Akkhamasutta — 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 foundational vocabulary
Why this discourse
A return to one of the canon's most basic lists: the five external sense objects — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches — here used to name a single, simple capacity: whether a senior mendicant can endure ordinary contact with them at all.
Reading guide
The five sense objects, a foundational list
Rūpa, sadda, gandha, rasa, phoṭṭhabba — sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches — correspond to the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body, and appear throughout the canon as the standard fivefold division of external sense experience.
'Cannot endure'
Akkhama names a simple inability to tolerate ordinary sense contact — not a technical meditative failure, just a basic lack of patience with whatever the senses happen to register.
The same five objects, reframed positively
Khama, endurance or patience toward the same five objects, is offered as the beloved senior mendicant's counterpart quality, with nothing else added.
Not the same as sense-restraint proper
This discourse's akkhama/khama names something more basic than the fuller technical practice of sense-restraint (indriyasaṁvara) described at AN 5.76 — not grasping at the features and details of what is seen or heard. This is bare tolerance itself, prior to any particular technique for managing sense contact.
Continuing the chapter's format
The fifth discourse in a row to use this chapter's paired unlikable/beloved skeleton, with a fifth distinct five-item list.
What comes next
AN 5.86 breaks the pattern for the first time in this chapter, offering only a single positive list without a paired negative counterpart.
Key terms
akkhama / khama — “unable to endure” / “able to endure” — this discourse's central pair.
rūpa — “sights” — the first of the five sense objects.
phoṭṭhabba — “touches” — the fifth sense object, corresponding to the body.
indriya — “sense faculty” — eye, ear, nose, tongue, body; the basis for this five-item list.
sabrahmacārī — “spiritual companions” — the central term repeated throughout this chapter.
The text
The discourse in full: inability to endure the five sense objects, then its opposite. 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 can’t endure sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. 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 can endure sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. 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 sense objects does this discourse's list cover?
Correct: A. Rūpa, sadda, gandha, rasa, phoṭṭhabba — the standard external sense objects.
Question 2 of 10
What does 'akkhama' mean?
Correct: B. The discourse's title term.
Question 3 of 10
What does 'khama' mean?
Correct: B. The positive counterpart named in the second list.
Question 4 of 10
How does this discourse's akkhama/khama differ from full sense-restraint as described at AN 5.76?
Correct: B. Indriyasaṁvara at AN 5.76 involves not grasping features and details; this is simpler, bare tolerance.
Question 5 of 10
Which sense faculty does 'phoṭṭhabba' correspond to?
Correct: C. Touches, corresponding to the body.
Question 6 of 10
Is this five-item list of sense objects unique to this discourse, or a standard formula?
Correct: B. One of the canon's most basic and frequently used lists.
Question 7 of 10
What is the shared skeleton this discourse follows, matching AN 5.81–84?
Correct: B. The fifth discourse in a row to use this paired structure.
Question 8 of 10
What does AN 5.86 change about this chapter's pattern?
Correct: B. The first break in the paired-list pattern so far in this chapter.
Question 9 of 10
How many sense objects total are named in this discourse?
Correct: C. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches.
Question 10 of 10
What earlier discourse in this chapter directly restates the sekhabala pentad?
Correct: D. Faith, conscience, prudence, energy, wisdom — first named at AN 5.1.
