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Tidipa

6. Pañcaka (Fives)

· 73 min read

The Fives of the Saṅgītisutta (8D/10): twenty-six sets of five Dhammas, from the collections and the hindrances to the five escapes and the bases for liberation, recited by āyasmā Sāriputta for the bhikkhū to chant in harmony.

Original text: 8D/10.5 Pañcaka 943–975 in the World Tipitaka Edition

Summary

Section titled “Summary”

The fifth section of the Saṅgītisutta: twenty-six sets of five Dhammas that āyasmā Sāriputta recites for the bhikkhū to chant in harmony. The sets run from the familiar fives — the collections, the hindrances, the lower and higher fetters, the precepts, the faculties — through the dangers of failing in virtue and the benefits of keeping it, to the five escapes from sensual pleasures, ill will, harm, forms and identity, and the five bases for liberation.

Diagram

Section titled “Diagram”
flowchart TB
    S["the Fives: twenty-six sets"] --> E["experience"]
    E --> E2["collections, collections of fuel, objects of sensual desire, destinations, faculties"]
    S --> B["what binds"]
    B --> B2["selfishness, hindrances, lower and higher fetters, barrenness and shackles of the mind"]
    S --> C["conduct and virtue"]
    C --> C2["precepts, five impossibilities, losses and accomplishments, dangers and benefits, criticising another"]
    S --> L["what frees"]
    L --> L2["factors of striving, five escapes, bases for liberation, apperceptions ripening in liberation"]
    S --> R["persons and realms"]
    R --> R2["pure abodes, non-returners"]

Text

Section titled “Text”

(315.)

943. Āvuso, there are five Dhammas well proclaimed by the Bhagavā, the liberated one, the perfectly awakened one, who knows and sees. Therein all should recite in harmony, not quarrel, so that this optimal life may endure long and last for a long time, which would be for the welfare and happiness of many people, out of compassion for the world, for the good, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans. What five?

944. Five khandhā (collections): the collection of form, the collection of feeling, the collection of apperception, the collection of mental constructions, and the collection of consciousness. (1)

945. Five upādānakkhandhā (collections of fuel): the collection of form as fuel, the collection of feeling as fuel, the collection of apperception as fuel, the collection of mental constructions as fuel, and the collection of consciousness as fuel. (2)

946. Five kāmaguṇā (objects of sensual desire): forms cognisable by the eye — agreeable, pleasant, charming, alluring, accompanied by sensual desire, and stimulating; sounds cognisable by the ear …; odours cognisable by the nose …; tastes cognisable by the tongue …; tactile objects cognisable by the body — agreeable, pleasant, charming, alluring, accompanied by sensual desire, and stimulating. (3)

947. Five destinations: hell, the animal realm, the realm of ghosts, humans, and gods. (4)

948. Five kinds of selfishness: selfishness about lodgings, selfishness about families, selfishness about gains, selfishness about praise, and selfishness about the Dhamma. (5)

949. Five nīvaraṇā (hindrances): the hindrance of sensual desire, the hindrance of ill will, the hindrance of sloth and torpor, the hindrance of restlessness and remorse, and the hindrance of doubt. (6)

950. Five lower fetters: identity view, doubt, adherence to rites and rituals, sensual desire, and ill will. (7)

951. Five higher fetters: passion for form, passion for the formless, conceit, restlessness, and ignorance. (8)

952. Five precepts: abstinence from killing living beings, abstinence from theft, abstinence from sexual misconduct, abstinence from false speech, and abstinence from wine, spirits, drugs and states of intoxication. (9)

(316.)

953. Five impossibilities: A bhikkhu with the defilements destroyed, Āvuso, is incapable of intentionally depriving a living being of life. A bhikkhu with the defilements destroyed is incapable of taking what is not given with intent to steal. A bhikkhu with the defilements destroyed is incapable of engaging in the sexual act. A bhikkhu with the defilements destroyed is incapable of telling a deliberate lie. A bhikkhu with the defilements destroyed is incapable of enjoying sensual pleasures by storing them up, as before, when he was a householder. (10)

