Akusalarāsisutta — Nīvaraṇavagga — the 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 single claim, stated once and then repeated verbatim as its own conclusion
Length
~20 seconds to read
Northern parallel
Characterizing the hindrances as the sum of unskillfulness recurs across the Chinese Āgamas' treatment of the same list; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the shortest discourse in this chapter, making the boldest claim about its own subject
Why this discourse
This discourse makes a claim stronger than anything AN 5.51 said. It does not call the five hindrances a kind of unskillfulness, or a significant source of it; it says that rightly speaking, they are, entirely, a heap of the unskillful — as if unskillfulness itself, gathered into one pile, would turn out to be nothing more or less than these five things.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Rightly speaking, the five hindrances — sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt — are entirely a heap of the unskillful.
A claim about totality, not membership
Kevalo, entirely, is the word doing the real work here. The discourse does not say the hindrances belong to the category of unskillful things among others; it says they exhaust the category. This is a stronger and more specific claim than a casual reader might assume — not ‘these are examples of unskillfulness’ but ‘this is what unskillfulness, entirely, consists of’.
‘Rightly speaking’, and what it implies
The phrase sammā vadamāno vadeyya, rightly speaking, one would say, frames this as a claim about correct description, not merely a rhetorical flourish. The discourse is staking out a specific position on how the word ‘unskillful’ ought to be used when applied to this list, against whatever looser usage might otherwise apply the term more broadly.
A single sentence, repeated as its own proof
The discourse's entire structure is one claim, stated, and then the identical claim restated as its own conclusion, with the five hindrances named explicitly in between. There is no simile, no narrative, no argument beyond the assertion itself — a form matching the claim's own totalizing character: nothing more needs adding once the heap has been named complete.
Key terms
akusalarāsi — “heap of the unskillful” — this discourse's title and central claim, an image of unskillfulness gathered entirely into one pile.
kevalo — “entirely, completely” — the word marking this as a claim about totality, not mere membership in a category.
sammā vadamāno vadeyya — “rightly speaking, one would say” — framing the claim as a matter of correct description, not rhetorical exaggeration.
nīvaraṇa — “hindrance” — the five states this discourse claims exhaust the category of the unskillful entirely.
vicikicchā — “doubt” — the fifth and final hindrance named, closing the list this discourse claims is complete.
The text
The discourse in full: a single claim, the five hindrances named, and the claim restated. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, rightly speaking, you’d call the five hindrances a ‘heap of the unskillful’. For these five hindrances are entirely a heap of the unskillful. What five? The hindrances of sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt. Rightly speaking, you’d call these five hindrances a ‘heap of the unskillful’. For these five hindrances are entirely a heap of the unskillful.”
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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 claim does this discourse make about the five hindrances?
Correct: B. A claim of totality, not mere membership in a category.
Question 2 of 10
What does 'kevalo', entirely, mark in this discourse?
Correct: B. The word doing the discourse's real work, per the guide's reading.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'sammā vadamāno vadeyya', rightly speaking, one would say, frame this claim as?
Correct: B. Not rhetorical flourish, but a claim about accurate terminology.
Question 4 of 10
What structure does this discourse's entire text follow?
Correct: B. No simile or argument beyond the assertion itself, matching its own totalizing content.
Question 5 of 10
How does this discourse's claim compare in strength to AN 5.51's treatment of the same five states?
Correct: B. A bolder, more totalizing claim than the previous discourse made.
Question 6 of 10
What five hindrances does this discourse name?
Correct: B. The identical five items named at AN 5.51, in the same order.
Question 7 of 10
Does this discourse offer any simile to illustrate its claim?
Correct: B. The shortest and most direct discourse in this chapter.
Question 8 of 10
How long is this discourse?
Correct: B. A single sentence, stated and then restated as conclusion.
Question 9 of 10
What comes next in this chapter?
Correct: B. A shift from what obstructs meditation to what makes it possible.
Question 10 of 10
Where is AN 5.52 set?
Correct: B. Consistent with the default setting used throughout this nipāta when nothing new is stated.
