Dutiyavasasutta — Devatāvagga — the fourth chapter of the Sevens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical seven-item list as AN 7.40, restated as Sāriputta's own personal attainment — matching AN 7.38/39's exact structural pattern
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
Naming Sāriputta specifically as an exemplar of meditative mastery recurs across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — the same content as AN 7.40, grounded in one named individual's attainment
Why this discourse
AN 7.41 completes this chapter's second general-teaching-then-Sāriputta-example pair, restating AN 7.40's identical seven immersion skills as Sāriputta's own demonstrated mastery — the same structural move already made once before at AN 7.38/39 for textual analysis, now repeated for mastery of the mind.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Having the same seven immersion skills already named at AN 7.40, Sāriputta has mastered his mind and is not mastered by it.
A structural echo of AN 7.38/39, now for a different attainment
Checked side by side, this discourse and AN 7.38/39 share an identical compositional move: a general teaching to mendicants, followed immediately by the identical content restated as Sāriputta's own personal case, marking this as a deliberate pattern in how this chapter presents its content rather than a coincidence.
Two attainments, one exemplar
Sāriputta now stands, within this single chapter, as the demonstrated example for two distinct attainments: the four kinds of textual analysis (AN 7.39) and mastery of the mind through immersion (this discourse) — a double role underscoring his standing as the paradigmatic senior disciple in this literature.
Closing this chapter's paired-example discourses
With this discourse, this chapter's two general-teaching-then-example pairs (AN 7.38/39 and AN 7.40/41) are complete; AN 7.42 and 7.43, immediately following, will use named individuals differently — not as confirming examples of an already-stated teaching, but as questioners prompting a teaching not yet given.
Key terms
Sāriputta — the same chief disciple already named at AN 7.39, here demonstrating a second distinct attainment within this chapter.
samādhikusala, samāpattikusala, ṭhitikusala, vuṭṭhānakusala — the same first four skills already named at AN 7.40: skilled at immersion generally, and skilled in entering, remaining in, and emerging from it.
abhirādhanākusala, gocarakusala, abhinīhārakusala — the same remaining three skills already named at AN 7.40: skilled in positivity, territory, and purified projection.
cittaṁ vasaṁ vatteti, na ca cittassa vasena vattati — “masters his mind and is not mastered by it” — the discourse's closing claim, identical to AN 7.40's stated goal, now confirmed in Sāriputta's own case.
vasa — “mastery” — this discourse's own title term, shared with AN 7.40.
The text
The discourse in full: the same seven skills as AN 7.40, restated as Sāriputta's own mastery of mind. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Sāriputta's seven skills
§1“Mendicants, having seven qualities Sāriputta has mastered his mind and is not mastered by it. What seven? Sāriputta 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. Having these seven qualities Sāriputta has mastered his 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 structural move does this discourse share with AN 7.38/39, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The same compositional device used twice within this chapter.
Question 2 of 6
What two distinct attainments does Sāriputta demonstrate within this single chapter?
Correct: B. A double role underscoring his standing as the paradigmatic senior disciple.
Question 3 of 6
What does this discourse complete, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The second of two matched pairs using this identical structure.
Question 4 of 6
How will AN 7.42 and 7.43 use named individuals differently, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A shift in how named individuals function within this chapter's remaining discourses.
Question 5 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 7.41?
Correct: B. A bare formula, following AN 7.40 immediately before it.
Question 6 of 6
What does this discourse's closing claim state about Sāriputta?
Correct: B. The general teaching's goal, confirmed in one named individual's case.
