Dutiyacetovimuttiphalasutta — Yodhājīvavagga — the 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 progressive five-step perception chain, followed by the same five fortress epithets as AN 5.71; the source elides their repeated explanation as identical
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, and the hardest part already unpacked at AN 5.71
Why this discourse
AN 5.71's twin keeps the identical twofold fruit and the identical five fortress epithets, but replaces the opening five-topic list with a genuinely different, progressive chain: perceiving impermanence, then the suffering inherent in impermanence, then the not-self inherent in that suffering, then giving up, then fading away. Two different routes into the same standing-open fortress.
Reading guide
A chain, not a list
AN 5.71's five practices were five separate topics observed side by side. This discourse's five are a single deepening sequence, each step building on the realization of the one before it: impermanence noticed first, then the suffering bound up in anything impermanent, then the absence of any self within that suffering, then a resulting willingness to give up, and finally the fading away of what has been given up.
Same fruit, same fortress
The twofold fruit — freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom — and all five fortress epithets — cross-bar lifted, moat filled in, pillar pulled up, unimpeded, banner lowered and burden dropped — are worded identically to AN 5.71, down to the last phrase.
Why the explanation is left blank
In the source, only the opening list and the naming of the five epithets are translated in full; the explanation of each epithet, spelled out in AN 5.71, is represented here only by an ellipsis, since it is word-for-word the same explanation already given. This reading guide follows the source exactly: nothing has been invented or expanded to fill the gap, and the full explanation can be read at AN 5.71.
Two routes, one destination
Read as a pair, AN 5.71 and 5.72 make a structural point: the same liberating outcome, described with the same striking fortress image, can be reached either by observing several distinct facts about experience side by side, or by following a single chain of realization from one insight into the next.
A familiar shape
The progressive linking of one perception into the next — each step both completing and motivating the next — echoes the structure of other chained formulas already seen in this nipāta, such as the sequence from joy through tranquility to immersion. This particular five-step perception chain (impermanence, suffering, not-self, giving up, fading away) is itself a well-known formula found widely elsewhere in the early canon.
What comes next
AN 5.73 turns the chapter toward a different question entirely — what it means to ‘live by the teaching’ — before AN 5.75 finally reaches the chapter's title image, the warrior.
Key terms
aniccasaññā — “perception of impermanence” — the first step of this discourse's chain.
dukkhasaññā (anicce) — “perception of suffering in the impermanent” — the second step, built on the first.
anattasaññā (dukkhe) — “perception of not-self in what is suffering” — the third step.
pahānasaññā — “perception of giving up” — the fourth step.
virāgasaññā — “perception of fading away” — the fifth and final step of this discourse's chain.
The text
The discourse in full. The source leaves the explanation of the five fortress epithets untranslated here, as identical to AN 5.71's; only the opening chain and the naming of the epithets carry translated English text, and this page follows the source exactly. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The second five, and their fruit
§1“Mendicants, these five things, when developed and cultivated, have freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom as their fruit and benefit. What five? The perception of impermanence, the perception of suffering in impermanence, the perception of not-self in suffering, the perception of giving up, and the perception of fading away. These five things, when developed and cultivated, have freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom as their fruit and benefit. When a mendicant has freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom, such a mendicant is one who is called ‘one who has lifted the cross-bar’, ‘one who has filled in the moat’, ‘one who has pulled up the pillar’, ‘one who is unimpeded’, and also ‘a noble one with banner lowered and burden dropped, detached’. …”
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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 are the five items of this discourse's perception chain, in order?
Correct: B. A progressive chain, each step built on the one before.
Question 2 of 10
Is this the same five items as AN 5.71's opening list?
Correct: B. AN 5.71 used a five-topic list; this discourse uses a progressive chain instead.
Question 3 of 10
What twofold fruit is named, matching AN 5.71?
Correct: B. Cetovimutti and paññāvimutti, worded identically to AN 5.71.
Question 4 of 10
Are the five fortress epithets (cross-bar, moat, pillar, unimpeded, banner) the same as AN 5.71's?
Correct: B. Worded identically to AN 5.71.
Question 5 of 10
Why does the source leave the explanation of the five epithets untranslated here?
Correct: B. Elided in the source itself, not omitted by this reading guide.
Question 6 of 10
What is virāgasaññā, the fifth item in this chain?
Correct: C. The final step, following pahānasaññā, perception of giving up.
Question 7 of 10
Is anattasaññā, in this discourse, perceived within the impermanent or within suffering?
Correct: B. Dukkhe anattasaññā — not-self perceived within what is suffering, the third link in the chain.
Question 8 of 10
What makes this list 'progressive' rather than a five-topic list like AN 5.71's?
Correct: B. A chain of linked insight, not five separate observations.
Question 9 of 10
What chapter do both this discourse and AN 5.71 belong to?
Correct: C. The chapter this discourse pair opens.
Question 10 of 10
Which discourse reaches this chapter's title image, the warrior, directly?
Correct: C. The chapter's eponymous discourse, three places further on.
