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Pañcaverabhaya Sutta: Five Dangers and Enmities Laid to Rest
Practice

Pañcaverabhaya Sutta: Five Dangers and Enmities Laid to Rest

Pañca bhayāni verāni vūpasantāni

The Buddha tells Anāthapiṇḍika that one whose five dangers and enmities are laid to rest, who has the four factors of stream-entry and sees dependent origination with wisdom, can declare themselves a stream-enterer. The five dangers are what follow from breaking each of the five precepts.

8 points

In the first Pañcaverabhaya Sutta of the Nidāna Saṃyutta, Saṃyutta Nikāya, the householder Anāthapiṇḍika visits the Buddha, who says: when a noble disciple's five dangers and enmities are laid to rest, when they have the four factors of stream-entry, and when they have clearly seen the noble method with wisdom, that disciple may, if they wish, declare of themselves that they are a stream-enterer, not liable to fall into lower realms, bound for awakening.

The five dangers are tied to the five precepts. Whoever kills, steals, commits sexual misconduct, lies, or drinks alcohol creates danger and enmity in this life and the next, and experiences mental pain and sorrow. By abstaining, that danger is laid to rest. The four factors of stream-entry are unshakeable confidence in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, and the virtue dear to the noble ones. The noble method is dependent origination, in both its arising and its ceasing.

The second Pañcaverabhaya Sutta, which follows, has the same content but is addressed to the monks.

  1. 1

    Danger and enmity in this life and the next Diṭṭhadhammikampi bhayaṃ veraṃ pasavati samparāyikampi bhayaṃ veraṃ pasavati

    Whoever breaks each precept creates danger and enmity in this life and in the next. The Buddha repeats the same pattern for all five, to show that the results don't wait only for a future life.

    Applying it in daily life

    Before doing something you know is wrong, ask: "After this, whom will I have to avoid, or what will I have to keep hiding?" The answer is the danger in this life.

  2. 2

    The mental pain that comes with wrongdoing Cetasikampi dukkhaṃ domanassaṃ paṭisaṃvedayati

    Besides outer danger, one who breaks the precepts also experiences mental pain and sorrow. When one abstains, that danger is laid to rest as well.

    Applying it in daily life

    Notice how you feel after telling even a small lie. The lingering discomfort is what the discourse calls mental pain. Use it as a warning signal instead of covering it up.

  3. 3

    Abstaining from killing and stealing Pāṇātipātā paṭiviratassa

    For a noble disciple who abstains from killing living beings and from taking what is not given, that danger and enmity is laid to rest through the abstaining itself.

    Applying it in daily life

    Include using company property for yourself, not returning what you borrowed, and hurting animals for fun. They belong to the same thing worth giving up.

  4. 4

    Abstaining from sexual misconduct and lying Musāvādā paṭiviratassa

    Sexual misconduct and lying create danger, enmity and mental pain in the same way. Both directly affect trust between people.

    Applying it in daily life

    When you notice you're about to exaggerate to look good, stop and say only what is true. Accumulated trust is the best armour.

  5. 5

    Abstaining from intoxicants that cause heedlessness Surāmerayamajjapamādaṭṭhānā paṭiviratassa

    The fifth concerns alcoholic drinks, which are a basis for heedlessness. One who drinks creates danger and enmity in this life and the next, like the others.

    Applying it in daily life

    Look back at how many regrets, such as arguments, risky driving or things you shouldn't have said, happened with alcohol involved, and set a clear boundary.

  6. 6

    Unshakeable confidence in the Triple Gem Buddhe aveccappasādena samannāgato

    The first three factors of stream-entry are unshakeable confidence in the Buddha; in the Dhamma, well taught and to be known personally by the wise; and in the Saṅgha, practising well and practising straightforwardly.

    Applying it in daily life

    Stable confidence comes from practising and seeing results yourself. Pick one teaching and really do it for a month, then see how your life changes.

  7. 7

    Virtue dear to the noble ones Ariyakantehi sīlehi samannāgato

    The fourth factor is virtue that is unbroken, untorn, unblemished, unspotted, liberating, praised by the wise, not grasped by craving and views, and leading to concentration.

    Applying it in daily life

    Keep precepts so the mind is calm enough for meditation, not to be praised. If you slip, acknowledge it and recommit at once, rather than leaving a leak unfixed.

  8. 8

    The noble method and declaring oneself Ariyo cassa ñāyo paññāya sudiṭṭho hoti supaṭividdho

    The noble method is attending carefully to dependent origination: when this exists, that comes to be; when this ceases, that ceases. With all three in place, the noble disciple may, if they wish, declare of themselves that they are a stream-enterer. This refers to one who has truly attained, not to boasting before others.

    Applying it in daily life

    When suffering arises, trace what led to it, and ask whether it could remain if that cause were gone. Looking this way often is the beginning of the wisdom in this discourse.

Try it in daily life

The word "danger and enmity" turns the five precepts from mere prohibitions into a way of reducing enemies and suspicion in life. People who habitually cheat, are unfaithful or lie must keep watching for being caught, for revenge, or for losing trust. Even if no one finds out, the mind is not at peace.

The discourse lays out a stable life in order: it starts with actions that create no enmity, continues with an unshakeable inner refuge, and ends with understanding how suffering arises and ceases. It doesn't start with lofty knowledge but with things anyone can do today.

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