Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Sāriputta teaches the identical eight individuals as AN 8.61, in the Buddha's absence and on his own authority: only reaction — sorrow or indulgence versus equanimity — determines whether a mendicant desiring material things has fallen from the true teaching, regardless of whether they tried for those things or received them.
A word-for-word match, differing only in speaker
Every one of the eight cases, every phrase describing effort, outcome, and reaction, and the closing summary all match AN 8.61 precisely. The only substantive change across the two discourses is who is speaking: the Buddha at AN 8.61, Sāriputta here, addressing his fellow mendicants directly as “reverends.”
A senior disciple teaching independently
This discourse belongs to a small group in this book where Sāriputta, the Buddha's foremost disciple in wisdom, teaches content elsewhere attributed to the Buddha himself, without any indication that he is merely relaying or repeating a teaching he received — a marker of the kind of independent teaching authority senior disciples are shown exercising in this literature.
Why repetition without variation still matters
Unlike most paired discourses in this book, which vary some detail between repetitions, this pairing varies nothing in content at all — making the discourse's real interest not what is taught, already covered fully at AN 8.61, but that it can be taught this precisely by someone other than the Buddha.
Key terms
The text
Sāriputta addresses the mendicants
§1There Sāriputta addressed the mendicants: “Reverends, mendicants!” “Reverend,” they replied. Sāriputta said this: “Reverends, these eight individuals are found in the world. What eight?
Four individuals who have fallen from the true teaching
§2First, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But material things don’t come to them. And so they sorrow and wail and lament, beating their breast and falling into confusion because they don’t get those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they do not acquire material things, they sorrow and lament. They’ve fallen from the true teaching. Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And material things do come to them. And so they become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And when they acquire material things, they become intoxicated and negligent. They’ve fallen from the true teaching. Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And material things don’t come to them. And so they sorrow and wail and lament, beating their breast and falling into confusion because they don’t get those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they do not acquire material things, they sorrow and lament. They’ve fallen from the true teaching. Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But material things do come to them. And so they become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they acquire material things, they become intoxicated and negligent. They’ve fallen from the true teaching.
Four individuals who have not fallen
§3Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But material things don’t come to them. But they don’t sorrow and wail and lament, beating their breast and falling into confusion because they don’t get those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they do not acquire material things, they don’t sorrow and lament. They haven’t fallen from the true teaching. Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And material things do come to them. But they don’t become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But when they acquire material things, they don’t become intoxicated and negligent. They haven’t fallen from the true teaching. Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And material things don’t come to them. But they don’t sorrow and wail and lament, beating their breast and falling into confusion because they don’t get those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And when they do not acquire material things, they don’t sorrow and lament. They haven’t fallen from the true teaching. Next, when a mendicant stays secluded, living independently, a desire arises for material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. But material things do come to them. But they don’t become indulgent and fall into negligence regarding those material things. This is called a mendicant who lives desiring material things. They don’t try hard, strive, and make an effort to get them. And when they acquire material things, they don’t become intoxicated and negligent. They haven’t fallen from the true teaching. These eight individuals are found in the world.”
Self-check quiz
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