1. Dhanavaggo | 7 | Aṅguttara
Aṅguttara Nikāya>
Sattakanipāta
The Book of the Sevens
Sattakanipāta
The Book of the Sevens
Homage to the Blessed One, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One
The First Fifty
001. Dhanavaggo
I. Wealth
1 (1) Pleasing (1)
Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park.
There the Blessed One addressed the Bhikkhus: Bhikkhus!
Venerable sir!
those Bhikkhus replied.
The Blessed One said this:
Bhikkhus, possessing 7 qualities, a Bhikkhu is displeasing and disagreeable to his fellow monks and is neither respected nor esteemed by them.
What 7? Here,
(1) a Bhikkhu is desirous of gains,
(2) honour, and
(3) reputation;
(4) he is morally shameless and
(5) morally reckless;
(6) he has evil desires and
(7) holds wrong view.
- Possessing these 7 qualities, a Bhikkhu is displeasing and disagreeable to his fellow monks and is neither respected nor esteemed by them.
Bhikkhus, possessing 7 qualities, a Bhikkhu is pleasing and agreeable to his fellow monks and is respected and esteemed by them.
What 7? Here,
(1) a Bhikkhu is not desirous of gains, or
(2) honour, or
(3) a reputation;
(4) he has a sense of moral shame and
(5) moral dread;
(6) he has few desires and
(7) holds right view.
- Possessing these 7 qualities, a Bhikkhu is pleasing and agreeable to his fellow monks and is respected and esteemed by them.
2 (2) Pleasing (2)
Bhikkhus, possessing 7 qualities, a Bhikkhu is displeasing and disagreeable to his fellow monks and is neither respected nor esteemed by them.
What 7? Here,
(1) a Bhikkhu is desirous of gains,
(2) honour, and
(3) reputation;
(4) he is morally shameless and
(5) morally reckless;
(6) he is envious and
(7) miserly.
- Possessing these 7 qualities, a Bhikkhu is displeasing and disagreeable to his fellow monks and is neither respected nor esteemed by them.
Bhikkhus, possessing 7 qualities, a Bhikkhu is pleasing and agreeable to his fellow monks and is respected and esteemed by them.
What 7? Here,
(1) a Bhikkhu is not desirous of gains,
(2) honour,
(3) and reputation;
(4) he has a sense of moral shame and
(5) moral dread;
(6) he is not envious and
(7) is not miserly.
- Possessing these 7 qualities, a Bhikkhu is pleasing and agreeable to his fellow monks and is respected and esteemed by them.
3 (3) Powers in Brief
Bhikkhus, there are these 7 powers. What 7?
1) The power of faith,
2) the power of energy,
3) the power of moral shame,
4) the power of moral dread,
5) the power of mindfulness,
6) the power of concentration, and
7) the power of wisdom.
- These are the 7 powers.
The power of faith, the power of energy,
the powers of moral shame and moral dread;
the powers of mindfulness and concentration,
and wisdom, the 7th power;
a powerful Bhikkhu possessing these
is wise and lives happily.
He should carefully examine the Dhamma
and deeply see the meaning with wisdom.
Like the extinguishing of a lamp
is the emancipation of the mind.
4 (4) Powers in Detail
Bhikkhus, there are these 7 powers. What 7?
1) The power of faith,
2) the power of energy,
3) the power of moral shame,
4) the power of moral dread,
5) the power of mindfulness,
6) the power of concentration, and
7) the power of wisdom.
(1) And what, Bhikkhus, is the power of faith?
Here, a noble disciple is endowed with faith. He places faith in the enlightenment of the Tathāgata thus:
‘The Blessed One is an Arahant, perfectly enlightened, accomplished in true knowledge and conduct, fortunate,
knower of the world, unsurpassed trainer of persons to be tamed, teacher of devas and humans, the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.’
- This is called the power of faith.
(2) And what is the power of energy?
Here, a noble disciple has aroused energy for abandoning unwholesome qualities and acquiring wholesome qualities;
he is strong, firm in exertion, not casting off the duty of cultivating wholesome qualities.
- This is called the power of energy.
(3) And what is the power of moral shame?
Here, a noble disciple has a sense of moral shame;
he is ashamed of bodily, verbal, and mental misconduct;
he is ashamed of acquiring bad, unwholesome qualities.
- This is called the power of moral shame.
(4) And what is the power of moral dread?
Here, a noble disciple dreads wrongdoing;
he dreads bodily, verbal, and mental misconduct;
he dreads acquiring bad, unwholesome qualities.
- This is called the power of moral dread.
(5) And what is the power of mindfulness?
Here, a noble disciple is mindful, possessing supreme mindfulness and alertness, one who remembers and recollects what was done and said long ago.
- This is called the power of mindfulness.
(6) And what is the power of concentration?
Here, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a noble disciple enters and dwells in the 1st jhāna ... [as in 5:14 §4] ... the 4th jhāna.
- This is called the power of concentration.
(7) And what is the power of wisdom?
Here, a noble disciple is wise; he possesses the wisdom that discerns arising and passing away, which is noble and penetrative and leads to the complete destruction of suffering.
- This is called the power of wisdom.
These, Bhikkhus, are the 7 powers.
[The verses are identical with those of 7:3.]
5 (5) Wealth in Brief
Bhikkhus, there are these 7 kinds of wealth. What 7?
1) The wealth of faith,
2) the wealth of virtuous behaviour,
3) the wealth of moral shame,
4) the wealth of moral dread,
5) the wealth of learning,
6) the wealth of generosity, and
7) the wealth of wisdom.
