Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Respect for the Teacher, the teaching, the Saṅgha, the training, and immersion, together with being easy to admonish and good friendship, prevents a mendicant trainee's decline, each item fulfilled by personally holding it, encouraging others toward it, and praising those who have it.
Identical content, a genuinely different closing structure
Checked term by term, this discourse's seven items are identical to AN 7.34's. What differs entirely is what happens after the deity's report: rather than the Buddha adding a closing verse, Sāriputta steps forward to explain the brief statement's detailed meaning, exactly as he did at AN 6.69.
The three-part fulfillment formula, applied to seven items instead of six
Sāriputta's explanation gives each of the seven items the identical treatment already met at AN 6.69: personally holding it, praising it, encouraging others who lack it, and praising those who already have it “at the right time, truthfully and correctly” — the same three-part structure, now run across one more item than its Sixes precedent.
The Buddha's confirmation, unchanged from AN 6.69's pattern
As at AN 6.69, the Buddha does not correct or add to Sāriputta's explanation; he repeats it in full and calls it “good, good” — the same structure of confirmation by exact echo, now completing this chapter's fourth and final respect-formula variant.
Key terms
The text
The Buddha retells the deity's visit
§1“Mendicants, tonight a deity … said to me: ‘Sir, these seven things don’t lead to the decline of a mendicant trainee. What seven? Respect for the Teacher, for the teaching, for the Saṅgha, for the training, for immersion; being easy to admonish, and good friendship. These seven things don’t lead to the decline of a mendicant trainee.’ That is what that deity said. Then he bowed and respectfully circled me, keeping me on his right side, before vanishing right there.” When he said this, Venerable Sāriputta said to the Buddha: “Sir, this is how I understand the detailed meaning of the Buddha’s brief statement. It’s when a mendicant personally respects the Teacher and praises such respect. And they encourage other mendicants who lack such respect to respect the Teacher.
Sāriputta's detailed explanation
§2And they praise other mendicants who respect the Teacher at the right time, truthfully and correctly. They personally respect the teaching … They personally respect the Saṅgha … They personally respect the training … They personally respect immersion … They are personally easy to admonish … They personally have good friends, and praise such friendship. And they encourage other mendicants who lack good friends to develop good friendship. And they praise other mendicants who have good friends at the right time, truthfully and correctly. That’s how I understand the detailed meaning of the Buddha’s brief statement.”
The Buddha's confirmation
§3“Good, good, Sāriputta! It’s good that you understand the detailed meaning of what I’ve said in brief like this. It’s when a mendicant personally respects the Teacher … And they encourage other mendicants who lack such respect to respect the Teacher. And they praise other mendicants who respect the Teacher at the right time, truthfully and correctly. They personally respect the teaching … They personally respect the Saṅgha … They personally respect the training … They personally respect immersion … They are personally easy to admonish … They personally have good friends, and praise such friendship. And they encourage other mendicants who lack good friends to develop good friendship. And they praise other mendicants who have good friends at the right time, truthfully and correctly. This is how to understand the detailed meaning of what I said in brief.”
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