DiscoverANAN 6AN 6.113

The Buddha teaches on discontent, presenting a sixfold teaching for disciples on the path.

AN 6.113 Discontent

“Tayome, bhikkhave, dhammā. Katame tayo? Arati, vihiṁsā, adhammacariyā. Ime kho, bhikkhave, tayo dhammā. Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tiṇṇaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya tayo dhammā bhāvetabbā. Katame tayo? Aratiyā pahānāya muditā bhāvetabbā, vihiṁsāya pahānāya avihiṁsā bhāvetabbā, adhammacariyāya pahānāya dhammacariyā bhāvetabbā. Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tiṇṇaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya ime tayo dhammā bhāvetabbā”ti.

Sattamaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Tayome, bhikkhave, dhammā.

“Mendicants, there are these three things.

Katame tayo?

What three?

Arati, vihiṁsā, adhammacariyā.

Discontent, cruelty, and unprincipled conduct.

Ime kho, bhikkhave, tayo dhammā.

These are the three things.

Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tiṇṇaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya tayo dhammā bhāvetabbā.

To give up these three things you should develop three things.

Katame tayo?

What three?

Aratiyā pahānāya muditā bhāvetabbā, vihiṁsāya pahānāya avihiṁsā bhāvetabbā, adhammacariyāya pahānāya dhammacariyā bhāvetabbā.

You should develop rejoicing to give up discontent, harmlessness to give up cruelty, and principled conduct to give up unprincipled conduct.

Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, tiṇṇaṁ dhammānaṁ pahānāya ime tayo dhammā bhāvetabbā”ti.

These are the three things you should develop to give up those three things.”

Sattamaṁ.

Qualities:

Cruelty

Cruelty

☁️ dark quality

The wish to cause pain or the enjoyment of another’s suffering. Rooted in aversion and moral blindness, cruelty hardens the heart and erases compassion.

Also known as: abuse, hurting, fierceness, inhumanity, injuring, viciousness
Pāli: vihiṁsā
View all discourses →
Harm

Harm

☁️ dark quality

Intention or action that causes injury or suffering to oneself or others. It arises from aversion and heedlessness and destroys trust and safety. The opposite of non-harm, it obscures compassion and leads to regret.

Also known as: injury causing behavior, destructiveness, bad, evil
Pāli: pāpaka
View all discourses →
Non-harm

Non-harm

☀️ bright quality

The intention of harmlessness, rooted in the understanding that all beings tremble at violence and fear death.

Also known as: non-violence, non-injury, harmlessness, non-killing, non-hurting
Pāli: avihiṃsā, ahiṁsa
View all discourses →
Unprincipled conduct

Unprincipled conduct

☁️ dark quality

Conduct that disregards moral restraint and ignores the consequences of harm done to oneself or others through body or speech. Such behavior clouds the mind and leads to regret and further decline.

Also known as: lacking in moral principles, lacking in ethics, immoral, wrong action
Pāli: dussīlya, micchākammanta
View all discourses →

Last updated on July 27, 2026

View Pāli source ↗