Sāmaṇerasutta — Upālivagga — the fourth chapter of the Tens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
Venerable Upāli questioning the Buddha
Form
A single question, a single ten-item answer, identical to AN 10.34 and 10.35
Length
~1 minute to read
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the third and final repeat of this list, closing out the run
Why this discourse
Upāli asks a third variant of the same question: who may have a sāmaṇera, a novice, attend on them? The Buddha's answer is, for a third consecutive time, the identical ten qualities — completing a run of three discourses that apply one list to three distinct kinds of responsibility for a junior mendicant.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
The same ten qualities that qualify a mendicant to give ordination (AN 10.34) and to give dependence (AN 10.35) also qualify them to have a novice attend on them: ethical restraint, learning, mastery of both codes, and the sevenfold pastoral ability toward a junior in their care.
A third and final repeat
AN 10.34, 10.35, and 10.36 together form a matched set: three distinct questions about three distinct monastic relationships — ordaining, mentoring through dependence, and having a novice in attendance — all answered with the exact same ten-item list. The underlying claim is that the same qualities of character and competence underwrite every form of responsibility for someone junior.
A novice, not yet fully ordained
A sāmaṇera is someone who has gone forth under the ten precepts but has not yet received full ordination (upasampadā); this discourse asks what qualifies a senior mendicant to have such a person attend on and be guided by them, the most junior of the three relationships covered in this three-discourse set.
Closing this sub-sequence, not the chapter
With this discourse the three-item run on ordination, dependence, and novice attendance is complete; the chapter's next two discourses turn to an entirely different subject — the definitions of schism and harmony in the Saṅgha.
Key terms
sāmaṇera — “novice” — one who has gone forth under the ten precepts but not yet received full ordination, this discourse's own title.
upaṭṭhāpetuṁ — “to be attended on” — the specific relationship this discourse asks about, a novice serving and being guided by a qualified senior.
dasahi dhammehi samannāgato — “endowed with ten qualities” — the recurring formula opening the Buddha's answer in AN 10.33 through 10.36 alike.
anabhiratiṁ vūpakāsetuṁ — “to settle dissatisfaction” — the second of the seven pastoral duties, appearing identically in AN 10.34, 10.35, and 10.36.
kukkuccaṁ vinodetuṁ — “to dispel remorse” — a third of those same seven duties, again shared unchanged across all three discourses.
The text
The discourse in full: Upāli's question, and the Buddha's ten qualities, elided at the start where identical to AN 10.34 and 10.35. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Upāli's question
§1“Sir, how many qualities should a mendicant have to be attended on by a novice?” “Upāli, a mendicant should have ten qualities to be attended on by a novice. What ten?
Ten qualities, repeated a third time
§2It’s when a mendicant is ethical … They’re learned … Both monastic codes have been passed down to them in detail, well analyzed, well mastered, well evaluated in both the rules and accompanying material. They’re able to care for the sick or get someone else to do so. They’re able to settle dissatisfaction or get someone else to do so. They’re able to dispel remorse when it has come up. They’re able to rationally dissuade someone from misconceptions that come up. They’re able to encourage someone in the higher ethics, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom. A mendicant should possess these ten qualities to be attended on by a novice.”
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Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 6
What does Upāli ask about in this discourse?
Correct: A. A third variant question about responsibility for a junior mendicant.
Question 2 of 6
How does the Buddha's answer compare to AN 10.34 and 10.35's?
Correct: B. The same list, applied a third time to a third relationship.
Question 3 of 6
According to the guide, what do AN 10.34, 10.35, and 10.36 together claim?
Correct: B. One underlying claim illustrated three times over.
Question 4 of 6
What is a sāmaṇera?
Correct: B. A novice, the most junior of the three relationships covered across AN 10.34–36.
Question 5 of 6
What happens after this discourse, according to the guide?
Correct: B. AN 10.37 opens an entirely different subject within the same chapter.
Question 6 of 6
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given, as throughout this chapter.
