Diṭṭhadhammanibbānasutta — Sāmaññavagga — the fifth chapter of the Nines
Setting
Not restated; understood to continue from AN 9.50
Speakers
Venerable Udāyī questioning Venerable Ānanda
Form
The same nine-stage template given in full one final time, closing with an untranslated double colophon
Length
~1 minute to read
Closing the chapter, and the First Fifty itself
This discourse closes Sāmaññavagga, the fifth chapter, and, with it, the entire Paṭhamapaṇṇāsaka — the First Fifty of the Book of the Nines
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — brief in itself, but weighty for what it closes
Why this discourse
Closing a run that grew progressively more compressed through AN 9.48, AN 9.49, and AN 9.50, this discourse restores full treatment one final time: a mendicant reaching any of the nine attainments has extinguishment in this life in a qualified sense, and only at the ninth, the cessation of perception and feeling, in a definitive sense — closing not only this chapter but the entire First Fifty of the Book of the Nines.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Reaching any of the nine progressive attainments is what the Buddha meant by ‘extinguishment in this life’ — in a qualified sense at each of the first eight stages, and in a definitive sense only upon reaching the cessation of perception and feeling, the same structure that has run through this entire chapter.
Full treatment restored, after three minimal stubs
After AN 9.48, AN 9.49, and AN 9.50 each survived as no more than a single elided line, this discourse breaks the pattern of compression and is given full treatment once more — a deliberate choice by the tradition to close both the run and the chapter with complete elaboration rather than a fourth bare stub.
A tenth term, closing a chapter about sameness
This is the tenth and final term this chapter's Sāmaññavagga, “Chapter on Similarity,” defines through its shared template: confinement, direct witnessing, freedom by wisdom, freedom both ways, apparent in the present life, and four variations on ‘extinguishment’ — ten near-synonymous framings of the same underlying nine-stage progression, each illuminating it from a slightly different angle.
Two colophons, closing two things at once
The source's own untranslated closing lines mark a double closure: first ‘Sāmaññavaggo pañcamo’ (“the fifth chapter, Sāmaññavagga, is finished”), then, immediately after, ‘paṭhamo paṇṇāsako samatto’ (“the First Fifty is completed”) — the same double-closing pattern met at the end of earlier nipātas' first-fifty sections, here marking the halfway point of the Book of the Nines itself, with the Second Fifty still ahead.
Key terms
diṭṭhadhammanibbānaṁ — “extinguishment in this life” — this discourse's own title compound, closing the run of extinguishment-named discourses begun at AN 9.47.
pariyāyena — “in a qualified sense” — the shared term for each of the first eight attainments, running through this entire chapter.
nippariyāyena — “in a definitive sense” — reserved for the ninth attainment alone, as at every discourse in this chapter.
sāmaññavaggo pañcamo — “the fifth chapter, Sāmaññavagga, is finished” — the source's own untranslated colophon closing this chapter.
paṭhamo paṇṇāsako samatto — “the First Fifty is completed” — the source's own second untranslated colophon, marking the halfway point of the entire Book of the Nines.
The text
The discourse in full: the same nine-stage template, given in complete detail one final time to close this chapter. The source's own double closing colophon is untranslated in the English and is described rather than quoted here. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Extinguishment in this life, at each of nine stages
§1“Reverend, they speak of ‘extinguishment in this life’. In what way did the Buddha speak of extinguishment in this life?” “First, take a mendicant who, quite secluded from sensual pleasures … enters and remains in the first absorption. To this extent the Buddha spoke of extinguishment in this life in a qualified sense. …
§2Furthermore, take a mendicant who, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end. To this extent the Buddha spoke of extinguishment in this life in a definitive sense.”
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Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 6
What term does this discourse define, closing the run begun at AN 9.47?
Correct: B. The final and fourth extinguishment-named term in this chapter's closing sequence.
Question 2 of 6
How does this discourse's treatment compare to AN 9.48 through AN 9.50's?
Correct: B. A deliberate choice to close both the run and the chapter with complete elaboration.
Question 3 of 6
How many distinct terms does this chapter's shared template define in total, including this one?
Correct: C. Ten near-synonymous framings of the same underlying nine-stage progression, one per discourse.
Question 4 of 6
What double closure does this discourse's untranslated colophon mark?
Correct: B. Two separate closing lines, marking the chapter's end and the halfway point of AN 9 together.
Question 5 of 6
What remains ahead after this discourse, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The halfway point of AN 9, not its end.
Question 6 of 6
At which stage alone is extinguishment in this life achieved in a definitive sense?
Correct: C. The consistent ninth-stage pattern held throughout this entire chapter.
