Ukkhittāsikasutta — Ānisaṁsavagga — the tenth chapter of the Sixes, continuing the Second Fifty
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single six-item list of first-person aspirational statements, the second of a companion triplet to AN 6.98–100
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The simile of a killer with a drawn sword as an image of urgent disillusionment recurs in related forms across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — opens with the chapter's most vivid image, framing disillusionment in unusually stark terms
Why this discourse
AN 6.103 takes its title from the discourse's own opening image: the perception of disillusionment established for all conditions “like a killer with a drawn sword,” among the most visceral similes in this collection, followed by five further benefits leading to peace, uprooted tendencies, and having served the Teacher with love.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Seeing six benefits is enough to establish the perception of suffering in all conditions: disillusionment established as if by a killer with a drawn sword, the mind rising above the world, seeing extinguishment as peaceful, uprooting underlying tendencies, fulfilling one's duty, and having served the Teacher with love.
A simile unlike anything else in this chapter
“Like a killer with a drawn sword” (ukkhittāsiko vadhako viya) frames disillusionment not as a gentle insight but as something urgent and inescapable — the discourse's own title, and its most memorable image, standing apart from this chapter's otherwise measured, formulaic language.
Underlying tendencies, a term new to this collection so far
“My underlying tendencies will be uprooted” (anusayā samugghātaṁ gacchanti) introduces anusaya, a term for deeply rooted dispositional defilements distinct from the fetters (saṁyojana) already met at AN 6.89–91 — a further layer of what stream-entry and the higher stages progressively remove.
Service to the Teacher, closing on gratitude rather than attainment
The discourse's sixth benefit — “I will have served my Teacher with love” — is the only item across this triplet framed as a relational outcome rather than a personal attainment, closing this discourse's list on devotion rather than a further stage of realization.
Key terms
ukkhittāsiko vadhako viya — “like a killer with a drawn sword” — the discourse's own title and opening image, an unusually visceral simile for urgent disillusionment.
nibbidāsaññā — “the perception of disillusionment” — what this discourse's opening simile is said to establish.
anusaya — “underlying tendency” — a term for deeply rooted dispositional defilements, distinct from the fetters (saṁyojana) already met at AN 6.89–91.
kiccakārī — “I will fulfill my duty” — the fifth benefit, echoing the language of a completed task rather than an inward realization.
satthu pemaṁ pañcaggahitaṁ — “I will have served my Teacher with love” — the sixth and closing benefit, the only relational rather than attainment-focused item in this triplet.
The text
The discourse in full: six first-person benefits, opened by a striking simile, sufficient to establish the perception of suffering. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six benefits of the perception of suffering
§1“Mendicants, seeing six benefits is quite enough to establish the perception of suffering in all conditions without qualification. What six? ‘Perception of disillusionment will be established in me for all conditions, like a killer with a drawn sword.’ ‘My mind will rise above the whole world.’ ‘I will see extinguishment as peaceful.’ ‘My underlying tendencies will be uprooted.’ ‘I will fulfill my duty.’ ‘I will have served my Teacher with love.’ Seeing these six benefits is quite enough to establish the perception of suffering in all conditions without qualification.”
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Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 6
What image opens this discourse and gives it its title?
Correct: B. One of the most visceral similes in this collection, distinct from this chapter's otherwise measured language.
Question 2 of 6
What new term does this discourse introduce, distinct from the fetters (saṁyojana) already met at AN 6.89–91?
Correct: B. A further layer of what stream-entry and the higher stages progressively remove.
Question 3 of 6
What makes this discourse's sixth benefit, 'I will have served my Teacher with love,' distinct from the others in this triplet, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A closing note of devotion rather than a further stage of realization.
Question 4 of 6
Which perception does this discourse's six benefits establish, and how does this differ from AN 6.102's?
Correct: B. The second discourse in a companion triplet to AN 6.98–100.
Question 5 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 6.103?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching this chapter's other discourses despite its unusually vivid opening image.
Question 6 of 6
What does anusaya mean?
Correct: B. Deeply rooted dispositional defilements, a term newly introduced in this discourse.
