Sakkhibhabbasutta — 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
A single abstract quality (fourfold discernment plus diligent practice), stated once as blocking realization and once as enabling it
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
This theme of discernment as a precondition for realization recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — brief but abstract, naming no concrete practice, only categories of discernment
Why this discourse
AN 6.71 is the most abstract discourse in this chapter so far: it names no concrete practice, hindrance, or virtue, only a capacity to discern which qualities make things worse, which keep them steady, which lead to distinction, and which lead to penetration — paired with actually practicing carefully and doing what is suitable. Without both together, “anything that can be realized” remains out of reach, however close at hand it may be.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant who cannot discern which qualities worsen, steady, distinguish, or penetrate, and who does not practice carefully and suitably, cannot realize anything realizable; discerning correctly and practicing accordingly makes realization possible.
Four categories of discernment, not four separate teachings
“What makes things worse, what keeps things steady, what leads to distinction, and what leads to penetration” (hānabhāgiya, ṭhitibhāgiya, visesabhāgiya, nibbedhabhāgiya) is itself a fixed fourfold analytical set applied elsewhere in the canon to jhāna and other attainments, naming the direction a given quality tends to push practice rather than naming any specific quality itself.
Discernment alone is not enough
The discourse pairs true understanding of these four directions with a second, separate requirement: practicing carefully (sakkaccakārī) and doing what is suitable (sappāyakārī). Knowing which way a quality tends does not by itself realize anything; the discourse insists on both correct discernment and matching conduct.
'Since each and every one is within range'
The discourse's repeated closing clause — that whatever is realizable is “within range” (āyāpathe) — suggests the obstacle this discourse addresses is not distance from the goal but a failure of orientation: what blocks realization is not that it lies too far off, but that without this fourfold discernment and careful practice, a mendicant cannot find their way to what is already close at hand.
A companion in miniature to AN 6.72
This discourse's structure — a single abstract quality, stated once as blockage and once as enablement, over a bare four-line list — is repeated immediately in AN 6.72, applied there specifically to skill in immersion rather than to realization in general.
Key terms
sakkhibhabba — “capable of realizing,” “fit to witness” — the discourse's own title.
hānabhāgiya, ṭhitibhāgiya — “conducive to decline, conducive to stability” — the first two of a fixed fourfold analytical set applied elsewhere in the canon to jhāna and other attainments.
visesabhāgiya, nibbedhabhāgiya — “conducive to distinction, conducive to penetration” — the remaining two of the same fourfold set.
sakkaccakārī, sappāyakārī — “one who practices carefully, one who does what is suitable” — the second, separate requirement paired with discernment.
āyāpathe — “within range,” within reach — the discourse's repeated closing clause, framing the obstacle as one of orientation rather than distance.
The text
The discourse in full: the fourfold discernment and careful practice that make realization possible or impossible. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six qualities that make realization impossible
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant with six qualities is incapable of realizing anything that can be realized, since each and every one is within range. What six? It’s when a mendicant doesn’t truly understand which qualities make things worse, which keep things steady, which lead to distinction, and which lead to penetration. And they don’t practice carefully or do what’s suitable. A mendicant with these six qualities is incapable of realizing anything that can be realized, since each and every one is within range.
Six qualities that make it possible
§2A mendicant with six qualities is capable of realizing anything that can be realized, since each and every one is within range. What six? It’s when a mendicant truly understands which qualities make things worse, which keep things steady, which lead to distinction, and which lead to penetration. And they practice carefully and do what’s suitable. A mendicant with these six qualities is capable of realizing anything that can be realized, since each and every one is within range.”
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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 does this discourse say makes 'anything that can be realized' unreachable?
Correct: B. A failure of discernment and matching conduct, not a fixed list of specific practices.
Question 2 of 9
What is the fourfold set named in this discourse (hānabhāgiya, ṭhitibhāgiya, visesabhāgiya, nibbedhabhāgiya)?
Correct: B. A category of analysis, not a specific teaching unique to this discourse.
Question 3 of 9
According to the guide, is discernment alone sufficient for realization here?
Correct: B. Both discernment and matching conduct are required together.
Question 4 of 9
What does the discourse's repeated phrase 'within range' (āyāpathe) suggest, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Framing the block as one of finding the way, not covering distance.
Question 5 of 9
What discourse immediately follows and repeats this one's structure in miniature, according to the guide?
Correct: B. The same bare blockage/enablement shape, applied to a narrower target.
Question 6 of 9
What does sakkaccakārī mean?
Correct: B. Careful practice, paired with discernment as the discourse's second requirement.
Question 7 of 9
Is a setting stated for AN 6.71?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching this chapter's other abstract discourses.
Question 8 of 9
What is the discourse's overall method?
Correct: B. The chapter's most abstract discourse, naming no concrete practice or hindrance.
Question 9 of 9
What does visesabhāgiya mean?
Correct: B. The third of the fourfold analytical set named in this discourse.
