Pacchāsamaṇasutta — Andhakavindavagga — the twelfth chapter of the Fives
Setting
None stated; the discourse continues from AN 5.1, whose setting at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove is understood to hold
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
two paired five-item lists, describing fitness for a specific practical role
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short and practical
Why this discourse
Pacchāsamaṇa, a ‘second monk’, names the mendicant who accompanies a more senior one — on almsround, for instance. This discourse specifies exactly what makes such a companion genuinely useful, or genuinely useless.
Reading guide
A companion role, defined by fitness for the task
A pacchāsamaṇa walks behind and accompanies a senior mendicant; this discourse names precisely what makes that companionship valuable or worthless in practice.
Five practical failures
Poor physical spacing — walking too far away or too close behind; not relieving a full bowl; failing to warn when speech is bordering on a Vinaya offense; interrupting while the senior monk speaks; and simply lacking the wit to do any of this well.
The positive mirror, plus one addition
The positive list doesn't just negate each failure — it explicitly adds wisdom, brightness, and cleverness as the final quality, rather than merely ‘not witless’.
Valued for practical support and protection
The discourse's underlying logic: a pacchāsamaṇa's worth lies specifically in being a genuinely helpful second pair of hands and a second pair of eyes, catching mistakes — including speech that risks an actual monastic offense — before they become real problems.
What comes next
AN 5.113 returns to a familiar formula: enduring the five sense objects, now framed as the condition for entering right immersion.
Key terms
pacchāsamaṇa — “a second monk” — a companion accompanying a senior mendicant.
pattapariyāpannaṁ gaṇhati — “takes the bowl when it is full” — a practical duty of the companion role.
āpattisāmantā bhaṇamānaṁ nivāreti — “warns when speech is bordering on an offense” — the companion's protective function.
kathaṁ opāteti — “interrupts while speaking” — one of the disqualifying behaviors.
ajaḷo aneḷamūgo — “bright, clever” — part of the positive list's final quality.
The text
The discourse in full: five failures that disqualify a companion, then their positive counterparts. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
A companion you shouldn't take
§1“Mendicants, you shouldn’t take a second monk with five qualities. What five? They walk too far away or too close behind. They don’t take your bowl when it’s full. They don’t warn you when your speech is bordering on an offense. They keep on interrupting while you’re speaking. And they’re witless, dull, and idiotic. You shouldn’t take a second monk these five qualities.
A companion you should take
§2You should take a second monk with five qualities. What five? They don’t walk too far away or too close behind. They take your bowl when it is full. They warn you when your speech is bordering on an offense. They don’t interrupt while you’re speaking. And they’re wise, bright, and clever. You should take a second monk with these five qualities.”
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What does 'pacchāsamaṇa' mean?
Correct: A. This discourse's central role.
Question 2 of 10
What is one of the five disqualifying behaviors?
Correct: A. Poor physical spacing, one of five.
Question 3 of 10
What practical duty does a good companion perform with the bowl?
Correct: B. Pattapariyāpannaṁ gaṇhati.
Question 4 of 10
What protective function does a good companion serve regarding speech?
Correct: B. Āpattisāmantā bhaṇamānaṁ nivāreti.
Question 5 of 10
What does the positive list add, beyond simply negating 'witless'?
Correct: B. A positive quality, not merely an absence.
Question 6 of 10
What is the discourse's underlying logic for valuing a good companion?
Correct: B. Genuine practical usefulness.
Question 7 of 10
What happens if a companion interrupts while the senior monk is speaking?
Correct: B. Kathaṁ opāteti, one of the five failures.
Question 8 of 10
How is this discourse's paired structure similar to AN 5.111's?
Correct: B. The same paired skeleton applied to a different role.
Question 9 of 10
What comes right before this discourse in the chapter's sequence?
Correct: A. This chapter's opening discourse.
Question 10 of 10
What does AN 5.113 return to next?
Correct: B. A familiar formula, reused with new stakes.
