Reading guide
Five individuals, one list only
Unlike most paired discourses in this nipāta, this one gives only the negative list: one who gives then scorns, one who lives together then scorns, one who is gullible for gossip, one who is impulsive, and one who is dull and stupid.
Giving then scorning
A person gives another robes, almsfood, lodging, and medicine, then thinks ‘I give; this one receives’ — and scorns the recipient for having received. The generosity itself becomes the ground for contempt, rather than the receiver's gratitude or the giver's own satisfaction.
Living together then scorning
The identical pattern applied to intimacy rather than generosity: after living closely with someone for two or three years, familiarity itself breeds contempt, rather than closeness or affection.
Gullibility, fickleness, and dullness
The remaining three round out the portrait: someone too quick to believe whatever praise or criticism they hear about a third party; someone fickle in faith, devotion, fondness, and confidence; and someone who simply doesn't know the difference between skillful and unskillful, blameworthy and blameless, inferior and superior qualities.
What comes next
AN 5.142 turns to a more structured psychological portrait: a genuine four-quadrant matrix of wrongdoing and regret, each type given individually tailored counseling advice.
Key terms
The text
Five individuals found in the world
§1“Mendicants, these five individuals are found in the world. What five? One gives then scorns, one lives together then scorns, one is gullible for gossip, one is impulsive, and one is dull and stupid.
Giving then scorning
§2And how does an individual give then scorn? It’s when an individual gives an individual robes, almsfood, lodgings, and medicines and supplies for the sick. They think: ‘I give; this one receives.’ They give to them, then they scorn them. That’s how an individual gives then scorns.
Living together then scorning
§3And how does an individual live together then scorn? It’s when an individual lives with someone else for two or three years. They live together with them, then they scorn them. That’s how an individual lives together then scorns.
Gullible, impulsive, and dull
§4And how is an individual gullible for gossip? It’s when they’re very quick to believe what a certain individual says in praise or criticism of another. That’s how an individual is gullible for gossip. And how is an individual impulsive? It’s when a certain individual is fickle in faith, devotion, fondness, and confidence. That’s how an individual is impulsive. And how is an individual dull and stupid? It’s when they don’t know the difference between qualities that are skillful and unskillful, blameworthy and blameless, inferior and superior, and those with a portion of dark or bright. That’s how an individual is dull and stupid. These are the five individuals found in the world.”
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