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# AN 4:199 · Craving (Taṇhā Sutta)
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/an-4-199/
- Published: 2026-06-01T02:57:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T16:34:59.000Z
- Description: Aṅguttara Nikāya · AN 4:199. Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Buddha, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Discourse, Pali, Early Buddhist, Library, #Import 2026-07-06 03:33

“Monks, I will teach you craving: the ensnarer that has flowed along, spread out, and caught hold, with which this world is smothered & enveloped like a tangled skein, a knotted ball of string, like matted rushes and reeds, and does not go beyond transmigration, beyond the planes of deprivation, woe, & bad destinations. Listen well, and I will speak.”

“Yes, lord,” the monks responded to him.

The Blessed One said: “And which craving is the ensnarer that has flowed along, spread out, and caught hold, with which this world is smothered & enveloped like a tangled skein, a knotted ball of string, like matted rushes and reeds, and does not go beyond transmigration, beyond the planes of deprivation, woe, & bad destinations? These 18 craving-verbalizations[1](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN4%5F199.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) dependent on what is internal and 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external.

“And which are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is internal? There being ‘I am,’ there comes to be ‘I am here,’ there comes to be ‘I am like this’ … ‘I am otherwise’ … ‘I am bad’ … ‘I am good’ … ‘I might be’ … ‘I might be here’ … ‘I might be like this’ … ‘I might be otherwise’ … ‘May I be’ … ‘May I be here’ … ‘May I be like this’ … ‘May I be otherwise’ … ‘I will be’ … ‘I will be here’ … ‘I will be like this’ … ‘I will be otherwise.’ These are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is internal.

“And which are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external? There being ‘I am because of this \[or: by means of this\],’ there comes to be ‘I am here because of this,’ there comes to be ‘I am like this because of this’ … ‘I am otherwise because of this’ … ‘I am bad because of this’ … ‘I am good because of this’ … ‘I might be because of this’ … ‘I might be here because of this’ … ‘I might be like this because of this’ … ‘I might be otherwise because of this’ … ‘May I be because of this’ … ‘May I be here because of this’ … ‘May I be like this because of this’ … ‘May I be otherwise because of this’ … ‘I will be because of this’ … ‘I will be here because of this’ … ‘I will be like this because of this’ … ‘I will be otherwise because of this.’ These are the 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external.

“Thus there are 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is internal and 18 craving-verbalizations dependent on what is external. These are called the 36 craving-verbalizations. Thus, with 36 craving-verbalizations of this sort in the past, 36 in the future, and 36 in the present, there are 108 craving-verbalizations.

“This, monks, is craving: the ensnarer that has flowed along, spread out, and caught hold, with which this world is smothered & enveloped like a tangled skein, a knotted ball of string, like matted rushes and reeds, and does not go beyond transmigration, beyond the planes of deprivation, woe, & bad destinations.”

Note

1\. *Taṇhā-vicaritāni,* literally, things evaluated by craving. The past participle here, *vicaritāni,* is related to the noun, *vicāra,* which is classed as a verbal fabrication, i.e., a necessary precondition for speech (see [MN 44](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/mn-44/)). A person devoid of craving would still be able to verbalize, but would not contemplate in the above terms, which are so basic to ordinary thought patterns.

See also: [DN 15](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/dn-15/); [MN 2](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/mn-2/); [SN 12:20](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-12-20/); [SN 22:47](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-22-47/); [AN 6:49](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/an-6-49/); [Dhp 339–343](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/dhp-24/); [Sn 4:5](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-4-5/); [Sn 4:9–10](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/snp-4-9/)

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*Translated by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu. © 2014 / rev. 2017 Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu — released under the [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) licence, for free distribution only. Source: [dhammatalks.org](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/AN/AN4%5F199.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (Metta Forest Monastery).*