Paṭhamasamayavimuttasutta — Tikaṇḍakīvagga — the fifteenth 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, a reused formula applied to a distinct technical category
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — familiar material, one distinct new term to understand
Why this discourse
This discourse reuses AN 5.89's exact five-item decline list verbatim, but applies it to a narrower, specific category: a mendicant who is samayavimutta — temporarily or conditionally free, whose liberation depends on supportive circumstances and can be lost through neglect.
Reading guide
A recognized, distinct category of freedom
Samayavimutta names a mendicant whose freedom is temporary or conditional, distinct from unconditional, permanent liberation (asamayavimutta). This category's freedom depends on supportive circumstances continuing, which is precisely what makes its potential decline worth naming.
The identical five factors from AN 5.89
Relishing work, talk, sleep, and company, and not reviewing the extent of one's mind's freedom — word for word the same list already used at AN 5.89 for a trainee's (sekha) decline, now applied to this distinct category.
Why the same list fits both categories
Both a trainee and a temporarily-free mendicant share the same vulnerability: their attainment is not yet fixed, and the same restless, unreviewed habits that threaten a trainee's progress threaten a temporarily-free mendicant's own continued freedom.
The mirrored positive
Not relishing work, talk, sleep, or company, and reviewing the extent of one's mind's freedom — the identical negation already used at AN 5.89.
What comes next
AN 5.150 closes this chapter with a companion discourse for this same samayavimutta category, replacing two of the five factors with more concrete practical ones.
Key terms
samayavimutta — “temporarily, conditionally free” — a mendicant whose liberation depends on supportive circumstances, distinct from permanent freedom.
kammārāmatā — relishing work — the first decline factor, reused from AN 5.89.
saṅgaṇikārāmatā — relishing company — the fourth decline factor.
yathāvimuttaṁ cittaṁ paccavekkhati — reviewing the extent of one's mind's freedom — the fifth factor.
asamayavimutta — “unconditionally, permanently free” — the contrasting category this discourse's subject is distinguished from.
The text
The discourse in full: five decline factors reused from AN 5.89, applied to a temporarily-free mendicant. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
What leads to decline
§1“Mendicants, these five things lead to the decline of a mendicant who is temporarily free. What five? They relish work, talk, sleep, and company. And they don’t review the extent of their mind’s freedom. These five things lead to the decline of a mendicant who is temporarily free.
What does not lead to decline
§2These five things don’t lead to the decline of a mendicant who is temporarily free. What five? They don’t relish work, talk, sleep, and company. And they review the extent of their mind’s freedom. These five things don’t lead to the decline of a mendicant who is temporarily free.”
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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 does 'samayavimutta' mean?
Correct: B. This discourse's specific subject category.
Question 2 of 10
Where did this discourse's exact five-item decline list previously appear?
Correct: A. Reused word for word, applied to a different category.
Question 3 of 10
What category did AN 5.89's decline list originally describe?
Correct: B. Now reapplied to a temporarily-free mendicant.
Question 4 of 10
What do both categories share, according to this discourse's guide?
Correct: B. A shared underlying vulnerability.
Question 5 of 10
What is the fourth decline factor?
Correct: A. Saṅgaṇikārāmatā.
Question 6 of 10
What is the fifth decline factor?
Correct: A. Yathāvimuttaṁ cittaṁ na paccavekkhati.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'asamayavimutta' name, in contrast to this discourse's subject?
Correct: A. The contrasting category.
Question 8 of 10
How is the 'non-decline' list constructed relative to the decline list?
Correct: B. A clean mirror image, matching AN 5.89's pattern.
Question 9 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: B. Continuing the chapter's varied material.
