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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 35.151

A Resident Pupil

Antevāsikasutta — Navapurāṇavagga

Setting
Not restated in this discourse
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A thesis stated, then defined twice over — the same terms applied first to a mendicant who has them, then to one who doesn't
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — an ordinary teacher-training vocabulary, given an unexpected inward turn

Why this discourse

"Resident pupil" (antevāsika) and "teaching master" (ācariya) ordinarily name two people: a junior monastic living under a senior one's instruction. This discourse repurposes both terms entirely — naming not two people but a single mendicant's own relationship to bad, unskillful qualities that arise at the six sense doors. A mendicant "has a resident pupil" when such qualities arise and reside within; the same mendicant "has a teaching master" when those qualities master them. Living with no such qualities arising is living without either — and, the discourse states directly, that unencumbered life is the happier and more comfortable one.

Reading guide

Two familiar roles, redefined

"This spiritual life is lived without a resident pupil and without a teaching master" — opening on a claim that would sound strange in an ordinary monastic context, where both roles are assumed to be normal and necessary, before the discourse reveals what it actually means by them.

A resident pupil: what arises and stays

"When a mendicant sees a sight with the eye, bad, unskillful phenomena arise: memories and thoughts that tighten fetters. Those qualities reside within" — and for exactly that reason, the mendicant is said to "have a resident pupil," the unskillful quality itself cast in the role of a live-in dependent.

A teaching master: what masters in turn

"Those qualities master them" — the same unskillful phenomena, once they've taken up residence, are said to master the mendicant who's given them shelter, reversing the ordinary hierarchy: the resident pupil becomes, in effect, the teacher.

Run across all six sense doors, then restated

The identical definition repeats for each of the six senses (compressed by peyyāla for the middle four), then for its negative counterpart — qualities that don't arise, don't reside, and don't master — before the discourse closes by simply restating its own opening thesis, now fully defined.

Key terms

antevāsika — a resident pupil — ordinarily a junior monastic living under instruction, here repurposed for any bad, unskillful quality that arises and resides within
ācariya — a teaching master — ordinarily the senior instructor, here repurposed for whatever unskillful quality comes to master the mendicant who harbors it
pāpakā akusalā dhammā — bad, unskillful qualities — the discourse's own subject throughout, named generally rather than as any specific defilement
saṁyojaniyā sarasaṅkappā — memories and thoughts that tighten fetters — the specific content of what arises at contact, in the discourse's own phrase
sāta samphassa vihārī — living in happiness and comfort — the discourse's own verdict on the mendicant who lives without either role

The text

The complete discourse: "resident pupil" and "teaching master" redefined as unskillful qualities arising and mastering at the six sense doors, run in full for both the mendicant who has them and the one who doesn't. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“Mendicants, this spiritual life is lived without a resident pupil and without a teaching master. A mendicant who lives with a resident pupil and a teaching master lives in suffering and discomfort. A mendicant who lives without a resident pupil and a teaching master lives in happiness and comfort. And how does a mendicant who lives with a resident pupil and a teaching master live in suffering and discomfort? When a mendicant sees a sight with the eye, bad, unskillful phenomena arise: memories and thoughts that tighten fetters. Those qualities reside within. Since they have bad unskillful qualities residing within, they’re said to have a resident pupil. Those qualities master them. Since they’re mastered by bad unskillful qualities, they’re said to have a teaching master. Furthermore, when a mendicant hears … smells … tastes … touches … knows an idea with the mind, bad, unskillful phenomena arise: memories and thoughts that tighten fetters. Those qualities reside within. Since they have bad unskillful qualities residing within, they’re said to have a resident pupil. Those qualities master them. Since they’re mastered by bad unskillful qualities, they’re said to have a teaching master. That’s how a mendicant who lives with a resident pupil and a teaching master lives in suffering and discomfort.

§2And how does a mendicant who lives without a resident pupil and a teaching master live in happiness and comfort? When a mendicant sees a sight with the eye, bad, unskillful phenomena don’t arise: memories and thoughts that tighten fetters. Those qualities don’t reside within. Since they don’t have bad unskillful qualities residing within, they’re said to not have a resident pupil. Those qualities don’t master them. Since they’re not mastered by bad unskillful qualities, they’re said to not have a teaching master. Furthermore, when a mendicant hears … smells … tastes … touches … knows an idea with the mind, bad, unskillful phenomena don’t arise: memories and thoughts that tighten fetters. Those qualities don’t reside within. Since they don’t have bad unskillful qualities residing within, they’re said to not have a resident pupil. Those qualities don’t master them. Since they’re not mastered by bad unskillful qualities, they’re said to not have a teaching master. That’s how a mendicant who lives without a resident pupil and a teaching master lives in happiness and comfort. This spiritual life is lived without a resident pupil and without a teaching master. A mendicant who lives with a resident pupil and a teaching master lives in suffering and discomfort. A mendicant who lives without a resident pupil and a teaching master lives in happiness and comfort.”

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Self-check quiz

5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 5
What do "resident pupil" (antevāsika) and "teaching master" (ācariya) ordinarily name, and what does this discourse do with them?
Correct: A. The discourse repurposes an ordinary teacher-training vocabulary for an entirely inward-facing use.
Question 2 of 5
When is a mendicant said to "have a resident pupil," according to this discourse?
Correct: A. The unskillful quality itself is cast in the role of a live-in dependent.
Question 3 of 5
When is that same mendicant said to "have a teaching master"?
Correct: A. Reversing the ordinary hierarchy — the resident pupil becomes, in effect, the teacher.
Question 4 of 5
What is the discourse's own verdict on a mendicant who lives without either role?
Correct: A. Stated directly, contrasting with the mendicant who lives with both — suffering and discomfort.
Question 5 of 5
How is the definition applied across the six sense doors?
Correct: A. The standard bilara-data elision convention, already familiar from many of this project's own catechisms.
Answered 0 of 5 · Correct 0

Further reading

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