Paṭhamaagāravasutta — Pañcaṅgikavagga — the third 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 five-rung ladder of prerequisites stated as impossible for a disrespectful mendicant, then possible for a respectful one
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
Graduated-training sequences building from minor observances up to immersion are widespread across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — opens a new chapter by reusing a title, and a concept, from the first
Why this discourse
This chapter opens by reusing both the title and the disrespect/respect framing already used at AN 5.9 and AN 5.10 in the first chapter — but applies it to something new: not the five powers, but a five-step causal ladder. Without fulfilling the supplementary regulations, the practice of a trainee is impossible; without that, ethics; without that, right view; without that, right immersion. Each rung depends strictly on the one below it, for better or worse.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A disrespectful mendicant with an incompatible lifestyle cannot fulfill supplementary regulations, and so cannot fulfill a trainee's practice, ethics, right view, or right immersion in turn; a respectful mendicant with a compatible lifestyle can fulfill all five in strict sequence.
A ladder, not a list
Every five-item set met so far in this nipāta has been a set: five powers, five qualities, five items to be seen in different fours. This discourse is different in kind. Each rung is stated as a strict precondition for the next — ābhisamācārika, the supplementary regulations governing everyday monastic conduct, then the trainee's practice, then ethics, then right view, then right immersion — and the text is explicit that skipping a rung is not merely unlikely but netaṁ ṭhānaṁ vijjati, not a possible situation at all.
Why the smallest matters begin the chain
It is worth noticing what sits at the bottom of the ladder: not ethics, and certainly not immersion, but the supplementary regulations — the minor, procedural rules of communal monastic life. The discourse's claim is structural: grand attainments like right view and right immersion are not available to someone who cannot manage the small, everyday cooperative discipline of living respectfully among spiritual companions.
Reusing AN 5.9 and 5.10's framing, for new material
The disrespect/respect pairing, and the paired terms agārava appatisso against sagārava sappatisso, are identical to their earlier use in the first chapter's closing discourses. This discourse does not redefine either pair; it applies an already-established distinction to an entirely new five-step structure, showing that the disrespect/respect framing was never tied to the sekhabala specifically.
What follows
AN 5.22, immediately next, restates this exact ladder with its final three rungs compressed into the more familiar threefold training — the whole spectrum of ethics, immersion, and wisdom — rather than the five discrete steps given here.
Key terms
ābhisamācārika — “supplementary regulation” — the everyday, procedural conduct rules this discourse places at the base of its five-rung ladder.
sekhaṁ dhammaṁ — “the trainee's practice” — the second rung, distinct from but dependent on the first.
sammādiṭṭhi — “right view” — the fourth rung, itself dependent on ethics being fulfilled first.
netaṁ ṭhānaṁ vijjati — “this is not a possible situation” — the strong formula marking each dependency as strict, not merely typical.
asabhāgavuttika — “of incompatible lifestyle” — paired with disrespect and irreverence to describe the mendicant who cannot climb the ladder.
The text
The discourse in full: the five-rung ladder, impossible for a disrespectful mendicant, possible for a respectful one. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Impossible, for the disrespectful
§1“Mendicants, it is quite impossible for a disrespectful and irreverent mendicant with incompatible lifestyle to fulfill the practice dealing with supplementary regulations regarding their spiritual companions. Without fulfilling the practice dealing with supplementary regulations, it’s impossible to fulfill the practice of a trainee. Without fulfilling the practice of a trainee, it’s impossible to fulfill ethics. Without fulfilling ethics, it’s impossible to fulfill right view. Without fulfilling right view, it’s impossible to fulfill right immersion.
Possible, for the respectful
§2But it is quite possible for a respectful and reverent mendicant with compatible lifestyle to fulfill the practice dealing with supplementary regulations regarding their spiritual companions. Having fulfilled the practice dealing with supplementary regulations, it’s possible to fulfill the practice of a trainee. Having fulfilled the practice of a trainee, it’s possible to fulfill ethics. Having fulfilled ethics, it’s possible to fulfill right view. Having fulfilled right view, it’s possible to fulfill right immersion.”
· · ·
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 kind of structure does AN 5.21 present, compared to the five-item sets seen earlier in this nipāta?
Correct: B. Unlike a set, each rung here strictly depends on the one below it.
Question 2 of 10
What sits at the bottom of the ladder?
Correct: B. The smallest, most everyday discipline is the foundation everything else depends on.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'netaṁ ṭhānaṁ vijjati' mean, and how strong is its claim?
Correct: B. Each dependency in the ladder is stated as strict impossibility, not tendency.
Question 4 of 10
Where was the disrespect/respect framing (agārava/sagārava) already used in this series?
Correct: B. The same pair of terms, now applied to an entirely different five-step structure.
Question 5 of 10
Does this discourse redefine what disrespect or respect mean?
Correct: B. Showing the framing was never tied specifically to the sekhabala.
Question 6 of 10
What are the five rungs of the ladder, in order?
Correct: B. A five-step causal chain, not a five-item set.
Question 7 of 10
What does AN 5.22, the next discourse, do with this same ladder?
Correct: B. A variant using the more familiar sīla-samādhi-paññā compression.
Question 8 of 10
What structural claim does the guide draw from the ladder's ordering?
Correct: B. The smallest matters, placed first, are structurally load-bearing for the guide's reading.
Question 9 of 10
Does the discourse offer a simile to illustrate the ladder?
Correct: B. A direct statement, consistent with this discourse's terse form.
Question 10 of 10
Where is AN 5.21 set?
Correct: B. Consistent with the pattern across this nipāta so far.
