Paṭhamaanusayasutta — Anusayavagga — the second chapter of the Sevens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single seven-item list, stated bare — opening this chapter with content already met once in this book under a different name
Length
under 30 seconds to read
Northern parallel
The sevenfold underlying tendencies (anusaya) as a distinct technical category from the fetters recurs throughout the Chinese Āgamas' Abhidharma-adjacent material; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — content already met at AN 7.8, now presented under a genuinely different technical term
Why this discourse
Anusayavagga, ‘Tendencies,’ opens with a list checked term by term against AN 7.8's seven fetters from the previous chapter: sensual desire, aversion, views, doubt, conceit, desire for continued existence, and ignorance — the identical seven items, now named anusaya, “underlying tendencies,” rather than saṁyojana, “fetters.”
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
There are seven underlying tendencies: sensual desire, aversion, views, doubt, conceit, desire for continued existence, and ignorance.
The same seven items, a different technical category
Fetter (saṁyojana) and underlying tendency (anusaya) are distinct technical terms in this literature's broader Abhidhamma-adjacent vocabulary: a fetter binds a being to the cycle of rebirth, while an underlying tendency describes a defilement's latent, dormant potential to arise even when not currently active. That this discourse applies the identical seven-item content to both categories suggests the two terms describe the same underlying defilements from two different angles — as bonds, and as latent potentials — rather than naming two different sets of things.
A chapter title matching its content directly
Unlike several chapter titles already met across this series that describe later content more than their opening discourse, Anusayavagga names its own subject directly at this, its very first discourse.
Opening a pair matching AN 7.8/7.9's exact shape
AN 7.12, immediately following, will do for this discourse's anusaya list exactly what AN 7.9 already did for AN 7.8's saṁyojana list: state its purpose and complete removal, closing on the identical formula already met twice in this series.
Key terms
anusaya — “underlying tendency” — this chapter's own title term, describing a defilement's latent, dormant potential to arise.
kāmarāga, paṭigha — “sensual desire, aversion” — the first two items, matching AN 7.8's first two fetters in substance though named slightly differently in Pāli.
diṭṭhi, vicikicchā, māna — “views, doubt, conceit” — the third, fourth, and fifth items, identical in wording to AN 7.8's fetters.
bhavarāga, avijjā — “desire for continued existence, ignorance” — the sixth and seventh items, closing this list exactly as they closed AN 7.8's.
saṁyojana — “fetter” — the distinct technical category AN 7.8 in the previous chapter applied to this identical seven-item content.
The text
The discourse in full: the seven underlying tendencies, named bare. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The seven underlying tendencies
§1“Mendicants, there are these seven underlying tendencies. What seven? The underlying tendencies of sensual desire, aversion, views, doubt, conceit, desire for continued existence, and ignorance. These are the seven underlying tendencies.”
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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
How does this discourse's seven-item list compare to AN 7.8's fetters, checked term by term?
Correct: B. The same defilements, described under a different technical category.
Question 2 of 6
What does the guide say distinguishes 'fetter' from 'underlying tendency' as technical terms?
Correct: B. Two different technical angles on what may be the same underlying defilements.
Question 3 of 6
How does this discourse's relationship to its chapter's title compare to several earlier chapter titles in this series?
Correct: B. A direct match, rather than the delayed-title pattern already met elsewhere.
Question 4 of 6
What does this discourse open a pair with, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A pair matching AN 7.8/7.9's exact shape, now applied to a different technical category.
Question 5 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 7.11?
Correct: B. A bare formula, opening this new chapter.
Question 6 of 6
What does bhavarāga mean?
Correct: B. The sixth item, closing this list exactly as it closed AN 7.8's fetters.
