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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 10.34

Ordination

Upasampadāsutta — Upālivagga — the fourth chapter of the Tens

Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
Venerable Upāli questioning the Buddha
Form
A single question, a single ten-item answer
Length
~2 minutes to read
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — shares its opening third with AN 10.33

Why this discourse

Upāli asks what qualifies a mendicant to give full ordination — that is, to serve as preceptor. The same core of ethical restraint, learning, and mastery of both codes reappears from AN 10.33, but the remaining seven qualities turn from arbitration to pastoral care: nursing the sick, easing dissatisfaction, dispelling remorse, correcting misconceptions, and guiding a student through the three higher trainings.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

A preceptor needs ten qualities: ethical conduct restrained by the code, deep learning, mastery of both monastic codes, and the practical ability to care for the sick, settle dissatisfaction, dispel remorse, dissuade misconceptions, and encourage a student in the higher ethics, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom.

Same opening, different ending

The first three qualities are word-for-word identical to AN 10.33's opening three — ethical restraint, learning, mastery of both codes — but from the fourth quality on, this discourse turns entirely away from dispute-settling toward the ongoing pastoral duties of a preceptor toward the student they ordain.

A list that will recur twice more, unchanged

This exact seven-item pastoral tail — caring for the sick, settling dissatisfaction, dispelling remorse, dissuading misconceptions, and the three higher trainings — reappears verbatim in AN 10.35 (for giving dependence) and AN 10.36 (for having a novice attend), with only the question at the top changing.

Three duties, three trainings

The final three items — encouraging the higher ethics, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom — name the classic threefold training (sikkhā) that structures the whole of monastic practice, framed here as something a preceptor must be equipped to actively teach, not merely embody.

Key terms

upasampadā — “full ordination” — the formal act admitting someone to the full status of a mendicant, this discourse's own title.
upajjhāya — “preceptor” — the senior mendicant who gives ordination and takes ongoing responsibility for the student, though the term itself is implicit rather than named in this discourse's own segments.
kukkuccaṁ vinodetuṁ — “to dispel remorse” — one of the preceptor's pastoral duties, addressing a student's guilt or anxiety over past conduct.
adhisīla, adhicitta, adhipaññā — “the higher ethics, the higher mind, the higher wisdom” — the classic threefold training, named here as the preceptor's final three teaching duties.
diṭṭhigataṁ dhammato vivecetuṁ — “to rationally dissuade someone from misconceptions that come up” — another of the preceptor's seven pastoral duties.

The text

The discourse in full: Upāli's question, and the Buddha's ten qualities of a preceptor. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

Upāli's question

§1“Sir, how many qualities should a mendicant have to give ordination?” “Upāli, a mendicant should have ten qualities to give ordination. What ten?

Ten qualities

§2It’s when a mendicant is ethical, restrained in the monastic code, conducting themselves well and resorting for alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, they keep the rules they’ve undertaken. They’re very learned, remembering and keeping what they’ve learned. These teachings are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased, describing a spiritual practice that’s entirely full and pure. They are very learned in such teachings, remembering them, rehearsing them, mentally scrutinizing them, and penetrating them theoretically. Both monastic codes have been passed down to them in detail, well analyzed, well mastered, well evaluated in both the rules and accompanying material. They’re able to care for the sick or get someone else to do so. They’re able to settle dissatisfaction or get someone else to do so. They’re able to dispel remorse when it has come up. They’re able to rationally dissuade someone from misconceptions that come up. They’re able to encourage someone in the higher ethics, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom. A mendicant should possess these ten qualities to give ordination.”

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Self-check quiz

6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 6
What does Upāli ask about in this discourse?
Correct: A. The qualifications for serving as preceptor.
Question 2 of 6
How do this discourse's opening three qualities compare to AN 10.33's?
Correct: B. The same three-item core opens both discourses before they diverge.
Question 3 of 6
From the fourth quality onward, what does this discourse turn to?
Correct: B. A preceptor's ongoing duties toward the person they ordain.
Question 4 of 6
According to the guide, where does this exact seven-item pastoral list reappear?
Correct: B. The same seven duties recur twice more, unchanged, for two other kinds of authorization.
Question 5 of 6
What are the final three qualities named as?
Correct: B. The classic sikkhā triad, framed as teaching duties here.
Question 6 of 6
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given, as throughout this chapter.
Answered 0 of 6 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousAN 10.33 · A Judge