The Buddha teaches a repeated formula on floods, yokes, grasping, ties, underlying tendencies, hindrances, aggregates, and fetters, showing that the four right efforts should be developed for their direct knowledge, complete understanding, and giving up in this grouped discourse.

SN 49.45-54 Floods, Etc.

“Pañcimāni, bhikkhave, uddhambhāgiyāni saṁyojanāni. Katamāni pañca? Rūparāgo, arūparāgo, māno, uddhaccaṁ, avijjā imāni kho, bhikkhave, pañcuddhambhāgiyāni saṁyojanāni.

Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, pañcannaṁ uddhambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya cattāro sammappadhānā bhāvetabbā. Katame cattāro? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu anuppannānaṁ …pe… uppannānaṁ kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ ṭhitiyā asammosāya bhiyyobhāvāya vepullāya bhāvanāya pāripūriyā chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati.

Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, pañcannaṁ uddhambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya ime cattāro sammappadhānā bhāvetabbā”ti.

(Vitthāretabbā.)

Dasamaṁ.

Oghavaggo pañcamo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Ogho yogo upādānaṁ,
ganthā anusayena ca;
Kāmaguṇā nīvaraṇā,
khandhā oruddhambhāgiyāti.

Sammappadhānasaṁyuttaṁ pañcamaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Pañcimāni, bhikkhave, uddhambhāgiyāni saṁyojanāni.

“Mendicants, there are five higher fetters.

Katamāni pañca?

What five?

Rūparāgo, arūparāgo, māno, uddhaccaṁ, avijjā

Desire for rebirth in the realm of luminous form, desire for rebirth in the formless realm, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance.

imāni kho, bhikkhave, pañcuddhambhāgiyāni saṁyojanāni.

These are the five higher fetters.

Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, pañcannaṁ uddhambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya cattāro sammappadhānā bhāvetabbā.

The four right efforts should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these five higher fetters.

Katame cattāro?

What four?

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu anuppannānaṁ …pe…

It’s when a mendicant generates enthusiasm, tries, makes an effort, exerts the mind, and strives so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise. …

uppannānaṁ kusalānaṁ dhammānaṁ ṭhitiyā asammosāya bhiyyobhāvāya vepullāya bhāvanāya pāripūriyā chandaṁ janeti vāyamati vīriyaṁ ārabhati cittaṁ paggaṇhāti padahati.

so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are completed by development.

Imesaṁ kho, bhikkhave, pañcannaṁ uddhambhāgiyānaṁ saṁyojanānaṁ abhiññāya pariññāya parikkhayāya pahānāya ime cattāro sammappadhānā bhāvetabbā”ti.

These four right efforts should be developed for the direct knowledge, complete understanding, finishing, and giving up of these five higher fetters.”

(Vitthāretabbā.)

(Tell in full as in SN 45.171–179, with the above as the final discourse.)

Dasamaṁ.

Oghavaggo pañcamo.

Tassuddānaṁ

Ogho yogo upādānaṁ,

Floods, yokes, grasping,

ganthā anusayena ca;

ties, and underlying tendencies,

Kāmaguṇā nīvaraṇā,

kinds of sensual stimulation, hindrances,

khandhā oruddhambhāgiyāti.

aggregates, and fetters high and low.

Sammappadhānasaṁyuttaṁ pañcamaṁ.

The Linked Discourses on the Right Efforts, the fifth section.

Topics & Qualities:

Desire

Desire

A wholesome motivation, interest, or objective that acts as the starting point for effort and application of will.

Also known as: aspiration, interest, wish, having an objective, intention, impulse
Pāli: chanda
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Direct knowledge

Direct knowledge

A deep, firsthand realization or knowing that arises from personal experience, not from study or conceptual understanding; it is an immediate, unmediated apprehension of truth.

Also known as: experiential understanding, direct experience
Pāli: abhiñña
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Formless

Formless

A meditative domain that transcends all perception of material form, progressing through the bases of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither-perception-nor-non-perception. These states represent refined levels of collectedness beyond attachment to physical phenomena.

Also known as: immaterial, surpassing forms
Pāli: arūpa
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Giving

Giving

The act of generosity, sharing, or offering to others without expecting anything in return. Giving is considered a foundational virtue in Buddhist practice, fostering selflessness and compassion.

Also known as: generosity, charity, donation, almsgiving, donating, philanthropy, providing with, gift with
Pāli: dāna
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Giving up

Giving up

The mental quality of renunciation and release from attachment. It delights in simplicity and freedom rather than in sensual pleasure. Giving up is not loss but the joyful abandoning of burden, opening the way to peace and insight.

Also known as: renunciation, relinquishment, letting go, abandonment
Pāli: nekkhamma
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Vigour

Vigour

Energetic effort and resilience in practice. It is the refusal to shrink back, the 'uphill' force that initiates and sustains wholesome actions against the gravity of habit.

Also known as: energy, effort, enthusiasm, zeal, application of will, persistence
Pāli: vīriya
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Last updated on July 27, 2026