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Anguttara Nikāya 
The Numerical Discourses  
 
Dasakanipāta  
(Book of the Tens) 
 
AN 10.92 
 
Bhaya Sutta  
“Discourse on Fear” 
 
Translated by Bhikkhu Candana 
 
Copyright © Bhikkhu Candana 2023 
 
Once, the householder Anāthapiṇḍika approached The Blessed One, and after paying his 
respects, sat to one side, and The Blessed One spoke to him by saying:  
“Householder, when the Noble Disciple has overcome five fear-causing dangers and threats, 
while also possessing the four factors of a Stream Winner; the one who has clearly and 
penetratingly seen with wisdom the Noble Pattern, then, if he so wishes, he could declare:  
‘I am done with rebirth into the hell realms, the animal realm,  
The realm of hungry and dejected ghosts;  
I am done with ever reappearing into states of misery and loss,  
And with any sort of birth in evil or horrible states.  
I am indeed a Stream Winner, and therefore I will never fall from that state,  
For I am on my unmistakable and direct course,  
Headed on the straight Path to Nibbāna Supreme.’ 
 
“And what are the five fears and threats they have overcome?

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1. “Householder, whoever intentionally destroys, kills, or harms living beings, whether directly 
or indirectly, then because of that intentional action, they create for themselves the situations 
where they will have to face the consequences in the form of fears and threats that will come to 
them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain they 
bring.  
“But, when the person has abandoned the destruction and killing of living beings, then they 
eliminate for themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and threats, and in 
this manner, they release themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain 
such evil and unwholesome actions would have brought.  
“Thus, the householder who refuses to harm or kill living beings, protects those around him and 
himself, too! This in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats, connected to the destruction of life. 
2. “Next, householder, whoever intentionally steals from another, or takes what is not freely 
given, whether directly or indirectly, then because of that intentional action, they create for 
themselves the situations where they will have to face consequences, in the form of fears and 
threats that will come to them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and physical 
suffering and pain they bring.  
“But, when the person has abandoned stealing or taking of what is not given, then they eliminate 
for themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and threats, thus releasing 
themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain such evil and 
unwholesome actions would have brought.  
“Thus, the householder who refuses to steal or take what is not given, protects those around him 
and himself, too! This, in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats connected to stealing or to taking 
what is not given. 
3. “Householder, whoever intentionally engages in any kind of sexual misconduct, whether 
directly or indirectly, then because of that intentional action, they create for themselves the 
situations where they will have to face consequences in the form of fears and threats that will 
come to them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain 
they bring.  
“But, when the person has abandoned engaging in sexual misconduct, then they eliminate for 
themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and threats, thus releasing 
themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain such evil and 
unwholesome actions would have brought.  
“Thus, the householder who refuses to engage in sexual misconduct, protects those around him 
and himself, too! This, in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats connected to engaging in sexual 
misconduct.

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4. “Householder, whoever intentionally lies or speaks falsely, or engages in dishonest behavior, 
whether directly or indirectly, then because of that intentional action, they create for themselves 
the situations where they will have to face consequences, in the form of fears and threats that will 
come to them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain 
they bring.  
“But, when the person has abandoned lies or speaking falsely, or engaging in dishonest behavior, 
then they eliminate for themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and 
threats, thus releasing themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain 
such evil and unwholesome actions would have brought.  
“Thus, the householder who refuses to lie or speak falsely, or engage in dishonest behavior, 
protects those around him and himself, too! This, in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats 
connected to speaking falsely or engaging in dishonest behavior. 
5. “Householder, whoever intentionally, whether directly or indirectly, consumes any 
intoxicating substances, be it wine or liquor, or any kinds of substances that delude and 
hallucinate the mind, resulting in heedlessness, then because of that intentional action, they 
create for themselves the situations where they will have to face consequences, in the form of 
fears and threats that will come to them, sooner or later, along with the mental, emotional, and 
physical suffering and pain they bring.  
“But, when the person has abandoned the taking of any intoxicating substances, be it wine or 
liquor, or any kinds of substances that delude and hallucinate the mind, resulting in heedlessness, 
then they eliminate for themselves any situations where they would have to face fears and 
threats, thus releasing themselves from the mental, emotional, and physical suffering and pain 
such evil and unwholesome action would have brought.  
“Thus, the householder who refuses to consume any intoxicating substances, be it wine or liquor, 
or any kinds of substances that delude and hallucinate the mind, resulting in heedlessness, 
protects those around him and himself, too! This, in turn, extinguishes any fears or threats, 
connected to the consumption of intoxicating and mind-altering substances. 
“And what, householder, are the four factors of a Stream Winner, that such a Noble Disciple 
possesses? 
6. “Here, householder, the Noble Disciple possesses unshakable faith in his heart towards The 
Blessed One, knowing for certain that:  
 
‘The Blessed One is an Arahant, Perfectly Awakened, 
He is supremely endowed with knowledge and conduct,  
The Well-Gone, The Knower of the worlds,  
The Incomparable Tamer of those to be tamed,  
The Teacher of gods and humans,  
The Enlightened and Blessed.’

