With Udāyī

AN 5.159 · Udāyīsutta

Clear woodland water flowing around stones and fern fronds.

So I have heard. At one time the Buddha was staying near Kosambī in Ghosita’s monastery. Now, at that time Venerable Udāyī was sitting teaching Dhamma, surrounded by a large assembly of laypeople. Seeing this, Venerable Ānanda went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Sir, Venerable Udāyī is teaching Dhamma, surrounded by a large assembly of laypeople.”

“Ānanda, it’s not easy to teach Dhamma to others. You should establish five things in yourself before teaching Dhamma to others. What five?

You should teach Dhamma to others thinking: ‘I will teach step by step.’ …

‘I will teach showing my method.’ …

‘I will teach out of kindness.’ …

‘I will not teach while secretly hoping to profit.’ …

‘I will teach without damaging myself or others.’

It’s not easy to teach Dhamma to others. You should establish these five things in yourself before teaching Dhamma to others.”

Connections

Collection & context

Aṅguttara NikāyaThe collection containing this text
The Pāli canonCanonical collection in which this edition is preserved
Theravāda traditionsTransmission and study context
The early Buddhist communityHistorical and traditional setting

Books

The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Aṅguttara NikāyaBhikkhu Bodhi; Bhikkhu Bodhi (translator) · Complete collection edition

About this edition

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.