Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 45.166

Kinds of Barrenness

Khilasutta — Esanāvagga

Setting
Continuing directly from SN 45.165
Speakers
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
One sentence, matching this vagga's own established compressed presentation
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, in this vagga's own established rhythm

Why this discourse

Greed, hate, and delusion — the very three qualities already met as Set 1's own closing formula throughout the Gaṅgāpeyyāla vaggas — are here named directly as objects in their own right, under the new heading of “barrenness” (khila), rather than as a formula describing where the path culminates.

Reading guide

A familiar triad, in an unfamiliar role

This is the first discourse in Book V to treat “greed, hate, and delusion” as the OBJECT the path should be developed to know, understand, finish, and give up — rather than as part of the path's own closing formula describing what it culminates in removing. The same three terms, a genuinely different grammatical and doctrinal role, confirmed by direct reading.

Key terms

tayo khilā — “three kinds of barrenness” — a term for mental qualities that render the mind unreceptive or unyielding, like barren soil
rāgo doso moho — “greed, hate, and delusion” — the same three terms met throughout Book V's own Set 1 closing formula, now treated as this discourse's own direct object
abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya — the four verbs established at SN 45.161-162, still implicitly governing this discourse
ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo bhāvetabbo — “the noble eightfold path should be developed” — this discourse's own base-formula conclusion
chaṭṭhaṁ — “the sixth” — the Pāli root's own closing numeral for this discourse

The text

The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, there are these three kinds of barrenness. What three? Greed, hate, and delusion. These are the three kinds of barrenness. The noble eightfold path should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these three kinds of barrenness.”

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Self-check quiz

3 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 3
What three qualities does this discourse name as "barrenness" (khila)?
Correct: A. The same three terms already met throughout Book V's own Set 1 closing formula.
Question 2 of 3
What is genuinely different about how this discourse uses "greed, hate, and delusion," compared to their earlier appearances in Book V?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — a genuinely different grammatical and doctrinal role for familiar terms.
Question 3 of 3
What does the term "khila" (barrenness) suggest about greed, hate, and delusion in this discourse?
Correct: A. An agricultural metaphor for a mind that cannot receive or respond to wholesome influence.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 45.165 · Forms of Suffering