The Moha Sutta
On Abandoning Delusion (Moha) — Becoming a Non-returner (Anāgāmī)
[181] Thus have I heard:
This discourse the Blessed One spoke — the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Fully Awakened One — therefore I have heard as follows:
“Bhikkhus (bhikkhu), when you abandon one particular quality, I guarantee you the attainment of Non-returning (anāgāmī). And what is that one quality?
It is this, bhikkhus: when you abandon delusion (moha) — the darkness of ignorance that binds beings to wrong view and suffering — then I guarantee you the attainment of Non-returning (anāgāmī).”
After the Blessed One had uttered this teaching in prose, he put it into verse:
“Those who see clearly — truly understand delusion (moha) — that which leads beings astray to wretched states; when it is abandoned, having abandoned it, they shall not come back to this world again at any time.”
This too the Blessed One declared; therefore I have heard it thus.
End of the Third Moha Sutta.
The Gotha (Godha) Sutta
On Abandoning Anger (Kodha / Gotha) — Becoming a Non-returner (Anāgāmī)
[182] Thus have I heard:
This discourse the Blessed One spoke — the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Fully Awakened One — therefore I have heard as follows:
“Bhikkhus (bhikkhu), when you abandon one particular quality, I guarantee you the attainment of Non-returning (anāgāmī). And what is that one quality?
It is this, bhikkhus: when you abandon anger / fury (kodha / gotha) — the corrosive force that incites harm and binds beings to lower states — then I guarantee you the attainment of Non-returning (anāgāmī).”
After the Blessed One had declared this truth in prose, he rendered it in verse:
“Those who see clearly — truly understand anger (kodha / gotha) — that which drives beings, in wrath, toward wretchedness; once abandoned, having abandoned it, they shall not return to this world at any time.”
This too the Blessed One spoke; therefore I have heard it thus.
End of the Fourth Gotha Sutta.
Short Pāli Glossary (concise, intensive)
- Moha (โมหะ) — delusion; ignorance, especially the根 of misunderstanding and wrong view.
- Kodha / Gotha (โทสะ / โกธะ) — anger, fury, ill-will; a root defilement that occasions harm.
- Anāgāmī (อนาคามี) — “Non-returner”; a noble person who will not be reborn in the sensuous world.
- Bhikkhu (ภิกษุ) — ordained monastic; a mendicant disciple.
- Arahant (อรหันต์) — one fully liberated from defilements.
- “Those who see clearly” (sottāvā / paññavantaṃ — phrasing in verse) — indicates those with penetrative insight who perceive arising and passing, cause and cessation.