954. Five losses: loss of relatives, loss of wealth, loss of health, loss of virtue, and loss of view. It is not, Āvuso, because of loss of relatives, or loss of wealth, or loss of health that beings, with the breakup of the body, after death, reappear in a state of deprivation, a bad destination, a lower realm, hell. It is because of loss of virtue, Āvuso, or because of loss of view that beings, with the breakup of the body, after death, reappear in a state of deprivation, a bad destination, a lower realm, hell. (11)

955. Five accomplishments: accomplishment in relatives, accomplishment in wealth, accomplishment in health, accomplishment in virtue, and accomplishment in view. It is not, Āvuso, because of accomplishment in relatives, or accomplishment in wealth, or accomplishment in health that beings, with the breakup of the body, after death, reappear in a good destination, a heavenly world. It is because of accomplishment in virtue, Āvuso, or because of accomplishment in view that beings, with the breakup of the body, after death, reappear in a good destination, a heavenly world. (12)

956. Five dangers for the immoral person through failure of virtue: Here, Āvuso, an immoral person who has failed in virtue, on account of heedlessness, suffers a great loss of wealth; this is the first danger for the immoral person through failure of virtue. Again, Āvuso, a bad report spreads about an immoral person who has failed in virtue; this is the second danger for the immoral person through failure of virtue. Again, Āvuso, whatever assembly an immoral person who has failed in virtue approaches, whether an assembly of Khattiyas, an assembly of brahmins, an assembly of householders, or an assembly of wanderers, he approaches it diffident and embarrassed; this is the third danger for the immoral person through failure of virtue. Again, Āvuso, an immoral person who has failed in virtue dies confused; this is the fourth danger for the immoral person through failure of virtue. Again, Āvuso, an immoral person who has failed in virtue, with the breakup of the body, after death, reappears in a state of deprivation, a bad destination, a lower realm, hell; this is the fifth danger for the immoral person through failure of virtue. (13)

957. Five benefits for the virtuous person through accomplishment in virtue: Here, Āvuso, a virtuous person accomplished in virtue, on account of heedfulness, acquires a great pile of wealth; this is the first benefit for the virtuous person through accomplishment in virtue. Again, Āvuso, a good report spreads about a virtuous person accomplished in virtue; this is the second benefit for the virtuous person through accomplishment in virtue. Again, Āvuso, whatever assembly a virtuous person accomplished in virtue approaches, whether an assembly of Khattiyas, an assembly of brahmins, an assembly of householders, or an assembly of wanderers, he approaches it confident and unembarrassed; this is the third benefit for the virtuous person through accomplishment in virtue. Again, Āvuso, a virtuous person accomplished in virtue dies unconfused; this is the fourth benefit for the virtuous person through accomplishment in virtue. Again, Āvuso, a virtuous person accomplished in virtue, with the breakup of the body, after death, reappears in a good destination, a heavenly world; this is the fifth benefit for the virtuous person through accomplishment in virtue. (14)

958. Āvuso, a bhikkhu who criticises, wishing to criticise another, should criticise the other having established five things within himself. I will speak at the right time, not at the wrong time; I will speak truthfully, not falsely; I will speak gently, not harshly; I will speak beneficially, not uselessly; I will speak with a mind of goodwill, not with hatred within. Āvuso, a bhikkhu who criticises, wishing to criticise another, should criticise the other having established these five things within himself. (15)

(317.)

959. Five factors of striving: Here, Āvuso, a bhikkhu is confident; he has confidence in the awakening of the Tathāgata: ‘Such indeed is the Bhagavā: an arahant (liberated one), a sammāsambuddha (perfectly awakened one), accomplished in knowledge and conduct, fortunate, knower of the world, unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, the Awakened One, the Bhagavā.’ He is healthy and free from illness, endowed with an even digestion, neither too cold nor too hot, moderate, fit for striving. He is honest and not deceitful, one who reveals himself as he really is to the Teacher or to the wise among his companions in the optimal life. He dwells with energy aroused for the giving up of unwholesome characteristics and the taking up of wholesome characteristics, having stamina, of persistent effort, not shirking his duty regarding wholesome characteristics. He is wise, endowed with the wisdom that discerns arising and passing away, which is of the liberated, penetrating, and leads to the complete destruction of suffering. (16)

(318.)

