Yāgusutta — Kimilavagga — the twenty-first 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, no positive/negative mirror
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and entirely practical
Why this discourse
A refreshingly mundane discourse: five plain, physical benefits of rice porridge — a reminder that this collection's attention extends to the ordinary texture of monastic life, not only doctrine and meditation.
Reading guide
Five physical benefits, stated plainly
Porridge wards off hunger, quenches thirst, settles wind (digestive gas), cleans the bladder, and helps digestion — five concrete, bodily benefits, with no doctrinal framing at all.
A discourse about food, taken at face value
Unlike the many discourses in this collection that use food or eating as a springboard for a spiritual point, this one simply describes porridge's practical value — useful information for anyone managing a mendicant's diet and health, offered without further interpretation.
Part of a recognizable genre
This discourse belongs to a small, recognizable genre within this collection: brief, practical teachings on daily monastic maintenance, alongside this chapter's own AN 5.208 on chew sticks and AN 5.210 on sleep.
Why practical teachings sit alongside profound ones
This chapter places a discourse on porridge just three positions after AN 5.200's teaching on the cessation of selfhood, and just before further discourses on mindful sleep and vocal recitation — a reminder that this collection doesn't rank its content by doctrinal weight; ordinary bodily maintenance sits comfortably alongside liberation itself.
What follows
AN 5.208 continues in this same practical register, with a paired list of drawbacks and benefits concerning dental hygiene.
Key terms
yāgu — “rice porridge, gruel” — this discourse's title concept and subject.
khuddaṁ paṭihanati — “wards off hunger” — the first of the five plain benefits.
pipāsaṁ paṭivineti — “quenches thirst” — the second benefit.
vātaṁ anulometi — “settles the wind” — referring to digestive gas, the third benefit.
āmāvasesaṁ pāceti — “helps digestion” — the fifth and final benefit named.
The text
The discourse in full: five plain benefits of rice porridge. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five benefits of porridge
§1“Mendicants, there are these five benefits of porridge. What five? It wards off hunger, quenches thirst, settles the wind, cleans the bladder, and helps digestion. These are the five benefits of porridge.”
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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 five benefits of porridge does this discourse name?
Correct: A. Five concrete, physical benefits.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse's treatment of food differ from many others in this collection?
Correct: A. Practical information, offered without further interpretation.
Question 3 of 10
What genre within this collection does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. Alongside AN 5.208's chew sticks and AN 5.210's sleep hygiene.
Question 4 of 10
What does this discourse's placement, near AN 5.200's teaching on selfhood, suggest?
Correct: A. A comfortable coexistence of the mundane and the profound.
Question 5 of 10
What does 'khuddaṁ paṭihanati' mean?
Correct: A. The first of the five benefits named.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'vātaṁ anulometi' mean?
Correct: A. The third of the five benefits.
Question 7 of 10
What discourse follows, continuing in this same practical register?
Correct: A. A paired list on dental hygiene.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'yāgu' mean?
Correct: A. This discourse's title concept and subject.
Question 9 of 10
What structural form does this discourse take?
Correct: A. One of this nipāta's most straightforwardly practical entries.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'With Kimbila', this session's twenty-first chapter.
