Vaṇṇanāsutta — 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, addressed to nuns, sharing AN 5.115's verdict formula
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — addressed specifically to nuns; handled here plainly
Why this discourse
Continuing the hell/heaven verdict formula from AN 5.115, this discourse names five failures of discernment and judgment: misplaced praise and criticism, given without examination, misplaced faith, and mismanaging gifts given in faith.
Reading guide
A different fault-cluster, same verdict formula
Where AN 5.115 named five kinds of stinginess, this discourse names five failures of judgment, still closing with the identical hell/heaven verdict.
Judgment without examination, a recurring first pair
Praising the blameworthy and criticizing the praiseworthy, both explicitly done ‘without examining or scrutinizing’ (ananuvicca apariyogāhetvā) — the failure isn't necessarily malice, but a lack of the discernment that should precede any public assessment of someone's character.
Misplaced faith, two more failures
Arousing others' faith in things that don't deserve it, and failing to arouse faith in things that genuinely do — a parallel failure of discernment applied to what deserves confidence rather than to people.
Wasting gifts given in faith
The fifth item, saddhādeyyaṁ vinipāteti, names mismanagement of what lay supporters have given specifically out of their own trust. This discourse doesn't specify exactly how such gifts are ‘wasted’, and this reading guide does not speculate beyond what the text states.
A structural pattern beginning here
The ‘unexamined praise and criticism’ opening pair and the ‘wasting gifts given in faith’ closing item will both recur unchanged through AN 5.117–120, with only the middle three items varying each time.
What comes next
AN 5.117 keeps this same two-plus-one frame, swapping in jealousy and stinginess as the middle items.
Key terms
ananuvicca apariyogāhetvā — “without examining or scrutinizing” — the qualifier on both failures of judgment.
avaṇṇāraha / vaṇṇāraha — deserving of criticism / deserving of praise.
pasāda — faith, confidence — misplaced or withheld in the third and fourth items.
saddhādeyya — gifts given in faith — at risk in the fifth item.
vinipāteti — “wastes, ruins” — the fifth item's central verb.
The text
The discourse in full: five failures of discernment, then their correction. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Placed in hell
§1“Mendicants, a nun with five qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there. What five? Without examining or scrutinizing, she praises those deserving of criticism, and criticizes those deserving of praise. She arouses faith in things that are dubious, and doesn’t arouse faith in things that are inspiring. And she wastes gifts given in faith. A nun with these five qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there.
Placed in heaven
§2A nun with five qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there. What five? After examining and scrutinizing, she criticizes those deserving of criticism, and praises those deserving of praise. She doesn’t arouse faith in things that are dubious, and does arouse faith in things that are inspiring. And she doesn’t waste gifts given in faith. A nun with these five qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there.”
· · ·
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 kind of fault-cluster does this discourse name, distinct from AN 5.115's?
Correct: B. Misplaced praise, criticism, and faith.
Question 2 of 10
What qualifies the first two failures, praising the blameworthy and criticizing the praiseworthy?
Correct: B. Ananuvicca apariyogāhetvā — a failure of discernment, not necessarily malice.
Question 3 of 10
What are the third and fourth items about?
Correct: A. A parallel failure of discernment applied to confidence rather than people.
Question 4 of 10
What is the fifth item?
Correct: A. Saddhādeyyaṁ vinipāteti.
Question 5 of 10
Does this discourse specify exactly how gifts given in faith are wasted?
Correct: B. Left unspecified in the source.
Question 6 of 10
What two elements of this discourse's structure will recur unchanged through AN 5.117–120?
Correct: A. A fixed frame with a varying middle.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'ananuvicca apariyogāhetvā' mean?
Correct: A. The qualifier on the first pair of failures.
Question 8 of 10
How is the heaven-bound version of this discourse constructed?
Correct: B. The correction of all five failures.
Question 9 of 10
What verdict formula does this discourse share with AN 5.115?
Correct: B. The same vivid stock phrase.
Question 10 of 10
What does AN 5.117 swap in as its middle items?
Correct: A. Keeping the same fixed opening and closing frame.
