DiscoverKPKP 4

A ten-question cross-examination summarizing core Dhamma concepts numerically. It ranges from the fundamental truth that all beings subsist on food up to the ten factors defining an arahant, incorporating foundational frameworks like the noble truths and the eightfold path.

KP 4  Kumārapañhā - Questions for the Novice

Ekaṁ nāma kiṁ? Sabbe sattā āhāraṭṭhitikā.

What is said to be one? All beings subsist on food.

Dve nāma kiṁ? Nāmañca rūpañca.

What is said to be two? |Name and form::mentality and materiality—the integrated structure of mental capacities (intention, attention, contact, feeling, perception) and physical form that together constitute and sustain an individual being [nāmarūpa]|.

Tīṇi nāma kiṁ? Tisso vedanā.

What is said to be three? The three feelings.[1]

Cattāri nāma kiṁ? Cattāri ariyasaccāni.

What is said to be four? The four noble truths.[2]

Pañca nāma kiṁ? Pañcupādānakkhandhā.

What is said to be five? The five aggregates subject to clinging.[3]

Cha nāma kiṁ? Cha ajjhattikāni āyatanāni.

What is said to be six? The six internal sense bases.[4]

Satta nāma kiṁ? Satta bojjhaṅgā.

What is said to be seven? The seven factors of awakening.[5]

Aṭṭha nāma kiṁ? Ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo.

What is said to be eight? The noble eightfold path.[6]

Nava nāma kiṁ? Nava sattāvāsā.

What is said to be nine? The nine abodes of sentient beings.[7]

Dasa nāma kiṁ? Dasahaṅgehi samannāgato “arahā”ti vuccatīti.

What is said to be ten? One endowed with ten factors[8] is called an “|arahant::awakened one; lit. worthy one [arahā]|.”

[1] The three feelings are pleasant feeling, painful feeling, and neither-pleasant-nor-painful feeling. Read about them in SN 36.1 - Samādhi sutta.

[2] The four noble truths are the truth of suffering, the truth of the arising of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path leading to the end of suffering. Read about them in MN 141 - Saccavibhaṅga sutta.

[3] The five aggregates subject to clinging are the physical and mental heaps that are appropriated, grasped at, or taken as self; the fivefold collection of form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness bound up with attachment. Read about them in SN 22.56 - Upādānaparipavatta sutta.

[4] The six internal sense bases are the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Read about them in SN 35.1 - Ajjhattānicca sutta.

[5] The seven factors of awakening are mindfulness, investigation of states, energy, joy, tranquility, collectedness, and equanimity. Read about them in SN 46.2 - Kāya sutta.

[6] The noble eightfold path is the path of right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right collectedness. Read about it in SN 45.8 - Vibhaṅga sutta sutta.

[7] Read about the nine abodes of sentient beings in AN 9.24 - Sattāvāsa sutta.

[8] Read about the ten factors of an arahant in MN 117 - Mahācattārīsaka sutta.

Qualities:

Recollection of the Dhamma

Recollection of the Dhamma

☀️ bright quality

A mental quality of reflecting on the qualities of the Dhamma, which counters doubt and strengthens faith.

Also known as: recollection of Dhamma, mindfulness of the Dhamma, reflection on the qualities of the Dhamma
Pāli: dhammānussati, dhammānusmṛti
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Wisdom

Wisdom

☀️ bright quality

Lived understanding and sound judgment that steers the mind away from suffering, distinct from mere accumulation of facts.

Also known as: (of a person) wise, astute, intelligent, learned, skilled, firm, stable, steadfast, an experiential understanding of the four noble truths
Pāli: paññā, vijjā, medhā, dhīra, paṇḍita
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Last updated on March 31, 2026

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