Ariyasutta — Samaṇavagga — the ninth chapter of the Sevens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single elided sentence, the seventh in this chapter's set of eight wordplay discourses
Length
a few seconds to read
The same root as AN 7.92
This discourse and AN 7.92 both derive their titles from ārakattā, “being remote” — the only root in this set of eight shared by two different discourses, here yielding ariya rather than arahā
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief, best read directly alongside AN 7.92
Why this discourse
AN 7.91 gives the seventh discourse in this set, deriving “noble one” (ariya) from ārakattā, “being remote” — the same root AN 7.92 will use immediately after for a different title, “perfected one,” making this the one root in the set applied twice.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
It is specifically because seven foes — the same substantialist view, doubt, misapprehension of precepts and observances, greed, hate, delusion, and conceit named in full at AN 7.85 — have been kept remote and nobbled that one becomes an ariya, a noble one.
Ārakattā: the one root used twice in this set
Every other discourse in this set of eight uses its own distinct verb — breaking, quelling, barring out, flowing away, bathing, knowing — but this discourse and AN 7.92 both draw on the same root, ārakattā, “being remote.” The seven defilements are kept at a distance rather than destroyed outright, an image of sustained separation rather than a single decisive act.
Ariya: a title this project has met constantly, given its own wordplay origin here
Ariya, “noble,” is one of the most frequently used honorifics across this entire collection — every noble disciple, noble truth, and noble eightfold path uses this same word. This discourse supplies its own etymological account, linking it to remoteness from the same seven defilements this set has tracked throughout.
Setting up the final discourse's near-twin construction
Because AN 7.92 reuses this exact root for a different resulting title, reading these two discourses together shows the wordplay device at its most pointed: the identical Pali phrase, ārakattā, yielding two distinct honorifics depending on which word it is paired with — a closing pair that makes this set's underlying device unmistakably explicit.
Key terms
ariya, ārakattā — “noble one”, “because of being remote” — the sound-linked pair this discourse's wordplay turns on, shared with AN 7.92's own different resulting title.
sattannaṁ dhammānaṁ ārakattā — “because seven things have been kept remote” — the specific phrase this discourse and AN 7.92 both share, applied to two different honorific titles.
sakkāyadiṭṭhi, vicikicchā, sīlabbataparāmāso — “substantialist view, doubt, misapprehension of precepts and observances” — elided here, given in full at AN 7.85 and AN 7.92.
rāgo, doso, moho, māno — “greed, hate, delusion, conceit” — the remaining four items, likewise elided.
sattamaṁ — “the seventh” — this discourse's own closing ordinal marker in the source text.
The text
The discourse in full, a single elided sentence. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Why one is called a noble one
§1“Mendicants, it’s because seven foes have been nobbled that you become a noble one …”
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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 root does this discourse connect to “noble one” (ariya)?
Correct: B. An image of sustained separation rather than a single decisive removal.
Question 2 of 6
According to the guide, what makes this discourse's root distinctive within the full set of eight?
Correct: B. The only case where the identical wordplay root produces two different honorific titles.
Question 3 of 6
According to the guide, how frequently does “ariya” (noble) appear across this entire collection?
Correct: B. One of the most common honorifics in the whole collection, given its own etymological account here.
Question 4 of 6
What discourse immediately follows, reusing this discourse's exact root for a different title?
Correct: B. AN 7.92 derives “perfected one” (arahā) from the identical root.
Question 5 of 6
What is this discourse's own closing marker in the source text?
Correct: B. Confirming its place as the seventh discourse in this set of eight.
Question 6 of 6
According to the guide, what does reading this discourse alongside AN 7.92 demonstrate about the set's wordplay device?
Correct: B. A closing pair making the whole set's underlying device unmistakably explicit.
