Skip to reading
← Aṅguttara Nikāya

Desires

AN 8.77 · Icchāsutta

Terraces of ripening grain curve across a quiet green valley.

There Sāriputta addressed the mendicants: “Reverends, mendicants!”

“Reverend,” they replied. Sāriputta said this:

“Reverends, these eight individuals are found in the world. What eight?

First, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But material things don’t come to them. And so they sorrow and wail and lament, beating their breast and falling into confusion because they don’t get those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they do not acquire material things, they sorrow and lament. They’ve fallen from the true teaching.

Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And material things do come to them. And so they become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And when they acquire material things, they become intoxicated and negligent. They’ve fallen from the true teaching.

Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And material things don’t come to them. And so they sorrow and wail and lament, beating their breast and falling into confusion because they don’t get those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they do not acquire material things, they sorrow and lament. They’ve fallen from the true teaching.

Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But material things do come to them. And so they become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they acquire material things, they become intoxicated and negligent. They’ve fallen from the true teaching.

Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But material things don’t come to them. But they don’t sorrow and wail and lament, beating their breast and falling into confusion because they don’t get those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they do not acquire material things, they don’t sorrow and lament. They haven’t fallen from the true teaching.

Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And material things do come to them. But they don’t become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they acquire material things, they don’t become intoxicated and negligent. They haven’t fallen from the true teaching.

Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And material things don’t come to them. But they don’t sorrow and wail and lament, beating their breast and falling into confusion because they don’t get those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And when they do not acquire material things, they don’t sorrow and lament. They haven’t fallen from the true teaching.

Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But material things do come to them. But they don’t become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And when they acquire material things, they don’t become intoxicated and negligent. They haven’t fallen from the true teaching.

These eight individuals are found in the world.”

Connections

Collection & context

Books

About this edition

Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0

This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.