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AN 5.96
PTS: A iii 120
Sutadhara Sutta: One Who Retains What He Has Heard
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
© 2002

"Endowed with five qualities, a monk pursuing mindfulness of breathing will in no long time penetrate the Unprovoked [release]. Which five?

"He is a person who imposes only a little [on others]: one of few duties & projects, easy to support, easily contented with the requisites of life.

"He is a person who eats only a little food, committed to not indulging his stomach.

"He is a person of only a little sloth, committed to wakefulness.

"He is a person of much learning, who has retained what he heard, has stored what he has heard. Whatever teachings are admirable in the beginning, admirable in the middle, admirable in the end, that — in their meaning & expression — proclaim the holy life that is entirely complete & pure: those he has listened to often, retained, discussed, accumulated, examined with his mind, and well-penetrated in terms of his views.

"He reflects on the mind as it is released.[1]

"Endowed with these five qualities, a monk pursuing mindfulness of breathing will in no long time penetrate the Unprovoked."

# Note

1.
  When the mind is released from hindrances as it enters concentration, when it is released from the factors of lower levels of concentration as it enters higher levels of concentration, and when it is released from the fetters on reaching Awakening.

See also: AN 5.97; AN 5.98.