Khalupacchābhattikasutta — 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 close companion to AN 5.188's one-sitting discipline: refusing any further food offered once a meal has already begun, even if more is offered within that same sitting — closing the loophole a one-sitting rule alone might leave open.
Reading guide
Closing a loophole
AN 5.188's one-sitting rule concerns not returning to food after a sitting ends. This practice, khalupacchābhattika, is narrower still: refusing additional food even within the same sitting, once the meal has already started — a stricter, complementary discipline.
A refusal, not merely a limit
Where several of this catalog's practices concern where or how a mendicant lives, this one concerns an active refusal in the moment: turning away food that's being offered, even when hunger or generosity would make accepting it easy.
The same compression, the same presupposition
As with the three discourses before it, the source reduces this discourse to a single abbreviated line, presupposing AN 5.181's full five-motive statement.
The last of the abbreviated stubs
This is the final discourse in this chapter reduced to a single line — AN 5.190, immediately following, restores the full template one last time, closing the chapter as AN 5.181 opened it.
A practice about restraint mid-action
Read alongside AN 5.188, this practice highlights a subtler point: real renunciation sometimes isn't about refusing an activity altogether, but about knowing exactly where to stop once it's already underway.
Key terms
khalupacchābhattika — “one who refuses food offered after the meal has begun” — this discourse's title concept.
pe — the standard abbreviation marker, reducing this discourse's content to a single line.
ekāsanika — “one who eats in one sitting” — AN 5.188's closely related, complementary practice.
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.
The text
The discourse as it survives in the source: a single abbreviated line. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Refusers of late food
§1“These five refuse to accept food offered after the meal has begun. …”
· · ·
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 'khalupacchābhattika' describe?
Correct: A. This discourse's title concept.
Question 2 of 10
How does this practice relate to AN 5.188's one-sitting rule?
Correct: A. A stricter, complementary discipline.
Question 3 of 10
What kind of act does this practice primarily concern?
Correct: A. Distinct from the more passive where-or-how practices earlier in this catalog.
Question 4 of 10
How much of this discourse survives in the source text?
Correct: A. The same compression as AN 5.185-188.
Question 5 of 10
What position does this discourse occupy in the chapter's compression pattern?
Correct: A. AN 5.190 immediately restores the full template.
Question 6 of 10
What subtler point does this practice highlight, read alongside AN 5.188?
Correct: A. Restraint mid-action, not only refusal at the outset.
Question 7 of 10
What does this discourse's single line presuppose?
Correct: A. Trusting the reader to supply the earlier pattern.
Question 8 of 10
What discourse follows, restoring the full template one final time?
Correct: A. Closing this chapter as AN 5.181 opened it.
Question 9 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'Wilderness Dwellers', this session's nineteenth chapter.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'dhutaṅga' name?
Correct: A. Including this practice among its members.
