Paṭhamaaggisutta — Mahāyaññavagga — the fifth chapter of the Sevens, closing its First Fifty
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A bare list of seven fires, named without commentary or explanation of any one of them
Length
under 1 minute to read
Companion discourse
AN 7.47 immediately following gives the same seven fires in full narrative and doctrinal detail, in the classic short-then-long pairing this book has used repeatedly since AN 7.3/7.4
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — a bare list, meant to be read alongside its companion discourse rather than puzzled over alone
Why this discourse
AN 7.46 names seven fires in a single breath — three inner fires to be abandoned, three outer fires (or rather, three relationships figured as fires) worth tending, and an actual wood fire needing nothing more than ordinary handling — setting up the fuller treatment AN 7.47 gives the same seven immediately afterward.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Of seven things this discourse calls fires, three are the fires of greed, hate, and delusion; three are figurative fires naming people worth tending like a sacred flame — parents, one's own household, and worthy ascetics; and the seventh is simply a wood fire, included to round out the list of seven rather than to make any doctrinal point.
Three fires to abandon
The fires of greed, hate, and delusion head the list, matching this book's most familiar three-part diagnosis of what corrupts the mind, here given the specific image of something that burns rather than merely afflicts.
Three fires to tend
The next three are fires only in a figurative sense: the fire of those worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods (one's parents), a householder's fire (one's dependents), and the fire of those worthy of a religious donation (ascetics and brahmins who live well). Naming a relationship a fire worth tending, rather than a duty to discharge, carries its own claim about how seriously these relationships deserve to be taken.
One fire that is just a fire
The seventh, a plain wood fire, breaks the pattern entirely: it is not a metaphor for anything. AN 7.47's fuller version explains that this one alone should simply be fanned, watched over, extinguished, or set aside as the moment requires — the only item on the list that carries no ethical weight at all.
Key terms
aggi — “fire” — this discourse's organizing image, applied across three registers: literal inner defilement, figurative worthy relationship, and literal household fire.
rāgaggi, dosaggi, mohaggi — “the fire of greed, the fire of hate, the fire of delusion” — the three fires to be abandoned, this book's usual three root afflictions given a burning image.
āhuneyyaggi — “the fire of those worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods” — AN 7.47 identifies this as one's own parents.
gahapataggi, dakkhiṇeyyaggi — “a householder's fire, the fire of those worthy of a religious donation” — AN 7.47 identifies these as one's household and self-restrained ascetics and brahmins in turn.
kaṭṭhaggi — “a wood fire” — the seventh and only literal, non-figurative fire on the list.
The text
The discourse in full, a single bare list. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Seven fires, named
§1“Mendicants, there are these seven fires. What seven? The fires of greed, hate, delusion. The fire of those worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods. A householder’s fire. The fire of those worthy of a religious donation. And a wood fire. These are the seven fires.”
· · ·
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 many registers does this discourse's image of “fire” operate across, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Greed/hate/delusion, three worthy relationships, and one plain wood fire.
Question 2 of 6
Which three fires does this discourse say should be abandoned?
Correct: A. This book's familiar three root afflictions, given a burning image.
Question 3 of 6
According to the guide, who does AN 7.47's fuller treatment identify as the “fire of those worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods”?
Correct: B. Āhuneyyaggi names one's parents, per AN 7.47's expansion.
Question 4 of 6
What is distinctive about the seventh fire, the wood fire, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A literal fire needing only ordinary practical handling.
Question 5 of 6
What discourse immediately follows this one with the same seven fires in fuller detail?
Correct: C. The classic short-then-long pairing, as with AN 7.3/7.4 and AN 7.5/7.6 earlier in this book.
Question 6 of 6
How is this discourse delivered?
Correct: B. The Buddha states the list without elaborating; AN 7.47 supplies the explanation.
