Nesajjikasutta — Araññavagga — the nineteenth 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
a single abbreviated line
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — extremely short, compressed by the source itself
Why this discourse
A practice that shifts this catalog from where one dwells to how one's body is held at all times: never lying down at all, remaining seated through both waking hours and sleep — compressed, like AN 5.185, to a single abbreviated line.
Reading guide
From dwelling to bodily posture
AN 5.181–185 concerned where a mendicant dwells; nesajjika shifts the catalog's focus to bodily posture itself — never lying down, sitting up through sleep exactly as through waking hours.
A direct challenge to bodily comfort
Unlike shelter-related practices, this one has no exception for rest: it removes even the most basic physical relief of lying flat, treating sleep itself as something to be undertaken without the comfort most people assume it requires.
The same compression, the same presupposition
As with AN 5.185, the source text reduces this discourse to a single line ending in ellipsis, presupposing the reader's familiarity with AN 5.181's full five-motive statement rather than restating it.
The same warning, applied here too
Never lying down might look like an unusually demanding, and therefore unusually sincere, form of practice — but this chapter's consistent point holds here as everywhere else: the same austere posture can be adopted from folly, vanity, disturbed mind, or mere imitation, not only from genuine renunciation.
What follows
AN 5.187 continues this same compression, applied to sleeping wherever a mat happens to be laid, without seeking a preferred spot.
Key terms
nesajjika — “one who never lies down” — this discourse's title concept, remaining seated at all times, including through sleep.
pe — the standard abbreviation marker, reducing this discourse's content to a single line.
appicchataṁ — “few wishes” — part of the fifth, genuinely praiseworthy motive established at AN 5.181, presupposed here.
dhutaṅga — the later commentarial term for the whole catalog of austere practices this chapter documents, including this one.
mandattā momūhattā — “from stupidity and folly” — the first of the five motives, presupposed even where not spelled out.
The text
The discourse as it survives in the source: a single abbreviated line. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Those who never lie down
§1“These five never lie down. …”
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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 'nesajjika' describe?
Correct: A. This discourse's title concept.
Question 2 of 10
What does this discourse's focus shift from, compared to AN 5.181-185?
Correct: A. A shift from dwelling-place to bodily posture.
Question 3 of 10
What basic physical relief does this practice remove?
Correct: A. Treating sleep itself as something undertaken without assumed comfort.
Question 4 of 10
How much of this discourse survives in the source text?
Correct: A. Matching AN 5.185's same extreme compression.
Question 5 of 10
Does this practice's apparent demandingness exempt it from the chapter's five-motive warning?
Correct: A. This chapter's consistent point holds regardless of a practice's apparent difficulty.
Question 6 of 10
What discourse follows, continuing this same compression?
Correct: A. Applying the same single-line compression to a related practice.
Question 7 of 10
What does this discourse's single line presuppose?
Correct: A. Trusting the reader to supply the pattern from earlier in the chapter.
Question 8 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'Wilderness Dwellers', this session's nineteenth chapter.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'dhutaṅga' name?
Correct: A. Including never-lying-down among its members.
Question 10 of 10
What earlier discourse in this chapter states the five-motive pattern this discourse presupposes?
Correct: A. This chapter's opening discourse, stated in full.
