Byākaraṇasutta — Kakudhavagga — the tenth 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 bare five-item list, with no elaboration beyond naming each cause
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
not identified in this collection
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, with one important distinction to notice
Why this discourse
A framework for evaluating any claim to enlightenment, one's own included: five possible causes behind such a declaration — stupidity, corrupt wishes, madness, overestimation, or, in the fifth and final case, the genuine article — distinguishing sincere error from deliberate deception and both from actual attainment.
Reading guide
Declaring one's own attainment
Aññābyākaraṇa, declaring enlightenment, names the act of claiming final knowledge for oneself. This discourse lists five possible circumstances behind such a claim, only the last of which the discourse treats as genuine.
Four false declarations
Stupidity and folly (simply not understanding what is being claimed); corrupt wishes, a wishful or ambitious temperament (deliberately claiming falsely out of desire for status or gain); and madness or mental disorder (an involuntary, pathological cause) — three distinct roots for a false claim, none of them identical to the others.
Overestimation, a category apart
The fourth cause, adhimāna, names something different in kind from the first three: a sincere but mistaken self-assessment, someone who has genuinely misjudged their own progress rather than lied, been deranged, or simply failed to understand the claim. This is a specific, recognized technical category in its own right, distinct from deliberate deception.
The fifth, true declaration
The genuine case is given no elaboration at all beyond a single word, sammadeva, ‘rightly’ — in sharp contrast to the four false types, each of which is named with a specific cause.
A practical framework
Read plainly, this list offers a way to evaluate any claim to enlightenment one encounters — including one's own — by distinguishing the possible causes behind it, rather than simply accepting or dismissing the claim outright.
What comes next
AN 5.94 turns to something calmer: five ways of living comfortably, culminating in the four absorptions and full liberation.
Key terms
aññābyākaraṇa — “declaring enlightenment” — this discourse's central act, evaluated across five possible causes.
pāpiccha — “corrupt wishes”, a wishful or ambitious temperament — the second false cause.
ummāda / cittakkhepa — “madness”, mental derangement — the third false cause.
adhimāna — “overestimation” — a sincere but mistaken self-assessment, distinct in kind from deliberate deception or pathology.
sammadeva — “rightly, correctly” — the fifth and only genuine case, given no further elaboration.
The text
The discourse in full: five possible causes behind a claim to enlightenment. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Five ways of declaring enlightenment
§1“Mendicants, there are five ways of declaring enlightenment. What five? One declares enlightenment out of stupidity and folly. Or because of corrupt wishes, being of wishful temperament. Or because of madness and mental disorder. Or out of overestimation. Or one declares enlightenment rightly. These are the five ways of declaring enlightenment.”
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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 does 'aññābyākaraṇa' refer to?
Correct: A. This discourse's title term.
Question 2 of 10
How many false causes for declaring enlightenment does this discourse name?
Correct: C. Stupidity, corrupt wishes, madness, and overestimation.
Question 3 of 10
What is the first false cause?
Correct: A. Simply not understanding what is being claimed.
Question 4 of 10
What is 'pāpiccha'?
Correct: B. Deliberate false claiming out of desire for status or gain.
Question 5 of 10
What is 'adhimāna', and how does it differ from the other three false causes?
Correct: B. A genuine but mistaken belief in one's own attainment.
Question 6 of 10
What is the fifth and only genuine declaration called?
Correct: B. The single word naming the genuine case.
Question 7 of 10
How much elaboration is given for the fifth, genuine case, compared to the four false ones?
Correct: C. In sharp contrast to the specifically named false causes.
Question 8 of 10
Is madness treated as a deliberate deception in this discourse?
Correct: B. A distinct fourth cause, not conflated with deliberate lying.
Question 9 of 10
What practical use might this five-item framework serve?
Correct: B. A way to distinguish sincere error, deception, pathology, and genuine attainment.
Question 10 of 10
What does AN 5.94 turn to next?
Correct: B. A calmer list, after this discourse's diagnostic one.
