Pañcamacchariyasutta — 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 bare five-item list, with a closing ranking of the worst item
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, reopening a formula already met at AN 5.224
Why this discourse
The chapter turns from institutional qualification to stinginess — the same five-domain macchariya formula this project has already tracked in full at AN 5.224 and built up progressively across AN 5.236–240. This discourse restates the complete five-item list once more, and adds a ranking this project has not yet seen: which of the five is worst.
Reading guide
A formula already tracked
Stinginess with dwellings, families, material things, praise, and the teachings — the identical five-domain list first given in full at AN 5.224, and built up one domain at a time across AN 5.236–240. This discourse does not build the list again; it restates it complete, from the start.
A new element: a ranking
Where AN 5.224 and the AN 5.236–240 sequence presented the five domains as a flat set, this discourse closes with a comparison the earlier discourses did not make: stinginess with the teaching is named the most contemptible of the five.
Why the teaching ranks worst
The discourse gives no argument for the ranking; it simply states it. Read against this collection's broader treatment of the Dhamma as something meant to be shared rather than hoarded, withholding the teaching itself — rather than a dwelling, a family connection, material goods, or praise — blocks another person's access to the very thing that could end their suffering, not merely their comfort.
Setting up what follows
This restated, complete list becomes the shared material for the run of discourses that follows: AN 5.255 reframes it as the holy life's very purpose, and AN 5.256 onward turn it into an attainment-blocking formula.
What follows
AN 5.255 restates the same five domains once more, this time as what the spiritual life is lived to give up entirely.
Key terms
macchariya — “stinginess” — this discourse's subject, and the identical term already tracked from AN 5.224.
āvāsamacchariya, kulamacchariya, lābhamacchariya, vaṇṇamacchariya, dhammamacchariya — stinginess with dwellings, families, material things, praise, and the teachings — the complete five-domain list, unchanged from AN 5.224.
paṭikuṭṭha — “contemptible” or “condemned” — the term ranking stinginess with the teaching as worst among the five.
dhammamacchariya — stinginess specifically with the teachings — here singled out and ranked above the other four.
asekha — “an adept” — the standard governing AN 5.251–253, now left behind as this chapter turns to a new subject.
The text
The discourse in full: the five domains of stinginess, restated complete, with a ranking of the worst. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The five kinds of stinginess, ranked
§1“Mendicants, there are these five kinds of stinginess. What five? Stinginess with dwellings, families, material things, praise, and the teachings. These are the five kinds of stinginess. The most contemptible of these five kinds of stinginess is stinginess with the teaching.”
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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
Where does this exact five-domain stinginess list first appear in full in this collection?
Correct: A. Also built up progressively across AN 5.236–240.
Question 2 of 10
What five domains of stinginess does this discourse name?
Correct: A. Identical to the AN 5.224 and AN 5.236–240 list.
Question 3 of 10
What new element does this discourse add that AN 5.224 and AN 5.236–240 did not?
Correct: A. The earlier discourses presented the five as a flat, unranked set.
Question 4 of 10
Does the discourse give an explicit argument for why the teaching ranks worst?
Correct: A. The guide supplies its own reading rather than one stated in the text.
Question 5 of 10
What reading does the guide offer for why withholding the teaching ranks worst?
Correct: A. Read against this collection's broader view of the Dhamma as meant to be shared.
Question 6 of 10
How does AN 5.255 use this same five-domain list?
Correct: A. The next discourse in this developing sequence.
Question 7 of 10
What formula governed the immediately preceding three discourses, AN 5.251–253?
Correct: A. Left behind as the chapter turns to this new subject.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'dhammamacchariya' mean?
Correct: A. The domain singled out and ranked worst by this discourse.
Question 9 of 10
How is this discourse's form described?
Correct: A. Short and direct, restating rather than building the list.
Question 10 of 10
What role does this restated list play for the discourses that follow it in this chapter?
Correct: A. Reused as the basis for the giving-up formula and the attainment-blocking formula to come.
