A single direct instruction, repeated identically for each of the five aggregates
Length
Short — one instruction, elided across the middle three aggregates
Northern parallel
The "palm stump" (tālāvatthukata) image for permanently eliminated phenomena recurs across the Canon in similar instructional contexts
Difficulty
Approachable — direct imperative instruction rather than analysis
Why this discourse
After four discourses analyzing what understanding accomplishes — for ascetics, for the stream-enterer, for the arahant — this discourse turns to direct command: "you should give up" desire for each aggregate, described with an image of permanent, irreversible removal — cut off at the root, like a palm stump, unable to arise again.
Reading guide
A shift from analysis to instruction
Every discourse in Antavagga so far has described or defined — what sakkāya is, what suffering is, who has understood, who is a stream-enterer, who is an arahant. This discourse instead commands: "you should give up any desire, greed, relishing, and craving for form."
The shift in grammatical mood — analysis giving way to direct imperative — marks a shift in what the discourse is for: not describing an accomplished state from the outside, but directly instructing mendicants in what to actually do.
Four things to give up, one at a time
"Desire, greed, relishing, and craving" (chanda, rāga, nandī, taṇhā) names four closely related but distinct modes of wanting, given together as what must be relinquished toward each aggregate in turn — form, then feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness, the middle three elided in the source but following the identical pattern.
The palm stump image
"That form will be given up, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future" — a palmyra palm, once its growing tip is severed, cannot regenerate the way many other cut plants can; the stump that remains will never again put out new growth.
This is one of the strongest images of permanence used anywhere in this book for an inner accomplishment — not weakened, not suppressed, not temporarily absent, but structurally incapable of returning.
Setting up its own companion discourse
This instruction, applied to desire and craving alone, is immediately followed by SN 22.112, which repeats the identical instruction with an additional, longer list of attachment-related terms added — the same palm-stump image, now covering a still wider range of what must be given up.
Key terms
chanda — desire, wish — the first of the four things to be given up toward each aggregate
rāga — greed, passion — the second, closely related to but distinct from chanda
nandī — relishing, delight — the third, the pleasure taken in the object once obtained
taṇhā — craving — the fourth and most technical term, the same craving named as the origin of suffering throughout this book
tālāvatthukata — made like a palm stump — the image for permanent, irreversible removal, since a severed palmyra palm cannot regenerate
The text
The complete discourse: the instruction to give up desire for each aggregate, with the palm-stump image of permanent removal. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, you should give up any desire, greed, relishing, and craving for form. Thus that form will be given up, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future.
§2You should give up any desire, greed, relishing, and craving for feeling … perception … choices … consciousness. Thus that consciousness will be given up, cut off at the root, made like a palm stump, obliterated, and unable to arise in the future.”
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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
How does this discourse differ in grammatical mood from the discourses before it in this vagga?
Correct: A. "You should give up" replaces the descriptive definitions of the surrounding discourses.
Question 2 of 10
What four things does the discourse instruct mendicants to give up toward each aggregate?
Correct: A. Chanda, rāga, nandī, and taṇhā — four closely related modes of wanting.
Question 3 of 10
What image describes the result of giving up desire for form?
Correct: A. One of the strongest images of permanent removal used anywhere in this book.
Question 4 of 10
Why is a palm stump specifically used for this image?
Correct: A. The stump that remains will never again put out new growth.
Question 5 of 10
How many of the five aggregates does the instruction cover?
Correct: A. Form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness, all following the identical instruction.
Question 6 of 10
What does the shift to direct instruction suggest about this discourse's purpose?
Correct: A. A shift from description to practical, actionable command.
Question 7 of 10
What does this discourse's companion, SN 22.112, add to the same instruction?
Correct: A. The identical instruction and image, now covering a wider range of what must be given up.
Question 8 of 10
What does taṇhā, the last of the four terms, connect to elsewhere in this book?
Correct: A. The identical craving named in the four-truths trio, SN 22.103-105, earlier in this vagga.
Question 9 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Continuing Antavagga's own setting.
Question 10 of 10
What comes next in Antavagga after this discourse?
Correct: A. Closing Antavagga with an expanded version of the same instruction.
