Arahāsutta — Samaṇavagga — the ninth chapter of the Sevens
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A bare definition restating the full seven-item list, closing this chapter's set of eight wordplay discourses as a matching bookend to AN 7.85
Length
under 1 minute to read
The same root as AN 7.91, a different result
This discourse shares AN 7.91's exact root, ārakattā, “being remote,” but yields arahā, “perfected one,” rather than ariya
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — closes a set worth having read in full from AN 7.85 onward
Why this discourse
AN 7.92 closes this chapter's set of eight wordplay discourses by deriving “perfected one” (arahā) from the same ārakattā, “being remote,” root AN 7.91 used for “noble one,” and restates the full seven-item list one final time, matching AN 7.85's bookend structure.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
It is specifically by being impeccably remote from seven things — substantialist view, doubt, misapprehension of precepts and observances, greed, hate, delusion, and conceit — that one becomes an arahā, a perfected one, the highest of this set's eight honorific titles.
A closing bookend, restating the full list
Like AN 7.85 at this set's opening, this discourse gives the full seven-item list rather than eliding it, framing the entire set of eight with two complete statements bracketing six single-sentence discourses in between — a structure that lets a reader encounter the full list at both the start and the end without needing to hold it in memory throughout.
The same root as AN 7.91, its own resulting title
Ārakattā, “because of being remote,” is the identical phrase AN 7.91 used for ariya, “noble one” — here it instead yields arahā, “perfected one,” the term for one who has completed the path entirely. The same image of sustained distance from these seven things is offered as the basis for both titles, one general and one referring to full awakening.
Eight titles, one underlying accomplishment
Read as a complete set, AN 7.85 through 7.92 make one sustained point through eight different words and eight different images — breaking, quelling, barring out, flowing away, bathing, knowing, and being remote (twice) — all converging on the identical seven defilements, suggesting that mendicant, ascetic, brahmin, scholar, bathed initiate, knowledge master, noble one, and perfected one are not eight different accomplishments but eight different names, and eight different angles of approach, for essentially one and the same thing.
Key terms
arahā, ārakattā — “perfected one”, “because of being remote” — the sound-linked pair this discourse's wordplay turns on, sharing its root with AN 7.91's ariya.
sakkāyadiṭṭhi, vicikicchā, sīlabbataparāmāso — “substantialist view, doubt, misapprehension of precepts and observances” — the three fetters of stream-entry, given in full here as at AN 7.85.
rāgo, doso, moho, māno — “greed, hate, delusion, conceit” — the remaining four items, completing the full list one final time.
arahā — “perfected one”, an arahant — the highest and final title in this set of eight, describing one who has completed the path.
aṭṭhamaṁ — “the eighth” — this discourse's own closing ordinal marker in the source text, confirming its place closing this set of eight.
The text
The discourse in full, restating the complete seven-item list to close this set of eight. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Why one is called a perfected one
§1“Mendicants, it’s by being impeccably remote from seven things that you become a perfected one. What seven? Substantialist view, doubt, misapprehension of precepts and observances, greed, hate, delusion, and conceit. It’s because of being impeccably remote from these seven things that you become a perfected 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 “perfected one” (arahā)?
Correct: B. The identical root as the immediately preceding discourse, yielding a different resulting title.
Question 2 of 6
How does this discourse's structure compare to AN 7.85's, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Two complete statements bracketing six elided discourses in between.
Question 3 of 6
What is “arahā” the term for, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Full awakening, the culminating title of this set of eight.
Question 4 of 6
According to the guide, what does reading all eight discourses in this set together suggest?
Correct: B. Eight images, one underlying accomplishment, tracked through the same seven defilements throughout.
Question 5 of 6
What is this discourse's own closing marker in the source text?
Correct: B. Confirming its place as the eighth and final discourse in this set.
Question 6 of 6
What seven things must one be impeccably remote from to become a perfected one, according to this discourse?
Correct: B. The same seven defilements tracked throughout this entire set of eight discourses.
