The identical structure as SN 22.131, with knowledge replacing ignorance
Length
Short — matching SN 22.131's own length
Northern parallel
Shares its structure and criterion with SN 22.131
Difficulty
Moderate — best read directly after SN 22.131
Why this discourse
Completes the five-point origin/disappearance/gratification/drawback/escape pair begun by SN 22.131: the identical comprehensive formula, now defining knowledge with the learned noble disciple's true understanding replacing the unlearned ordinary person's failure to understand.
Reading guide
The fullest criterion, inverted
"A learned noble disciple truly understands the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the drawback, and the escape when it comes to form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness" — the identical five-point formula as SN 22.131, with only the subject and verb inverted.
Recalling this formula's use elsewhere in this book
Just as SN 22.131 recalled SN 22.108's definition of the goal of ascetic life, this discourse's positive formulation recalls SN 22.109-110's own definitions of the stream-enterer and the arahant — the same understanding that, elsewhere, produces specific fruits of the path, here simply named "knowledge" in its own right.
Three criteria, six discourses, one vagga so far
With this discourse, Avijjāvagga has now presented three distinct criteria across six discourses (three for originate/vanish, two for the triad, two for the five-point combination — actually seven counting SN 22.126's own double treatment): a systematic survey of technical vocabulary this book has developed across its earlier vaggas, now gathered and applied uniformly to a single recurring question.
Toward the vagga's final movement
Avijjāvagga turns next to its closing three discourses — SN 22.133, 134, and 135 — which reverse the questioning direction (Sāriputta now asks Koṭṭhita, rather than the reverse) while cycling back through the triad, the five-point formula, and finally SN 22.113's own original four-point formula to close the vagga.
Key terms
vijjā — knowledge — this discourse's own subject, completing SN 22.131's ignorance definition
samudaya/atthaṅgama/assāda/ādīnava/nissaraṇa — origin / disappearance / gratification / drawback / escape — the shared five-point formula across both discourses in this pair
viddasu — a knowing one — the person this discourse defines
sutavā ariyasāvako — a learned noble disciple — the subject who understands, replacing SN 22.131's "unlearned ordinary person"
pajānāti — understands — the inverted verb carrying the entire difference from SN 22.131
The text
The complete discourse, mirroring SN 22.131's structure exactly with knowledge replacing ignorance. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Varanasi. Mahākoṭṭhita said to Sāriputta: “Reverend Sāriputta, they speak of this thing called ‘knowledge’. What is knowledge? And how is a knowing one defined?”
§2“Reverend, a learned noble disciple truly understands the origin, the disappearance, the gratification, the drawback, and the escape when it comes to form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness. 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 22.131?
Correct: A. Completing the pair with the identical five-point formula inverted.
Question 2 of 10
What earlier discourses in this book does this discourse's positive formulation recall?
Correct: A. The same five-point formula that produces specific fruits of the path elsewhere, here named simply as "knowledge."
Question 3 of 10
How many distinct criteria has Avijjāvagga presented by the end of this discourse?
Correct: A. Originate/vanish, the gratification triad, and the five-point combination.
Question 4 of 10
What is knowledge defined as, in this discourse?
Correct: A. The precise inversion of SN 22.131's definition of ignorance.
Question 5 of 10
What happens to the questioning direction in this vagga's final three discourses?
Correct: A. SN 22.133-135 reverse the direction seen in SN 22.127-132.
Question 6 of 10
Who are the two speakers in this discourse?
Correct: A. Matching SN 22.131's own speaker pair, before the reversal in the vagga's final discourses.
Question 7 of 10
How many aggregates does this five-point formula apply to?
Correct: A. Form, feeling, perception, choices, and consciousness.
Question 8 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Matching SN 22.131's own setting.
Question 9 of 10
What formula will close Avijjāvagga in SN 22.135?
Correct: A. Completing the vagga's systematic cycle through the book's various criteria.
Question 10 of 10
What does this vagga's overall structure demonstrate about this book's method?
Correct: A. Gathering technical vocabulary developed across earlier vaggas and applying it systematically here.