960. Five pure abodes: Aviha, Atappa, Sudassa, Sudassī, and Akaniṭṭha. (17)

961. Five non-returners: one who is extinguished in between, one who is extinguished having cut short [the next life], one who is extinguished without intention, one who is extinguished with intention, and one who goes upstream to Akaniṭṭha. (18)

(319.)

962. Five kinds of barrenness of mind: Here, Āvuso, a bhikkhu doubts, is perplexed, is not fully convinced, and is not confident concerning the Teacher. Āvuso, whichever bhikkhu doubts, is perplexed, is not fully convinced, and is not confident concerning the Teacher, his mind does not incline to effort, to practice, to perseverance, to striving; one whose mind does not incline to effort, to practice, to perseverance, to striving — this is the first barrenness of mind. Again, Āvuso, a bhikkhu doubts and is perplexed concerning the Dhamma … and so on … doubts and is perplexed concerning the Saṅgha … doubts and is perplexed concerning the training … is angry with his companions in the optimal life, displeased, with a stricken mind, hard-hearted. Āvuso, whichever bhikkhu is angry with his companions in the optimal life, displeased, with a stricken mind, hard-hearted, his mind does not incline to effort, to practice, to perseverance, to striving; one whose mind does not incline to effort, to practice, to perseverance, to striving — this is the fifth barrenness of mind. (19)

(320.)

963. Five shackles of the mind: Here, Āvuso, a bhikkhu is not free from passion for sensual pleasures, not free from desire, not free from affection, not free from thirst, not free from fever, not free from craving. Āvuso, whichever bhikkhu is not free from passion for sensual pleasures, not free from desire, not free from affection, not free from thirst, not free from fever, not free from craving, his mind does not incline to effort, to practice, to perseverance, to striving. One whose mind does not incline to effort, to practice, to perseverance, to striving. This is the first shackle of the mind. Again, Āvuso, a bhikkhu is not free from passion for the body … and so on … is not free from passion for form … and so on … again, Āvuso, a bhikkhu, having eaten as much as he likes, filling his stomach, dwells devoted to the pleasure of the bed, the pleasure of lying on his side, the pleasure of dozing … and so on … again, Āvuso, a bhikkhu lives the optimal life aspiring to a certain class of gods: ‘By this virtue or observance or austerity or optimal life I will become a god or one of the gods.’ Āvuso, whichever bhikkhu lives the optimal life aspiring to a certain class of gods: ‘By this virtue or observance or austerity or optimal life I will become a god or one of the gods’, his mind does not incline to effort, to practice, to perseverance, to striving. One whose mind does not incline to effort, to practice, to perseverance, to striving. This is the fifth shackle of the mind. (20)

964. Five faculties: the eye-faculty, the ear-faculty, the nose-faculty, the tongue-faculty, and the body-faculty. (21)

965. Another five faculties: the faculty of pleasure, the faculty of pain, the faculty of happiness, the faculty of displeasure, and the faculty of equanimity. (22)

966. Another five faculties: the faculty of saddhā (confidence), the faculty of vīriya (energy), the faculty of sati (awareness), the faculty of samādhi (focus), and the faculty of paññā (wisdom). (23)

(321.)

967. Five components of escape: Here, Āvuso, when a bhikkhu attends to sensual pleasures, his mind does not take to sensual pleasures, does not settle on them, does not stand still, and is not released. But when he attends to renunciation, his mind takes to renunciation, settles on it, stands still, and is released. That mind of his is faring well, well developed, well risen, well released, detached from sensual pleasures. And whatever defilements, troubles, and fevers arise with sensual pleasures as cause, he is freed from them; he does not feel that feeling. This is declared the escape from sensual pleasures. (24.1)

968. Again, Āvuso, when a bhikkhu attends to ill will, his mind does not take to ill will, does not settle on it, does not stand still, and is not released. But when he attends to goodwill, his mind takes to goodwill, settles on it, stands still, and is released. That mind of his is faring well, well developed, well risen, well released, detached from ill will. And whatever defilements, troubles, and fevers arise with ill will as cause, he is freed from them; he does not feel that feeling. This is declared the escape from ill will. (24.2)

