Rāgapariññā3sutta — 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 of graduated perceptions, closing the trio of lists this chapter's entire apparatus is built from
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The graduated sequence from impermanence through cessation recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas' insight-meditation material; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — the most structurally distinctive of this chapter's three lists, each item explicitly built on the one before it
Why this discourse
AN 6.142 closes this chapter's opening trio with a list unlike either of its companions: six perceptions in explicit sequence, each naming the next in terms of the one before — impermanence, then suffering in what is impermanent, then not-self in what is suffering, then giving up, fading away, and cessation — developed, like AN 6.140 and 6.141, for direct knowledge of greed.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
For direct knowledge of greed, six things should be developed: the perception of impermanence, of suffering in impermanence, of not-self in suffering, of giving up, of fading away, and of cessation.
A chain, not six independent items
Unlike AN 6.140 and 6.141's lists of six parallel items, this discourse's six perceptions are explicitly nested: not merely suffering, but suffering specifically in what has been seen as impermanent; not merely not-self, but not-self specifically in what has been seen as suffering. Each perception presupposes the one stated before it, building a single graduated insight rather than naming six separate objects.
Related to, but distinct from, this collection's earlier three-characteristics material
AN 6.98–101 and 6.102–104 earlier in this collection separately treated impermanence, suffering, and not-self, each as its own discourse or aspirational sequence. This discourse's contribution is not those same three characteristics repeated, but a specific graduated chain building through them toward giving up, fading away, and cessation — three further terms not treated individually at AN 6.98–104.
The third list, completing this chapter's apparatus
With AN 6.140's six unsurpassable things, AN 6.141's six recollections, and this discourse's six graduated perceptions now all given in full, this chapter has everything it needs to generate its remaining hundreds of discourses through compression alone.
Key terms
aniccasaññā — “the perception of impermanence” — the first and foundational perception in this discourse's graduated sequence.
anicce dukkhasaññā — “the perception of suffering in impermanence” — the second perception, explicitly nested within the first rather than standing alone.
dukkhe anattasaññā — “the perception of not-self in suffering” — the third perception, nested within the second in turn.
pahānasaññā, virāgasaññā, nirodhasaññā — “the perception of giving up, of fading away, of cessation” — the final three perceptions, extending the graduated chain beyond the three characteristics toward release.
rāga — “greed” — the single target this list, like AN 6.140 and 6.141's, is developed for.
The text
The discourse in full: six graduated perceptions, 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 perception of impermanence, the perception of suffering in impermanence, the perception of not-self in suffering, the perception of giving up, the perception of fading away, and the perception of cessation. 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
How do this discourse's six perceptions differ structurally from AN 6.140 and 6.141's lists, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A graduated chain, not a flat list of six parallel terms.
Question 2 of 6
What are the first three perceptions in this discourse's sequence?
Correct: B. Each nested within the one before it, not three independent items.
Question 3 of 6
How does this discourse's content relate to AN 6.98–104 earlier in this collection, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A different structural treatment of related but not identical content.
Question 4 of 6
What three terms close this discourse's sequence, beyond the three characteristics?
Correct: B. Extending the graduated chain toward release, beyond impermanence, suffering, and not-self alone.
Question 5 of 6
What does this discourse complete, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The third and final list this chapter's combinatorial apparatus depends on.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 6.142?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching AN 6.140 and 6.141 before it.
