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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 10.64

Experiential Confidence

Aveccappasannasutta — Yamakavagga — the seventh chapter of the Tens, built from five matched pairs

Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical ten-fold classification from AN 10.63, with a different entry criterion
Length
~1 minute to read
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — familiar content once AN 10.63 is known

Why this discourse

This discourse takes AN 10.63's entire ten-fold classification and reapplies it to a differently defined starting group: not those who have reasoned their way to a firm view, but those who have entered the stream through direct, experiential confidence.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Everyone who has direct experiential confidence in the Buddha has entered the stream, and divides into the same ten types already given in AN 10.63: five who complete the path in this realm, five who complete it only after leaving it.

One classification, two doors in

AN 10.63 and this discourse form this chapter's second matched pair, illustrating that the same ten-fold outcome can be reached by two distinct routes of entry — reasoned conviction (diṭṭhisampanna) or direct experiential confidence (aveccappasanna) — without changing what lies at the far end.

A subtle shift in starting point

AN 10.63 begins with those “accomplished in view,” a more intellectual framing; this discourse begins with those who have entered the stream through avecca, unshakeable, experientially confirmed confidence — a subtly different door into an identical destination.

The ten types, unchanged

Every one of the ten categories — from the least advanced stream-enterer with at most seven rebirths left, through to the most advanced non-returner heading upstream to the Akaniṭṭha realm — is reproduced here exactly as in AN 10.63, without a single word changed.

Key terms

aveccappasanna — “experiential confidence” — this discourse's own title, unshakeable confidence confirmed by direct experience rather than reasoned conclusion.
sotāpanna — “stream-enterer” — the entry-level attainment this discourse's criterion guarantees.
ye keci mayi aveccappasannā — “all those who have experiential confidence in me” — the discourse's own opening line, echoing AN 10.63's structure with a new criterion.
sattakkhattuparama, kolaṅkola, ekabījī — the first three of the five who conclude the path in this realm — the same terms reused unchanged from AN 10.63.
antarāparinibbāyī, upahaccaparinibbāyī — two of the five non-returner types who conclude the path only after leaving this realm — also reused unchanged from AN 10.63.

The text

The discourse in full: the identical ten-fold classification from AN 10.63, entered here by experiential confidence. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

Ten kinds of noble person, entered by confidence

§1“Mendicants, all those who have experiential confidence in me have entered the stream. Of those who have entered the stream, five conclude their path in this realm, and five conclude their path after leaving this realm behind. Which five conclude their path in this realm? The one who has seven rebirths at most, the one who goes from family to family, the one-seeder, the once returner, and the one who is perfected in this very life. These five conclude their path in this realm. Which five conclude their path after leaving this realm behind? The one who is extinguished between one life and the next, the one who is extinguished upon landing, the one who is extinguished without extra effort, the one who is extinguished with extra effort, and the one who heads upstream, going to the Akaniṭṭha realm. These five conclude their path after leaving this realm behind. All those who have experiential confidence in me have entered the stream. Of those who have entered the stream, these five conclude their path in this realm, and these five conclude their path after leaving this realm behind.”

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Self-check quiz

5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 5
What entry criterion does this discourse use, compared to AN 10.63's?
Correct: B. A different door into the identical ten-fold classification.
Question 2 of 5
How does this discourse's ten-fold classification compare to AN 10.63's?
Correct: B. The identical ten types, reached by a different starting criterion.
Question 3 of 5
What immediate attainment does experiential confidence guarantee, according to this discourse?
Correct: B. The baseline attainment shared by all who meet this discourse's criterion.
Question 4 of 5
According to the guide, what does this pairing with AN 10.63 illustrate?
Correct: B. Two doors, one identical destination.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: D. No location is given for this discourse.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

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