Ājīvakasutta — 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
a single five-item list leading to hell; no matching heaven statement is given
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, and notably asymmetric compared to AN 5.286–292
Why this discourse
The identical five precepts, now addressed to an Ājīvaka, a member of a rival ascetic movement contemporary with early Buddhism. What changes is not the content but the shape: where AN 5.286–292 each paired a hell statement with a matching heaven statement for every category, this discourse states only the hell half. No positive counterpart is given for an Ājīvaka who keeps these five precepts.
Reading guide
The same formula, one audience further
Killing living creatures, stealing, having sex, lying, and consuming intoxicants — the identical five precepts already run across AN 5.286 and AN 5.287–292, now stated for an Ājīvaka, a wanderer belonging to a specific non-Buddhist ascetic movement of the period.
An asymmetry worth stating plainly
Every discourse in this chapter so far has paired a hell verdict with an identically structured heaven verdict for the same category. This discourse breaks that pattern: only the hell half is given, in bilara-data's own text, with no corresponding heaven statement anywhere in the file for this sutta-number.
What this discourse does not claim
This is not the same as a claim that no Ājīvaka who avoids these five faults goes to heaven; the text simply does not address that case here. This reading guide states the asymmetry as the source presents it, without supplying a heaven statement the text itself does not give.
A pattern that continues immediately
AN 5.294–302, the merged page that follows, repeats this same one-sided structure across nine further named rival ascetic and wanderer groups — every one of them stated only in hell-bound form.
What follows
AN 5.294–302 closes this chapter with the identical formula run across nine more named outsider groups, in the source's own heavily compressed, peyyāla-marked form.
Key terms
Ājīvaka — a member of a specific non-Buddhist ascetic movement contemporary with early Buddhism, distinct from the Jain and wanderer groups named at AN 5.294–302.
pāṇātipātī, adinnādāyī, abrahmacārī, musāvādī, surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhāyī — kills living creatures, steals, has sex, lies, and consumes intoxicants — the identical five-item formula carried over unchanged.
yathābhataṁ nikkhitto — “placed as if delivered there” — here applied only to the hell half of the formula, with no matching heaven statement in this discourse.
bhikkhave — “mendicants” — the discourse's stated audience remains the Buddhist community, even while its subject is an outsider ascetic.
pañcasīla — “the five precepts” — unchanged in content from AN 5.145 and AN 5.286–292, applied here without a positive counterpart.
The text
The discourse in full, exactly as the source gives it: only the hell half of the formula. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five qualities that lead to hell
§1“Mendicants, an Ājīvaka ascetic with five qualities is placed in hell as if delivered there. What five? They kill living creatures, steal, have sex, lie, and consume beer, wine, and liquor intoxicants. An Ājīvaka ascetic with these five qualities is placed in hell 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
Who is this discourse specifically addressed to as its subject?
Correct: A. Distinct from the Jain and other wanderer groups named at AN 5.294–302.
Question 2 of 10
What structural change distinguishes this discourse from AN 5.286–292?
Correct: A. Every prior discourse in this chapter paired both halves; this one breaks that pattern.
Question 3 of 10
What five precepts does this discourse name, unchanged from earlier in this chapter?
Correct: A. Identical content to AN 5.286 and AN 5.287–292.
Question 4 of 10
What does the guide explicitly say this discourse's asymmetry does NOT claim?
Correct: A. The guide states the asymmetry as the source presents it, without inventing a missing statement.
Question 5 of 10
What continues this same one-sided pattern immediately afterward?
Correct: A. Every one of the nine groups at AN 5.294–302 is likewise stated only in hell-bound form.
Question 6 of 10
Who does the discourse's grammatical audience, 'bhikkhave', remain, even though its subject is an outsider?
Correct: A. The Buddha addresses his own community about a group outside it.
Question 7 of 10
What verdict image does this discourse use for its stated hell outcome?
Correct: A. The same image already used at AN 5.286 and AN 5.287–292 for both halves.
Question 8 of 10
How does this discourse's form compare to AN 5.286's?
Correct: A. AN 5.286 paired hell and heaven statements; this discourse gives only one.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'pañcasīla' mean?
Correct: A. The formula's standard name, unchanged in content throughout this chapter.
Question 10 of 10
What chapter does this discourse belong to?
Correct: A. The twenty-eighth chapter of the Fives, now extending outside the Buddhist community.
