None given — no place, audience, or occasion is named. Only the bare frame “This was said by the Buddha” opens the text
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing “mendicants” (bhikkhus) collectively
Form
A one-sentence prose statement, restated by a six-line verse
Position
The very first discourse of all 112 in the Itivuttaka — Book of the Ones, Chapter One, Iti 1
Length
under 1 minute to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — extremely short and plainly worded, though what exactly is promised repays a second look
Why this discourse, first of 112
Of all 112 teachings in the Itivuttaka, this is the one placed first — and it opens not with a story, a place, or a listener’s name, but with the bluntest possible bargain: give up one thing, and the Buddha personally guarantees you will never again be reborn into this world. The “one thing” named is greed. Nothing here explains who was present, where the Buddha was staying, or what prompted the statement — which is itself worth noticing, since it sets the tone for the entire collection that follows: doctrine stated so compactly that the teaching, not the occasion, has to carry all the weight.
Reading guide
A guarantee, not a suggestion
The verb the Buddha uses is not “it would help to” or “consider” — it is paṭijānāmi, “I guarantee, I promise, I personally vouch for.” That is an unusually strong claim, and it is worth sitting with rather than rushing past. The reward promised is equally specific: not enlightenment in general, but anāgāmitā, “non-return” — traditionally the third of four progressive stages of awakening, meaning one is never again reborn into the realm where the senses operate as they do now. This sutta is not claiming that giving up greed produces total liberation on the spot; it is making a narrower, still striking, claim about exactly where giving it up leads.
Greed as a root, not just a habit
Elsewhere in the canon, greed (lobha) is named as the first of three “roots” of unskillful action, alongside hatred and delusion — the taxonomy this whole chapter of the Itivuttaka works through one root at a time. Calling something a root rather than a symptom matters: the text is not asking mendicants to curb a particular greedy impulse on a particular day, but to uproot the underlying tendency from which any number of specific greedy impulses would otherwise keep sprouting.
Insight, not willpower alone
The verse adds a detail the prose statement leaves out: it is after greed has been “rightly understood” that “the discerning give it up.” The order matters. This is not a program of gritted-teeth suppression; the verb describing the letting-go follows directly from a verb of understanding. However greed is actually relinquished in practice, this text frames it as something arrived at through seeing clearly what greed is and does, not through willing it away by force alone.
The first of a set of six
Suttas 2 through 6 of this chapter repeat this discourse’s exact architecture — the same guarantee, the same six-line verse shape — substituting one factor at a time: hate, delusion, anger, disdain, conceit. Read together, Iti 1–6 function less like six independent stories and more like a short checklist, each entry isolating a single quality worth examining on its own terms.
Key terms
lobha — “greed”: grasping, wanting, acquisitiveness; traditionally the first of three unwholesome roots (mūla), alongside hatred and delusion
ekadhammaṃ — “one thing”: the formula’s key structural claim — that a single quality, if genuinely given up, is sufficient on its own for the stated result
anāgāmitā — “non-return”: the condition of a non-returner (anāgāmī), the third of four progressive stages of awakening, in which one is no longer reborn into the sense-desire realm
pajahatha — “give up, abandon” (imperative): stronger than restraint or management — full relinquishment of the thing named
pajānanti — “they rightly understand, discern”: the verse’s word for how the discerning arrive at giving greed up — through insight, stated before the act of abandoning
The text
The discourse in full: the opening frame, the Buddha’s one-sentence teaching, the verse that restates it, and the closing frame. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The teaching
§1This was said by the Buddha, the Perfected One: that is what I heard.
§2“Mendicants, give up one thing and I guarantee you non-return. What one thing? Greed is the one thing. Give it up, and I guarantee you non-return.” The Buddha spoke this matter. On this it is said:
The verse
§3“When overcome by greed
beings go to a bad place.
Having rightly understood that greed,
the discerning give it up.
Once they’ve given it up,
they never return to this world.”
§4This too is a matter that was spoken by the Blessed One: that is what I heard.
· · ·
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What single thing does the Buddha ask the mendicants to give up in this discourse?
Correct: C. Greed (lobha) is named as “the one thing” in this teaching.
Question 2 of 10
What does the Buddha guarantee to anyone who gives up this one thing?
Correct: B. The Pali term is anāgāmitā, “non-return,” the third of the four traditional stages of awakening.
Question 3 of 10
Is any place, individual audience, or occasion named for this teaching?
Correct: D. The sutta opens directly with “This was said by the Buddha... that is what I heard,” with no narrative setting, typical of the Itivuttaka.
Question 4 of 10
According to the verse, what happens to beings who are “overcome by greed”?
Correct: A. The verse states plainly: “When overcome by greed, beings go to a bad place.”
Question 5 of 10
How does the verse say “the discerning” come to give up greed?
Correct: C. “Having rightly understood that greed, the discerning give it up” — understanding precedes the act of abandoning.
Question 6 of 10
What is the closing line of the discourse?
Correct: B. This closing frame nearly mirrors the opening frame, bracketing the teaching and verse.
Question 7 of 10
Within the Itivuttaka’s traditional four-book structure, where does this discourse sit?
Correct: D. Iti 1 opens the entire collection.
Question 8 of 10
According to the reading guide, what is unusual about the strength of the Buddha’s promise here?
Correct: A. The reading guide highlights the strength of this specific verb as worth noticing.
Question 9 of 10
How many discourses in this opening chapter of the Itivuttaka share this exact structure (one factor named, the same guarantee, a matching verse shape)?
Correct: C. Iti 1–6 form a matched set: greed, hate, delusion, anger, disdain, and conceit, each treated in turn.
Question 10 of 10
Per the reading guide, is this sutta claiming that giving up greed produces total liberation immediately?
Correct: B. The text’s claim is narrower and more specific than total awakening: it names non-return precisely.
