Assaddhasutta — Theravagga — the ninth 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
two paired five-item lists, matching this chapter's running structure
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, and familiar from this nipāta's opening
Why this discourse
This discourse directly restates AN 5.1's five trainee-powers — faith, conscience, prudence, energy, and wisdom (saddhā, hiri, ottappa, vīriya, paññā) — the very pentad that opened this entire nipāta, now reframed not as powers a trainee cultivates but as exactly what makes a senior mendicant liked or disliked by companions.
Reading guide
The sekhabala pentad, once more
The negative list here — faithless, shameless, imprudent, lazy, witless (assaddha, ahirika, anottappī, kusīta, duppañña) — is the precise inverse of AN 5.1's opening five trainee-powers, and the positive list restates those five powers by name, unchanged.
From personal power to social regard
AN 5.1 offered these five as powers a trainee cultivates for their own progress. Here, the same five qualities are reframed through an entirely different lens: what determines how a senior mendicant is regarded by their own companions. The content is identical; the stakes named for it are not.
The negative list, defined
Assaddha (faithless), ahirika (shameless, lacking conscience), anottappī (imprudent, lacking prudent restraint), kusīta (lazy), and duppañña (witless) — the precise inverse of each of the five positive qualities, term for term.
A persistent thread across this nipāta
This same pentad, and its distinction from the standard bala/indriya list (faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, wisdom), was first flagged in this project at AN 4.163 and became this nipāta's opening statement at AN 5.1; this discourse is its most direct restatement so far within the Fives themselves.
What's notable about the reframing
A purely internal list of trainee-powers is shown here to have direct social consequences — how one is regarded by companions turns on the very same five qualities that determine one's own progress on the path.
What comes next
AN 5.85 shifts to a wholly different five: the capacity to endure the five external sense objects.
Key terms
saddhā — “faith” — the first of the sekhabala pentad, restated here.
hiri / ottappa — conscience and prudence — the twin moral-restraint qualities, second and third in the pentad.
vīriya — “energy” — the fourth quality.
paññā — “wisdom” — closing the pentad.
sekhabala — the trainee's five powers, first named at AN 5.1 and distinguished there from the standard bala/indriya list.
The text
The discourse in full: the sekhabala pentad's absence, then its restatement by name. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Unlikable
§1“Mendicants, a senior mendicant with five qualities is unlikable and disagreeable to their spiritual companions, not respected or admired. What five? They’re faithless, shameless, imprudent, lazy, and witless. A senior mendicant with these five qualities is unlikable and disagreeable to their spiritual companions, not respected or admired.
Dear and beloved
§2A senior mendicant with five qualities is dear and beloved to their spiritual companions, respected and admired. What five? They’re faithful, conscientious, prudent, energetic, and wise. A senior mendicant with these five qualities is dear and beloved to their spiritual companions, respected and admired.”
· · ·
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 qualities make up this discourse's negative list?
Correct: B. The precise inverse of the sekhabala pentad.
Question 2 of 10
What five qualities make up the positive list?
Correct: A. The sekhabala pentad, named exactly as at AN 5.1.
Question 3 of 10
Where did this exact five-item pentad first appear in this nipāta?
Correct: B. The Fives' opening discourse.
Question 4 of 10
In AN 5.1, how were these five qualities framed?
Correct: A. Sekhabala — a trainee's own five powers.
Question 5 of 10
How does this discourse reframe the same five qualities?
Correct: B. Personal power reframed as a matter of social standing.
Question 6 of 10
What does 'hiri' mean?
Correct: A. The second quality in the pentad.
Question 7 of 10
What does 'ottappa' mean?
Correct: A. The third quality, paired closely with hiri.
Question 8 of 10
What earlier discourse in this project first distinguished this pentad from the standard bala/indriya list?
Correct: A. Cited in the guide as the thread's first flagging point.
Question 9 of 10
Is this the same or a different five qualities than AN 5.83's scheming-behavior list?
Correct: B. AN 5.83's list concerned manipulative pursuit of support; this one restates the sekhabala pentad.
