Dhammānupassīsutta — Sāmaññavagga — the twelfth chapter of the Sixes, continuing the Second Fifty
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical six-item blocking list, compressed via Pāli ellipsis across all twelve internal/external/both variations of the four foundations of mindfulness
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The internal/external/both threefold treatment of each foundation of mindfulness recurs throughout the Chinese Āgamas' satipaṭṭhāna material; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — compact on the page but compressing twelve full variations, worth reading slowly against the underlying pattern
Why this discourse
AN 6.118 takes AN 6.117's exact blocking list and extends it, via the Pāli ellipsis “…”, across all twelve variations of the four foundations of mindfulness — body, feelings, mind, and principles, each considered internally, externally, and both together — naming only the twelfth and final variation, “principles internally and externally,” in full.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Without giving up the same six things already named at AN 6.117, none of the twelve variations of the four foundations of mindfulness — body, feelings, mind, and principles, each observed internally, externally, and both — can be practiced.
Twelve variations, compressed to one sentence
The four foundations (body, feelings, mind, principles) times three modes (internally, externally, internally and externally) yield twelve distinct objects of meditation; the source spells out only the first, “body internally,” and the last, “principles internally and externally,” eliding the ten variations in between with “…”.
The same blocking list, unchanged across every variation
Whatever the specific object of meditation — body, feelings, mind, or principles, in any of the three modes — the same six blocking items already spelled out at AN 6.117 apply without modification, suggesting these six habits are treated as a single threshold condition for the entire satipaṭṭhāna framework, not a separate requirement for each of its twelve variations.
Internal, external, and both together
The threefold internal/external/both structure applied to each foundation — observing one's own body, then another's, then both — is a recurring analytical device in this literature's treatment of the four foundations, here assumed rather than explained, on the expectation that a reader already knows the full satipaṭṭhāna formula from elsewhere.
Key terms
kāya, vedanā, citta, dhammā — “body, feelings, mind, principles” — the four foundations of mindfulness, the objects this discourse's twelve variations apply to.
ajjhattaṁ, bahiddhā, ajjhattabahiddhā — “internally, externally, internally and externally” — the three modes multiplying the four foundations into twelve total variations.
…pe… — the Pāli ellipsis mark, standing in here for ten of the twelve variations, with only the first and last spelled out.
dhammānupassanā — “observation of principles” — the fourth foundation, and the discourse's own title term, naming the final and most abstract of the four foundations.
kammārāmatā, bhassārāmatā, niddārāmatā, saṅgaṇikārāmatā, indriyesu aguttadvāratā, bhojane amattaññutā — the same six blocking items as AN 6.117, unchanged across every one of this discourse's twelve variations.
The text
The discourse in full: six things blocking all twelve variations of the four foundations of mindfulness. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Twelve variations, blocked by the same six things
§1“Mendicants, without giving up six things you can’t meditate observing an aspect of the body internally … body externally … body internally and externally … feelings internally … feelings externally … feelings internally and externally … mind internally … mind externally … mind internally and externally … principles internally … principles externally … principles internally and externally. What six? Relishing work, talk, sleep, and company, not guarding the sense doors, and eating too much. After giving up these six qualities you can meditate observing an aspect of principles internally and externally.”
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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
How many total variations of the four foundations of mindfulness does this discourse's compressed list cover?
Correct: B. Body, feelings, mind, and principles, each in three modes.
Question 2 of 6
How does the source compress these twelve variations onto the page?
Correct: B. A compression technique this collection has used before, applied here across a longer sequence.
Question 3 of 6
What does the guide say about the six blocking items across all twelve variations?
Correct: B. One shared precondition underlying the entire fourfold, threefold-multiplied structure.
Question 4 of 6
What are the three modes multiplying each foundation into three variations?
Correct: B. A recurring analytical device applied to each of the four foundations.
Question 5 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 6.118?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching AN 6.117 immediately before it.
Question 6 of 6
What does dhammānupassanā mean, and what does this discourse's title reference?
Correct: B. The final, most abstract foundation, and the discourse's own title term.
