Reading guide
Three shared items, two varied
This discourse keeps AN 5.125's first three items unchanged: doing what is unsuitable, not knowing moderation, and eating unfit food. What changes is the final two.
Unethical conduct and bad friends
In place of AN 5.125's unchastity and unsuitable timing, this discourse names dussīla (unethical conduct) and pāpamitta (bad friends) as the final two factors impeding longevity.
A shift from bodily to moral and social causes
Read together, AN 5.125 and 5.126 suggest two distinct kinds of threat to a long life: purely physical/bodily discipline (chastity, timing) on one hand, and moral and social influence (one's own ethics, the company one keeps) on the other.
The mirrored positive
Ethical conduct (sīlavā) and good friends (kalyāṇamitta), alongside the same shared three positive counterparts.
What comes next
AN 5.127 turns to a different question entirely: what makes a mendicant fit or unfit to live apart from a Saṅgha community.
Key terms
The text
Things that impede longevity
§1“Mendicants, these five things impede longevity. What five? Doing what is unsuitable, not knowing moderation in what is suitable, eating food unfit for consumption, unethical behavior, and bad friends. These are the five things that impede longevity.
Things that promote longevity
§2These five things promote longevity. What five? Doing what is suitable, knowing moderation in what is suitable, eating food fit for consumption, ethical conduct, and good friends. These are the five things that promote longevity.”
Self-check quiz
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