Atammayasutta — 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, closing this triplet's companion to AN 6.98–100
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The cessation of 'I-making' and 'mine-making' as marks of not-self insight recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas' treatment of anattā; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — closes the triplet, naming the cessation of self-making directly rather than through simile
Why this discourse
AN 6.104 closes the triplet begun at AN 6.102, applying the same first-person aspirational form to not-self: freedom from being determined by anything in the world, the stopping of I-making and mine-making, and closing on the same distinct knowledge and causal insight already named as benefits of stream-entry at AN 6.97.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Seeing six benefits is enough to establish the perception of not-self in all things: freedom from being determined by anything in the world, the stopping of I-making and mine-making, distinct knowledge, and clear sight of causes and their arisen phenomena.
I-making and mine-making, named as processes to stop
“My I-making will stop” and “my mine-making will stop” (ahaṅkāra, mamaṅkāra) name not-self not as an abstract metaphysical claim but as the cessation of two specific, ongoing mental activities — the continuous construction of a sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ this discourse treats as something that can stop, not merely be seen through.
Reusing AN 6.97's exact closing benefits
This discourse's final two benefits — distinct knowledge and having clearly seen causes and their arisen phenomena — repeat, word for word, two of AN 6.97's six benefits of stream-entry, connecting this triplet's aspirational sequence directly to that earlier discourse's concrete attainment.
Atammaya, this discourse's own closing term
The discourse's title, atammaya, “not made of that,” names a freedom from being determined or fashioned by any of the six sense objects — a term this triplet's English rendering gives as “not determined by anything in the world,” the first of the six benefits and the discourse's own namesake state.
Key terms
atammaya — “not made of that,” not determined by anything — the discourse's own title, naming freedom from being fashioned by any sense object.
ahaṅkāra, mamaṅkāra — “I-making, mine-making” — the second and third benefits, naming not-self as the cessation of ongoing mental activities rather than an abstract claim.
aññā — “distinct knowledge” — the fifth benefit, identical in wording to one of AN 6.97's six benefits of stream-entry.
hetu ca hetusamuppannā ca dhammā sudiṭṭhā — “causes and the phenomena that arise from causes have been clearly seen” — the sixth and closing benefit, repeating word for word AN 6.95's and AN 6.97's identical phrase.
anattasaññā — “the perception of not-self” — the discourse's stated aim, completing this triplet's set of three characteristics alongside AN 6.102 and 6.103.
The text
The discourse in full: six first-person benefits sufficient to establish the perception of not-self. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six benefits of the perception of not-self
§1“Mendicants, seeing six benefits is quite enough to establish the perception of not-self in all things without qualification. What six? ‘I will not be determined by anything in the world.’ ‘My I-making will stop.’ ‘My mine-making will stop.’ ‘I will have distinct knowledge.’ ‘I will clearly see causes and the phenomena that arise from causes.’ Seeing these six benefits is quite enough to establish the perception of not-self in all things 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 does this discourse's title, atammaya, name?
Correct: B. The discourse's own namesake state, its first listed benefit.
Question 2 of 6
How does this discourse frame not-self, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Ahaṅkāra and mamaṅkāra named as processes with an end, not static conditions.
Question 3 of 6
What does this discourse share word for word with AN 6.97's benefits of stream-entry?
Correct: B. A direct connection between this triplet's aspirational sequence and an earlier discourse's concrete attainment.
Question 4 of 6
What three discourses together complete this chapter's triplet on the benefits of the three characteristics?
Correct: B. Impermanence, suffering, and not-self, each given first-person aspirational treatment.
Question 5 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 6.104?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching this triplet's other two discourses.
Question 6 of 6
What does mamaṅkāra mean?
Correct: B. The third benefit, the specific process of constructing a sense of 'mine.'
