Micchāvāyāmasutta — 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, closing this run and the chapter's own colophon
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — addressed specifically to nuns; closes the chapter
Why this discourse
The final pair in this run's path-factor sequence — wrong effort and wrong mindfulness — closes both the nun-specific run begun at AN 5.115 and the chapter itself, with its own colophon and mnemonic verse.
Reading guide
The final pair in this sequence
Continuing directly from AN 5.118–119's pattern, this discourse names the path's sixth and seventh factors: wrong effort (micchāvāyāma) and wrong mindfulness (micchāsati).
The pattern completed, but not exhaustively
Across AN 5.118–120, three consecutive pairs of the eightfold path's eight factors appear: view/intention, speech/action, and effort/mindfulness — notably stopping short of the remaining two factors, right livelihood and right immersion, which this reading guide does not speculate about further.
The whole nun-specific run, reviewed
AN 5.115–120 together name a wide range of failures — stinginess, poor judgment, jealousy, wrong view, wrong speech, wrong effort — all converging on the identical hell/heaven verdict formula, addressed exclusively to nuns.
The chapter's close
The colophon ‘Dasamaṁ. Andhakavindavaggo dutiyo’ — the tenth discourse, the second Andhakavindavagga by the traditional count — follows the mechanism explained in full at AN 5.10.
The uddāna's opening lines
The mnemonic verse names this chapter's discourses by key terms: kulūpaka (visiting families), pacchāsamaṇa (second monk), samādhi, andhakavinda, then macchari, vaṇṇanā, and issā (stingy, praise, jealous) opening the nun-specific run, trailing into the verse's remaining, untranslated lines.
Key terms
micchāvāyāma / sammāvāyāma — wrong effort / right effort — the path's sixth factor.
micchāsati / sammāsati — wrong mindfulness / right mindfulness — the seventh factor.
magga — the eightfold path; three of its eight factors, in consecutive pairs, close this chapter.
Andhakavindavaggo dutiyo — “the second Andhakavindavagga” — this chapter's closing colophon.
yathābhataṁ nikkhittā — the vivid stock verdict recurring across the entire six-discourse run this discourse closes.
The text
The discourse in full: unexamined judgment, wrong effort and mindfulness, wasted gifts, then their correction. The chapter's closing colophon and Pāli mnemonic verse are part of the source but are not translated text, and are described rather than reproduced here. 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 has wrong effort and wrong mindfulness, and 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 has right effort and right mindfulness, and doesn’t waste gifts given in faith. A nun with these five qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there.”
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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 two items fill this discourse's varying middle?
Correct: A. The eightfold path's sixth and seventh factors.
Question 2 of 10
Which two path factors are notably absent from this three-discourse sequence?
Correct: B. The sequence stops short of the path's final two factors.
Question 3 of 10
How many discourses total make up the nun-specific run this discourse closes?
Correct: B. AN 5.115 through AN 5.120.
Question 4 of 10
What range of failures does the whole run, taken together, cover?
Correct: B. A wide range, all converging on the same verdict formula.
Question 5 of 10
What colophon closes this chapter?
Correct: B. The tenth discourse, the second Andhakavindavagga.
Question 6 of 10
What earlier discourse in this nipāta first explained this project's convention for chapter-closing colophons?
Correct: B. Cited here rather than re-explained.
Question 7 of 10
What does the chapter's mnemonic verse name in its opening lines?
Correct: B. Kulūpaka, pacchāsamaṇa, samādhi, andhakavinda, macchari, vaṇṇanā, issā.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'micchāsati' mean?
Correct: A. The negative form of the path's seventh factor.
Question 9 of 10
Who is addressed throughout the entire six-discourse run this discourse closes?
Correct: B. Bhikkhunī, continuing from AN 5.115.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter comes next in the Fives, after this one closes?
