Kulasutta — Brāhmaṇavagga — the twentieth 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
single five-item list, each paired with a specific outcome
Length
~1.5 minutes to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, practical, and precisely structured
Why this discourse
A practical, precisely structured teaching for lay households: five simple responses to a visiting ethical renunciate, each tied to a specific favorable outcome — not a vague promise of general merit, but five distinct actions matched to five distinct results.
Reading guide
Faith, on sight, leads to heaven
Simply seeing an ethical renunciate arrive and feeling confidence rise in one's heart is itself already ‘practicing a path leading to heaven’ — before any material exchange has even taken place.
Respect leads to an eminent birth
Rising from one's seat, bowing, and offering a seat — ordinary gestures of respect — are tied specifically to a future birth in an eminent family, matching the respectful gesture to a respect-shaped outcome.
Letting go of stinginess leads to being illustrious
The third item names an internal shift, not an action: giving up ‘the stain of stinginess’ itself, prior to any actual giving, already sets a family on the path to being ‘illustrious’ — socially prominent and influential.
Sharing leads to wealth, learning leads to wisdom
The fourth and fifth items complete the pattern: actually sharing what one has, as one is able, leads to future wealth; asking questions and listening to the teaching leads to future wisdom — each cause precisely matched to its corresponding effect.
A structure worth noticing
Read across all five, this discourse builds a deliberate escalation: from an internal feeling (faith), through outward gesture (respect) and internal disposition (non-stinginess), to actual material sharing and finally intellectual engagement — five progressively deeper forms of response, each with its own matched reward.
A companion to AN 5.176's exhortation
Cross-ref AN 5.176 from the previous chapter, where the Buddha tells lay donors not to be content with material support alone. This discourse's fifth item — asking questions and listening — names exactly the deeper engagement that exhortation calls for.
Key terms
sīlavanto pabbajitā — “ethical renunciates” — the visitors whose arrival triggers this discourse's five opportunities.
cittāni pasādenti — “bring up confidence in their hearts” — the first, purely internal response, tied to a path leading to heaven.
maccheramala — “the stain of stinginess” — the internal obstacle the third item describes letting go of.
yathāsatti yathābalaṁ — “as best they can, according to their ability” — qualifying the fourth item's act of sharing, proportionate rather than absolute.
paṭipadaṁ paṭipannaṁ — “practicing a path” — the phrase repeated for each of the five items, framing each response as already setting a direction.
The text
The discourse in full: five responses to a visiting renunciate, each with its matched outcome. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five reasons families gain merit
§1“When ethical renunciates come to a family, the people brim with much merit for five reasons. What five? When they see ethical renunciates coming to their family, the people bring up confidence in their hearts. At that time the family is practicing a path leading to heaven. When ethical renunciates come to their family, the people rise from their seats, bow down, and offer them a seat. At that time the family is practicing a path leading to a birth in an eminent family. When ethical renunciates come to their family, the people get rid of the stain of stinginess. At that time the family is practicing a path leading to being illustrious. When ethical renunciates come to their family, the people share what they have as best they can. At that time the family is practicing a path leading to great wealth. When ethical renunciates come to their family, the people ask questions and listen to the teachings. At that time the family is practicing a path leading to great wisdom. When ethical renunciates come to a family, the people brim with much merit for these five reasons.”
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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 triggers this discourse's five opportunities?
Correct: A. The occasion this whole discourse is built around.
Question 2 of 10
What outcome is tied to simply feeling confidence rise upon seeing renunciates arrive?
Correct: A. The first, purely internal response.
Question 3 of 10
What outcome is tied to rising, bowing, and offering a seat?
Correct: A. Respect-shaped gesture matched to a respect-shaped outcome.
Question 4 of 10
What internal shift does the third item describe?
Correct: A. Tied to a path leading to being illustrious.
Question 5 of 10
What outcome is tied to actually sharing what one has, as one is able?
Correct: A. The fourth item, involving actual material sharing.
Question 6 of 10
What outcome is tied to asking questions and listening to the teaching?
Correct: A. The fifth and final item, intellectual engagement.
Question 7 of 10
What structural pattern do the five items follow, read together?
Correct: A. Five progressively deeper forms of response.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'maccheramala' mean?
Correct: A. The internal obstacle the third item describes releasing.
Question 9 of 10
What earlier discourse does this one's fifth item connect to?
Correct: A. Asking questions and listening names exactly that deeper engagement.
Question 10 of 10
What does 'yathāsatti yathābalaṁ' mean?
Correct: A. Qualifying the fourth item's sharing as proportionate, not absolute.
