Dutiyamacchariyasutta — Āvāsikavagga — the twenty-fourth 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, hell then heaven
Length
~1.5 minutes to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, closing the chapter with the fullest treatment
Why this discourse
This chapter closes exactly where its trio of preceding discourses had been steadily building: the complete classical five-part stinginess formula — monasteries, families, material things, praise, and the teaching itself — presented cleanly for a resident mendicant, leading directly to hell or heaven.
Reading guide
The full five domains of stinginess, at last
Stinginess regarding monasteries, families, material things, praise, and the teaching itself — the identical five-part formula already given its fullest treatment at AN 5.224, now presented one final time as this chapter's actual closing content.
A visible destination, not a coincidence
Read across AN 5.236–240, this chapter's second half traces a deliberate build: zero stinginess items, then two, then three, then four, and now finally all five — a structural choice, not simply five loosely related discourses placed side by side.
Five matching benefits, the clean negation
Freedom from stinginess in all five domains — monasteries, families, material things, praise, and the teaching — leading to heaven, closing this discourse and this chapter on its positive counterpart.
Stinginess as this chapter's real closing concern
It's worth noting how this chapter actually ends: not on its opening concern with what makes a resident mendicant admirable or helpful, but on the narrower, sharper question of what a resident mendicant refuses to share — space, patronage, goods, recognition, and knowledge itself.
Closing the chapter
The chapter closes with its colophon, ‘Dasamaṁ. Āvāsikavaggo catuttho’ (‘The tenth. The fourth chapter on a resident mendicant’), followed by an uddāna verse naming this chapter's ten discourses in brief — the same summarizing mechanism explained in full at AN 5.10.
Key terms
āvāsamacchariya, kulamacchariya, lābhamacchariya, vaṇṇamacchariya, dhammamacchariya — “stinginess over monasteries, families, material things, praise, and the teaching” — the complete classical five-part formula, closing this chapter.
yathābhataṁ nikkhitto — “placed as if delivered” — the same phrase for automatic consequence used throughout this chapter's closing discourses.
dhammamacchariya — “stinginess over the teaching” — the fifth and final domain, completing what AN 5.239 left incomplete.
āvāsika — “a resident mendicant” — this chapter's title concept throughout, from opening to close.
macchariya — “stinginess” — the theme this chapter's second half has steadily built toward, in its full and final form.
The text
The discourse in full, closing this chapter: the complete classical five-part stinginess formula. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five qualities placed in hell
§1“Mendicants, a resident mendicant with five qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there. What five? They’re stingy regarding monasteries, families, material things, praise, and the teachings. A resident mendicant with these five qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there.
Five qualities placed in heaven
§2A resident mendicant with five qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there. What five? They’re not stingy regarding monasteries, families, material things, praise, and the teachings. A resident mendicant with these five qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there.”
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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 domains of stinginess does this discourse name in full?
Correct: A. The complete classical formula, first given in full at AN 5.224.
Question 2 of 10
What build-up does this chapter's second half trace, from AN 5.236 to AN 5.240?
Correct: A. A deliberate structural progression, not coincidence.
Question 3 of 10
What is genuinely notable about how this chapter actually closes?
Correct: A. A shift from broad admirability to a sharper, specific failure.
Question 4 of 10
What colophon closes this chapter?
Correct: A. 'The tenth. The fourth chapter on a resident mendicant.'
Question 5 of 10
What does 'dhammamacchariya' mean, and what role does it play in this chapter's sequence?
Correct: A. The final domain this chapter's build-up reaches.
Question 6 of 10
What mechanism does the closing uddāna verse use?
Correct: A. The same summarizing mechanism used throughout this project.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'yathābhataṁ nikkhitto' mean?
Correct: A. The phrase used throughout this chapter's closing discourses.
Question 8 of 10
What is the positive counterpart to this discourse's five stinginess items?
Correct: A. The clean negation, closing both this discourse and the chapter.
Question 9 of 10
What chapter comes next?
Correct: A. AN 5.241 begins this collection's twenty-fifth chapter.
Question 10 of 10
Where else in this nipāta does this exact complete stinginess formula appear?
Correct: A. This discourse's content is a familiar formula, applied here to a resident mendicant.