969. Again, Āvuso, when a bhikkhu attends to harm, his mind does not take to harm, does not settle on it, does not stand still, and is not released. But when he attends to non-harm, his mind takes to non-harm, settles on it, stands still, and is released. That mind of his is faring well, well developed, well risen, well released, detached from harm. And whatever defilements, troubles, and fevers arise with harm as cause, he is freed from them; he does not feel that feeling. This is declared the escape from harm. (24.3)

970. Again, Āvuso, when a bhikkhu attends to forms, his mind does not take to forms, does not settle on them, does not stand still, and is not released. But when he attends to the formless, his mind takes to the formless, settles on it, stands still, and is released. That mind of his is faring well, well developed, well risen, well released, detached from forms. And whatever defilements, troubles, and fevers arise with forms as cause, he is freed from them; he does not feel that feeling. This is declared the escape from forms. (24.4)

971. Again, Āvuso, when a bhikkhu attends to identity, his mind does not take to identity, does not settle on it, does not stand still, and is not released. But when he attends to the cessation of identity, his mind takes to the cessation of identity, settles on it, stands still, and is released. That mind of his is faring well, well developed, well risen, well released, detached from identity. And whatever defilements, troubles, and fevers arise with identity as cause, he is freed from them; he does not feel that feeling. This is declared the escape from identity. (24.5)

(322.)

972. Five bases for liberation: Here, Āvuso, the Teacher or a certain companion in the optimal life standing in the place of a teacher teaches the Dhamma to a bhikkhu. In whatever way, Āvuso, the Teacher or a certain companion in the optimal life standing in the place of a teacher teaches the Dhamma to a bhikkhu, in that way he comes to experience the meaning and experience the Dhamma in that Dhamma. For one who experiences the meaning and experiences the Dhamma, joy is born; for one who is joyous, delight is born; for one who is delighted, the body calms down; one of calm body experiences happiness; for one who is happy, the mind becomes composed. This is the first base for liberation. (25.1)

973. Again, Āvuso, it is not that the Teacher or a certain companion in the optimal life standing in the place of a teacher teaches the Dhamma to a bhikkhu, but rather he teaches the Dhamma to others in detail as he has heard it and learned it … and so on … but rather he recites the Dhamma in detail as he has heard it and learned it … and so on … but rather he ponders, reflects on, and mentally examines the Dhamma as he has heard it and learned it … and so on … but rather a certain object of focus is well grasped by him, well attended to, well considered, well penetrated with wisdom. In whatever way, Āvuso, a certain object of focus is well grasped by a bhikkhu, well attended to, well considered, well penetrated with wisdom, in that way he comes to experience the meaning and experience the Dhamma in that Dhamma. For one who experiences the meaning and experiences the Dhamma, joy is born; for one who is joyous, delight is born; for one who is delighted, the body calms down; one of calm body experiences happiness; for one who is happy, the mind becomes composed. This is the fifth base for liberation. (25.2–5)

974. Five saññā (apperceptions) that ripen in liberation: the apperception of impermanence, the apperception of suffering in the impermanent, the apperception of not-self in suffering, the apperception of giving up, and the apperception of dispassion. (26)

975. Āvuso, these are the five Dhammas well proclaimed by the Bhagavā, the liberated one, the perfectly awakened one, who knows and sees; Therein all should recite in harmony, not quarrel, so that this optimal life may endure long and last for a long time, which would be for the welfare and happiness of many people, out of compassion for the world, for the good, welfare, and happiness of gods and humans.

Commentary

Section titled “Commentary”
  • The Fives: twenty-six sets in the frame of the Threes; the sutta’s lists are discussed on the sutta’s index page; on buddhavacana the collections, hindrances, faculties and precepts have pages of their own.
  • Renderings: khandha “collection” and upādānakkhandha “collection of fuel” as on the sutta pages; byasana “loss”; ādīnava “danger” here, not the “unsatisfactoriness” of the gratification triad; codeti “criticise” as on the Lohicca page.
  • The five escapes (967–971) and the bases for liberation (972–973) carry the textbook’s joy-to-focus chain (“joy is born … the mind becomes composed”).
  • The critic’s five resolutions (958) end in ti but the edition prints no quotation marks, so they stand as a formula without them.
  • The pure abodes and the five non-returners (960–961) are the text’s cosmology: named realms and persons, for the author’s rational reading.

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