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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 5.43

Likable

Iṭṭhasutta — Muṇḍarājavagga — the fifth chapter of the Fives

Setting
None restated, though the same Anāthapiṇḍika continues as questioner from AN 5.41
Speakers
The householder Anāthapiṇḍika, addressed by the Buddha
Form
Five desired things named, a flat rejection of prayer as their cause, five parallel formulas naming practice instead, closing with verses
Length
~3 minutes to read
Northern parallel
Rejecting supplication in favor of causal practice as the route to desired outcomes is a recurring emphasis across the Chinese Āgamas' treatment of karma; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — a direct, almost argumentative discourse against wishing as a method

Why this discourse

This discourse makes one of the most direct anti-magical-thinking arguments in the collection so far. Long life, beauty, happiness, fame, and heaven — five things everyone wants and few get — are named, and the Buddha states flatly that they are not got by supplication or wishing for them, adding the plainest possible reason: if they were, who would lack them? What follows is not resignation but redirection: five parallel instructions to practice the way that actually leads to each.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Long life, beauty, happiness, fame, and heaven are hard to get and are not obtained by praying, hoping, or pining for them; a noble disciple who wants any of them should instead practice the way that leads to it.

An argument, not just an assertion

The Buddha does not simply state that prayer doesn't work; he gives a reason: if they were [got by supplication], who would lack them? Since these five things are visibly unevenly distributed — some people are long-lived, others are not, some famous, others not — and everyone presumably wishes for all five, the uneven distribution itself is offered as evidence that wishing is not the operative mechanism.

Five parallel formulas, one structure

For each of the five, the identical three-part structure repeats: a noble disciple should not pray, hope, or pine for it; instead they should practice the way that leads to it; and by practicing that way, they gain it, as a god or a human. The discourse does not vary this structure once across all five applications, making it function as a general template for how any desired outcome should be pursued, not only these five specific ones.

What the discourse does not specify

Notably, this discourse never states what ‘the way that leads to’ long life, beauty, happiness, fame, or heaven actually consists of. That content has already been supplied elsewhere in this nipāta — AN 5.37's giving of food, for instance, was explicitly said to produce exactly these kinds of results. This discourse assumes that groundwork rather than repeating it, and states only the general principle: cause, not petition, produces effect.

The closing verses' redefinition of ‘astute’

The verses close by defining paṇḍita, astute, not as clever or knowledgeable in the abstract but as someone who secures both benefits — the benefit in this life and in lives to come — through diligence in merit-making. Astuteness, on this account, is measured by effective practice, not by intellectual sophistication.

Key terms

iṭṭhā kantā manāpā dullabhā — “likable, desirable, agreeable, hard to get” — the fourfold description opening the discourse, naming both the appeal and the scarcity of its five subjects.
āyācanahetu patthanāhetu — “by reason of supplication, by reason of wishing” — the two causes explicitly ruled out as producing any of the five desired things.
saṁvattanikā paṭipadā — “the way that leads to it” — the discourse's fixed phrase for the practice substituted for prayer, repeated identically five times.
dibba mānusa — “divine or human” — the two forms of existence in which each of the five things is said to be gained through practice.
paṇḍita — “astute” — redefined in the closing verse as one who secures both this-life and future-life benefit through diligence.

The text

The discourse in full: the five hard-to-get things, the rejection of prayer, and the five parallel instructions to practice instead, closing with verses. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1Then the householder Anāthapiṇḍika went up to the Buddha, bowed, and sat down to one side. The Buddha said to him:

Five hard-to-get things

§2“Householder, these five things, which are likable, desirable, and agreeable are hard to get in the world. What five? Long life, beauty, happiness, fame, and heaven. These are the five things, which are likable, desirable, and agreeable, but hard to get in the world.

Not by prayer or wishing

§3And I say that these five things are not got by supplication or wishing for them. If they were, who would lack them?

The way that leads to each

§4A noble disciple who wants to live long ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to long life. For by practicing that way they gain long life as a god or a human being.

§5A noble disciple who wants to be beautiful ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to beauty. For by practicing that way they gain beauty as a god or a human being.

§6A noble disciple who wants to be happy ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to happiness. For by practicing that way they gain happiness as a god or a human being.

§7A noble disciple who wants to be famous ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to fame. For by practicing that way they gain fame as a god or a human being.

§8A noble disciple who wants to go to heaven ought not pray for it, or hope for it, or pine for it. Instead, they should practice the way that leads to heaven. For by practicing that way they gain heaven, they are one who gains the heavens.

The closing verses

§9For one who desires lofty delights again and again—long life, beauty, fame and reputation, heaven, and an eminent family—

§10the astute praise diligence in making merit. Being diligent, an astute person secures both benefits:

§11the benefit in this life, and in lives to come. An attentive one, comprehending the meaning, is called ‘astute’.”

· · ·

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 five things does this discourse name as hard to get in the world?
Correct: B. Five broadly desired things, said to be hard to obtain.
Question 2 of 10
What does the Buddha explicitly say does NOT produce these five things?
Correct: B. Prayer and hope are ruled out directly.
Question 3 of 10
What reasoning does the Buddha give for rejecting prayer as the cause?
Correct: B. The uneven distribution of these five things is offered as evidence against wishing as the mechanism.
Question 4 of 10
What does the discourse instruct instead of praying or wishing?
Correct: B. The identical three-part structure — no prayer, practice instead, gain follows — repeats five times.
Question 5 of 10
Does this discourse specify exactly what practice leads to each of the five things?
Correct: B. The general causal principle is stated; specific content comes from earlier discourses like AN 5.37.
Question 6 of 10
How does the closing verse redefine 'paṇḍita', astute?
Correct: B. Astuteness measured by effective practice, not intellectual sophistication.
Question 7 of 10
Is this discourse an argument for resignation in the face of these five hard-to-get things?
Correct: B. A redirection toward causal practice, not a counsel of despair.
Question 8 of 10
How many times does the identical three-part formula (no prayer, practice instead, gain follows) repeat across the discourse?
Correct: C. One unvarying structure applied to long life, beauty, happiness, fame, and heaven in turn.
Question 9 of 10
In what two forms of existence does practice yield each of the five things?
Correct: B. The same two destinations named across several discourses in this chapter.
Question 10 of 10
Who does this discourse continue addressing from AN 5.41?
Correct: B. The setting is not restated, but the same interlocutor continues.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousAN 5.42 · A True Person