Sammāsamādhisutta — 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, reusing an earlier formula under new stakes
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, and familiar
Why this discourse
The same five sense objects and the same akkhama/khama pair already used at AN 5.85, but with an escalated stake: not a senior mendicant's standing among companions, but whether right immersion (sammāsamādhi) itself can be entered and maintained.
Reading guide
A third framing for one pentad
This is the same five sense objects — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches — and the same akkhama/khama (unable/able to endure) pair already used at AN 5.85, now reused under an entirely different consequence.
From social standing to meditative capacity
At AN 5.85, this same tolerance or intolerance of sense contact determined whether a senior mendicant was liked or disliked by companions. Here, the consequence is escalated: whether the mendicant is even capable (bhabba) of entering and remaining in right immersion at all.
The same root quality, different stakes each time
Read together, these two discourses suggest that basic tolerance of ordinary sense contact is foundational — not just to social ease, but to the possibility of meditative attainment itself.
The mirrored positive
As at AN 5.85, the positive list simply negates each item: enduring, rather than failing to endure, each of the five sense objects.
What comes next
AN 5.114 shifts entirely, to this chapter's own title discourse: a specific, newly named location, and direct instructions for how to speak to newcomers.
Key terms
sammāsamādhi — “right immersion” — the attainment at stake in this discourse.
abhabba / bhabba — “incapable” / “capable” — the discourse's central verdict.
akkhama / khama — unable / able to endure — reused from AN 5.85.
rūpa — sights, the first of the five sense objects.
phoṭṭhabba — touches, the fifth sense object.
The text
The discourse in full: inability, then ability, to endure the five sense objects, now as a condition for right immersion. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Incapable of right immersion
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant who has five qualities can’t enter and remain in right immersion. What five? It’s when a mendicant can’t endure sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. A mendicant who possesses these five qualities can’t enter and remain in right immersion.
Capable of right immersion
§2A mendicant who has five qualities can enter and remain in right immersion. What five? It’s when a mendicant can endure sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. A mendicant who possesses these five qualities can enter and remain in right immersion.”
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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 five sense objects does this discourse's list cover?
Correct: A. The same five sense objects as AN 5.85.
Question 2 of 10
What earlier discourse in this nipāta first used this same akkhama/khama pentad?
Correct: B. Cannot Endure, this chapter's third framing of the same material.
Question 3 of 10
At AN 5.85, what did this same tolerance or intolerance determine?
Correct: A. Liked or disliked, respected or not.
Question 4 of 10
What does this discourse escalate that consequence to?
Correct: B. Bhabba/abhabba sammāsamādhiṁ upasampajja viharituṁ.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'bhabba' mean?
Correct: B. The positive verdict.
Question 6 of 10
What does this pairing of discourses (AN 5.85 and 5.113) suggest?
Correct: B. A shared underlying quality, escalating stakes.
Question 7 of 10
How is the positive list constructed relative to the negative one?
Correct: B. Matching AN 5.85's own pattern.
Question 8 of 10
Which sense faculty does 'phoṭṭhabba' correspond to?
Correct: C. Touches, corresponding to the body.
Question 9 of 10
How long is this discourse, relative to others in this nipāta?
Correct: B. Brief, reusing an already-familiar formula.
Question 10 of 10
What does AN 5.114 shift to next?
Correct: B. Andhakavinda, giving the whole chapter its name.
