Sākacchasutta — Āghātavagga — the seventeenth 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
Venerable Sāriputta, addressing the mendicants
Form
single five-item list
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, term-dense
Why this discourse
Sāriputta names the classical fivefold body of the teaching — ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom — as the standard for who is genuinely fit to hold a discussion with fellow practitioners: not personal accomplishment alone, but the ability to field questions about it.
Reading guide
Fitness for discussion, precisely defined
This discourse doesn't ask simply whether someone has attained these five qualities, but whether they can also answer questions that come up when discussing them — a double bar, combining personal accomplishment with the capacity to articulate and defend it.
The fivefold body of the teaching
Ethics (sīla), immersion (samādhi), wisdom (paññā), freedom (vimutti), and the knowledge and vision of freedom (vimuttiñāṇadassana) — a classical five-part progression from moral conduct through meditative stability, insight, liberation itself, and finally reflective certainty about that liberation.
A demanding standard
Each item requires two things at once: being personally accomplished in it, and being able to field others' questions about accomplishment in it — ruling out both the merely knowledgeable non-practitioner and the genuinely accomplished but inarticulate practitioner.
Sāriputta as the standard-setter
This is the first of several discourses in this chapter voiced by Sāriputta rather than the Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly on matters of communal practice and conduct.
A twin discourse follows
AN 5.164 restates this exact same five-part formula, changing only what it qualifies someone for: not discussion, but sharing a common way of life.
Key terms
sīla, samādhi, paññā, vimutti, vimuttiñāṇadassana — ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom — the classical fivefold body of the teaching.
sākaccha — “discussion” — this discourse's title concept, the fitness being defined.
sampanno — “accomplished, complete” — the state required in each of the five qualities.
pañhaṁ byākattā — “one who answers questions” — the second, articulative requirement alongside personal accomplishment.
sabrahmacārī — “spiritual companions” — fellow practitioners, the audience this fitness is measured against.
The text
The discourse in full: the fivefold standard for fitness to discuss the teaching. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Fit to discuss the teaching
§1There Venerable Sāriputta addressed the mendicants: “Reverends, mendicants!” “Reverend,” they replied. Sāriputta said this: “A mendicant with five qualities is fit to hold a discussion with their spiritual companions. What five? A mendicant is personally accomplished in ethics, and answers questions that come up when discussing accomplishment in ethics. They’re personally accomplished in immersion, … They’re personally accomplished in wisdom, … They’re personally accomplished in freedom, … They’re personally accomplished in the knowledge and vision of freedom, and they answer questions that come up when discussing accomplishment in the knowledge and vision of freedom. A mendicant with these five qualities is fit to hold a discussion with their spiritual companions.”
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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
Who delivers this discourse?
Correct: A. One of several Sāriputta-voiced discourses in this chapter.
Question 2 of 10
What five qualities make up the fivefold body of the teaching named here?
Correct: A. Sīla, samādhi, paññā, vimutti, vimuttiñāṇadassana.
Question 3 of 10
What double requirement does this discourse set for each of the five qualities?
Correct: A. Combining personal accomplishment with articulative capacity.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'vimuttiñāṇadassana' mean?
Correct: A. The fifth and final item in the fivefold body of the teaching.
Question 5 of 10
What kind of person does this discourse's double requirement rule out?
Correct: A. Accomplishment alone, or articulateness alone, isn't sufficient.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'sākaccha' mean?
Correct: A. This discourse's title concept.
Question 7 of 10
What is the first item in the fivefold sequence?
Correct: A. The sequence begins with moral conduct.
Question 8 of 10
What discourse immediately follows, reusing this exact same five-part formula?
Correct: A. The same formula, applied to a different kind of fitness.
Question 9 of 10
What does AN 5.164 change about this formula?
Correct: A. The same fivefold standard, differently applied.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'Resentment', this session's seventeenth chapter.
