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 4 — fourth of a matched set of six
Length
under 1 minute to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — simple wording; the interesting question is how this factor differs from Iti 2's “hate”
Why this discourse names a fourth, more specific factor
With the three classic roots of greed, hate, and delusion covered in the first three teachings of this chapter, Iti 4 moves to a narrower target: anger. The move is worth pausing on, since anger (kodha) is not usually counted as a fourth root alongside the traditional three — it is something more specific, and this reading guide takes that specificity as its main thread.
Reading guide
Beyond the three roots
Iti 1 through 3 worked through greed, hate, and delusion — the three mūla, the roots from which unwholesome states are traditionally said to grow. Iti 4 shifts to a different kind of term. Anger (kodha) appears elsewhere in the canon not as one of the foundational three but as a more specific, situational flare-up: a sudden reactive response to a particular provocation, rather than a standing underlying disposition.
Anger and hate: overlapping, not identical
It is tempting to read “anger” here as simply another name for the “hate” already covered in Iti 2, and the two are certainly related — both involve aversion. But where dosa (hate) names the underlying root capable of expressing itself in countless ways, kodha (anger) names one particular, recognizable expression of it: the flash of heat that arises in response to a specific trigger. Distinguishing a root from one of its expressions is a useful habit of mind this text implicitly encourages, even though it never states the distinction explicitly — the prose formula simply moves from the general to the more particular without comment.
Same formula, same guarantee
Mechanically, nothing else changes: the same guarantee of non-return, the same six-line verse. Whatever the exact technical relationship between anger and hate, the practical instruction is identical — understand it, and give it up.
A defilement named again elsewhere
Anger recurs by name in other parts of the canon among lists of qualities that cloud or corrupt the mind — grouped alongside things like resentment, denigration, and hostility as obstacles that specifically interfere with clarity and composure, distinct from (if related to) the three foundational roots. Seeing kodha named on its own here, immediately after the three roots, fits that broader pattern: it is worth treating in its own right, not simply folded into “hate” and dismissed as already covered.
Key terms
kodha — “anger”: a reactive flash of aversion triggered by a specific provocation, distinct from the standing disposition of dosa (hate)
dosa — “hate”: the broader underlying root of aversion, covered in Iti 2; anger is one particular expression of this root rather than a fourth root in its own right
mūla — “root”: the traditional term for greed, hate, and delusion as foundational sources of unwholesome action; anger is not usually counted among these three
anāgāmitā — “non-return”: the same guarantee held out here for giving up anger as for greed, hate, and delusion in the preceding suttas
pajahatha — “give up, abandon” (imperative): the same verb of full relinquishment used throughout this set of six teachings
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? Anger 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 anger
beings go to a bad place.
Having rightly understood that anger,
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. Anger (kodha) is named as “the one thing” in Iti 4.
Question 2 of 10
According to the reading guide, is anger (kodha) traditionally counted as a fourth root alongside greed, hate, and delusion?
Correct: B. The reading guide is careful to distinguish anger from the traditional three-root scheme.
Question 3 of 10
How does the reading guide distinguish anger (kodha) from hate (dosa)?
Correct: D. The guide frames this as root versus expression, not as two unrelated qualities.
Question 4 of 10
What reward is guaranteed for giving up anger?
Correct: C. The same guarantee of anāgāmitā used throughout this set of six discourses.
Question 5 of 10
What happens, per the verse, to beings “overcome by anger”?
Correct: A. Matching the wording used for greed, hate, and delusion in the previous three suttas.
Question 6 of 10
Is any specific place, individual, or occasion named in this sutta?
Correct: B. Consistent with the rest of the Itivuttaka’s spare form.
Question 7 of 10
According to the reading guide, where else in the canon does anger (kodha) appear as a named factor?
Correct: D. The reading guide notes this broader pattern of anger being named in its own right.
Question 8 of 10
Per the verse, how do “the discerning” come to give up anger?
Correct: B. As with the other suttas in this set, understanding precedes abandoning.
Question 9 of 10
What is the fourth discourse’s place within the Itivuttaka’s structure?
Correct: C. Iti 4 continues the pattern begun with Iti 1 (greed), Iti 2 (hate), and Iti 3 (delusion).
Question 10 of 10
What is the closing line of this discourse?
Correct: B. The same closing frame used throughout this set of six teachings.
