Rāgapariññā2sutta — Rāgapeyyāla — the thirteenth and final chapter of the Sixes
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single six-item list, developed for direct knowledge of greed — the second of three lists opening this chapter's apparatus
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The six recollections recur as a standard meditation set across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — a list already met repeatedly in this collection, worth checking rather than assuming its fifth appearance is identical in every detail
Why this discourse
AN 6.141 names the six recollections — of the Buddha, the teaching, the Saṅgha, ethics, generosity, and the deities — as the second list “for direct knowledge of greed,” content this collection has now met in close but not always identical variants at AN 6.9–10, 6.25, and 6.26, making this at least a fifth occurrence of this same underlying set.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
For direct knowledge of greed, six things should be developed: the recollection of the Buddha, the teaching, the Saṅgha, ethics, generosity, and the deities.
A list this collection has already met, checked, and found variable
The reading guide for AN 6.25 and 6.26 already established that this collection's six recollections recur with genuinely different closing formulas across at least four earlier appearances (AN 6.9–10, 6.25, 6.26), each requiring word-for-word comparison rather than assumed identity. This discourse's own bare listing — buddhānussati, dhammānussati, saṅghānussati, sīlānussati, cāgānussati, devatānussati — states the six terms without any of the earlier discourses' elaboration, making direct comparison of content beyond the six names themselves not possible from this discourse alone.
The second of three lists, not a repeat of the first
Where AN 6.140 named the six unsurpassable things, this discourse names an entirely different set of six — the recollections — both developed for the identical target, direct knowledge of greed. The chapter's apparatus depends on these three lists remaining genuinely distinct from one another, not on any relationship between them beyond sharing this chapter's structure.
One target so far, many to come
Every list on this page and its two companions applies to greed alone. AN 6.170–649, later in this chapter, will apply these same three lists to sixteen further defilements — hate, delusion, and fourteen more — vastly expanding the single target established here.
Key terms
buddhānussati, dhammānussati, saṅghānussati — “recollection of the Buddha, the teaching, the Saṅgha” — the first three of the six recollections, already met in fuller form at AN 6.9–10, 6.25, and 6.26.
sīlānussati, cāgānussati, devatānussati — “recollection of ethics, generosity, the deities” — the remaining three recollections, closing this discourse's list.
chalanussati — “the six recollections” — this discourse's own list, a set this collection has now met in at least five separate discourses.
abhiññā — “direct knowledge” — the target this list, like AN 6.140's, is developed for.
rāga — “greed” — the single defilement every list in this opening trio addresses, before this chapter's later expansion to sixteen further defilements.
The text
The discourse in full: the six recollections, developed for direct knowledge of greed. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six things developed for direct knowledge of greed
§1“For insight into greed, six things should be developed. What six? The recollection of the Buddha, the teaching, the Saṅgha, ethics, generosity, and the deities. For insight into greed, these six things should be developed.”
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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 six things does this discourse name?
Correct: B. A different list from AN 6.140's, applied to the same target.
Question 2 of 6
How many times, counting this discourse, has this collection now stated some version of the six recollections?
Correct: B. A list this collection has repeatedly checked and found variable across its earlier appearances.
Question 3 of 6
Why can't this discourse's version be directly compared in full detail to the earlier appearances, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A bare listing here, versus fuller treatment in this collection's earlier discourses on the same theme.
Question 4 of 6
What does the guide say about the relationship between this chapter's three opening lists?
Correct: B. Three distinct lists forming this chapter's entire generative apparatus.
Question 5 of 6
What expansion does the guide say comes later in this chapter, beyond greed alone?
Correct: B. The vast combinatorial expansion this chapter builds toward.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 6.141?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching AN 6.140 immediately before it.
