Dutiyaagāravasutta — 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
AN 5.21's ladder restated with the final three rungs replaced by the threefold training in full
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number for this variant beyond the parallel already noted at AN 5.21
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — a compressed variant, best read directly against its predecessor
Why this discourse
AN 5.21 named five discrete rungs. This discourse keeps the first two — the supplementary regulations, then the trainee's practice — but collapses the last three into the whole spectrum (khandha) of ethics, then of immersion, then of wisdom: the threefold training, sīla, samādhi, paññā, in its most familiar form. The same dependency claim is made, in a shape many readers will recognize more readily than AN 5.21's five discrete steps.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Without fulfilling the supplementary regulations, the trainee's practice is impossible; without that, the whole spectrum of ethics; without that, the whole spectrum of immersion; without that, the whole spectrum of wisdom — and the reverse holds for a respectful mendicant.
What changed from AN 5.21
AN 5.21 kept right view and right immersion as two separate rungs. This discourse instead names sīlakkhandha, samādhikkhandha, paññākkhandha — not right view specifically, but ethics, immersion, and wisdom as entire spectrums or aggregates. The base of the ladder is identical; only its upper reach is reshaped into the more familiar threefold training already used throughout this series.
Why ‘the entire spectrum’, and not a single item
Khandha here means a whole mass or aggregate, not one discrete factor among several. The claim is broader than AN 5.21's: not one particular right view, but the entirety of what counts as ethics; not one particular immersion, but the entirety of what counts as immersion. This is a stronger, more encompassing dependency claim than the previous discourse's, even though it uses fewer named steps to make it.
The threefold training, met again
Ethics, immersion, wisdom is the same core sequence already central to AN 4.1's opening list in the previous nipāta, and to AN 5.17–20's five-item set earlier in this one. This discourse adds no new content to that sequence; it only restates, once again, that the threefold training builds in strict order, each stage depending on the one before it.
Two discourses, one point made twice
Read together, AN 5.21 and 5.22 make the identical structural claim — strict, cumulative dependency — using two different levels of granularity for the upper rungs. A reader who has followed both should now be able to state the underlying claim without reference to either discourse's specific wording: nothing higher is reached without what is lower being genuinely in place first.
Key terms
sīlakkhandha — “the whole spectrum of ethics” — khandha, aggregate or mass, marking this as broader than any single ethical rule.
samādhikkhandha — “the whole spectrum of immersion” — the second compressed rung, replacing AN 5.21's separate right view and right immersion.
paññākkhandha — “the whole spectrum of wisdom” — the top of this discourse's ladder, completing the threefold training.
khandha — “aggregate, mass, spectrum” — the word marking each of the three upper terms as an entirety rather than one factor among several.
sīla samādhi paññā — “ethics, immersion, wisdom” — the threefold training, already central to AN 4.1 and AN 5.17–20, restated here in ladder form.
The text
The discourse in full: the same ladder as AN 5.21, with its top compressed to the threefold training. 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 the entire spectrum of ethics. Without fulfilling the entire spectrum of ethics, it’s impossible to fulfill the entire spectrum of immersion. Without fulfilling the entire spectrum of immersion, it’s impossible to fulfill the entire spectrum of wisdom.
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 the entire spectrum of ethics. Having fulfilled the entire spectrum of ethics, it’s possible to fulfill the entire spectrum of immersion. Having fulfilled the entire spectrum of immersion, it’s possible to fulfill the entire spectrum of wisdom.”
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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 does AN 5.22 change from AN 5.21's ladder?
Correct: B. The base — supplementary regulations, then the trainee's practice — is unchanged.
Question 2 of 10
What does 'khandha' mean in sīlakkhandha, samādhikkhandha, and paññākkhandha?
Correct: B. Marking each term as an entirety, not one factor among several.
Question 3 of 10
How does the guide compare the strength of this discourse's claim to AN 5.21's?
Correct: B. Fewer steps, but each covering more ground.
Question 4 of 10
What sequence does this discourse's upper ladder match, already central elsewhere in this series?
Correct: B. Ethics, immersion, wisdom recurs as a core sequence across multiple discourses in this series.
Question 5 of 10
Is the base of the ladder — supplementary regulations, then the trainee's practice — changed in this discourse?
Correct: B. Only the upper reach of the ladder is reshaped.
Question 6 of 10
What single underlying claim do AN 5.21 and 5.22 together make, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The same structural point, made at two different levels of granularity.
Question 7 of 10
Does this discourse offer any narrative illustration or simile?
Correct: B. Consistent with the pair's shared terse style.
Question 8 of 10
What is the disrespect/respect framing's origin in this series?
Correct: B. Carried forward from AN 5.21 without modification.
Question 9 of 10
What comes next in the chapter?
Correct: B. A new topic and image, distinct from the ladder discourses.
Question 10 of 10
Where is AN 5.22 set?
Correct: B. Consistent with the pattern across this nipāta so far.
