Balasutta — Āhuneyyavagga — the first chapter of the Sixes
Setting
None stated; the discourse continues from AN 6.1, whose setting at Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove is understood to hold
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
The worthiness formula attached to the five powers plus liberation — identical in structure to AN 6.3, one grammatical form removed
Length
~1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The five-power list (bala) recurs constantly across the Chinese Āgamas and Abhidharma literature, paired everywhere with the five faculties; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — a near-repeat of AN 6.3, worth reading for the single word that changes
Why this discourse
AN 6.4 is AN 6.3 with one change: indriya, faculty, becomes bala, power, in each of the five compound terms. Everything else — the six-count structure, the closing clause about liberation, the worthiness formula — is identical. Placed back to back, the two discourses let a reader see directly what the tradition means by pairing these two grammatical forms of the same five qualities: not two different lists, but the same capacities described first as still being cultivated, then as having become unshakeable.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant who has the five powers — faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom — and who has, through them, reached the ending of defilements and full liberation, is worthy of offerings — word for word as AN 6.3, with bala in place of indriya.
What changes, and what does not
Comparing the Pāli of the two discourses side by side: saddhindriya becomes saddhābalena, vīriyindriya becomes vīriyabalena, and so on through all five. The English translation renders both as “the … of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom” with only “faculties” or “powers” distinguishing them — a case where the reading guide’s caution from AN 5.1, to check the Pāli rather than judge by English wording alone, applies directly.
A traditional distinction: strength against opposition
Commentarial tradition explains the difference this way: a faculty (indriya) exercises governance over its own domain — faith over confidence, energy over exertion, and so on — while a power (bala) is that same quality once it can no longer be shaken by its opposite. Faith as power is unmoved by doubt; energy as power is unmoved by laziness; wisdom as power is unmoved by ignorance. The Sixes place these two framings of one list back to back rather than merging them into a single ten-item set.
Why two near-identical discourses, not one
A single combined discourse naming ten qualities would have been possible; the canon instead keeps indriya and bala as separate statements, each given its own worthiness formula. The repetition itself is the point: the same five capacities are worth affirming twice, once under each aspect, rather than being collapsed into one mention.
Closing the chapter's first quarter
AN 6.1 through 6.4 form a loose unit: equanimity at the six senses, the six superhuman knowledges, the five faculties, the five powers — four different contents, one identical closing formula. The next three discourses turn from lists of qualities to a single extended simile, the thoroughbred horse.
Key terms
bala — “power” — the five capacities named here, identical to AN 6.3’s faculties but described as unshakeable by their opposites.
saddhābala — the power of faith — confidence no longer moved by doubt.
vīriyabala — the power of energy — sustained effort no longer moved by laziness.
samādhibala — the power of immersion — steadiness of mind no longer moved by distraction.
paññābala — the power of wisdom — discernment no longer moved by ignorance, closing the list as it did at AN 6.3.
The text
The discourse in full: the five powers and liberation, closing the worthiness formula. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The formula, and the five powers
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant with six qualities is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of veneration with cupped palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world. What six? The powers of faith, energy, mindfulness, immersion, and wisdom. And they realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life, and live having realized it with their own insight due to the ending of defilements. A mendicant with these six qualities is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of veneration with cupped palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world.”
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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 is the single difference between AN 6.3 and AN 6.4?
Correct: B. Saddhindriya becomes saddhābala, and so through all five terms — everything else is identical.
Question 2 of 10
How does the commentarial tradition traditionally distinguish a faculty from a power, for the same quality?
Correct: B. Faith as power, for instance, is unmoved by doubt.
Question 3 of 10
What lesson from AN 5.1's reading guide does the indriya/bala comparison illustrate?
Correct: B. English renders both as similar phrasing; the Pāli distinguishes indriya from bala precisely.
Question 4 of 10
Why does the canon keep faculties and powers as two separate discourses rather than merging them into one ten-item list?
Correct: B. The discourse offers no combined ten-item version; each aspect gets its own full statement.
Question 5 of 10
What example does the guide give of faith as a 'power' rather than a 'faculty'?
Correct: B. Power names the point at which the quality can no longer be shaken by its opposite.
Question 6 of 10
What do AN 6.1 through 6.4 have in common?
Correct: B. Equanimity, the six knowledges, the faculties, the powers — one refrain throughout.
Question 7 of 10
What comes next in the chapter, after this loose four-discourse unit on qualities?
Correct: B. AN 6.5 through 6.7 turn from lists to an extended simile.
Question 8 of 10
How many qualities does AN 6.4 count toward the worthiness formula?
Correct: B. Matching AN 6.3's structure exactly.
Question 9 of 10
Is AN 6.4 set at a newly stated location?
Correct: B. A bare continuation, matching the whole run from AN 6.2 through 6.9.
