diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/lua-5/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/lua-5/default.nix
index 578245c35e1c..c1651e806b2c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/lua-5/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/lua-5/default.nix
@@ -8,13 +8,19 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     sha256 = "0fmgk100ficm1jbm4ga9xy484v4cm89wsdfckdybb9gjx8jy4f5h";
   };
 
-  makeFlags = "CFLAGS=-fPIC";
+  # Disabled: -fPIC cannot be passed this way, because setting CFLAGS
+  #           breaks lua's internal mechanism for passing flags from the
+  #           top-level Makefile to src/Makefile. The desired effect
+  #           could probably be achieved by modifying the Makefile with
+  #           sed(1), etc. I didn't add that, though, because it's not
+  #           clear to me why -fPIC is required in the first place.
+  #
+  # makeFlags = "CFLAGS=-fPIC";
   buildFlags = if stdenv.isLinux then "linux" else
 	       if stdenv.isDarwin then "macosx" else
 	       if stdenv.isFreeBSD then "freebsd" else
 	       if stdenv.isBSD then "bsd" else
-	       "posix"
-	       ;
+	       "posix";
   installFlags = "install INSTALL_TOP=\${out}";
   postInstall = ''
     sed -i -e "s@/usr/local@$out@" etc/lua.pc