Dutiyahitasutta — 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
AN 5.17's formula inverted: absence of personal accomplishment paired with encouraging others anyway
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number for this variant beyond the parallel already noted at AN 5.17
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — the second of four cases, best read against its predecessor
Why this discourse
AN 5.17 described someone accomplished but silent. This discourse describes the mirror case: a mendicant not personally accomplished in ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, or the knowledge and vision of freedom, who nonetheless encourages others in all five. The discourse calls this practicing for the welfare of others, but not one's own — a case at least as uncomfortable as the first, and one this reading guide will not soften.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant not personally accomplished in the five, but who encourages others in them, is practicing for the welfare of others but not their own — the exact inverse of AN 5.17.
A harder case than it first appears
It would be easy to read this discourse as praising the mendicant it describes, since encouraging others sounds generous. But the discourse is precise: this person is not accomplished in what they are encouraging others toward. Whatever else this case is, the discourse does not claim it is safer or more admirable than AN 5.17's; it simply names it as the other incomplete half of the same pair.
Not a license to teach beyond one's attainment
Read alongside AN 5.17, the two discourses together resist an easy resolution in either direction — toward pure self-cultivation with no concern for others, or toward outward teaching with no concern for one's own practice. Both are named explicitly as incomplete. Neither discourse tells a reader which incompleteness is worse; that judgment is left unmade.
The same five items, unchanged
Ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom — AN 5.17 already introduced and glossed all five, including the Northern parallel to the 五分法身. This discourse adds no new definition of any of them; it only inverts which half of the formula is affirmed and which is negated.
Two cases down, two to go
AN 5.19, next, gives the case where neither condition holds: not accomplished, and not encouraging others. AN 5.20 then closes the chapter with the case where both hold. The four discourses are best understood as a single argument in four parts, not four independent teachings.
Key terms
na sīlasampanno — “not accomplished in ethics” — the negated form of AN 5.17's first term, marking this discourse's inverted case.
paraṁ samādapeti — “encourages another” — the affirmed half of this discourse's formula, unchanged in wording from AN 5.17.
parahita — “welfare of others” — the outcome this discourse attaches to its described case, without qualifying it as praiseworthy.
vimuttiñāṇadassana — “the knowledge and vision of freedom” — the fifth item of the shared list, here also negated for the mendicant being described.
dutiya — “second” — the ordinal in this discourse's title, marking it as the second of the unit's four cases.
The text
The discourse in full: absence of personal accomplishment, paired with encouraging others anyway. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Not accomplished, but encouraging others
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant with five qualities is practicing for the welfare of others, but not their own. What five? It’s when a mendicant is not personally accomplished in ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, or the knowledge and vision of freedom. But they encourage others in these qualities. A mendicant with these five qualities is practicing for the welfare of others, but not their own.”
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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 is the case AN 5.18 describes?
Correct: B. The exact inverse of AN 5.17's case.
Question 2 of 10
Does the guide read this discourse as straightforwardly praising the mendicant it describes?
Correct: B. Both cases are named as incomplete, without ranking one above the other.
Question 3 of 10
What outcome does AN 5.18 attach to this case?
Correct: A. The mirror outcome to AN 5.17's 'own welfare, not others'.
Question 4 of 10
Does AN 5.18 introduce any new definition for the five items — ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, knowledge and vision of freedom?
Correct: B. The same five items throughout this four-discourse unit.
Question 5 of 10
According to the guide, do AN 5.17 and 5.18 together resolve toward pure self-cultivation or toward pure outward teaching?
Correct: C. Neither discourse tells a reader which incompleteness is worse.
Question 6 of 10
What does AN 5.19, the next discourse, describe?
Correct: B. The third of the unit's four logical combinations.
Question 7 of 10
What closes this four-discourse unit and the chapter as a whole?
Correct: B. The fourth and final combination, ending the chapter on its most complete case.
Question 8 of 10
Is teaching or encouraging beyond one's own attainment presented as licensed or endorsed by this discourse?
Correct: B. A description of an incomplete case, not a recommendation.
Question 9 of 10
What is the setting of AN 5.18?
Correct: B. Consistent with the chapter's pattern so far.
Question 10 of 10
How many of the four logical combinations in this unit have now been covered, counting AN 5.18?
Correct: B. Own-welfare-only (AN 5.17) and others-welfare-only (AN 5.18); two remain.
