Bhaṇḍanakārakasutta — 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, continuing this chapter's severe opening
Why this discourse
Continuing this chapter's stark opening, this discourse names five drawbacks for a mendicant who habitually starts fights, quarrels, disputes, debates, and formal disciplinary issues within the Saṅgha — consequences ranging from stalled spiritual progress to hell.
Reading guide
Five markers of a disruptive presence
The discourse names its subject with five near-synonymous terms: bhaṇḍanakāraka, kalahakāraka, vivādakāraka, bhassakāraka, adhikaraṇakāraka — one who starts fights, quarrels, disputes, debates, and formal disciplinary issues — a cumulative portrait of someone who generates conflict across every register, from casual argument to official Saṅgha procedure.
Consequences to one's own progress, first
The first two drawbacks concern spiritual stagnation directly: not achieving what hasn't yet been achieved, and losing what has already been achieved — conflict-generation doesn't only harm the community; it actively reverses the disruptor's own practice.
Then reputation, then death, then rebirth
The remaining three drawbacks follow this chapter's now-familiar progression: a bad reputation, a confused death, and rebirth in hell — the same closing sequence already seen at AN 5.211.
A companion concern to earlier discourses on Saṅgha harmony
Cross-ref AN 5.156's concern with Saṅgha schism, and AN 5.167's detailed teaching on how to accuse well — this discourse names the opposite failure directly: not one bad accusation, but a habitual pattern of manufacturing conflict.
What follows
AN 5.213 shifts to this chapter's first paired drawback/benefit structure, contrasting an unethical person's failures with an ethical person's corresponding rewards.
Key terms
bhaṇḍanakāraka, kalahakāraka, vivādakāraka, bhassakāraka, adhikaraṇakāraka — one who starts fights, quarrels, disputes, debates, and formal disciplinary issues — the five near-synonymous terms this discourse uses for its subject.
anadhigataṁ nādhigacchati — “doesn't achieve the unachieved” — the first drawback, spiritual stagnation.
adhigatā parihāyati — “what's achieved falls away” — the second drawback, actual regression.
pāpako kittisaddo — “a bad reputation” — a recurring consequence across several discourses in this chapter.
saṅghe adhikaraṇakāraka — “one who creates disciplinary issues in the Saṅgha” — the most formally institutional of the five terms named.
The text
The discourse in full: five drawbacks for a mendicant who starts fights and disputes. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five drawbacks of starting fights
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant who starts fights, quarrels, disputes, debates, and disciplinary issues in the Saṅgha can expect five drawbacks. What five? They don’t achieve the unachieved. What they have achieved falls away. They get a bad reputation. They feel lost when they die. And when their body breaks up, after death, they are reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. A mendicant who starts fights, quarrels, disputes, debates, and disciplinary issues in the Saṅgha 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 five near-synonymous terms does this discourse use for its subject?
Correct: A. A cumulative portrait of someone generating conflict at every level.
Question 2 of 10
What do the first two drawbacks named in this discourse concern?
Correct: A. Not achieving what's unachieved, and losing what's achieved.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'adhigatā parihāyati' mean?
Correct: A. Actual regression, not merely stalled progress.
Question 4 of 10
What closing sequence of consequences does this discourse share with AN 5.211?
Correct: A. The same familiar progression closing both discourses.
Question 5 of 10
What earlier discourses does this one connect to on Saṅgha harmony?
Correct: A. This discourse names the opposite failure — habitual conflict-generation.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'adhikaraṇakāraka' specify, distinct from the other four terms?
Correct: A. The fifth and most official of the five near-synonymous terms.
Question 7 of 10
What discourse follows, introducing this chapter's first paired drawback/benefit structure?
Correct: A. Contrasting unethical failure with ethical reward.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'anadhigataṁ nādhigacchati' mean?
Correct: A. The first drawback, naming spiritual stagnation.
Question 9 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'Abuse', this session's twenty-second chapter.
Question 10 of 10
What structural form does this discourse take?
Correct: A. Matching AN 5.211's severe, one-sided structure.
