Bhavasutta — 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 3+3 structure — three things to give up, three things to train in — closing on a formula shared word for word with AN 6.106
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The three higher trainings (adhisīla, adhicitta, adhipaññā) as a fixed set recur throughout the Chinese Āgamas and Abhidharma literature; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — a 3+3 structure rather than this chapter's usual six-item lists, closing on a formula shared with the discourse immediately following
Why this discourse
AN 6.105 departs from this chapter's usual six-item form: three states of existence to be given up (the sensual realm, the realm of luminous form, the formless realm) paired with three trainings to be undertaken (the higher ethics, the higher mind, the higher wisdom), closing on a formula — “cut off craving, cast off the fetters, and by rightly comprehending conceit made an end of suffering” — repeated word for word at AN 6.106 immediately following.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant who has given up existence in the sensual, form, and formless realms, and trained in the higher ethics, higher mind, and higher wisdom, is called one who has cut off craving, cast off the fetters, and by rightly comprehending conceit made an end of suffering.
Three realms, already named at AN 6.67
The sensual realm, the realm of luminous form, and the formless realm — the same three domains a chain earlier in this chapter's predecessor, at AN 6.67, named as what a mendicant's freedom from desire ultimately reaches, here restated as three states of existence to be given up outright rather than merely desired less.
A 3+3 structure, not this chapter's usual six
Where most discourses in this chapter state a flat six-item list, this discourse explicitly pairs two triads under separate headings — what to give up, and what to train in — a structure closer to AN 6.79's split discernment/practice list than to the chapter's more common undifferentiated six.
A closing formula shared with AN 6.106
The exact phrase closing this discourse — “cut off craving, cast off the fetters, and by rightly comprehending conceit made an end of suffering” — recurs word for word at AN 6.106, framing two discourses with entirely different specific content (three realms plus three trainings here, three cravings plus three conceits there) as arriving at the identical description of the accomplished mendicant.
Key terms
kāmabhava, rūpabhava, arūpabhava — “existence in the sensual realm, the realm of luminous form, the formless realm” — the three states of existence to be given up, already named as a chain's final target at AN 6.67.
adhisīlasikkhā, adhicittasikkhā, adhipaññāsikkhā — “the training in the higher ethics, the higher mind, the higher wisdom” — the standard three higher trainings, here paired with the three states of existence given up.
taṇhacchida — “one who has cut off craving” — the first term of the discourse's closing formula, shared word for word with AN 6.106.
vivattayissati saṁyojanaṁ — “cast off the fetters” — the closing formula's second term, connecting to the fetters already met at AN 6.89–91.
mānābhisamayā — “by rightly comprehending conceit” — the closing formula's third term, connecting to the six varieties of conceit already met at AN 6.76.
The text
The discourse in full: three states of existence given up, three trainings undertaken, and the closing formula describing the accomplished mendicant. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Three states of existence to give up, three trainings to undertake
§1“Mendicants, you should give up these three states of existence. And you should train in three trainings. What are the three states of existence you should give up? Existence in the sensual realm, the realm of luminous form, and the formless realm. These are the three states of existence you should give up. What are the three trainings you should train in? The training in the higher ethics, the higher mind, and the higher wisdom. These are the three trainings you should train in. When a mendicant has given up these three states of existence and has trained in these three trainings they’re called a mendicant who has cut off craving, cast off the fetters, and by rightly comprehending conceit has made an end of suffering.”
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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 structure does AN 6.105 use, unlike most discourses in this chapter?
Correct: B. Two explicitly separated triads, rather than an undifferentiated six.
Question 2 of 6
Where else in this collection have the three states of existence — sensual, form, and formless — already appeared, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Restated here as states to be given up outright, rather than merely desired less.
Question 3 of 6
What formula closes this discourse, and where else does it recur?
Correct: B. An identical closing description applied to two discourses with entirely different specific content.
Question 4 of 6
What are the three higher trainings named in this discourse?
Correct: B. The standard threefold training set (adhisīla, adhicitta, adhipaññā).
Question 5 of 6
What earlier discourse does the closing formula's third term, 'rightly comprehending conceit,' connect to?
Correct: B. A connection to conceit's several forms already treated at length earlier in this chapter's predecessor.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 6.105?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching this chapter's other discourses.
