Paṭhamasamayasutta — Anuttariyavagga — the third chapter of the Sixes
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha, answering a mendicant's question
Form
A question, and a list of six occasions, five following one template and the sixth slightly different
Length
~2 minutes to read
Northern parallel
Guidance on when to seek out a senior teacher recurs across monastic literature broadly, including the Chinese Āgamas and Vinaya; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — a clear, practically useful list with an easily followed template
Why this discourse
A mendicant asks a direct, practical question: how many occasions are there for going to see an esteemed mendicant? The Buddha answers with six, five of them built from an identical template — naming one of the five hindrances (sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, doubt) as the specific obstruction that warrants a visit — and a sixth, structurally similar but concerning not an obstruction but a gap in understanding: not knowing what meditation subject to focus on.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
There are six occasions for approaching an esteemed mendicant: when one's heart is overcome by each of the five hindrances in turn, and when one does not understand what meditation to focus on in order to end the defilements without delay.
The five hindrances, as five of the six occasions
The discourse's first five occasions map directly onto the standard five hindrances (nīvaraṇa) named throughout the canon as obstacles to meditative progress: sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt. Each occasion follows the identical script: the mendicant reports being “overcome and mired” in the hindrance and not understanding “the escape” from it, asks for teaching, and receives it.
A sixth occasion of a different kind
The sixth occasion breaks the pattern: it is not one of the five hindrances but a gap in direction — not knowing what specific meditation subject to take up “in order to end the defilements without delay.” Where the first five concern removing an active obstruction, the sixth concerns supplying a missing positive direction. The list moves, in its final item, from troubleshooting to guidance.
What 'esteemed mendicant' implies about the community
The discourse assumes, without arguing for it, that some mendicants are recognized as worth seeking out specifically for this kind of help — manobhāvanīya, literally “one who develops the mind,” often rendered “esteemed” or “inspiring.” The list presupposes a community with recognized, approachable seniors, not simply peers of equal standing.
Setting up a companion discourse on the same question
AN 6.28, immediately following, revisits this exact question — how many occasions are there for going to see an esteemed mendicant — but through a narrative in which several senior mendicants initially misunderstand the question entirely, debating the best time of day rather than the right circumstance, before Mahākaccāna corrects them with the very answer given here.
Key terms
manobhāvanīya — “esteemed,” literally “one who develops the mind” — the discourse's term for the mendicant worth approaching for guidance.
nīvaraṇa — “hindrance” — the standard canonical term for the five obstacles named across this discourse's first five occasions.
thinamiddha — “dullness and drowsiness” — the third hindrance named, the occasion for the third visit.
uddhaccakukkucca — “restlessness and remorse” — the fourth hindrance named, the occasion for the fourth visit.
kammaṭṭhāna — not directly named in this English translation but the standard term for “meditation subject” — what the sixth occasion concerns not knowing.
The text
The discourse in full: a mendicant's question, and the Buddha's six occasions. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
A mendicant's question
§1Then a mendicant went up to the Buddha, bowed, sat down to one side, and said to him: “Sir, how many occasions are there for going to see an esteemed mendicant?” “Mendicant, there are six occasions for going to see an esteemed mendicant.
The first occasion: sensual desire
§2What six? Firstly, there’s a time when a mendicant’s heart is overcome and mired in sensual desire, and they don’t truly understand the escape from sensual desire that has arisen. On that occasion they should go to an esteemed mendicant and say: ‘My heart is overcome and mired in sensual desire, and I don’t truly understand the escape from sensual desire that has arisen. Venerable, please teach me how to give up sensual desire.’ Then that esteemed mendicant teaches them how to give up sensual desire. This is the first occasion for going to see an esteemed mendicant.
The sixth occasion: not knowing what to meditate on
§3Furthermore, there’s a time when a mendicant doesn’t understand what kind of meditation they need to focus on in order to end the defilements without delay. On that occasion they should go to an esteemed mendicant and say: ‘I don’t understand what kind of meditation to focus on in order to end the defilements without delay. Venerable, please teach me how to end the defilements.’ Then that esteemed mendicant teaches them how to end the defilements. This is the sixth occasion for going to see an esteemed mendicant. These are the six occasions for going to see an esteemed mendicant.”
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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 question does a mendicant ask the Buddha at the start of this discourse?
Correct: B. A direct, practical question about seeking guidance.
Question 2 of 10
What do the first five occasions have in common?
Correct: B. Following an identical template of being 'overcome and mired' in each hindrance.
Question 3 of 10
How does the sixth occasion differ from the first five?
Correct: B. A shift from troubleshooting an obstruction to seeking positive direction.
Question 4 of 10
What does manobhāvanīya mean?
Correct: B. The discourse's term for the figure these six occasions concern approaching.
Question 5 of 10
What does the discourse assume about the community, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The list presupposes recognized, approachable seniors within the community.
Question 6 of 10
What are the five hindrances named across this discourse's first five occasions?
Correct: B. The standard canonical list of nīvaraṇa.
Question 7 of 10
How does AN 6.28, the next discourse, relate to this one?
Correct: B. A companion discourse built around the same question, differently framed.
Question 8 of 10
Is a setting stated for AN 6.27?
Correct: B. A bare question-and-answer with no scene given.
Question 9 of 10
What is the stated goal of the sixth occasion's guidance?
Correct: A. The specific aim named for seeking guidance on a meditation subject.
Question 10 of 10
What does thinamiddha mean?
Correct: C. The third of the five hindrances, occasioning the third visit.
