Upasampādetabbasutta — Upasampadāvagga — the twenty-sixth 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
a single five-item qualification list, stated once
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
Vinaya literature across traditions sets qualifications for who may serve as a preceptor at ordination; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching text
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, opening a new chapter with a formula already met once before
Why this discourse
This chapter turns from conduct in general to a narrower and more institutional question: who is qualified to perform specific roles within the monastic community. This opening discourse sets the standard for the most consequential of these roles, conferring ordination itself, and it does so by reaching back to a formula this series has already met once, at AN 5.108: the complete, adept-level pentad of ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom.
Reading guide
A new chapter on monastic qualification
The Upasampadāvagga (“Ordination”) moves from conduct's general and specific channels, the previous chapter's subject, to a different kind of question: who within the community is fit to perform particular roles — conferring ordination, standing as a mendicant's dependence-teacher, or taking a novice as personal attendant.
The asekha pentad, returning from AN 5.108
The standard given here is not new. It is the identical five-item ‘asekha’ formula already given in full at AN 5.108: complete, adept-level ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom — there offered as a general description of one beyond training, here applied for the first time as a specific institutional qualification.
Why this standard, for this role specifically
The logic is direct: conferring ordination is initiating another person into the very path this pentad describes as complete. The discourse sets the bar at nothing less than having already walked that path to its end — not partial attainment, but the full spectrum in each of the five components.
Two more roles, the same standard
AN 5.252 and AN 5.253 apply this identical formula to two further roles — giving dependence, and taking on a novice attendant — without varying a single term.
What follows
AN 5.254 turns from qualification to a different subject entirely: the five kinds of stinginess, which will occupy most of the remainder of this chapter.
Key terms
upasampadā — “ordination”, specifically full admission to the monastic community — this chapter's title concept.
asekha — “an adept”, one who has completed the training entirely — the qualifying standard, already met at AN 5.108.
sīlakkhandha, samādhikkhandha, paññākkhandha — the complete aggregates, or entire spectrums, of ethics, immersion, and wisdom.
vimuttikkhandha — the entire spectrum of freedom.
vimuttiñāṇadassanakkhandha — the entire spectrum of the knowledge and vision of freedom — the fifth and final component.
The text
The discourse in full: the five-item asekha standard, and the single role it qualifies a mendicant for. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The standard for giving ordination
§1“Mendicants, ordination should be given by a mendicant with five qualities. What five? It’s a mendicant who has the entire spectrum of an adept’s ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom. Ordination should be given by a mendicant with these five qualities.”
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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-sixth chapter.
Question 2 of 10
Where does this exact five-item asekha standard already appear in this collection?
Correct: A. There a general description; here a specific institutional qualification.
Question 3 of 10
What five components make up the asekha standard?
Correct: A. The complete-spectrum pentad, not the trainee's partial powers.
Question 4 of 10
What role does this discourse specifically qualify a mendicant for?
Correct: A. The most consequential of the three roles this chapter addresses.
Question 5 of 10
What is the guide's stated logic for why this exact standard applies to ordination?
Correct: A. Not partial attainment, but full completion in each component.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'asekha' mean, as contrasted with 'sekha'?
Correct: A. The distinction already established at AN 5.89–90 and AN 5.108.
Question 7 of 10
What two further roles do AN 5.252 and AN 5.253 apply this identical standard to?
Correct: A. The same five-item formula, unchanged, for two more institutional roles.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'khandha' emphasize in each of the five components?
Correct: A. Already noted at AN 5.108: the entire spectrum, not partial accomplishment.
Question 9 of 10
What subject does AN 5.254 turn to next?
Correct: A. A new subject occupying most of the rest of this chapter.
Question 10 of 10
How is this discourse's form described?
Correct: A. Short and direct, typical of this chapter's opening discourses.
