七知經

Thus have I heard:

The Buddha was dwelling at the grove of Prince Jeta, in Anāthapiṇḍika's Park, in the city of Śrāvastī. The Buddha said to the bhikkhus, "Listen to these instructions from the Buddha: There are seven things that guide the disciple along the path, which make this present life peaceful and joyful, abundant in happiness, diligent in the dharma of contemplation, and which bring one's practice to its ultimate fulfillment. What are these seven things?

1. Knowing the Dharma.

2. Knowing the meaning.

3. Knowing the time.

4. Knowing moderation.

5. Knowing oneself.

6. Knowing the assembly.

7. Knowing persons.

Bhikkhus, what is meant by Knowing the Dharma? It is to understand the twelve divisions of the scriptures:

1. Discourses (Sūtra).

2. Verses in song (Geya).

3. Expositions (Vyākaraṇa).

4. Stanzas (Gāthā).

5. Parables (Avadāna).

6. Records of origins (Nidāna).

7. Explanations of matters (Itivṛttaka).

8. Birth-stories (Jātaka).

9. Extensive teachings (Vaipulya).

10. Marvels that arise of themselves (Adbhutadharma).

11. Conduct (Avadāna of deeds).

12. Verses and prose-passages (Upadeśa).

This is Knowing the Dharma. Not understanding the twelve divisions of the scriptures is not Knowing the Dharma.

What is meant by Knowing the meaning? It is that all things spoken in the scriptures and the Dharma must be clearly understood in their meaning—this is Knowing the meaning. When all the things that are spoken are not understood in their meaning, this is not Knowing the meaning.

What is meant by Knowing the time? It is to know that at this time one may employ the contemplation of cessation, that at this time one should not employ the contemplation of grasping the feelings, that at this time one may employ the contemplation of careful guarding—this is Knowing the time. Not understanding the time suitable for action is not Knowing the time.

What is meant by Knowing moderation? It is to be able to eat and drink in small measure, to relieve oneself with ease, to have good digestion, and to be able to regulate one's coming and going, one's sitting and standing, one's walking, lying down, waking, speaking, and keeping silent, all with restraint and discernment. This is Knowing moderation. Not restraining and examining oneself is not Knowing moderation.

What is meant by Knowing oneself? It is to know one's own body and one's own mind, to know the degree, whether much or little, of one's Wisdom, one's Precepts, one's Learning, one's Giving, one's Insight, and one's Liberation; to know what one has attained and what one has penetrated, whether deep or shallow, thick or thin—all of these one must know for oneself. This is Knowing oneself. Not knowing the degree, whether much or little, to which one's mind has penetrated is not Knowing oneself.

What is meant by Knowing the assembly? It is to be able to know this assembly, whether it is an assembly of noble persons, or an assembly of householders, or an assembly of brahmins, or of śramaṇas; and when at times one comes among these assemblies, to know whether one should sit or should stand, should speak or should keep silent, knowing what is fitting according to the time and the circumstance. This is Knowing the assembly. Not knowing what is fitting according to the time and the circumstance among those various assemblies is not Knowing the assembly.

What is meant by Knowing persons? Suppose there are two people: one who has faith in the Path, and one who has no faith in the Path. The one who has faith in the Path is worthy of praise, while the one who has no faith is not worthy of praise.

The one who has faith in the Path is again of two kinds: one who comes to the place of practice and delights in the śramaṇas, and one who does not regularly come to the place of practice and has only slight knowledge of the śramaṇas. The one who regularly comes is worthy of praise; the one who does not regularly come is not worthy of praise. The one who regularly comes to the place of practice is of two kinds: one who loves and reveres the śramaṇas, and one who does not love and revere the śramaṇas.

The one who loves and reveres them is worthy of praise; the one who does not love and revere them is not worthy of praise. The one who loves and reveres them is again of two kinds: one who draws near to study with the śramaṇas, and one who does not draw near to study with the śramaṇas. The one who draws near to study is worthy of praise; the one who does not draw near to study is not worthy of praise.

The one who draws near to study is again of two kinds: one who delights in asking about the scriptures and the Dharma, and one who does not delight in asking about the scriptures and the Dharma. The one who delights in asking is worthy of praise; the one who does not delight in asking is not worthy of praise. The one who delights in asking is again of two kinds: one who listens attentively, and one who does not listen attentively.

The one who listens attentively is worthy of praise; the one who does not listen attentively is not worthy of praise. The one who listens attentively is again of two kinds: one who, having heard the Dharma, receives and upholds it, and one who, having heard the Dharma, does not receive and uphold it. The one who, having heard the Dharma, receives and upholds it is worthy of praise; the one who does not receive and uphold it is not worthy of praise.

The one who receives and upholds it is again of two kinds: one who, having heard, contemplates the meaning, and one who, having heard, does not contemplate the meaning. The one who hears and contemplates the meaning is worthy of praise; the one who hears and does not contemplate the meaning is not worthy of praise. The one who, having heard the Dharma, contemplates the meaning is of two kinds: one who accords with the scriptures and understands their meaning, receives the Dharma, and establishes himself in accordance with the Dharma; and one who does not accord with the scriptures and understand their meaning, does not receive the Dharma, and does not establish himself in accordance with the Dharma.

The one who accords with the scriptures and understands their meaning is worthy of praise; the one who does not accord with the scriptures and understand their meaning is not worthy of praise. The one who accords with the scriptures and understands their meaning is of two kinds: one who brings peace and joy only to himself but does not bring peace and joy to others, does not bring peace and joy to the many, does not have compassion for the world, and does not benefit all beings; and one who is able to bring peace and joy to himself, and also brings peace and joy to others, brings peace and joy to all beings in the world, has compassion for the world, and brings benefit, peace, and security to gods and humans.

Bhikkhus, you should discern and know this: the one who brings peace and joy to himself, and is able to bring peace and joy to others, to bring peace and joy to the many in the world, who has compassion for the world and brings benefit, peace, and security to all beings—this is the supreme person, the foremost, the most honored, the most worthy of reverence. Just as from milk comes curds, from curds is made butter, from butter is made ghee, and ghee is the finest of all—such a person is the foremost among people, one whose conduct is supreme, whose conduct is honored, whose conduct is most worthy of reverence, the most victorious, the one whose original vow is supreme and unsurpassed.

Bhikkhus! When you can observe these two kinds of people, the latter is the wise one and the higher one; you can discern and see that this one is good, that this one surpasses the other. This is Knowing persons.

When the Buddha had spoken thus, the bhikkhus all rejoiced and faithfully received it.

THE SŪTRA SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA ON THE SEVEN KNOWLEDGES