Akkosakasutta — Akkosakavagga — the twenty-second 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 mirror
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, opening a new chapter with real severity
Why this discourse
This chapter opens with real severity: a mendicant who abuses and insults their spiritual companions, denouncing the noble ones, faces consequences ranging from a formal, expellable offense to hell itself — the harshest opening list in this stretch of the collection.
Reading guide
A new chapter, a harsh opening
The Akkosakavagga (“Abuse”) opens with genuinely severe consequences, unlike this collection's many gentler ‘drawbacks and benefits’ pairings — this discourse offers no positive mirror at all, only the stark cost of abusive speech toward one's spiritual community.
Five drawbacks, escalating in gravity
Being expelled, cut off, and blocked out (pārājika — the technical term for the gravest category of monastic offense, resulting in permanent expulsion); committing a corrupt offense; contracting a severe illness; dying confused and lost; and rebirth in hell.
Denouncing the noble ones, specifically
The discourse's Pali is precise: ariyūpavādī, ‘denouncing the noble ones’ — not simply general rudeness, but abuse directed at those who have genuinely achieved spiritual attainment, treated as a distinctly grave category of wrongdoing.
A chapter largely built on paired drawback/benefit lists
Unlike this opening discourse, most of the chapter that follows pairs a negative list with its positive mirror — unethical conduct and ethical conduct, intolerance and tolerance, unimpressive and impressive conduct. This discourse's severity, with no such mirror offered, sets an unusually stark tone for what follows.
What follows
AN 5.212 continues in the same register: five drawbacks, again without a positive counterpart, for a mendicant who starts fights and disputes within the Saṅgha.
Key terms
akkosakaparibhāsako — “one who abuses and insults” — this discourse's title concept and central subject.
ariyūpavādī — “denouncing the noble ones” — abuse directed specifically at those of genuine spiritual attainment.
pārājika — “expelled, cut off” — the technical term for the gravest category of monastic offense, resulting in permanent expulsion from the Saṅgha.
saṅkiliṭṭha āpatti — “a corrupt, defiled offense” — the second drawback named.
sammūḷho kālaṁ karoti — “dies confused, feeling lost” — a recurring phrase across this chapter's negative lists.
The text
The discourse in full: five drawbacks awaiting a mendicant who abuses and denounces the noble ones. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five drawbacks of abuse
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant who abuses and insults their spiritual companions, denouncing the noble ones, can expect these five drawbacks. What five? They’re expelled, cut off, blocked out; or they commit a corrupt offense; or they contract a severe illness. They feel lost when they die. And when their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. A mendicant who abuses and insults their spiritual companions, denouncing the noble ones, can expect these five drawbacks.”
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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 chapter does this discourse open?
Correct: A. This session's twenty-second chapter.
Question 2 of 10
What five drawbacks does this discourse name for abusing spiritual companions?
Correct: A. Genuinely severe consequences, escalating in gravity.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'pārājika' mean?
Correct: A. The first and most severe drawback named.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'ariyūpavādī' specify?
Correct: A. A distinctly grave category of wrongdoing.
Question 5 of 10
How does this discourse differ structurally from much of the rest of this chapter?
Correct: A. An unusually stark, one-sided severity.
Question 6 of 10
What discourse follows, continuing this same severe register?
Correct: A. Five drawbacks, again without a positive counterpart.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'sammūḷho kālaṁ karoti' mean?
Correct: A. A recurring phrase across this chapter's negative lists.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'saṅkiliṭṭha āpatti' mean?
Correct: A. The second of the five drawbacks named.
Question 9 of 10
What final consequence does this discourse name?
Correct: A. The fifth and final drawback, closing the list.
Question 10 of 10
What is the central behavior this discourse addresses?
Correct: A. This discourse's title concept and central subject.
