The Book of the Fives

The Buddha explains the five causes for liberation, which include hearing the Dhamma, teaching the Dhamma to others, reciting the Dhamma, reflecting on the Dhamma, and attending to a theme of mental stillness.

The Buddha teaches the cultivation of the noble fivefold right collectedness with vivid similes, and shares how one who has cultivated this can realize any phenomenon realizable by direct knowledge.

The Buddha explains the benefits of walking meditation.

When approached with abundant offerings, the Buddha expresses a heartfelt wish to avoid fame, and speaks of five contemplations which result in being established in dispassion and wisdom.

The Buddha describes five suitable times for giving a gift - to a guest, traveler, sick person, during famine, and to the virtuous.

The giver of food gives five things to the recipients - life, beauty, happiness, strength, and eloquence. They also find happiness as a result of their giving.

The Buddha explains the distinction between how an uninstructed ordinary person and a learned disciple of the Noble Ones respond to the five unobtainable states of aging, illness, death, perishing, and loss.

In response to a king’s grief over his queen's death, the Buddha teaches that aging, illness, death, and loss are inevitable. He contrasts the self-torment of an ordinary person who resists these truths with the peace a learned disciple of the Noble Ones finds through acceptance, thereby removing the “poisonous dart of sorrow.”

The Buddha uses the simile of a swift mountain river to illustrate how the five hindrances drain mental strength. Overcoming these obstructions allows a practitioner to cultivate the strong wisdom needed to realize noble spiritual attainments.

The Buddha explains how to overcome complacency and doubt by guarding the sense faculties, applying moderation in eating, being dedicated to wakefulness, developing insight into wholesome qualities, and engaging in the development of the awakening factors during the first and last watch of the night.

The Buddha teaches the importance of frequently reflecting upon the five subjects of 1) aging, 2) illness, 3) death, 4) separation from everyone and everything dear and pleasing, and 5) one’s relation to one’s actions.

Developing the bases of psychic power can lead to enlightenment in this very life or the state of non-returning.

Developing the bases of psychic power can lead to enlightenment in this very life or the state of non-returning.

A true “dweller in the Dhamma” does not pass the day solely learning, teaching, reciting, or pondering teachings. Instead, they balance their learning by prioritizing seclusion and applying themselves to internal serenity of mind.

Merely learning, teaching, reciting, or pondering the teachings is insufficient. A true "dweller in the Dhamma" goes beyond these activities by deeply understanding the meaning of the Dhamma with wisdom.

Reflecting on five future perils, the Buddha advises a forest-dwelling bhikkhu to dwell diligent, resolute, and with continuous effort for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained.

Reflecting on five future perils, the Buddha advises one to dwell diligent, resolute, and with continuous effort for the attainment of the as-yet-unattained.

Reflecting on five future perils concerning the corruption of the Dhamma and Vinaya by undeveloped bhikkhus, the Buddha advises one to recognize them and strive to abandon them.

For a practitioner cultivating mindfulness while breathing in and out, the Buddha describes five qualities that lead to the unshakeable in no long time.

One who is unable to endure the five senses is incapable of entering and dwelling in right collectedness.

The Buddha outlines five deeds that lead to a miserable rebirth.

Five people who sleep little at night and stay awake much.

Using the example of a king’s elephant on the battlefield, the Buddha presents two contrasting scenarios - In one case, a person, overwhelmed by enticing sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches is unable to collect and settle the mind; in the other, a person patiently endures without becoming infatuated with external objects, and is able to compose and stabilize the mind amidst sensory contact.

The Buddha details five types of individuals based on offenses, remorse, and liberating discernment.

The Buddha describes five kinds of gifts of a true person - 1) giving out of faith, 2) giving with respect, 2) giving at a suitable time, 4) giving unreservedly, and 5) giving without harming oneself or another.

Five types of persons for whom specific discussions are difficult, and five types of persons for whom specific discussions are pleasant.

Five ways for removing arisen resentment - 1) loving-kindness, 2) compassion, 3) equanimity, 4) disregarding and non-attention, 5) reflection on kamma.

Five ways to remove arisen resentment toward a person based on their bodily conduct, verbal conduct, and mental clarity.

When the venerable Udāyī repeatedly contradicts Sāriputta regarding mind-made bodies and cessation, the Buddha intervenes to correct his misunderstanding. Afterwards, the venerable Upavāṇa enumerates the five essential qualities that make an elder monk truly worthy of respect.

The Buddha outlines five types of trade that a lay disciple should avoid: trade in weapons, living beings, meat, intoxicants, and poisons.

The Buddha explains to the brahmin Saṅgārava why memorized mantras are sometimes forgotten. Using metaphors of water that is dyed, boiling, overgrown, rippling, or muddy, he illustrates how the five hindrances cloud the mind.

Five factors of well-spoken speech are - 1) It is spoken at the proper time, 2) truthfully, 3) gently, 4) in a way that benefits, and 5) spoken with a mind of loving-kindness.

The five kinds of stinginess are selfishness regarding dwelling place, supporting families, acquisitions, praise, and the Dhamma. The worst of these is stinginess regarding the Dhamma.

The Buddha explains that one is incapable of entering and abiding in the first jhāna without giving up these five things.