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← Aṅguttara Nikāya

In Whatever Region

AN 5.134 · Yassaṁdisaṁsutta

A white waterlily opening on a still pond in soft morning light.

“Mendicants, with five factors an anointed aristocratic king lives in his own realm, no matter what region he lives in.

What five?

An anointed aristocratic king is well born on both his mother’s and father’s side, stemming from a clean vessel, with irrefutable and impeccable genealogy back to the seventh paternal generation.

He is rich, affluent, and wealthy, with a full treasury and storehouses.

He is powerful, having an army of four divisions that is obedient and carries out instructions.

He has a commander who is astute, competent, and intelligent, able to think issues through as they bear upon the past, future, and present.

These four things bring his glory to fruition.

With these five qualities, including glory, an anointed aristocratic king lives in his own realm, no matter what direction he lives in. Why is that? Because that is how it is for victors.

In the same way, a mendicant with five qualities lives with mind freed, no matter what region they live in. What five?

It’s when mendicant is ethical, restrained in the monastic code, conducting themselves well and resorting for alms in suitable places. Seeing danger in the slightest fault, they keep the rules they’ve undertaken. This is like the anointed aristocratic king’s impeccable birth.

They’re very learned, remembering and keeping what they’ve learned. These teachings are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, meaningful and well-phrased, describing a spiritual practice that’s entirely full and pure. They are very learned in such teachings, remembering them, rehearsing them, mentally scrutinizing them, and penetrating them theoretically. This is like the anointed aristocratic king being rich, affluent, and wealthy, with full treasury and storehouses.

They live with energy roused up for giving up unskillful qualities and embracing skillful qualities. They’re strong, staunchly vigorous, not slacking off when it comes to developing skillful qualities. This is like the anointed aristocratic king having power.

They’re wise. They have the wisdom of arising and passing away which is noble, penetrative, and leads to the complete ending of suffering. This is like the anointed aristocratic king having a commander.

These four qualities bring their freedom to fruition.

With these five qualities, including freedom, they live in their own realm, no matter what region they live in. Why is that? Because that is how it is for those whose mind is free.”

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Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0

This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.