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The Discourse at Kīṭāgiri: Seven Kinds of Persons and Gradual Training
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The Discourse at Kīṭāgiri: Seven Kinds of Persons and Gradual Training

Kīṭāgirisuttaṃ

Monks at Kīṭāgiri refuse to give up eating at night; the Buddha teaches that some pleasant feelings should be abandoned and some cultivated, describes seven kinds of persons, and says final knowledge is not attained all at once but through gradual training, practice and progress.

8 points

In the Kīṭāgiri Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya, the Buddha tells the monks that he abstains from eating at night, and so enjoys good health, lightness, strength and comfortable abiding, and invites them to do the same. But the monks at Kīṭāgiri led by Assaji and Punabbasuka refuse, saying they eat in the evening, the morning and in the day at the wrong time and are healthy, so why abandon a visible benefit for one in the future?

The Buddha summons them and explains that he never taught that every feeling makes unwholesome states decrease and wholesome ones increase. He taught that some feelings make unwholesome states increase and some make wholesome states increase. Because he knows this clearly, he tells people to abandon some feelings and enter upon others.

He then describes seven kinds of persons, showing who no longer has work to do with diligence and who still does, and says final knowledge is not attained at the very start, but through gradual training, practice and progress, from faith, approaching and hearing the Dhamma, up to seeing with wisdom.

  1. 1

    Not wanting to change because things are fine Aññatreva rattibhojanā bhuñjāmi

    The Buddha says he abstains from eating at night, and so has good health, lightness, strength and comfortable abiding. The Kīṭāgiri monks reply that they eat in the evening, morning and daytime and are healthy, and see no reason to abandon a visible benefit for a future one. This concerns the monastic discipline.

    Applying it in daily life

    When you hear good advice that goes against your habits, notice whether you reject it for real reasons or simply because you're not suffering yet.

  2. 2

    Some pleasure to abandon, some to enter Evarūpaṃ sukhaṃ vedanaṃ pajahatha

    When one feels a certain kind of pleasant feeling, unwholesome states grow and wholesome states decline; when one feels another kind, unwholesome states decline and wholesome states grow. The same holds for painful and neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling. Because the Buddha knows this clearly with wisdom, he says to abandon the first kind and enter upon the second.

    Applying it in daily life

    After doing something enjoyable, ask whether it left your mind better or worse, and decide by that rather than only by whether it was fun.

  3. 3

    Who still has work to do with diligence Appamādena karaṇīyaṃ

    The Buddha does not say all monks have work to do with diligence, nor that none do. Arahants no longer have it, since they have done it and are incapable of negligence. Trainees still have work to do, because by resorting to suitable lodgings, associating with good friends and balancing the faculties, they may reach the supreme goal.

    Applying it in daily life

    However far you've come, if you haven't reached your goal, keep attending to three things: a suitable environment, the people you associate with, and your own balance.

  4. 4

    Liberated both ways and liberated by wisdom Ubhatobhāgavimutto paññāvimutto

    One liberated both ways has touched with the body the peaceful liberations that transcend form, the formless, and whose taints are destroyed by seeing with wisdom. One liberated by wisdom has not touched those liberations, but whose taints are destroyed by seeing with wisdom. Neither has work left to do with diligence. This point is for overall understanding.

    Applying it in daily life

    Understand that the same goal can be reached both by those who pass through deep concentration and by those who don't. There is no need to worry that you must attain high absorptions before wisdom can begin to work.

  5. 5

    Body-witness, attained to view, and liberated by faith Kāyasakkhī diṭṭhippatto saddhāvimutto

    A body-witness has touched those liberations with the body and has destroyed some taints. One attained to view has not touched the liberations, has destroyed some taints, and has seen with wisdom the teachings proclaimed by the Tathāgata. One liberated by faith has not touched the liberations, has destroyed some taints, and has faith planted, rooted and established in the Tathāgata. All three still have work to do. The commentary explains that these are noble ones from the fruit of stream-entry up to the path of arahantship. This point is for overall understanding.

    Applying it in daily life

    Notice what mainly draws you to the Dhamma, whether calm, understanding or faith, and strengthen your weaker sides alongside it.

  6. 6

    The Dhamma-follower and the faith-follower Dhammānusārī saddhānusārī

    A Dhamma-follower has not destroyed the taints but has examined the teachings proclaimed by the Tathāgata with wisdom so that they withstand reflection, and has the faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom. A faith-follower has not destroyed the taints but has sufficient faith in and love for the Tathāgata, and also has the five faculties. Both still have work to do. The commentary explains that they are those on the path of stream-entry. This point is for overall understanding.

    Applying it in daily life

    Some people begin by reasoning things through, others by devotion. Both are valid starting points; don't look down on another person's way.

  7. 7

    Not attained at once, but trained step by step Anupubbasikkhā anupubbakiriyā anupubbapaṭipadā

    The Buddha says final knowledge is not attained at the very start, but through gradual training, gradual practice and gradual progress: having faith, one approaches, sits near, lends an ear, hears the Dhamma, remembers it, examines its meaning, gains reflective acceptance of it; zeal arises, one makes effort, weighs it up, strives, and then realises the ultimate truth with the body and sees it by penetrating it with wisdom.

    Applying it in daily life

    If you want to understand something deeply, break it into stages: listen, take notes, review, try it out, then evaluate. Don't expect to grasp everything from one reading.

  8. 8

    Striving even if only skin, sinews and bones remain Kāmaṃ taco ca nahāru ca aṭṭhi ca avasissatu

    A faithful disciple knows that the Blessed One is the teacher and he is the disciple, and resolves: let only skin, sinews and bones remain, let flesh and blood dry up, but I will not relax my energy until I attain what can be attained by human strength. Such a disciple can expect one of two fruits: final knowledge here and now, or non-return. This is an expression of firm resolve, not advice to harm one's health.

    Applying it in daily life

    Be firmly committed to worthwhile goals, but let your effort come from a steady mind, not from losing sleep or pushing your body until you fall ill.

Try it in daily life

Not eating at night is a monastic rule; lay people are not required to follow it. But the attitude of the Kīṭāgiri monks is one we can all have: "Things are fine now, why change?" The Buddha answers with a broadly applicable principle: some pleasures lead in a good direction and some lead to decline. We need to tell them apart, rather than accepting or rejecting all pleasure.

The seven kinds of persons are a map for understanding that practitioners differ. Some progress mainly through faith, some through wisdom, some through deep concentration. There is no need to put yourself or others into a particular box.

What applies at once is gradual training. Deep understanding doesn't come from hearing something once, but from going to listen, remembering, reflecting, acting and continuing.

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