Saṃyukta Āgama, Volume Thirteen (357)

Thus have I heard. At one time, the Buddha was dwelling in Śrāvastī, at the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park. At that time, the World-Honored One addressed the bhikṣus: "There are seventy-seven kinds of knowledge. Listen attentively and reflect well; I shall explain them for you. What are the seventy-seven kinds of knowledge? Knowledge that with birth as condition, aging-and-death exists; not knowledge that with any other [condition] aging-and-death exists. Knowledge that with past birth as condition, past aging-and-death exists; not knowledge that with any other past condition past aging-and-death exists. Knowledge that with future birth as condition, future aging-and-death exists; not knowledge that with any other future condition future aging-and-death exists. And knowledge of the abiding of phenomena: [knowing birth as] impermanent, conditioned, mind-originated, subject to cessation, subject to change, subject to detachment, subject to extinction; and knowledge of understanding cessation.

Exegesis: The World-Honored One told the bhikṣus: There are seventy-seven kinds of knowledge; you should listen carefully and reflect well. What are the seventy-seven kinds of knowledge? The first knowledge is the wisdom knowing that where the condition of birth exists, aging-and-death necessarily exists. The second knowledge is the wisdom knowing that when birth ceases, aging-and-death necessarily ceases. The third knowledge is the wisdom knowing that due to the existence of birth in the past, aging-and-death necessarily existed in the past. The fourth knowledge is the wisdom knowing that when birth in the past ceased, aging-and-death necessarily ceased in the past. The fifth knowledge is the wisdom knowing that due to the existence of birth in the future, aging-and-death will necessarily exist in the future. The sixth knowledge is the wisdom knowing that when birth in the future ceases, aging-and-death will necessarily cease in the future. The seventh wisdom is the knowledge of the abiding of phenomena regarding birth as the condition for aging-and-death; knowing that birth is an impermanent, conditioned phenomenon, a phenomenon originated from the ālaya-vijñāna, a phenomenon subject to cessation, a phenomenon constantly undergoing change, a phenomenon of craving that can be abandoned, a phenomenon that can be extinguished; the knowledge of the abiding of phenomena is also the wisdom knowing how to eradicate birth.

Text: Similarly, for becoming, clinging, craving, feeling, contact, the six sense bases, name-and-form, consciousness, and volitional formations conditioned by ignorance: knowledge that with ignorance as condition, volitional formations exist; not knowledge that with any other [condition] volitional formations exist. Knowledge that with past ignorance as condition, past volitional formations exist; not knowledge that with any other past condition past volitional formations exist. Knowledge that with future ignorance as condition, future volitional formations exist; not knowledge that with any other future condition future volitional formations exist. And knowledge of the abiding of phenomena: [knowing ignorance as] impermanent, conditioned, mind-originated, subject to cessation, subject to change, subject to non-desire, subject to extinction; and knowledge of understanding cessation. These are called the seventy-seven kinds of knowledge. When the Buddha had spoken this sūtra, the bhikṣus, having heard what the Buddha said, rejoiced and respectfully carried it out.

Exegesis: There are seven kinds of knowledge regarding birth; similarly, for the factors in the twelve links of dependent origination—becoming, clinging, craving, feeling, contact, the six sense bases, name-and-form, the six consciousnesses, the volitions of the mind faculty, and ignorance—there are the same seven kinds of knowledge for each. Altogether, these constitute the seventy-seven kinds of knowledge. For example, regarding ignorance conditioning volitional formations: The first knowledge is the wisdom knowing that due to the condition of ignorance, volitional formations necessarily exist. The second knowledge is the wisdom knowing that when ignorance ceases, volitional formations necessarily cease. The third knowledge is the wisdom knowing that due to the existence of ignorance in the past, volitional formations necessarily existed in the past. The fourth knowledge is the wisdom knowing that when ignorance in the past ceased, volitional formations necessarily ceased in the past. The fifth knowledge is the wisdom knowing that due to the existence of ignorance in the future, volitional formations will necessarily exist in the future. The sixth knowledge is the wisdom knowing that when ignorance in the future ceases, volitional formations in the future will necessarily cease. The seventh knowledge is the knowledge of the abiding of phenomena, knowing that ignorance is an impermanent, conditioned phenomenon, a phenomenon originated from the ālaya-vijñāna, a phenomenon subject to cessation, a phenomenon constantly undergoing change, a phenomenon that can be without desire, a phenomenon that can be extinguished; the knowledge of the abiding of phenomena regarding ignorance is also the wisdom knowing how to extinguish ignorance.