Taṇhāsutta — 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 cravings, three conceits — closing on the identical formula shared word for word with AN 6.105
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The three cravings (for sensual pleasure, for existence, for non-existence) as a fixed set recur throughout the Chinese Āgamas and Abhidharma literature; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — closes this chapter and the Second Fifty's tenth chapter with the same 3+3 form as its immediate predecessor
Why this discourse
AN 6.106 closes Ānisaṁsavagga, and with it the tenth of the Second Fifty's thirteen chapters: three cravings (for sensual pleasure, for existence, and for non-existence) paired with three conceits (conceit, an inferiority complex, a superiority complex) — genuinely different content from AN 6.105, yet closing on the identical formula word for word.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant who has given up craving for sensual pleasure, for existence, and for non-existence, and the conceits of superiority, inferiority, and conceit itself, is called one who has cut off craving, cast off the fetters, and by rightly comprehending conceit made an end of suffering.
Three conceits, drawn directly from AN 6.76's six
Māna (conceit), omāna (an inferiority complex), and atimāna (a superiority complex) are the first three of the six varieties of conceit already named in full at AN 6.76 earlier in this chapter's predecessor — this discourse isolates exactly half that list, without its remaining three items (overestimation, obstinacy, groveling).
Three cravings, a standard threefold set
Kāmataṇhā, bhavataṇhā, and vibhavataṇhā — craving for sensual pleasure, for continued existence, and for the cessation of existence — form the standard threefold division of craving recurring throughout this literature's treatment of the second noble truth, here paired with the isolated half of AN 6.76's conceit list.
An identical formula, closing two discourses with different content
That AN 6.105 and 6.106 — one on three realms and three trainings, the other on three cravings and three conceits — arrive at the identical closing description suggests this formula functions as a general marker of accomplishment applicable across more than one specific path of practice, closing this chapter on a note of convergence rather than a single final teaching.
Key terms
kāmataṇhā, bhavataṇhā, vibhavataṇhā — “craving for sensual pleasure, for existence, for non-existence” — the standard threefold division of craving underlying the second noble truth.
māna, omāna, atimāna — “conceit, an inferiority complex, a superiority complex” — the first three of AN 6.76's six varieties of conceit, isolated here as this discourse's second triad.
taṇhacchida — “one who has cut off craving” — the closing formula's first term, identical to AN 6.105's.
mānābhisamayā antamakāsi dukkhassa — “by rightly comprehending conceit, made an end of suffering” — the closing formula's final clause, shared word for word with AN 6.105, closing this chapter.
Dutiyapaṇṇāsaka — “the Second Fifty” — the larger division of the Sixes this chapter's close, at AN 6.106, completes the tenth of thirteen chapters within.
The text
The discourse in full: three cravings and three conceits given up, closing on the same formula as AN 6.105. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Three cravings and three conceits to give up
§1“Mendicants, you should give up these three cravings and three conceits. What three cravings should you give up? Craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, and craving for nonexistence. These are the three cravings you should give up. What three conceits should you give up? Conceit, inferiority complex, and superiority complex. These are the three conceits you should give up. When a mendicant has given up these three cravings and these three conceits 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.”
The accomplished mendicant, described
§2
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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 three conceits does this discourse name, and where do they come from?
Correct: B. Half of AN 6.76's earlier list, checked term by term against it.
Question 2 of 6
What three cravings does this discourse name?
Correct: B. The standard threefold division underlying this literature's second noble truth.
Question 3 of 6
How does this discourse's closing formula compare to AN 6.105's?
Correct: B. The same closing description applied across two discourses with different content.
Question 4 of 6
What does the guide suggest this shared formula's recurrence indicates?
Correct: B. A convergence in closing description, not evidence of a single specific teaching.
Question 5 of 6
What does this discourse's close mark for the larger structure of the Sixes?
Correct: B. Ten chapters of the Second Fifty complete, with three further chapters remaining before the Sixes conclude.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 6.106?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching AN 6.105 and this chapter's other discourses.
