Catutthavinayadharasobhanasutta — Vinayavagga — the eighth chapter of the Sevens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single-paragraph bare list, word for word identical to AN 7.78 except for one verb, closing this chapter's set of eight closely related discourses
Length
under 1 minute to read
Closing the set of eight
The fourth and final restatement, completing the two-by-two structure of four content variants crossed with two governing verbs
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — structurally distinct like its counterpart AN 7.78, closing this set
Why this discourse
AN 7.82 restates AN 7.78's structurally distinct variant — past-life recollection and clairvoyance filling both the fifth and sixth slots, with no separate four-absorptions item — using “shines as” in place of “is”, completing this chapter's set of eight.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant who knows the four categories of offense, recollects their many past lives in detail, understands with clairvoyance how beings pass on according to their deeds, and realizes undefiled freedom in this very life shines as an expert in the monastic law.
Identical content to AN 7.78, one verb changed
This discourse's fifth and sixth items — past-life recollection and clairvoyance together, with no separate four-absorptions item — match AN 7.78 exactly, differing only in the governing verb, just as AN 7.79-81 each restated their own counterpart.
The set of eight, now complete
With this discourse, all four content variants — ethical restraint, textual mastery, firmness in training, and the paired higher knowledges — have each appeared twice, once as something a mendicant “is” and once as something they “shine as”, completing a deliberate two-by-four structure across AN 7.75-82.
Why this outlier variant closes the set
Placing the most structurally distinct variant — the one that drops the four-absorptions item for two higher knowledges instead — at the very end of both the “is” set and the “shines as” set gives this chapter's opening eight discourses a matched, symmetrical shape: three ordinary variants followed by one more exalted one, twice over.
Key terms
sobhati — “shines as” — this discourse's governing verb, closing the pattern shared with AN 7.79-81.
āpatti, anāpatti, lahukā āpatti, garukā āpatti — “an offense, not an offense, a light offense, a serious offense” — the shared four opening items.
anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati — “recollects their many kinds of past lives” — this discourse's fifth item, identical to AN 7.78's.
dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena — “with clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman” — this discourse's sixth item, again replacing the four-absorptions item found in the set's other three variants.
yathākammūpage satte pajānāti — “understands how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds” — what this discourse's clairvoyance item discerns.
The text
The discourse in full, a single bare list, closing this chapter's set of eight. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Seven qualities of one who shines as an expert in the monastic law
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant with seven qualities shines as an expert in the monastic law. What seven? They know what is an offense. They know what is not an offense. They know what is a light offense. They know what is a serious offense. They recollect their many kinds of past lives, with features and details. With clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, they understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds. They realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life, and live having realized it with their own insight due to the ending of defilements. A mendicant with these seven qualities shines as an expert in the monastic law.”
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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 are this discourse's fifth and sixth items?
Correct: B. The same structurally distinct variant as AN 7.78.
Question 2 of 6
What is the only difference between this discourse and AN 7.78?
Correct: B. Word-for-word identical apart from this one verb.
Question 3 of 6
According to the guide, what structure does this discourse complete?
Correct: B. The full systematic pairing across all eight discourses in this set.
Question 4 of 6
According to the guide, why might this outlier variant be placed at the end of both sets of four?
Correct: B. A deliberate structural choice, mirrored in both halves of the set.
Question 5 of 6
Is the four-absorptions item present in this discourse?
Correct: B. The same structural absence as AN 7.78.
Question 6 of 6
What does this discourse's completion mark for this chapter?
Correct: B. The close of AN 7.75-82's matched set, with two different discourses still to come in this chapter.
