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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 7.13

A Family

Kulasutta — Anusayavagga — the second chapter of the Sevens

Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
Two matched seven-item lists, cause and its direct reversal, addressing practical etiquette rather than doctrinal categories
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
Guidance on which lay households are worth a mendicant's visit recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas' monastic conduct material; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — a concrete, practical list, a clear register shift after this chapter's two doctrinal discourses

Why this discourse

AN 7.13 shifts abruptly from AN 7.11 and 7.12's underlying tendencies to something entirely practical: seven factors of hospitality — whether a family rises politely, bows, offers a seat, shares openly, gives generously, offers fine things, and gives carefully — that determine whether visiting, or even sitting down once arrived, is worthwhile at all.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Visiting a family that doesn't rise politely, hides what they have, gives little even when they have much, gives coarse things even when they have fine things, and gives carelessly is not worthwhile; a family with the seven direct opposites is worth visiting.

A sharp register shift within this chapter

Where AN 7.11 and 7.12 concerned abstract underlying tendencies removed only at advanced stages of practice, this discourse concerns the concrete, everyday question of hospitality — whether a family rises to greet a visitor, what quality of goods they offer, and how carefully they give. This chapter's 'Tendencies' title, like several others already met in this series, does not describe every discourse within it equally.

Not merely material generosity, but its manner

The list's final three items concern not whether a family gives at all, but how: giving little despite having much, giving coarse things despite having fine things, and giving carelessly rather than carefully. The discourse's concern is the quality and attentiveness of generosity, not simply its occurrence.

'Worthwhile' as the discourse's own practical stake

The discourse frames its stakes not in terms of merit, karma, or spiritual attainment, but simply worth (na... alaṁ) — whether a visit, or even remaining seated once arrived, is a good use of a mendicant's time, a strikingly pragmatic framing for this collection.

Key terms

kula — “family, household” — this discourse's own subject, the lay household a mendicant might visit.
paccuṭṭhāti, abhivādeti, āsanaṁ dadāti — “rises, bows, offers a seat” — the first three factors of hospitality named.
santaṁ pi na denti — “even when they have much they give little” — one of the discourse's items concerning the manner, not mere occurrence, of generosity.
sakkaccaṁ deti, asakkaccaṁ na deti — “gives carefully, not carelessly” — the seventh and closing item, on attentiveness in giving.
alaṁ — “worthwhile, enough” — the discourse's own practical framing for its stakes, distinct from the doctrinal framing of the two discourses before it.

The text

The discourse in full: seven factors of hospitality determining whether visiting a family is worthwhile, and their reversal. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

Seven factors that make a family not worth visiting

§1“Mendicants, visiting a family with seven factors is not worthwhile, or if you’ve already arrived, sitting down is not worthwhile. What seven? They don’t politely rise, bow, or offer a seat. They hide what they have. Even when they have much they give little. Even when they have fine things they give coarse things. They give carelessly, not carefully. Visiting a family with these seven factors is not worthwhile, or if you’ve already arrived, sitting down is not worthwhile.

Seven factors that make a family worth visiting

§2Visiting a family with seven factors is worthwhile, or if you’ve already arrived, sitting down is worthwhile. What seven? They politely rise, bow, and offer a seat. They don’t hide what they have. When they have much they give much. When they have refined things they give refined things. They give carefully, not carelessly. Visiting a family with these seven factors is worthwhile, or if you’ve already arrived, sitting down is worthwhile.”

· · ·

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 kind of content does this discourse address, unlike AN 7.11 and 7.12 immediately before it?
Correct: B. A sharp register shift from doctrinal category to everyday etiquette.
Question 2 of 6
What do the list's final three items concern, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Quality and care in generosity, not simply its bare occurrence.
Question 3 of 6
How does this discourse frame its own stakes, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A strikingly practical framing distinct from this discourse's doctrinal neighbors.
Question 4 of 6
What does the guide say about this chapter's title, 'Tendencies,' in light of this discourse?
Correct: B. A pattern of chapter titles not uniformly matching every discourse, already met elsewhere in this series.
Question 5 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 7.13?
Correct: B. A bare formula, despite its concrete practical subject matter.
Question 6 of 6
What are the first three factors of hospitality named in this discourse?
Correct: B. Basic courtesies opening the list, before it turns to the manner of material generosity.
Answered 0 of 6 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousAN 7.12 · Underlying Tendencies (2nd)