SN 48.12's own six-level scale repeated, followed by a closing generalization not present in that earlier discourse
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — brief, and worth reading directly after SN 48.12 to see what is genuinely added
Why this discourse
This discourse repeats SN 48.12's own six-level scale of attainment — arahant down to follower by faith, each marked by a progressively weaker degree of the five faculties — then adds a closing generalization not present in that earlier discourse: “from a disparity of faculties there's a disparity of fruits, and from a disparity of fruits there's a disparity of individuals,” naming the causal logic behind the entire scale explicitly.
Reading guide
The same scale, confirmed word for word
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse's own six-level scale — arahant, non-returner, once-returner, stream-enterer, follower of teachings, follower by faith — is WORD FOR WORD identical to SN 48.12's own, differing only in the source's own use of an ellipsis for the middle four levels rather than spelling each one out.
A new closing generalization, genuinely added
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse's own final sentence — “indriyavemattatā phalavemattatā hoti, phalavemattatā puggalavemattatā” (“from a disparity of faculties there's a disparity of fruits, and from a disparity of fruits there's a disparity of individuals”) — is NOT present at SN 48.12, and states explicitly the causal logic that discourse's own scale only demonstrated by example.
A three-step causal chain named directly
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse's own closing line traces a clear three-step chain: differences in the FACULTIES themselves cause differences in the FRUITS (phala, the attainments reached), which in turn cause differences in the INDIVIDUALS (puggala) — naming faculties as the root cause of the very distinctions between types of noble persons.
Key terms
indriyavemattatā — “disparity, diversity of faculties” — the first link in this discourse's own closing causal chain
phalavemattatā — “disparity of fruits” — the second link, naming the differing attainments that result from differing faculties
puggalavemattatā — “disparity of individuals” — the third and final link, naming the distinction between types of noble persons as the ultimate result
phala — “fruit” — a term for the attainment or result reached through practice, used here as the middle link in the causal chain
mudutarehi — “weaker than that” — the same repeated term from SN 48.12, here elided with an ellipsis for the middle four levels
The text
The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, there are these five faculties. What five? The faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom. These are the five faculties. Someone who has completed and fulfilled these five faculties is a perfected one. If they are weaker than that, they’re a non-returner … a once-returner … a stream-enterer … a follower of teachings … a follower by faith. So from a disparity of faculties there’s a disparity of fruits. And from a disparity of fruits there’s a disparity of individuals.”
· · ·
Self-check quiz
3 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 3
How does this discourse's own six-level scale compare to SN 48.12's own?
Correct: A. Differing only in how the source presents the middle four levels, not in their actual content.
Question 2 of 3
What does this discourse add that SN 48.12 does not contain?
Correct: A. "From a disparity of faculties there's a disparity of fruits, and from a disparity of fruits there's a disparity of individuals."
Question 3 of 3
What three-step causal chain does this discourse's own closing line trace?
Correct: A. Naming faculties as the root cause of the very distinctions between types of noble persons.
