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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 5.67

Bases of Psychic Power (1st)

Paṭhamaiddhipādasutta — Saññāvagga — the seventh 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 guaranteed two-outcome claim, then five qualities named, four sharing an identical formula and one standing apart
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The four bases of psychic power (iddhipāda) are among the thirty-seven aids to awakening widely attested across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — a guaranteed outcome, stated with unusual confidence for this chapter

Why this discourse

This discourse makes a claim stronger than a description of what supports practice; it names an outcome and guarantees one of exactly two results for anyone who develops these five qualities: full enlightenment in this very life, or, at the least, non-return. The five items themselves belong to one of the thirty-seven aids to awakening, the four iddhipāda, with a fifth quality added that stands outside the standard formula entirely.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Any monk or nun who develops the four bases of psychic power — immersion due to enthusiasm, energy, mental development, and inquiry, each with active effort — plus sheer vigor as a fifth, can expect either enlightenment in this life or non-return.

A guaranteed either/or, not a maybe

Dvinnaṁ phalānaṁ aññataraṁ phalaṁ pāṭikaṅkhaṁ, one of two results can be expected, is a stronger claim than this chapter's other discourses have made. There is no third, lesser outcome named; the range runs from complete awakening at the top to non-return, itself among the highest attainments recognized in the canon, as the floor.

Four bases, one formula, applied four times

Chandasamādhipadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgataṁ iddhipādaṁ, the basis of psychic power that has immersion born of enthusiasm and active effort, is one long compound applied unchanged four times, substituting only the driving quality: enthusiasm (chanda), energy (vīriya), mental development (citta), and inquiry (vīmaṁsā). Each names a different route to the same structural outcome — immersion paired with sustained effort.

A fifth item, outside the formula

Ussoḷhiññeva pañcamiṁ, and the fifth is sheer vigor, breaks the pattern of the preceding four. It is not another basis of psychic power built from the same compound; it stands alone, unqualified, as if the four structured routes still needed something less formalized — raw, sustained determination — added on top.

What follows

AN 5.68, immediately next, gives the identical five items a second time, but changes everything about their frame: not a general teaching to any monk or nun, but the Buddha's own first-person account of what he developed before his awakening, while still a bodhisattva, not yet fully awakened.

Key terms

iddhipāda — “basis of psychic power” — one of the standard groups within the thirty-seven aids to awakening, four items sharing one compound formula here.
chanda vīriya citta vīmaṁsā — “enthusiasm, energy, mental development, inquiry” — the four driving qualities, each substituted into the identical iddhipāda formula.
ussoḷhi — “sheer vigor” — the fifth item, standing outside the four-item iddhipāda formula entirely, added unqualified.
diṭṭheva dhamme aññā — “enlightenment in this very life” — the higher of the two guaranteed outcomes.
anāgāmitā — “non-return” — the floor outcome, itself among the highest attainments recognized in the canon.

The text

The discourse in full: the guaranteed two-outcome claim, and the five qualities that produce it. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, any monk or nun who develops and cultivates five qualities can expect one of two results: enlightenment in this very life, or if there’s residue left behind, non-return.

The five qualities

§2What five?

§3A mendicant develops the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to enthusiasm, and active effort …

§4A mendicant develops the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to energy, and active effort …

§5A mendicant develops the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to mental development, and active effort …

§6A mendicant develops the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to inquiry, and active effort.

§7And the fifth is sheer vigor.

§8Any monk or nun who develops and cultivates these five qualities can expect one of two results: enlightenment in this very life, or if there’s residue left behind, non-return.”

· · ·

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 two outcomes does this discourse guarantee for anyone who develops the five qualities?
Correct: B. A guaranteed either/or, with no third, lesser outcome named.
Question 2 of 10
What are the four bases of psychic power, and what do they share?
Correct: B. One long compound applied unchanged four times, only the driving quality changing.
Question 3 of 10
How does the fifth item, sheer vigor, differ from the preceding four?
Correct: B. Raw, sustained determination, added on top of the four structured routes.
Question 4 of 10
How does the strength of this discourse's claim compare to other discourses in this chapter?
Correct: B. A guaranteed either/or is unusually confident language for this chapter.
Question 5 of 10
What does AN 5.68, the next discourse, do with this identical list?
Correct: B. The same content, reframed entirely as autobiography.
Question 6 of 10
Who is this discourse addressed to?
Correct: B. A general teaching, not restricted to any particular audience within the monastic community.
Question 7 of 10
What group of aids to awakening do the four iddhipāda belong to?
Correct: B. One of the standard groups within that wider framework.
Question 8 of 10
Is non-return described as a minor or lesser attainment?
Correct: B. The guaranteed range runs from complete awakening to a floor that is still exceptionally high.
Question 9 of 10
What does 'vīmaṁsā', the fourth driving quality, mean?
Correct: B. The fourth of the four routes to the same iddhipāda structure.
Question 10 of 10
Where is AN 5.67 set?
Correct: B. Consistent with the default setting used throughout this nipāta when nothing new is stated.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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