The four floods of sensual pleasures, continued existence, views, and ignorance are described in brief. The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to directly knowing, full understanding, complete exhaustion, and giving up of these floods.

SN 45.171  Ogha sutta - Flood

Sāvatthinidānaṁ.

At Sāvatthi.

“Cattārome, bhikkhave, oghā. Katame cattāro? Kāmogho, bhavogho, diṭṭhogho, avijjogho ime kho, bhikkhave, cattāro oghā.

“Bhikkhus, there are these four |floods::torrents, deluge [oghā]| [of defilements]. What four? The |flood of sensual pleasures::torrent of sensual desires [kāmogha]|, the |flood of continued existence::torrent of becoming [bhavogha]|, the |flood of views::torrent of beliefs [diṭṭhogha]|, and the |flood of ignorance::torrent of not understanding how things have come to be [avijjogha]|. These are the four floods.

Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, catunnaṁ oghānaṁ abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya …pe… ayaṁ ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo bhāvetabbo”ti.

Bhikkhus, for the |direct knowledge::experiential understanding [abhiññāya]|, |full understanding::complete comprehension [pariññāya]|, |complete exhaustion::gradual and complete wearing away [parikkhaya]|, and for |giving up::letting go, abandoning [pahāna]| of these four floods, the Noble Eightfold Path |should be cultivated::should be developed [bhāvetabba]|.”

Last updated on June 10, 2026