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Aṅguttara Nikāya · Discourse 6.39

Sources

Nidānasutta — Devatāvagga — the fourth chapter of the Sixes

Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
Two matched triads, each stated with an identical internal structure of self-perpetuation and consequence
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The three unwholesome and three wholesome roots recur throughout the Chinese Āgamas and Abhidharma literature as basic categories of motivation; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — conceptually dense despite its brevity, worth reading for its precise claim about self-perpetuation

Why this discourse

AN 6.39 names not one six-item list but two three-item ones, placed back to back: greed, hate, and delusion as sources of harmful deeds, and contentment, love, and understanding as sources of skillful ones. This discourse belongs to the Sixes not because any single list within it has six members, but because six sources are named across the whole teaching — and its central claim is unusually precise: each source gives rise only to more of itself, never to its opposite.

Reading guide

The teaching in one sentence

Greed, hate, and delusion are three sources that give rise to deeds, and each gives rise only to more of itself — greed to greed, hate to hate, delusion to delusion — leading to bad rebirths; contentment, love, and understanding are three further sources, each likewise self-perpetuating, leading to good rebirths.

A precise claim: no source produces its opposite

The discourse's exact wording deserves attention: “greed doesn't give rise to contentment. Rather, greed just gives rise to greed.” This is not simply saying greed is harmful; it is denying a specific alternative — that greed might, given enough of it, eventually produce its own antidote. The discourse rules this out explicitly for all three unwholesome roots and, symmetrically, for all three wholesome ones.

Why this discourse belongs among the Sixes

Nothing in this discourse is itself a six-item list; it is two three-item lists, stated in parallel. Its place in this nipāta depends on the total count across both halves — six sources named altogether — matching how AN 6.18 and several other discourses in this collection are numbered by total item count rather than by any single enumerated six-fold structure within them.

The three unwholesome roots, and their consequence

Greed (lobha), hate (dosa), and delusion (moha) are the canon's standard three unwholesome roots, here linked directly and exclusively to rebirth “in hell, the animal realm, the ghost realm, or any other bad places.” The discourse does not describe intermediate or mixed outcomes; the link from these three roots to bad rebirth is stated as direct and total.

The three wholesome roots as their precise mirror

Contentment (alobha, non-greed), love (adosa, non-hate), and understanding (amoha, non-delusion) are stated in a perfectly mirrored structure — same self-perpetuation claim, same total exclusivity of consequence, now leading to “gods, humans, or those in any other good places.” The discourse's two halves are constructed as exact structural twins, differing only in which triad and which consequence is named.

Key terms

nidāna — “source,” “origin” — the discourse's own title, naming what each of the six items is said to be, for deeds.
lobha, dosa, moha — “greed, hate, delusion” — the canon's three standard unwholesome roots, named here as the first triad of sources.
alobha, adosa, amoha — “non-greed, non-hate, non-delusion” (rendered here as contentment, love, and understanding) — the three wholesome roots, mirroring the first triad exactly.
kamma — “deed,” “action” — what all six sources are said to give rise to, whether harmful or skillful.
sugati duggati — “good place, bad place” — the two categories of rebirth-destination the discourse links exclusively to the two respective triads.

The text

The discourse in full: the three unwholesome sources and the three wholesome sources, each self-perpetuating. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

The three unwholesome sources

§1“Mendicants, there are these three sources that give rise to deeds. What three? Greed, hate, and delusion are sources that give rise to deeds. Greed doesn’t give rise to contentment. Rather, greed just gives rise to greed. Hate doesn’t give rise to love. Rather, hate just gives rise to hate. Delusion doesn’t give rise to understanding. Rather, delusion just gives rise to delusion. It’s not because of deeds born of greed, hate, and delusion that gods, humans, or those in any other good places are found. Rather, it’s because of deeds born of greed, hate, and delusion that hell, the animal realm, the ghost realm, or any other bad places are found. These are three sources that give rise to deeds.

The three wholesome sources

§2Mendicants, there are these three sources that give rise to deeds. What three? Contentment, love, and understanding are sources that give rise to deeds. Contentment doesn’t give rise to greed. Rather, contentment just gives rise to contentment. Love doesn’t give rise to hate. Rather, love just gives rise to love. Understanding doesn’t give rise to delusion. Rather, understanding just gives rise to understanding. It’s not because of deeds born of contentment, love, and understanding that hell, the animal realm, the ghost realm, or any other bad places are found. Rather, it’s because of deeds born of contentment, love, and understanding that gods, humans, or those in any other good places are found. These are three sources that give rise to deeds.”

· · ·

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
How many item-lists does AN 6.39 actually contain, and how does it still belong to the Sixes?
Correct: B. Numbered by total item count, like several other discourses in this collection.
Question 2 of 10
What precise claim does the discourse make about each source?
Correct: B. A specific denial that greed might eventually produce contentment, or hate produce love.
Question 3 of 10
What are the three unwholesome sources?
Correct: B. The canon's standard three unwholesome roots (lobha, dosa, moha).
Question 4 of 10
What are the three wholesome sources, and how do they relate structurally to the unwholesome triad?
Correct: A. Alobha, adosa, amoha — a perfectly mirrored structure.
Question 5 of 10
What consequence does the discourse link to deeds born of greed, hate, and delusion?
Correct: B. An exclusive link, not a probabilistic or partial one.
Question 6 of 10
What does nidāna mean?
Correct: B. The discourse's own title, applied to all six items across both triads.
Question 7 of 10
Is a setting stated for AN 6.39?
Correct: B. A bare formula stating both triads directly.
Question 8 of 10
What does the discourse say greed gives rise to?
Correct: B. The discourse's precise self-perpetuation claim, stated explicitly.
Question 9 of 10
What does amoha mean?
Correct: B. The third item of the wholesome triad, rendered here as 'understanding'.
Question 10 of 10
How are the two halves of this discourse related to each other, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A deliberate mirrored structure across the whole discourse.
Answered 0 of 10 · Correct 0

Further reading

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