammā bhāvetabbā — “nine things should be developed” — the shared closing formula, repeated for each of the nine verbs crossed against each of the two nine-fold sets.

The text

The discourse in full: nine verbs of ending, each crossed against the two nine-fold sets established at AN 9.93-94. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

Nine verbs, compressed

§1“For the complete understanding of greed … complete ending … giving up … ending … vanishing … fading away … cessation … giving away … letting go of greed … these nine things should be developed.”

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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. Two sets times nine verbs equals exactly 18, matching the AN 9.95-112 range.
Question 2 of 6
What two nine-fold sets does this page cross against the nine verbs?
Correct: B. The two sets established immediately before this compressed page.
Question 3 of 6
Why does this page's multiplication produce a smaller total than the equivalent pages in AN 4, 6, 7, and 8?
Correct: B. Two sets, not three, is the structural difference already noted at AN 9.93.
Question 4 of 6
According to the guide, what do the nine verbs collectively describe?
Correct: B. Different framings of essentially the same shift, not nine distinct processes.
Question 5 of 6
How does this compression pattern relate to earlier work in this project?
Correct: B. A familiar, well-established closing mechanism, not a new discovery.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare formula, matching the two untitled discourses immediately preceding it.
Answered 0 of 6 · Correct 0