Reading guide
A lesser royal aspiration
Where AN 5.135's prince aspired to kingship itself, this discourse's prince aspires to a lesser position: viceroy (oparajja), second to the throne.
Overlapping but distinct qualifications
Impeccable birth, physical attractiveness, and being beloved by his parents are shared with AN 5.135. But this discourse replaces being beloved by ‘town and country’ with being beloved by the armed forces, and replaces skill in royal arts with practical intelligence — astuteness, competence, and the ability to think through past, future, and present issues.
The identical closing goal, despite the lesser royal ambition
Even though the outer simile aspires to something less than full kingship, the spiritual application remains exactly the same: ending the defilements, not some lesser spiritual attainment.
A different five monastic qualities from AN 5.135
This discourse's mendicant reasons from ethical restraint, deep learning, mindfulness firmly established in the four kinds of mindfulness meditation (satipaṭṭhāna), energy, and wisdom — a noticeably different set from AN 5.135's faith, health, honesty, energy, and wisdom.
What comes next
AN 5.137 turns to something quite different: a short, almost proverb-like list of five who sleep little at night.
Key terms
The text
The prince's qualifications for viceroyship
§1“Mendicants, an anointed aristocratic king’s eldest son with five factors aspires to become a viceroy. What five? It’s when an anointed aristocratic king’s eldest son is well born on both his mother’s and father’s side, of pure descent, with irrefutable and impeccable genealogy back to the seventh paternal generation. He is attractive, good-looking, lovely, of surpassing beauty. He is dear and beloved to his parents. He is dear and beloved to the armed forces. He is astute, competent, and intelligent, able to think issues through as they bear upon the past, future, and present. He thinks: ‘I’m well born … attractive … dear and beloved to my parents … dear and beloved to the armed forces … I’m astute, competent, and intelligent, able to think issues through as they bear upon the past, future, and present. Why shouldn’t I aspire to become a viceroy?’ An anointed aristocratic king’s eldest son with these five factors aspires to become a viceroy.
The mendicant's five qualities
§2In the same way, a mendicant with five qualities aspires to end the defilements. What five? It’s when a mendicant is ethical, restrained in the monastic code, conducting themselves well and resorting for alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, they keep the rules they’ve undertaken. They’re very learned, remembering and keeping what they’ve learned. These teachings are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased, describing a spiritual practice that’s totally full and pure. They are very learned in such teachings, remembering them, reciting them, mentally scrutinizing them, and penetrating them theoretically. Their mind is firmly established in the four kinds of mindfulness meditation. They live with energy roused up for giving up unskillful qualities and embracing skillful qualities. They’re strong, staunchly vigorous, not slacking off when it comes to developing skillful qualities. They’re wise. They have the wisdom of arising and passing away which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering. They think: ‘I’m ethical … learned … mindful … energetic … wise. I have the wisdom of arising and passing away which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering. Why shouldn’t I aspire to end the defilements?’ A mendicant with these five qualities aspires to end the defilements.”
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