The Buddha presents a repeated elevenfold teaching on similarity in this grouped discourse.

AN 11.358-405 Similarity

Rūpataṇhāya… saddataṇhāya… gandhataṇhāya… rasataṇhāya… phoṭṭhabbataṇhāya… dhammataṇhāya…

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

Rūpataṇhāya…

“… Craving for sights …

saddataṇhāya…

craving for sounds …

gandhataṇhāya…

craving for smells …

rasataṇhāya…

craving for tastes …

phoṭṭhabbataṇhāya…

craving for touches …

dhammataṇhāya…

craving for ideas. …”

Qualities:

Craving

Craving

A driving ‘thirst’ that reaches out toward experiences, identities, or outcomes as the place to find satisfaction—“if only I had that.” It spins stories of lack, binds the mind to becoming, and invariably leads to suffering.

Also known as: wanting, yearning, longing, lit. thirst
Pāli: taṇha, abhijjhā
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Wisdom

Wisdom

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita, asammūḷha
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Last updated on July 27, 2026