Five Desirable Things (Sutra)

Nyanaponika Thera & Bhikkhu Bodhi

(Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, Chapter of the Fives, 43)

Once the Blessed One addressed the [multi-millionaire] householder Anathapindika thus:

"There are, O householder, five things that are wished for, loved, and agreeable yet rarely gained in the world. What five?

• Long life,
• beauty,
• happiness,
• fame, and
• rebirth in heaven.

But of those five things, householder, I do not teach that they are to be obtained by prayer or by vows. If one could obtain them by prayer or vows, who would not obtain them?

"For a noble disciple, householder, who wishes to have long life, it is not befitting that one should pray for long life or take delight in so doing. One should rather follow a path of life that is conducive to longevity. [Author's note: That is, a path of meritorious conduct by practicing generosity, virtue, and meditation -- Anguttara Atthakatha.] By following such a path one will obtain long life, be it divine or human.

"For a noble disciple, householder, who wishes to have beauty, happiness, fame, and rebirth in heaven, it is not befitting that one should pray for them or take delight in so doing. One should rather follow a path of life that is conducive to beauty, happiness, fame, and rebirth in heaven. By following such a path one will obtain beauty, happiness, fame, and rebirth in heaven" (Anguttara Nikaya V, 43).