Himavantasutta — Anuttariyavagga — the third chapter of the Sixes
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single hyperbolic claim, then a bare list of six technical skills
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The six kinds of skill in immersion (samādhi) named here recur in related technical form across the Chinese Āgamas and Abhidharma literature; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — brief, but each of the six terms names a distinct, specific meditative skill worth distinguishing from the others
Why this discourse
AN 6.24 opens on hyperbole: a mendicant with six qualities could shatter the Himalaya, the king of mountains — and the discourse immediately undercuts the extravagance of that image with a dry aside, “let alone this wretched ignorance,” implying that dismantling ignorance is, if anything, the lesser task. What follows is a compact taxonomy of skill in immersion: not simply the ability to enter absorption, but six distinct competencies covering the whole arc of working with it.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant skilled in entering immersion, remaining in it, emerging from it, readying the mind for it, knowing its proper territory, and directing a mind purified by it toward a goal, could — the discourse claims — shatter the Himalaya itself, let alone something as comparatively minor as ignorance.
Six competencies, not one ability
“Skill in immersion” might suggest a single capacity, but the discourse breaks it into six distinguishable skills: entering (samāpatti), remaining steady once in (ṭhiti), emerging cleanly (vuṭṭhāna), readiness or fitness for it (kallita), knowing its proper scope or territory (gocara), and directing a purified mind toward a chosen aim (abhinīhāra). A meditator might have some of these competencies without others — able to enter absorption easily, for instance, but not to emerge from it cleanly, or not to direct the resulting clarity toward a specific purpose.
What the mountain-shattering claim is doing
This is not a literal claim about geology. The Himalaya functions here as the canon's stock image of maximum physical immovability — the largest, most fixed thing a listener could imagine — used precisely so the discourse can then deflate it: shattering something that solid is treated as a lesser feat than overturning ignorance, the actual target these six skills serve. The hyperbole exists to be undercut, not to be taken at face value.
A technical vocabulary this series has not yet needed
Earlier discourses on immersion in this series (the faculties and powers at AN 6.3–6.4, or immersion as one item within larger lists) treated it as a single named quality among others. AN 6.24 is the first discourse in this series to open immersion itself up into component skills, treating meditative competence as something with distinguishable parts rather than a single yes-or-no capacity.
A short discourse with no closing formula
Unlike most of this chapter's list-discourses, AN 6.24 closes immediately after restating its opening claim, with no further explanation of the six terms, no quiz-friendly closing verse, and no attached worthiness formula. The six terms are left, deliberately or simply because the source text is this short, to stand as bare technical vocabulary for a reader to carry forward.
Key terms
samādhissa samāpattikusalo — “skilled in entering immersion” — the first of the six, the ability to enter absorption.
samādhissa ṭhitikusalo — “skilled in remaining in immersion” — the second, sustaining steadiness once absorbed.
samādhissa vuṭṭhānakusalo — “skilled in emerging from immersion” — the third, the ability to come out of absorption cleanly and at will.
samādhissa gocarakusalo — “skilled in the territory of immersion” — the fifth, knowing immersion's proper scope or domain.
samādhissa abhinīhārakusalo — “skilled in projecting the mind purified by immersion” — the sixth and final skill, directing the resulting clarity toward a chosen aim.
The text
The discourse in full: the mountain-shattering claim, and the six skills in immersion. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Shattering the Himalaya
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant who has six qualities could shatter Himalaya, the king of mountains, let alone this wretched ignorance! What six? It’s when a mendicant is skilled in entering immersion, skilled in remaining in immersion, skilled in emerging from immersion, skilled in positivity for immersion, skilled in the territory of immersion, and skilled in projecting the mind purified by immersion. A mendicant who possesses these six qualities could shatter Himalaya, the king of mountains, let alone this wretched ignorance!”
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What does the discourse claim a mendicant with six qualities could shatter?
Correct: B. Hyperbole used to deflate itself — ignorance is the actual, comparatively lesser target.
Question 2 of 10
What six skills in immersion does the discourse name?
Correct: A. Samāpatti, ṭhiti, vuṭṭhāna, kallita, gocara, abhinīhāra.
Question 3 of 10
According to the guide, why might a meditator have some of these six skills without others?
Correct: B. A taxonomy of distinct skills, not a single unified ability.
Question 4 of 10
What function does the Himalaya image serve, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The hyperbole exists to be undercut, not taken at face value.
Question 5 of 10
How does AN 6.24 treat immersion differently from earlier discourses in this series?
Correct: A. A finer-grained taxonomy than the faculties/powers pairing earlier in this chapter's predecessor.
Question 6 of 10
What does vuṭṭhānakusalo mean?
Correct: B. The third of the six skills, the ability to come out of absorption cleanly.
Question 7 of 10
What is notable about how AN 6.24 closes, compared to most of this chapter's discourses?
Correct: B. A notably terse discourse, even by this chapter's standards.
Question 8 of 10
Is a setting stated for AN 6.24?
Correct: B. Continuing this chapter's frequent bare-formula pattern.
Question 9 of 10
What does abhinīhāra mean in this context?
Correct: B. The sixth and final skill, closing the list.
Question 10 of 10
What is the discourse's actual target, despite its dramatic opening image?
Correct: B. 'Let alone this wretched ignorance' names the real, comparatively lesser task.
