Nissayasutta — 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
the same five-item qualification list as AN 5.251, one role changed
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, closely paired with AN 5.251
Why this discourse
The identical asekha standard from AN 5.251, now applied to a second role: giving nissaya, the dependence a newly ordained mendicant lives under while still developing competence. The source itself treats the two discourses as close enough to elide the repeated middle portion with its standard abbreviation mark.
Reading guide
The second of three roles
Where AN 5.251 set the standard for who may give ordination, this discourse sets the identical standard for who may accept a newly ordained mendicant into nissaya — a period of guided dependence on a senior mendicant.
What nissaya names
Nissaya is the relationship in which a mendicant still building competence lives under a senior's guidance, consulting them on questions of conduct and training rather than acting alone. The role this discourse qualifies is the senior side of that relationship.
One formula, elided in the source
The Pali source states the five components only once in full, then abbreviates the rest with its standard peyyāla mark, since the wording is otherwise identical to AN 5.251. This reading guide gives the English in full, as Sujato's translation already restates it without abbreviation.
Why the same standard applies here too
The reasoning carries over directly from AN 5.251: a mendicant who has not yet completed ethics, immersion, wisdom, freedom, and the knowledge and vision of freedom is not positioned to guide another mendicant's own development in exactly those five areas.
What follows
AN 5.253 applies the same standard a third time, to the narrower and more domestic role of having a novice as personal attendant.
Key terms
nissaya — “dependence” — the guided relationship this discourse's title names, and this chapter's second qualified role.
peyyāla — the standard abbreviation mark the source uses here for the elided, near-identical repeated text, already explained at AN 5.108.
asekha — “an adept”, one who has completed the training entirely — the standard carried over unchanged from AN 5.251.
pañcahi dhammehi samannāgata — “endowed with five qualities” — the formula's recurring opening phrase across this chapter's first six discourses.
vimuttiñāṇadassanakkhandha — the entire spectrum of the knowledge and vision of freedom — the fifth and final component, unchanged from AN 5.251.
The text
The discourse in full, as Sujato's translation restates it without the source's own abbreviation. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The standard for giving dependence
§1“Mendicants, dependence 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. Dependence 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 role does this discourse qualify a mendicant for?
Correct: A. The second of this chapter's three qualified roles.
Question 2 of 10
What standard does this discourse use?
Correct: A. The same five-item pentad, carried over without variation.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'nissaya' name, according to this discourse's guide?
Correct: A. The senior side of this relationship is what the discourse qualifies.
Question 4 of 10
How does the Pali source treat this discourse's five-item formula, compared to AN 5.251?
Correct: A. The wording is otherwise identical, so the source elides it.
Question 5 of 10
Why does the English text on this page appear in full rather than abbreviated?
Correct: A. The translation follows the source's meaning, not its typographic shorthand.
Question 6 of 10
What is the guide's stated reasoning for applying the same standard to this role?
Correct: A. Carried over directly from the logic already given at AN 5.251.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'peyyāla' refer to?
Correct: A. Already explained at AN 5.108, and cited briefly here rather than reargued.
Question 8 of 10
What third role does AN 5.253 apply this same standard to?
Correct: A. The narrowest and most domestic of the chapter's three roles.
Question 9 of 10
How many of the five components does this discourse change from AN 5.251?
Correct: A. A structurally identical page differing only in the role named.
Question 10 of 10
What is this discourse's overall form?
Correct: A. Structurally paired with AN 5.251 and AN 5.253.
