Another Discourse on the Second Absorption, and So On
Aparadutiyajhānasuttādi — a merged page, closing 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
one paired block/enable statement, the ingratitude-variant formula cross-run against seven attainments — representing seven individually numbered discourses
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — compressed, closing this chapter's second and final seven-fold sequence
Why this discourse
This page closes the Upasampadāvagga exactly as AN 5.257–263 closed its own first half: seven more discourses compressed into one file. AN 5.264's variant formula — four stinginess domains plus ingratitude, in place of the fifth stinginess — is now run against the second, third, and fourth absorptions, and the fruits of stream-entry, once-return, non-return, and full awakening, mirroring AN 5.257–263's sequence precisely.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The ingratitude-variant formula from AN 5.264 — stinginess with dwellings, families, material things, and praise, plus ingratitude and thanklessness in the fifth slot — is run against the same six further attainments AN 5.257–263 already covered: the second, third, and fourth absorptions, and the fruits of stream-entry, once-return, non-return, and full awakening.
A precise mirror of the chapter's first merged page
This page's relationship to AN 5.264 is exactly AN 5.257–263's relationship to AN 5.256: the same seven-attainment extension, applied to a five-item formula one discourse earlier gave for the first absorption alone.
Two parallel tracks, seven attainments each
Read together, AN 5.256/257–263 and AN 5.264/265–271 form two complete, parallel tracks through the identical seven attainments, differing only in whether the fifth blocking condition is stinginess with the teachings or ingratitude. Fourteen sutta-numbers, two underlying formulas, one shared structure.
The chapter's closing colophon
The source's closing line for this passage, Ekavīsatimaṁ, gives the ordinal ‘twenty-first’ — the count of discourses in this chapter from AN 5.251 through AN 5.271, confirming this chapter's own scope exactly as the colophon mechanism has confirmed chapter counts before, first explained in full at AN 5.10.
A chapter of two distinct halves
Looking back across the whole Upasampadāvagga: three discourses on institutional qualification (AN 5.251–253), then six discourses and two merged pages on stinginess as an attainment-blocking condition (AN 5.254–271) — two halves connected by the same underlying concern, that certain unrelinquished qualities close off both institutional roles and meditative attainments alike.
What follows
AN 5.272 opens the Sammutipeyyāla, this book's twenty-seventh chapter, moving to a new subject: formal authorization by the community.
Key terms
Aparadutiyajhānasuttādi — “another second-absorption discourse and so on” — this page's Pali title, naming it as the ingratitude-variant counterpart to AN 5.257–263.
Ekavīsatimaṁ — “the twenty-first” — the closing colophon's ordinal, confirming twenty-one discourses from AN 5.251 through this page's final sutta-number.
akataññutā akataveditā — “ingratitude and thanklessness” — the substituted fifth item carried over unchanged from AN 5.264.
arahatta — full awakening — the final and seventh attainment in both this page's sequence and its AN 5.257–263 counterpart.
Upasampadāvagga — “Ordination” — this chapter's title, closing here after two distinct halves on qualification and on stinginess.
The text
The formula exactly as the source compresses it: the ingratitude-variant five items, run against seven attainments, closing this chapter. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
What blocks each attainment
§1“Mendicants, without giving up these five qualities you can’t enter and remain in the second absorption … third absorption … fourth absorption … or realize the fruit of stream-entry … the fruit of once-return … the fruit of non-return … perfection. What five? Stinginess with dwellings, families, material things, praise, and lack of gratitude and thankfulness. Without giving up these five qualities you can’t realize perfection.
What enables each attainment
§2But after giving up these five qualities you can enter and remain in the second absorption … third absorption … fourth absorption … and realize the fruit of stream-entry … the fruit of once-return … the fruit of non-return … perfection. What five? Stinginess with dwellings, families, material things, praise, and lack of gratitude and thankfulness. After giving up these five qualities you can realize perfection.”
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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
How many individually numbered discourses does this page represent?
Correct: A. Mirroring AN 5.257–263's identical seven-discourse scope.
Question 2 of 10
What formula does this page run against seven attainments?
Correct: A. Carried over unchanged from AN 5.264, exactly as AN 5.257–263 carried over AN 5.256's formula.
Question 3 of 10
What is this page's precise structural relationship to AN 5.257–263?
Correct: A. Two parallel tracks through the identical seven attainments.
Question 4 of 10
What does the closing colophon 'Ekavīsatimaṁ' confirm?
Correct: A. Confirming this chapter's scope, using the colophon mechanism explained in full at AN 5.10.
Question 5 of 10
How does the guide describe the Upasampadāvagga's overall structure, looking back across the whole chapter?
Correct: A. Connected by the shared concern that unrelinquished qualities close off both roles and attainments.
Question 6 of 10
What chapter opens next, after this page closes the Upasampadāvagga?
Correct: A. AN 5.272, this book's twenty-seventh chapter.
Question 7 of 10
What seven attainments does this page's formula cover?
Correct: A. Identical in scope to AN 5.257–263, differing only in the underlying five-item formula.
Question 8 of 10
What does 'Aparadutiyajhānasuttādi' mean?
Correct: A. Naming this page as the ingratitude-variant counterpart to AN 5.257–263.
Question 9 of 10
How many total sutta-numbers do the two merged pages in this chapter, AN 5.257–263 and AN 5.265–271, together represent?
Correct: A. Seven each, two parallel tracks through the identical seven-attainment sequence.
Question 10 of 10
What underlying concern does the guide say connects this chapter's two halves?
Correct: A. Read across AN 5.251–253's qualification standard and AN 5.254–271's stinginess formula.
