Vapakāsasutta — Gilānavagga — the thirteenth 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, on fitness for solitary practice
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — practical, on readiness rather than attainment
Why this discourse
A different question: not what impedes longevity, but what makes a mendicant fit or unfit to live apart from a Saṅgha community — contentment with material circumstances, and a mind oriented toward renunciation rather than sensuality.
Reading guide
Fitness for solitude, not attainment
This discourse doesn't ask about seniority or realization, but about readiness: what makes someone unfit, or fit, to live apart from the support structure of a monastic community.
Five signs of unfitness
Discontent with whatever robes, almsfood, lodging, and medicine one has — named across four of the five items — plus having a lot of sensual thoughts.
Content, oriented toward renunciation
The mirrored positive: content with whatever material support is received, and thinking a lot about renunciation (nekkhamma) rather than sensuality.
A recurring theme in this nipāta
Contentment with material circumstances, already the distinguishing element at AN 5.109 and part of AN 5.104's ‘delicate ascetic’ portrait, recurs here as the specific condition for readiness to live without a community's ongoing support.
What comes next
AN 5.128 restates this same contentment material, reframed as five kinds of suffering or happiness for an ascetic, rather than fitness for solitude.
Key terms
vapakāsa — “living apart”, away from the Saṅgha community — this discourse's subject.
asantuṭṭho / santuṭṭho — discontent / content — with whatever robes, almsfood, lodging, and medicine one has.
kāmasaṅkappabahula — having a lot of sensual thoughts — the disqualifying mental quality.
nekkhammasaṅkappabahula — thinking a lot about renunciation — the qualifying mental quality.
itarītara — “whatever kind, ordinary or so-so” — qualifying the material support one is content with, reused from AN 5.109.
The text
The discourse in full: five signs of unfitness for solitary practice, and their opposite. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Not fit to live apart
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant with five qualities is not fit to live apart from a Saṅgha community. What five? It’s when a mendicant is not content with any kind of robe, almsfood, lodging, and medicines and supplies for the sick. And they have a lot of sensual thoughts. A mendicant with these five qualities is not fit to live apart from a Saṅgha community.
Fit to live apart
§2A mendicant with five qualities is fit to live apart from a Saṅgha community. What five? It’s when a mendicant is content with any kind of robe, almsfood, lodging, and medicines and supplies for the sick. And they think a lot about renunciation. A mendicant with these five qualities is fit to live apart from a Saṅgha community.”
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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 question does this discourse ask, unlike AN 5.125–126?
Correct: B. Fitness for solitary practice.
Question 2 of 10
How many of the five items concern discontent with material support?
Correct: B. Four separate items, one for each category of support.
Question 3 of 10
What is the fifth disqualifying quality?
Correct: A. Kāmasaṅkappabahula.
Question 4 of 10
What is the positive counterpart to sensual thoughts, in the qualifying list?
Correct: A. Nekkhammasaṅkappabahula.
Question 5 of 10
What earlier discourse in this nipāta shares this discourse's contentment theme?
Correct: A. All Four Quarters, where contentment was the distinguishing element.
Question 6 of 10
Does this discourse assess a mendicant's attainment or seniority?
Correct: B. A different diagnostic than most of this nipāta's ideal-portrait discourses.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'itarītara' mean, reused from AN 5.109?
Correct: A. Qualifying the material support one is content with.
Question 8 of 10
How is the 'fit to live apart' list constructed relative to the 'not fit' list?
Correct: B. A clean, explicit mirror.
Question 9 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: B. The chapter on sickness, care, and readiness.
Question 10 of 10
What does AN 5.128 do with this same material?
Correct: B. The same contentment theme, a different framing.
