The same mendicant from SN 22.113, questioning the Buddha; the Buddha's answer
Form
The identical question-and-definition structure as SN 22.113, with one word inverted
Length
Short — a near-exact mirror of the previous discourse
Northern parallel
Shares its structure with the four-point template used throughout this book
Difficulty
Approachable — best read directly alongside SN 22.113
Why this discourse
The direct positive counterpart to SN 22.113: the same mendicant asks the same question about "knowledge" instead of "ignorance," and receives the identical fourfold definition with only "doesn't understand" changed to "understands" — making the two discourses' relationship as precise as a mathematical negation.
Reading guide
The same question, a different word
"They speak of this thing called 'knowledge'. What is knowledge? And how is a knowing one defined?" — the identical question structure as SN 22.113, with vijjā ("knowledge") replacing avijjā ("ignorance").
The source text marks this as "that mendicant" — the same questioner from the previous discourse, now "seated to one side" rather than freshly approaching, suggesting the two discourses record a single continuous exchange.
Knowledge as precisely inverted ignorance
"It's when a learned noble disciple understands form, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation" — every clause matches SN 22.113's own definition of ignorance, with "doesn't understand" become "understands," and "unlearned ordinary person" become "learned noble disciple."
This precision matters: knowledge is not defined as something categorically different from ignorance, requiring its own separate account, but as the exact filling-in of the identical fourfold gap ignorance leaves open.
Why pair these two discourses so exactly
Reading SN 22.113 and SN 22.114 together demonstrates a method the collection uses elsewhere (as with SN 22.103-105 on sakkāya and dukkha): stating a concept and its precise negation as near-identical twins, so the relationship between them is established by the shared structure itself, not merely asserted in prose.
Moving toward the vagga's namesake pair
Having defined ignorance and knowledge as a matched pair, Dhammakathikavagga turns next to SN 22.115 and SN 22.116, which define the "Dhamma speaker" — someone whose teaching flows directly from having this same knowledge.
Key terms
vijjā — knowledge — the term this discourse defines, the precise counterpart to SN 22.113's avijjā
viddasu — a knowing one — the person this discourse defines, counterpart to aviddasu
sutavā ariyasāvako — a learned noble disciple — replacing SN 22.113's "unlearned ordinary person" as the subject who understands
pajānāti — understands — the single verb inverted from SN 22.113's "doesn't understand" (na pajānāti)
catubbidha — fourfold (not itself named in this discourse, but the structural pattern both discourses share)
The text
The complete discourse, mirroring SN 22.113's structure exactly with "understands" replacing "doesn't understand." Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. Seated to one side, that mendicant said to the Buddha: “Sir, they speak of this thing called ‘knowledge’. What is knowledge? And how is a knowing one defined?”
§2“Mendicant, it’s when a learned noble disciple understands form, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. They understand feeling … perception … choices … consciousness, its origin, its cessation, and the practice that leads to its cessation. This is called knowledge. And this is how a knowing one is defined.”
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
How does this discourse relate to SN 22.113?
Correct: A. The relationship is established through matched structure rather than assertion.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse define knowledge?
Correct: A. The identical fourfold structure as SN 22.113's definition of ignorance, inverted.
Question 3 of 10
Who is described as asking this discourse's question?
Correct: A. Suggesting the two discourses record a single continuous exchange.
Question 4 of 10
What subject replaces "unlearned ordinary person" in this discourse's definition?
Correct: A. The precise counterpart subject for someone who understands rather than fails to understand.
Question 5 of 10
What does the exact structural pairing of SN 22.113 and SN 22.114 demonstrate?
Correct: A. A method also seen in SN 22.103-105's treatment of sakkāya and dukkha.
Question 6 of 10
What comes next in Dhammakathikavagga after this pair of discourses?
Correct: A. Moving to the vagga's own namesake pair of discourses.
Question 7 of 10
What four points does the knowing one understand for each aggregate?
Correct: A. Identical to the four points named in SN 22.113.
Question 8 of 10
How many aggregates does this fourfold understanding apply to?
Correct: A. Form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness, as throughout the book.
Question 9 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Matching SN 22.113's own setting.
Question 10 of 10
What does this discourse imply about the relationship between knowledge and ignorance?
Correct: A. Not a categorically different account, but the precise structural inversion.
