Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 6.32

Non-decline (1st)

Paṭhamaaparihānasutta — Devatāvagga — the fourth chapter of the Sixes

Setting
Sāvatthī, in Jeta's Grove — a deity's nighttime visit
Speakers
A deity, reporting to the Buddha; then the Buddha, in verse, to the mendicants
Form
A deity's report, approved by the Buddha, followed by his own closing verse restating the same six items
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
Deity-visit narratives on non-decline recur across the Saṁyutta and its Chinese counterparts; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — a short narrative giving the chapter its title

Why this discourse

This is the discourse that gives the ‘Deities’ chapter its name: a glorious deity, lighting up the whole of Jeta's Grove, reports to the Buddha six things that keep a mendicant from decline — not habits to avoid, as in AN 6.31, but six kinds of respect to maintain. The Buddha approves, and the next morning restates the same six in verse to the assembled mendicants.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Respect for the Teacher, the teaching, the Saṅgha, the training, diligence, and hospitality keeps a mendicant from decline.

A shift from habits to respect

AN 6.31's non-decline was about what a trainee does or doesn't do — relishing or not relishing work, talk, sleep, company, guarding the senses, moderate eating. This discourse's six items are all forms of gārava, respect or reverence, directed at six objects: the three refuges, the training, diligence itself, and hospitality. The register shifts from conduct to attitude.

The same deity-narrative structure as AN 6.21

As at AN 6.21, a deity reports first, the Buddha approves without adding new content of his own beyond restating what was said, and the deity departs after circling the Buddha respectfully. Here, though, the Buddha's own addition the next morning is not new material but a verse restating the deity's own six items, closing with “has drawn near to extinguishment” — a stronger claim than merely avoiding decline.

A pairing with AN 6.33 worth watching closely

AN 6.33, immediately following, restates a nearly identical scene — another glorious deity, another report of six things preventing decline, four of them identical (respect for the Teacher, the teaching, the Saṅgha, the training) — but its final two items differ from this discourse's diligence and hospitality. A reader should check the actual Pāli of both sixth items rather than assume the two discourses simply repeat each other.

Why hospitality closes this particular list

Paṭisanthāra, hospitality or welcome, closing a list otherwise built from the three refuges, training, and diligence, extends respect outward from internal orientation toward how a mendicant treats those who arrive — fellow practitioners and visitors alike. It is a social virtue closing a list that is otherwise about inward orientation.

Key terms

gārava — “respect,” “reverence” — the quality named six times over in this discourse, directed at six different objects.
sikkhāgārava — “respect for the training” — the fourth of the six, respect for the mendicant's own discipline.
appamādagārava — “respect for diligence” — the fifth, treating heedfulness itself as worthy of reverence, not merely a technique.
paṭisanthāragārava — “respect for hospitality” — the sixth and closing item, extending respect toward how visitors and companions are received.
nibbānasseva santike — “drawn near to extinguishment” — the Buddha's closing verse describes the mendicant with these six qualities in these terms, stronger than the deity's own claim of mere non-decline.

The text

The discourse in full: the deity's report, and the Buddha's closing verse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

A deity lights up Jeta's Grove

§1Then, late at night, a glorious deity, lighting up the entire Jeta’s Grove, went up to the Buddha, bowed, stood to one side, and said to him: “Sir, these six things don’t lead to the decline of a mendicant. What six? Respect for the Teacher, for the teaching, for the Saṅgha, for the training, for diligence, and for hospitality. These six things don’t lead to the decline of a mendicant.” That’s what that deity said, and the teacher approved. Then that deity, knowing that the teacher approved, bowed, and respectfully circled the Buddha, keeping him on his right, before vanishing right there.

The Buddha's closing verse

§2Then, when the night had passed, the Buddha told the mendicants all that had happened, adding: “Respect for the Teacher and the teaching, and keen respect for the Saṅgha; a mendicant who respects diligence and hospitality can’t decline, and has drawn near to extinguishment.”

· · ·

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 six things does the deity report as preventing a mendicant's decline?
Correct: B. Six forms of gārava, respect, directed at six different objects.
Question 2 of 10
How does this discourse's register differ from AN 6.31's, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Gārava, respect or reverence, replaces the earlier discourse's habit-focused list.
Question 3 of 10
What structural parallel does this discourse share with AN 6.21?
Correct: B. The same narrative shape as the chapter 3 opener, now giving this chapter its title.
Question 4 of 10
What caution does the guide raise about AN 6.33, the next discourse?
Correct: B. A close but not identical companion, worth verifying directly.
Question 5 of 10
What does paṭisanthāragārava mean?
Correct: B. The sixth and closing item, a social virtue closing an otherwise inward-facing list.
Question 6 of 10
What claim does the Buddha's closing verse make, stronger than the deity's own report?
Correct: B. A stronger claim than the deity's original statement about non-decline alone.
Question 7 of 10
Where is AN 6.32 set?
Correct: B. A fresh, specific setting for this narrative discourse.
Question 8 of 10
What does appamādagārava mean?
Correct: B. The fifth of the six items in this discourse's list.
Question 9 of 10
What does the deity do after delivering the report?
Correct: B. A standard formula for a deity's respectful departure, matching AN 6.21.
Question 10 of 10
What comes immediately after AN 6.32?
Correct: B. A close companion discourse, not an identical repeat.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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