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7. “Again, householder, the Noble Disciple possesses unshakable faith in his heart towards The 
Dhamma, knowing for certain that:  
 
‘The Dhamma of The Blessed One is Well-Expounded,  
Realizable here and now,  
It is timeless, inviting direct examination,  
It unmistakably leads onwards,  
It is to be realized by the wise, 
For themselves.’ 
 
8. “Again, householder, the Noble Disciple possesses unshakable faith in his heart towards The 
Sangha of Noble Disciples, knowing for certain that:  
 
‘The Sangha of The Blessed One’s Noble Disciples has come to the Good Path, 
The Straight Path, the Wise Path, the Path of Mutual Appreciation and Understanding.  
They are the Four Pairs that comprise the Eight Great Beings,  
Who are the True Venerable Ones, Worthy of Offerings and Hospitality;  
The Ones to be revered with clasped hands,  
The Incomparable Field of Merit for the Entire World.’  
 
9. “Again, householder, the Noble Disciple lives with virtue, possessing the virtuous heart that is 
so loved by the Noble Ones, for it is unbroken, flawless, spotless, impeccable, praised and 
recognized by the wise as leading to freedom, untouched by any kinds of corruptions; thus he 
finds his heart softly and naturally gliding and landing into samādhi, with ease. 
“These, therefore, are the four factors that such a Noble Disciple possesses, householder. 
“In this manner, householder, when the Noble Disciple has overcome five fear-causing dangers 
and threats, while also possessing the four factors of a Stream Winner, then, if he wishes to, he 
could declare:  
 
‘I am done with rebirth into the hell realms, the animal realm,  
The realm of hungry and dejected ghosts;  
I am done with ever reappearing into states of misery and loss,  
And with any sort of birth in evil or horrible states.  
I am indeed a Stream Winner, and therefore I will never fall from that state,  
For I am on my unmistakable and direct course,  
Headed on the straight Path to Nibbāna Supreme.’”

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10. “And what is the Noble Pattern, the correct measure that is to be seen and thoroughly 
penetrated with wisdom? 
“Here, householder, the Noble Disciple spends his time reflecting on his experiences as he 
contemplates:  
‘When this is present, then this comes to be; when this arises, this also arises as a consequence. 
But when this is not present, this too, does not come to be; and when this comes to an end and 
ceases, this also comes to an end and ceases.’ 
Thus, he comes to understand:  
‘In the presence of ignorance as their condition, habitual drives arise; In the presence of 
habitual drives as its condition, consciousness or sense awareness arises; In the presence of 
sense awareness or consciousness as their condition, mentality and materiality arise; In the 
presence of mentality and materiality as their condition, the six sense spheres arise; In the 
presence of the six sense spheres as its condition, contact arises; In the presence of contact as its 
condition, feeling arises; In the presence of feeling as its condition, craving arises; In the 
presence of craving as its condition, grabbing arises; In the presence of grabbing as its 
condition, becoming arises; In the presence of becoming as its condition, rebirth arises; and in 
the presence of rebirth as their condition, ageing and death, grieving, wailing, distress, torment, 
depression, and anguish arise. Thus, this whole accumulation of suffering arises. 
‘But with the remainder-less fading away and ending of ignorance, comes the ending of habitual 
drives; with the ending of habitual drives, comes the ending of consciousness or sense 
awareness; with the ending of consciousness or sense awareness, comes the ending of 
mentality/materiality; with the ending of mentality/materiality, comes the ending of the six sense 
spheres; with the ending of the six sense spheres, comes the ending of contact; with the ending of 
contact, comes the ending of feeling; with the ending of feeling, comes the ending of craving; 
with the ending of craving, comes the ending of grabbing; with the ending of grabbing, comes 
the ending of becoming; with the ending of becoming, comes the ending of rebirth; with the 
ending of rebirth, comes the ending of ageing and death, grieving, wailing, distress, torment, 
depression, and anguish. In this manner, this whole accumulation of suffering comes to an end 
and ceases.’ 
“This is the Noble Pattern, the correct measure that is to be seen and thoroughly penetrated with 
wisdom. 
“Therefore, householder, when the Noble Disciple has overcome the five fear-causing dangers 
and threats, while also possessing the four factors of a Stream Winner; the one who has clearly 
and penetratingly seen with wisdom the Noble Pattern, then, if he wishes to, he could declare:  
 
‘I am done with rebirth into the hell realms, the animal realm,  
The realm of hungry and dejected ghosts;

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I am done with ever reappearing into states of misery and loss,  
And with any sort of birth in evil or horrible states.  
I am indeed a Stream Winner, and therefore I will never fall from that state,  
For I am on my unmistakable and direct course,  
Headed on the straight Path to Nibbāna Supreme.’” 
 
 
Sādhu 
Sādhu 
Sādhu
