Paṭhamaakkhantisutta — 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
two paired five-item lists, drawbacks then benefits
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, the first of a closely related pair
Why this discourse
The first of two consecutive discourses on tolerance and its absence, naming five drawbacks of intolerance — from social unlikability to rebirth in hell — paired with the exact mirror for genuine tolerance.
Reading guide
Five drawbacks of intolerance
Most people find an intolerant person unlikable and disagreeable; they accumulate much enmity and many faults; they die confused; and they're reborn in hell.
Five matching benefits
A tolerant person is, by contrast, found dear and agreeable by most people; has little enmity and few faults; dies without confusion; and is reborn in heaven — the clean, exact mirror.
Social and internal consequences together
Notice how this discourse combines an outward, social measure (how others regard you) with an inward one (how much enmity and how many faults accumulate) in the same short list — tolerance's absence damages both how one is perceived and one's own internal state simultaneously.
A first of two closely related discourses
AN 5.216, immediately following, restates this same basic structure — intolerance versus tolerance, the same opening and closing items — but replaces the middle item, ‘much enmity and many faults’, with a different pair: cruelty and remorse.
A matched pair, not a simple repetition
Read together, these two discourses function like this collection's earlier matched trios (AN 5.151–153, AN 5.171–173): the same underlying concern, restated with a genuinely different middle emphasis each time, rather than pure repetition.
Key terms
akkhanti — “intolerance” — this discourse's title concept and central negative quality.
khanti — “tolerance, patience” — the positive counterpart, already named among the thoroughbred's five qualities at AN 5.203.
verabahulo, vajjabahulo — “much enmity, many faults” — the middle drawback in this discourse's version, distinguishing it from AN 5.216's variant.
appiyo, amanāpo — “unlikable, disagreeable” — how most people regard an intolerant person.
piyo, manāpo — “dear, agreeable” — how most people regard a tolerant person.
The text
The discourse in full: five drawbacks of intolerance, and five benefits of tolerance. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five drawbacks of intolerance
§1“Mendicants, there are these five drawbacks of intolerance. What five? Most people find you unlikable and disagreeable. You have lots of enmity and many faults. You feel lost when you die. And when your body breaks up, after death, you’re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. These are the five drawbacks to intolerance.
Five benefits of tolerance
§2There are these five benefits of tolerance. What five? Most people find you dear and agreeable. You have little enmity and few faults. You don’t feel lost when you die. And when your body breaks up, after death, you’re reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm. These are the five benefits of tolerance.”
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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 drawbacks does this discourse name for intolerance?
Correct: A. Combining social and internal consequences.
Question 2 of 10
How do most people regard an intolerant person, according to this discourse?
Correct: A. The first drawback of intolerance.
Question 3 of 10
What does this discourse's list combine that's worth noticing?
Correct: A. How one is perceived, and one's own internal state.
Question 4 of 10
What does 'verabahulo, vajjabahulo' mean?
Correct: A. The middle drawback in this discourse's specific version.
Question 5 of 10
What distinguishes this discourse from AN 5.216, which follows immediately after?
Correct: A. A genuinely different middle emphasis, not pure repetition.
Question 6 of 10
What earlier discourse in this nipāta already names 'khanti' (tolerance) among its qualities?
Correct: A. One of the five qualities shared between a horse and a worthy mendicant.
Question 7 of 10
What pattern from earlier in this nipāta do AN 5.215-216 resemble?
Correct: A. Restating a core concern with genuine variation each time.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'piyo, manāpo' mean?
Correct: A. How most people regard a tolerant person.
Question 9 of 10
What is the final consequence of intolerance named in this discourse?
Correct: A. The fifth and final drawback.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. 'Abuse', this session's twenty-second chapter.
