Bhikkhusutta — Sikkhāpadapeyyāla — the twenty-eighth 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, identical to AN 5.145's formula
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The five precepts (pañcasīla) are foundational across all Buddhist traditions; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the most familiar formula in the tradition, opening a new chapter's catalog
Why this discourse
The five precepts, already given in full at AN 5.145, restated once more — but this time addressed specifically to a monk, opening a new chapter that will run the identical formula across a lengthening catalog of persons: monastics, lay followers, and finally rival ascetic groups outside the tradition entirely.
Reading guide
A new chapter, a familiar formula
The Sikkhāpadapeyyāla (“Abbreviated Texts on Training Rules”) opens with the identical five precepts already given in full at AN 5.145: not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, and not consuming intoxicants.
Named for a specific audience
AN 5.145 stated the formula without naming a specific class of person. This discourse addresses it explicitly to bhikkhu, a monk — the first entry in what becomes, across this chapter, a lengthening roster of who the identical five-item standard applies to.
The hell/heaven verdict, again
The discourse closes each half with the familiar ‘placed as if delivered there’ formula (yathābhataṁ nikkhitto), already tracked across this project since AN 5.173, and used identically at AN 5.145 for this same five-precept content.
What the catalog will cover
AN 5.287–292 immediately extends this identical formula to six further categories within and around the monastic community: nuns, trainee nuns, novice monks, novice nuns, laymen, and laywomen.
What follows
AN 5.287–292, a single merged page in the source, restates this same five-item standard for those six further categories, closing on the explicit wording for a laywoman.
Key terms
pañcasīla — “the five precepts” — the identical formula already given in full at AN 5.145, restated here for a monk.
bhikkhu — “monk” — the first named category in this chapter's catalog of persons.
pāṇātipātī, adinnādāyī, abrahmacārī, musāvādī, surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhāyī — kills living creatures, steals, has sex, lies, and consumes intoxicants — the five precepts in negative, violated form.
yathābhataṁ nikkhitto — “placed as if delivered there” — the rebirth-verdict image already tracked since AN 5.173, and already paired with this exact formula at AN 5.145.
abrahmacariyā — “sexual activity” — for a monk under full celibate vows, any sexual activity at all, unlike the narrower ‘sexual misconduct’ wording used for lay followers elsewhere in this chapter.
The text
The discourse in full: the five precepts, negative and positive, addressed specifically to a monk. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five qualities that lead to hell
§1“Mendicants, a monk with five qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there. What five? He kills living creatures, steals, has sex, lies, and consumes beer, wine, and liquor intoxicants. A monk with these five qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there.
Five qualities that lead to heaven
§2A monk with five qualities is placed in heaven as if delivered there. What five? He doesn’t kill living creatures, steal, have sex, lie, or consume beer, wine, and liquor intoxicants. A monk 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 chapter does this discourse open?
Correct: A. This session's twenty-eighth chapter.
Question 2 of 10
Where does this exact five-precept formula already appear in full in this collection?
Correct: A. There general; here addressed specifically to a monk.
Question 3 of 10
What five precepts does this discourse name, in their violated form?
Correct: A. The classic pañcasīla, in negative form.
Question 4 of 10
What audience does this discourse specifically address?
Correct: A. The first entry in this chapter's lengthening catalog of persons.
Question 5 of 10
What verdict formula closes each half of this discourse?
Correct: A. Already tracked since AN 5.173, and already paired with this content at AN 5.145.
Question 6 of 10
How does 'abrahmacariyā', used here for a monk, differ from wording used elsewhere in this chapter?
Correct: A. Reflecting a monk's full celibate vows, distinct from lay-follower wording.
Question 7 of 10
What six further categories does AN 5.287–292 extend this formula to?
Correct: A. Community-internal categories, both monastic and lay.
Question 8 of 10
How is AN 5.287–292 represented in bilara-data?
Correct: A. Matching the merged-page convention already used earlier in this book.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'pañcasīla' mean?
Correct: A. Likely the single most widely known ethical formula in the tradition.
Question 10 of 10
How is this discourse's overall form described?
Correct: A. Restating rather than varying the content itself.
