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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 5.14

In Detail

Vitthatasutta — Balavagga — the second 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
The same five named again, then each defined in turn by a fixed formula
Length
~4 minutes to read
Northern parallel
The individual definitions, especially the four absorptions, are pan-canonical formulas found across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — the chapter's most detailed discourse so far, carrying the full four-jhāna formula

Why this discourse

AN 5.13 promised detail and this discourse delivers it, following the identical structure AN 5.2 used for the sekhabala: each power named, then defined by and what is the power of…, closed by this is called the power of…. Faith and wisdom are defined here in the exact same words as AN 5.2 — this discourse adds nothing new for either. What is new is mindfulness and immersion, taking the place hiri and ottappa held in the earlier version, and immersion in particular brings the full four-absorption formula into this chapter for the first time.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Faith and wisdom are defined identically to AN 5.2; energy is defined identically to AN 5.2 as well; mindfulness is defined as utmost alertness and the ability to recall what was said and done long ago; immersion is defined as the four absorptions in full.

Three definitions inherited without change

Faith (the nine-quality recollection of the Buddha), energy (roused up for giving up the unskillful and taking up the skillful), and wisdom (insight into arising and passing away) are worded here exactly as AN 5.2 worded them for the sekhabala. This discourse does not redefine any of the three terms the two lists share; a reader who has read AN 5.2 can move through these three paragraphs quickly, checking only that the wording matches.

Mindfulness, defined by memory

The power of mindfulness is defined specifically by recall: utmost mindfulness and alertness, able to remember and recall what was said and done long ago. This is a narrower definition than ‘mindfulness’ sometimes carries in translation — not present-moment awareness in general, but specifically the capacity to retain and retrieve distant memory, tested against a concrete standard rather than described introspectively.

Immersion, defined by the four absorptions in full

Where the sekhabala left immersion out entirely, this list defines the power of immersion with the complete, formulaic description of the four jhāna — rapture and bliss born of seclusion; rapture and bliss born of immersion with internal clarity; equanimous bliss, mindful and aware; and finally, beyond pleasure and pain, pure equanimity and mindfulness. This exact formula appeared already in this series, discussed at length at AN 4.163; it is not re-explained paragraph by paragraph here, since the earlier page already did that work.

What the definitions together imply

Laid side by side, the standard five powers cover a wider practical range than the sekhabala did: a devotional object (faith), a directional effort (energy), a memory capacity (mindfulness), a set of four meditative attainments (immersion), and a specific insight (wisdom). AN 5.15, immediately following, will make this range explicit by locating each of the five inside a different one of the canon’s other major four-item lists.

Key terms

satimā — “mindful” — qualified here by paramena satinepakkena, utmost mindfulness and alertness, and defined specifically by the capacity for distant recall.
cirakataṁ cirabhāsitaṁ — “what was done and said long ago” — the concrete test this discourse attaches to the power of mindfulness, rather than a general description.
paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ — “the first absorption” — rapture and bliss born of seclusion, the first of the four states defining the power of immersion, fully discussed already at AN 4.163.
vitakkavicāra — “placing the mind and keeping it connected” — present in the first absorption and stilled by the second, marking the transition between the two.
upekkhāsatipārisuddhi — “pure equanimity and mindfulness” — the fourth absorption's defining quality, beyond both pleasure and pain.

The text

The discourse in full: the five named again, then each defined in turn, including the complete four-absorption formula for immersion. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

The five, named again

§1“Mendicants, there are these five powers. What five? The powers of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom.

The power of faith

§2And what is the power of faith? It’s when a noble disciple has faith in the Realized One’s awakening: ‘That Blessed One is perfected, a fully awakened Buddha, accomplished in knowledge and conduct, holy, knower of the world, supreme guide for those fit for training, teacher of gods and humans, awakened, blessed.’ This is called the power of faith.

The power of energy

§3And what is the power of energy? It’s when a noble disciple lives 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. This is called the power of energy.

The power of mindfulness

§4And what is the power of mindfulness? It’s when a noble disciple is mindful. They have utmost mindfulness and alertness, and can remember and recall what was said and done long ago. This is called the power of mindfulness.

The power of immersion

§5And what is the power of immersion? It’s when a noble disciple, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected. As the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, they enter and remain in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. And with the fading away of rapture, they enter and remain in the third absorption, where they meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, personally experiencing the bliss of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.’ With the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, they enter and remain in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called the power of immersion.

The power of wisdom

§6And what is the power of wisdom? It’s when a noble disciple is wise. They have the wisdom of arising and passing away which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering. This is called the power of wisdom. These are the five powers.”

· · ·

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
How are faith, energy, and wisdom defined in AN 5.14 compared to AN 5.2?
Correct: B. The three shared terms between the two lists get the identical treatment both times.
Question 2 of 10
How is the power of mindfulness defined here?
Correct: B. A narrower, more concrete definition than 'mindfulness' sometimes carries.
Question 3 of 10
How is the power of immersion defined?
Correct: B. The full four-jhāna formula, already discussed at length at AN 4.163.
Question 4 of 10
Where was the four-absorption formula already discussed at length in this series?
Correct: B. The guide cross-references rather than re-explaining the formula paragraph by paragraph.
Question 5 of 10
What replaces hiri and ottappa in this version of the five powers, compared to the sekhabala?
Correct: B. The substitution first flagged at AN 4.163, now given full definitions.
Question 6 of 10
What does the guide say the five definitions together cover, when laid side by side?
Correct: B. A genuinely varied set of capacities, not five synonyms.
Question 7 of 10
What does AN 5.15, the next discourse, do with this same list?
Correct: B. Making the range implied by AN 5.14's definitions explicit.
Question 8 of 10
What is the defining quality of the fourth absorption, as given here?
Correct: B. Upekkhāsatipārisuddhi — the formula's final term.
Question 9 of 10
What marks the transition from the first to the second absorption in this formula?
Correct: A. Present in the first absorption, stilled by the second.
Question 10 of 10
Where is AN 5.14 set?
Correct: B. Consistent with the chapter's pattern so far.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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