Rāgapeyyāla, continued — the eleventh chapter of the Sevens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
One sentence, cross-multiplying the three seven-item lists already given in full against nine further verbs, representing twenty-seven individually numbered discourses
Length
~1 minute to read
Nine verbs, not ten
Direct knowledge (abhiññā), the verb AN 7.615–617 already applied to all three lists, is not repeated here; this block covers only the nine verbs beyond it
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — compressed, but small in scale compared to what follows it
Why this discourse
AN 7.618–644 takes the three seven-item lists already given in full at AN 7.615–617 — the awakening factors, and two lists of seven perceptions — and runs each of them against nine further verbs for greed specifically, compressing twenty-seven discourses into a single sentence.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
For the complete understanding of greed, its complete ending, giving it up, its ending, its vanishing, its fading away, its cessation, its giving away, and its letting go — nine further verbs beyond the direct knowledge already covered at AN 7.615–617 — the same three seven-item lists should be developed.
Nine verbs, completing the ten for greed alone
AN 7.615–617 each paired one seven-item list with abhiññā, direct knowledge, giving three discourses. This block supplies the remaining nine verbs — pariññā (complete understanding), parikkhaya (complete ending), pahāna (giving up), khaya (ending), vaya (vanishing), virāga (fading away), nirodha (cessation), cāga (giving away), and paṭinissagga (letting go) — each crossed against the same three lists, for nine times three equals twenty-seven further discourses, all addressed to greed.
No new content, only new combinations
Nothing in this block is conceptually new: every item in every one of the three lists was already given in full at AN 7.615–617, and every verb here follows the standard progression this book has met before in other closing blocks. What this block adds is purely the systematic combination of already-known parts.
Setting the template for the chapter's final expansion
This block completes greed's own portion of the Rāgapeyyāla — three discourses of direct knowledge (AN 7.615–617) plus these twenty-seven (nine verbs times three lists) for a total of thirty discourses addressed to greed alone. The chapter's final and largest block, AN 7.645–1124, applies this identical template — now all ten verbs together — to sixteen further defilements beyond greed.
Key terms
pariññā, parikkhaya, pahāna — “complete understanding, complete ending, giving up” — the first three of nine verbs this block adds beyond direct knowledge.
khaya, vaya, virāga — “ending, vanishing, fading away” — the fourth through sixth verbs.
nirodha, cāga, paṭinissagga — “cessation, giving away, letting go” — the seventh through ninth verbs, completing the set of nine.
rāgassa — “of greed” — the single defilement every verb and every list in this block is addressed to; the chapter's remaining block will apply the same structure to sixteen further defilements.
bojjhaṅgā, dve saññā — the awakening factors and two lists of seven perceptions — the three lists given in full at AN 7.615–617 and assumed without restatement throughout this entire block.
The text
The formula exactly as the source compresses it: nine verbs, each implicitly crossed against the three lists already given in full. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Nine verbs for greed, completing its own portion of this chapter
§1“For the complete understanding of greed … complete ending … giving up … ending … vanishing … fading away … cessation … giving away … For the letting go of greed, these seven things should be developed.”
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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 lists does this block run against nine further verbs?
Correct: B. No new lists — the same three already given in full immediately before this block.
Question 2 of 6
Why does this block cover only nine verbs rather than the full ten this chapter eventually uses?
Correct: B. A structural completion of what AN 7.615–617 began, not an oversight.
Question 3 of 6
How many discourses does this block's single sentence represent?
Correct: B. Nine verbs crossed against three lists, each combination one discourse.
Question 4 of 6
What single defilement does every combination in this block address?
Correct: B. This block completes greed's own portion of the chapter before the final block turns to sixteen further defilements.
Question 5 of 6
According to the guide, is any of this block's content conceptually new?
Correct: B. Pure combination, not new content.
Question 6 of 6
What does the chapter's final block, AN 7.645–1124, apply this same template to?
Correct: B. The identical structure, scaled up to this chapter's largest and final block.