- These are the 7 kinds of wealth.
The wealth of faith, the wealth of virtuous behaviour,
the wealth of moral shame and moral dread,
the wealth of learning and generosity,
with wisdom, the 7th kind of wealth:
when one has these 7 kinds of wealth,
whether a woman or a man,
they say that one is not poor,
that one’s life is not lived in vain.
Therefore an intelligent person,
remembering the Buddhas’ teaching,
should be intent on faith and virtuous behaviour,
confidence and vision of the Dhamma.
6 (6) Wealth in Detail
Bhikkhus, there are these 7 kinds of wealth. What 7?
1) The wealth of faith,
2) the wealth of virtuous behaviour,
3) the wealth of moral shame,
4) the wealth of moral dread,
5) the wealth of learning,
6) the wealth of generosity, and
7) the wealth of wisdom.
(1) And what, Bhikkhus, is the wealth of faith?
Here, a noble disciple is endowed with faith.
He places faith in the enlightenment of the Tathāgata thus: ‘The Blessed One is an Arahant ... the Enlightened One, the Blessed One.’
- This is called the wealth of faith.
(2) And what is the wealth of virtuous behaviour?
Here, a noble disciple abstains from the destruction of life,
abstains from taking what is not given, abstains from sexual misconduct, abstains from false speech, abstains from liquor, wine, and intoxicants, the basis for heedlessness.
- This is called the wealth of virtuous behaviour.
(3) And what is the wealth of moral shame?
Here, a noble disciple has a sense of moral shame; he is ashamed of bodily, verbal, and mental misconduct; he is ashamed of acquiring bad, unwholesome qualities.
- This is called the wealth of moral shame.
(4) And what is the wealth of moral dread?
Here, a noble disciple dreads wrongdoing; he dreads bodily, verbal, and mental misconduct; he dreads acquiring bad, unwholesome qualities.
- This is called the wealth of moral dread.
(5) And what is the wealth of learning?
Here, a noble disciple has learned much, remembers what he has learned, and accumulates what he has learned.
Those teachings that are good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, with the right meaning and phrasing, which proclaim the perfectly complete and pure spiritual life
—such teachings as these he has learned much of, retained in mind, recited verbally, mentally investigated, and penetrated well by view.
- This is called the wealth of learning.
(6) And what is the wealth of generosity?
Here, a noble disciple dwells at home
with a heart devoid of the stain of miserliness, freely generous, open-handed, delighting in relinquishment, one devoted to charity, delighting in giving and sharing.
- This is called the wealth of generosity.
(7) And what is the wealth of wisdom?
Here, a noble disciple is wise;
he possesses the wisdom that discerns arising and passing away, which is noble and penetrative and leads to the complete destruction of suffering.
- This is called the wealth of wisdom.
These, Bhikkhus, are the 7 kinds of wealth.
[The verses are identical with those of 7:5.]
7 (7) Ugga
Then Ugga the king’s chief minister approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said:
It’s astounding and amazing, Bhante, how Migāra of Rohaṇa is so rich, with such great wealth and property.
But how rich is Migāra of Rohaṇa?
How much wealth and property does he have?
He has a 100 thousand units of minted gold, not to mention silver.
There is that kind of wealth, Ugga; this I don’t deny. But that kind of wealth can be taken away by fire, water, kings, thieves, and displeasing heirs.
However, Ugga, these 7 kinds of wealth cannot be taken away by fire, water, kings, thieves, and displeasing heirs. What 7?
1) The wealth of faith,
2) the wealth of virtuous behaviour,
3) the wealth of moral shame,
4) the wealth of moral dread,
5) the wealth of learning,
6) the wealth of generosity, and
7) the wealth of wisdom.
- These 7 kinds of wealth cannot be taken away by fire, water, kings, thieves, and displeasing heirs.
[The verses are identical with those of 7:5.]
8 (8) Fetters
Bhikkhus, there are these 7 fetters. What 7?
1) The fetter of compliance,
2) the fetter of aversion,
3) the fetter of views,
4) the fetter of doubt,
5) the fetter of conceit,
6) the fetter of lust for existence, and
7) the fetter of ignorance.
- These are the 7 fetters.
9 (9) Abandoning
Bhikkhus, the spiritual life is lived to abandon and eradicate 7 fetters. What 7?
1) The fetter of compliance,
2) the fetter of aversion,
3) the fetter of views,
4) the fetter of doubt,
5) the fetter of conceit,
6) the fetter of lust for existence, and
7) the fetter of ignorance.
- The spiritual life is lived to abandon and eradicate these 7 fetters.
When a Bhikkhu has abandoned the fetter of compliance, cut it off at the root, made it like a palm stump, obliterated it so that it is no more subject to future arising;
when he has abandoned the fetter of aversion ... the fetter of views ... the fetter of doubt ... the fetter of conceit ... the fetter of lust for existence ... the fetter of ignorance,
- cut it off at the root, made it like a palm stump, obliterated it so that it is no more subject to future arising,
he is then called a Bhikkhu who has cut off craving, stripped off the fetter, and by completely breaking through conceit, has made an end of suffering.
10 (10) Miserliness
Bhikkhus, there are these 7 fetters. What 7?
1) The fetter of compliance,
2) the fetter of aversion,
3) the fetter of views,
4) the fetter of doubt,
5) the fetter of conceit,
6) the fetter of envy, and
7) the fetter of miserliness.
- These are the 7 fetters.