Anāgāmiphalasutta — Devatāvagga — the seventh chapter of the Sixes, continuing the Second Fifty
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
Two matched six-item lists, cause and its direct reversal, in a single short discourse
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This decline/non-decline list format recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and formulaic, opening a chapter that shares its title with an earlier, unrelated one
Why this discourse
This is the second chapter in the Sixes titled ‘Deities’: Chapter 4 (AN 6.31–42) opened the First Fifty under the same name, and this chapter opens the Second Fifty's continuation under it again — a fresh, unrelated set of ten discourses. As with Chapter 4's opener, no deity appears here at all: the discourse is a bare pair of six-item lists naming what blocks, and what enables, the fruit of non-return, the third of the four fixed milestones of awakening.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Without giving up lack of faith, conscience, and prudence, and laziness, unmindfulness, and witlessness, non-return cannot be realized; giving up all six makes it realizable.
Six absences, not six active faults
Every item on this list names a missing quality rather than a present vice: assaddhiya (lack of faith), ahirika (lack of conscience), anottappa (lack of prudence), kosajja (laziness), pamāda (negligence/unmindfulness), and duppaññatā (witlessness, poor wisdom). The teaching is framed as a set of gaps to fill, not temptations to resist.
Why non-return specifically
Non-return (anāgāmitā) is reached by fully ending the five lower fetters, and its holder is reborn no more into this sense-desire realm. Pairing that specific milestone with this particular six-item list suggests these six absences are read as blocking exactly the kind of settled clarity non-return requires, rather than describing awakening in general.
A second chapter of the same name, opening bare
Chapter 4 opened with AN 6.31, also deity-free despite its title, saving its actual deity for the discourse right after. This chapter follows the identical shape at a larger scale: it opens on a bare formula and waits until AN 6.69, its central discourse, before a deity actually appears.
Key terms
anāgāmiphala — “the fruit of non-return” — the discourse's own title, the third of the four fixed milestones of awakening.
assaddhiya, ahirika, anottappa — “lack of faith, lack of conscience, lack of prudence” — the first three of the six blocking qualities, each a named absence rather than a vice.
kosajja, pamāda, duppaññatā — “laziness, negligence, witlessness” — the remaining three blocking qualities, closing the list.
anāgāmī — “non-returner” — one who has ended the five lower fetters and will not be reborn again into the sense-desire realm.
Devatāvagga — “the Chapter on Deities” — this chapter's title, shared with the earlier and unrelated Chapter 4 (AN 6.31–42).
The text
The discourse in full: six things that block the fruit of non-return, and their six reversals. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six things that block non-return
§1“Mendicants, without giving up six things you can’t realize the fruit of non-return. What six? Lack of faith, conscience, and prudence; laziness, unmindfulness, and witlessness. Without giving up these six things you can’t realize the fruit of non-return.
Six things that enable it
§2After giving up six things you can realize the fruit of non-return. What six? Lack of faith, conscience, and prudence; laziness, unmindfulness, and witlessness. After giving up these six things you can realize the fruit of non-return.”
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Self-check quiz
Nine questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 9
What milestone of awakening does this discourse's six-item list concern?
Correct: B. The discourse's own title, Anāgāmiphalasutta.
Question 2 of 9
What do all six items on this discourse's list have in common, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Lack of faith, lack of conscience, lack of prudence, laziness, negligence, and witlessness — six named absences.
Question 3 of 9
How is non-return itself defined, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The third of the four fixed milestones, short of full arahantship.
Question 4 of 9
What is notable about this chapter's title compared to Chapter 4?
Correct: B. A shared title across two distinct, unrelated chapters of the Sixes.
Question 5 of 9
Does a deity appear in AN 6.65, despite the chapter's title?
Correct: B. The chapter's actual deity is saved for its central discourse.
Question 6 of 9
What does duppaññatā mean?
Correct: B. The sixth and final item on the blocking list.
Question 7 of 9
Is a setting stated for AN 6.65?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching the chapter's other formulaic openings.
Question 8 of 9
What is the discourse's entire structure?
Correct: B. Cause and reversal, stated back to back with no further explanation.
Question 9 of 9
What three qualities open the six-item list?
Correct: B. Assaddhiya, ahirika, anottappa — the first three of six named absences.
