Developing and Cultivating Five Things (Second Discourse)

Monks, these five things, when developed and cultivated, lead exclusively to liberation, to freedom from strong feelings, to elimination, to peace, to direct knowledge (experience), to Enlightenment, to Nibbāna.

What five?

Here, a Monk resides reflecting on the unattractiveness of the body, perceiving the dissatisfaction of food, perceiving non-excitement in the entire world, reflecting on impermanence in all conditioned objects; and he has the perception of death well established internally.

These five things, when developed and cultivated, lead exclusively to liberation, to freedom from strong feelings, to elimination, to peace, to direct knowledge (experience), to Enlightenment, to Nibbāna.

(Reference: AN 5.69)

In this Teaching from Gotama Buddha, he shares a similar but slightly different Teaching as those shared in the previous Chapters. The Buddha often shared Teachings in various settings and adjusted the wording slightly based on those whom he was teaching. He customized The Teaching for the uniqueness of the audience who gathered.

Additionally, he also layered his Teachings exposing more and more of The Path to Enlightenment as Students requested deeper understanding. It is not possible to provide all The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment in just one discourse, one book, or one learning setting. So instead, The Buddha gradually exposed more and more of The Teachings that lead to Enlightenment as Students sought more guidance to deepen their understanding.

This Teaching, while similar to the previous Chapters, shares a slightly different opening and closing where The Buddha provides the context that “these five things” “lead exclusively to liberation, to freedom from strong feelings, to elimination, to peace, to direct knowledge (experience), to Enlightenment, to Nibbāna” which is stated slightly different than the prior Teachings. Each Teaching is effectively providing more and more insight into the benefits of cultivating these five (5) things in one’s life practice.

Please see Chapter 24 of this same book for a detailed explanation of the above Teaching.