Sattadhammasutta — Abyākatavagga — the sixth chapter of the Sevens, opening its Second Fifty
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single-sentence bare list, with no narrative or explanation attached
Length
under 1 minute to read
Not the same list as AN 7.25
Five of the seven items recur from AN 7.25's earlier list of personal qualities, but the other two differ — this list swaps in ethical conduct and seclusion where AN 7.25 had conscience and prudence
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — a brief list, best read with AN 7.25 open alongside for comparison
Why this discourse
AN 7.60 names seven qualities that let a mendicant soon realize the spiritual path's supreme culmination — five of them the same as AN 7.25's earlier list of personal qualities, but two genuinely different, worth checking term by term rather than assuming this is simply that earlier list recurring.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant who is faithful, ethical, learned, secluded, energetic, mindful, and wise soon realizes the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life, achieving with their own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.
Five items shared with AN 7.25, checked term by term
Faithful (saddha), learned (bahussuta), energetic (āraddhavīriya), mindful (satimā), and wise (paññavā) all recur exactly from AN 7.25's earlier list of seven personal qualities — the same list later reused again at AN 7.43. Five shared items out of seven is enough overlap to invite the assumption that this is simply the same list returning a third time.
Two items that are not the same list at all
Checked term by term against AN 7.25, two items differ: this discourse names ethical conduct (sīlavā) and seclusion (pavivitta) where AN 7.25 named conscience (hiri) and prudence (ottappa). Five shared items make the difference easy to miss, but the two discourses are not the same formula — this is a genuinely distinct sevenfold list that happens to overlap heavily with an earlier one.
Why the difference matters
Swapping conscience and prudence — the two qualities most concerned with restraint in the face of wrongdoing — for ethical conduct and seclusion shifts this list's emphasis toward outward discipline and withdrawal from company, rather than the inward moral sensitivity AN 7.25 emphasized. A reader moving quickly between the two discourses, trusting only the five matching English words, would miss this shift entirely.
Key terms
saddha, bahussuta, āraddhavīriya, satimā, paññavā — “faithful, learned, energetic, mindful, wise” — the five items this list shares with AN 7.25's earlier seven personal qualities.
sīlavā — “ethical” — one of the two items distinguishing this list from AN 7.25's, replacing that discourse's hiri (conscience).
pavivitta — “secluded” — the other distinguishing item, replacing AN 7.25's ottappa (prudence).
sāmaññaphala — “the culmination of the spiritual path” — more literally “the fruit of the ascetic life,” the goal this list's seven qualities lead to soon.
agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajitā — “gone forth from the lay life to homelessness” — the standard phrase for ordination, framing this discourse's stated goal.
The text
The discourse in full, a single bare list. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Seven qualities, named
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant with seven qualities soon realizes the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life. They live having achieved with their own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness. What seven? It’s when a mendicant is faithful, ethical, learned, secluded, energetic, mindful, and wise. A mendicant with these seven qualities soon realizes the supreme culmination of the spiritual path in this very life. They live having achieved with their own insight the goal for which gentlemen rightly go forth from the lay life to homelessness.”
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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
How many of this discourse's seven qualities are identical to AN 7.25's earlier list of personal qualities?
Correct: B. A substantial overlap, but not a complete match.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, what two qualities does this list have that AN 7.25's list does not?
Correct: B. Where AN 7.25 had hiri and ottappa, this list has sīlavā and pavivitta instead.
Question 3 of 6
Why does the guide caution against assuming this is simply AN 7.25's list recurring?
Correct: B. Heavy overlap is exactly what makes a real difference easy to overlook.
Question 4 of 6
According to the guide, what shift in emphasis does swapping conscience and prudence for ethical conduct and seclusion produce?
Correct: B. Two different emphases, despite five shared surface terms.
Question 5 of 6
What goal does this discourse say these seven qualities lead to?
Correct: B. The stated goal of going forth from the lay life to homelessness, achieved with one's own insight.
Question 6 of 6
How is this discourse delivered?
Correct: B. A single-sentence definition, like several other short discourses in this book.
