None given — no place, audience, or occasion is named
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing “mendicants” collectively
Form
A one-sentence prose statement, restated by a six-line verse
Position
Book of the Ones, Chapter One, Iti 10 — hate revisited under the “complete understanding” formula, closing this chapter
Length
under 1 minute to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — simple wording; useful as a capstone for the whole chapter
Why this discourse closes the chapter
Hate first appeared at Iti 2, given up in exchange for non-return. Here, at the close of this opening chapter, it returns for a second treatment — directly known, completely understood, grown dispassionate toward, and given up, in order to end suffering — completing a pattern shared with greed at Iti 1 and Iti 9. With this sutta, the chapter’s ten teachings complete a clear, deliberate arc.
Reading guide
Closing a matched pair
Iti 9 revisited greed; Iti 10 revisits hate. Together they complete a symmetry: of the six factors named in Iti 1–6 (greed, hate, delusion, anger, disdain, conceit), exactly two — greed and hate — along with conceit, are given a second, more demanding treatment before this chapter ends. Delusion, anger, and disdain are not revisited. Whether that omission is meaningful or simply reflects how the chapter happened to be assembled, the text itself does not say — but the pattern is there for a careful reader to notice.
Same reused verse strategy
As with greed at Iti 9, the verse given here is identical, word for word, to the verse already used for hate at Iti 2: “When overcome by hate, beings go to a bad place...” The prose teaching has been upgraded to the fourfold “complete understanding” formula; the verse is carried over exactly. This is the second instance of the same pattern seen at Iti 9, reinforcing the idea that these verses function as freestanding, general statements rather than as text bound tightly to one specific surrounding formula.
The chapter’s arc, looking back
Read start to finish, this opening chapter moves from six single-factor teachings built around the promise of non-return (Iti 1–6), through a discourse establishing a fuller, more demanding fourfold method applied first to the totality of experience itself (Iti 7), and finally to three specific factors revisited under that fuller method (Iti 8, 9, 10). The chapter’s shape is not accidental repetition; it is a structured intensification, ending not with a new list of defilements but with a deeper way of addressing three already named.
What comes next
The next discourse, Iti 11, begins the second chapter of the Book of the Ones, moving beyond the roots and near-roots examined so far to new territory — a natural point to pause and take stock of what this first chapter, taken as a whole, has actually offered: not a long narrative, but ten short, precisely matched lessons in how a small number of core obstacles are named, understood, and let go of.
Key terms
dosa — “hate”: the factor first named at Iti 2, examined here a second time under the fuller “complete understanding” formula
pariññā — “complete understanding”: the deeper knowing this sutta requires of hate, beyond the simple “give it up” instruction of Iti 2
the reused verse — this sutta’s verse is identical, word for word, to the verse given for hate at Iti 2, matching the same pattern seen with greed at Iti 9
dukkhassa anta — “the end of suffering”: the reward named here, in place of the non-return promised at Iti 2 for the same factor
the chapter’s arc — Iti 1–6 (single factors, non-return) → Iti 7 (the all, the fourfold method) → Iti 8–10 (conceit, greed, hate revisited, ending suffering)
The text
The discourse in full: the opening frame, the Buddha’s one-sentence teaching, the verse that restates it (identical in wording to the verse given for hate at Iti 2), 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, without directly knowing and completely understanding hate, without dispassion for it and giving it up, you can’t end suffering. By directly knowing and completely understanding hate, having dispassion for it and giving it up, you can end suffering.” The Buddha spoke this matter. On this it is said:
The verse
§3“When overcome by hate
beings go to a bad place.
Having rightly understood that hate,
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
Which factor is examined in this discourse?
Correct: D. Hate, first introduced at Iti 2, returns here under the “complete understanding” formula.
Question 2 of 10
What is this sutta’s verse identical to?
Correct: C. As with greed at Iti 9, the verse is reused unchanged from its first appearance.
Question 3 of 10
Of the six factors introduced in Iti 1 through 6, how many receive a second, fuller treatment before this chapter ends?
Correct: B. Conceit (Iti 6, 8), greed (Iti 1, 9), and hate (Iti 2, 10) are each treated twice; delusion, anger, and disdain are not revisited.
Question 4 of 10
What reward does this sutta promise for completely understanding hate?
Correct: A. This differs from the non-return specifically promised for giving up hate at Iti 2.
Question 5 of 10
According to the reading guide, how does this chapter’s overall structure unfold?
Correct: C. The reading guide describes this as a structured intensification, not accidental repetition.
Question 6 of 10
What four-step sequence does the prose teaching in this sutta require for hate?
Correct: B. The same fourfold sequence used at Iti 7, 8, and 9.
Question 7 of 10
According to the verse, what happens to beings “overcome by hate”?
Correct: D. Identical wording to the verse at Iti 2.
Question 8 of 10
Is any specific place, individual, or occasion named in this sutta?
Correct: C. Consistent with the rest of the Itivuttaka.
Question 9 of 10
What does the reading guide say comes next, immediately after this discourse?
Correct: B. Iti 10 closes the first chapter; Iti 11 opens the next.
Question 10 of 10
What is the closing line of this discourse?
Correct: A. The same closing frame used throughout the Itivuttaka.
