Paṭhamavasasutta — Devatāvagga — the fourth chapter of the Sevens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single seven-item list of immersion-related skills, stated once with no reversal — the first of a brief/Sāriputta-example pair
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
Skill across entering, remaining in, and emerging from meditative absorption as a technical framework recurs throughout the Chinese Āgamas' meditation instructions; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — a dense technical vocabulary of specific immersion-related skills
Why this discourse
AN 7.40 names seven skills specifically related to immersion — skilled at immersion generally, skilled in entering it, remaining in it, emerging from it, skilled in its positivity, its territory, and skilled in projecting a mind purified by it — that together let a mendicant master their own mind rather than be mastered by it.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant skilled at immersion, skilled in entering it, remaining in it, emerging from it, skilled in its positivity, its territory, and skilled in projecting a mind purified by it, masters their mind and is not mastered by it.
An extension of AN 6.72's three immersion skills
AN 6.72 in the previous nipāta named three specific skills — entering, remaining in, emerging from immersion — as producing strength in immersion. This discourse names those same three skills as three of a larger seven, adding overall skill at immersion itself, plus skill in its positivity, territory, and purified projection.
Mastering the mind, not merely developing immersion
The discourse's stated goal is broader than immersion for its own sake: “masters their mind and is not mastered by it” frames these seven skills as producing genuine control over one's own mental states, with immersion as the specific means rather than the final end in itself.
Four new, more specialized skills beyond AN 6.72's three
Vasībhāva (overall mastery), abhirādhana (positivity or favorable development), gocara (the proper territory or range of immersion), and abhinīhāra (projecting a purified mind toward a chosen object) extend the three-skill core into a more comprehensive and specialized sevenfold mastery.
Key terms
samādhikusala — “skilled at immersion” — the first, general item, before the list turns to more specific skills.
samāpattikusala, ṭhitikusala, vuṭṭhānakusala — “skilled in entering, remaining in, emerging from immersion” — the same three skills already named at AN 6.72 in the previous nipāta, here forming three of seven rather than the entirety of the list.
abhirādhanākusala — “skilled in positivity for immersion” — the fifth item, a term new to this discourse.
gocarakusala — “skilled in the territory of immersion” — the sixth item, naming skill in immersion's proper range or scope.
abhinīhārakusala — “skilled in projecting the mind purified by immersion” — the seventh and closing item.
The text
The discourse in full: seven skills in immersion that let a mendicant master their own mind. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Seven skills in immersion
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant with seven qualities masters their mind and is not mastered by it. What seven? It’s when a mendicant is skilled at immersion, skilled in entering immersion, skilled in remaining in immersion, skilled in emerging from immersion, skilled in positivity for immersion, skilled in the territory of immersion, and skilled in projecting the mind purified by immersion. A mendicant with these seven qualities masters their mind and is not mastered by it.”
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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 three of this discourse's seven skills already appeared at AN 6.72 in the previous nipāta?
Correct: B. The same three skills AN 6.72 named as producing strength in immersion.
Question 2 of 6
What is the discourse's stated goal, broader than immersion for its own sake?
Correct: B. Genuine control over mental states, with immersion as the specific vehicle.
Question 3 of 6
What four skills does this discourse add beyond AN 6.72's three?
Correct: B. A more comprehensive and specialized sevenfold expansion.
Question 4 of 6
What does the discourse open a pair with, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The same brief/Sāriputta-example pattern already met at AN 7.38/39.
Question 5 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 7.40?
Correct: B. A bare formula, following AN 7.39 immediately before it.
Question 6 of 6
What does gocarakusala mean?
Correct: B. The sixth item, naming skill in immersion's proper range.
