Sājīvasutta — 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, identical to AN 5.163
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, a direct restatement
Why this discourse
The exact same fivefold formula as AN 5.163, reapplied: not fitness to discuss the teaching, but fitness to share a common way of life (sājīva) with spiritual companions — a subtle but real shift, from verbal exchange to sustained communal existence.
Reading guide
An identical formula, a different application
Ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom — the same fivefold body of the teaching as AN 5.163, with the same double requirement (personal accomplishment plus the ability to field questions about it).
Discussion versus shared life
The distinction between this discourse and its immediate predecessor is worth sitting with: AN 5.163 asks who is fit for verbal exchange about the teaching, while this discourse asks who is fit for something more demanding — actually living alongside others day to day.
Why the same formula serves both
That the identical five-part standard qualifies someone for both suggests a view in which genuine spiritual accomplishment and articulate self-understanding aren't separable from trustworthy communal conduct — someone accomplished enough to discuss the teaching well is, on this view, also accomplished enough to be lived with well.
An abbreviated opening
The source text itself marks this discourse's opening as an abbreviation (‘…pe…’) of AN 5.163's, signaling that the compilers themselves treated these as a deliberately paired restatement, not two independently composed discourses.
What follows
AN 5.165 shifts from these standards for fitness to a different concern entirely: the five reasons someone might ask a question at all.
Key terms
sājīva — “a shared way of life” — this discourse's title concept, distinct from AN 5.163's sākaccha (discussion).
sīla, samādhi, paññā, vimutti, vimuttiñāṇadassana — ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom — the identical fivefold formula reused from AN 5.163.
alaṁsājīvo — “fit to share a life with” — the specific standard this discourse names.
pe — the standard abbreviation marker in the source text, indicating a passage identical to one given earlier in full.
sabrahmacārī — “spiritual companions” — those with whom this shared way of life is measured.
The text
The discourse in full: the same fivefold standard, now for fitness to share a life with others. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Fit to share a way of life
§1There Venerable Sāriputta addressed the mendicants: “A mendicant with five qualities is fit to share their life 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 share their life 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
What formula does this discourse reuse from AN 5.163?
Correct: A. Ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom.
Question 2 of 10
What does 'sājīva' mean?
Correct: A. This discourse's title concept, distinct from AN 5.163's 'discussion'.
Question 3 of 10
What distinguishes this discourse's application of the formula from AN 5.163's?
Correct: A. A shift from verbal exchange to sustained day-to-day coexistence.
Question 4 of 10
How does the source text itself mark this discourse's opening?
Correct: A. The compilers treated this as a deliberate paired restatement.
Question 5 of 10
What view does using the identical formula for both discussion and communal life suggest?
Correct: A. One and the same standard serves both, on this view.
Question 6 of 10
Who delivers this discourse?
Correct: A. Continuing the pattern set at AN 5.162-163.
Question 7 of 10
What is 'vimuttiñāṇadassana'?
Correct: A. The final, most reflective item in the fivefold sequence.
Question 8 of 10
What discourse follows, shifting to a different concern entirely?
Correct: A. The five reasons someone might ask a question.
Question 9 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'Resentment', this session's seventeenth chapter.
Question 10 of 10
What double requirement does the fivefold formula still carry here?
