Balasutta — 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 target quality (skill in immersion, threefold, plus diligent practice), stated once as blocking strength and once as producing it — AN 6.71's shape narrowed to one specific skill
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The theme of skill across entering, remaining in, and emerging from meditative states recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — concrete and readable, naming three specific meditative skills rather than abstract categories
Why this discourse
AN 6.72 takes AN 6.71's bare abstract shape and applies it to one specific capacity: strength in immersion, produced by three named skills — entering, remaining in, and emerging from immersion — together with practicing carefully, persistently, and suitably. Where AN 6.71 spoke of realization in the widest possible terms, this discourse narrows the same structure to something concrete and specifically meditative.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant unskilled in entering, remaining in, and emerging from immersion, who does not practice carefully and persistently, cannot attain strength in immersion; skill in all three plus diligent practice makes that strength attainable.
Three skills, not one
Unlike AN 6.70, which treated immersion as a single unqualified precondition, this discourse breaks meditative skill into three separate competencies: entering immersion (samāpajjana), remaining in it (ṭhāna), and emerging from it (vuṭṭhāna). A mendicant could plausibly be skilled at entering immersion while still lacking skill at the other two; the discourse names all three as required together.
Persistence added to AN 6.71's careful and suitable practice
AN 6.71 named practicing carefully (sakkaccakārī) and suitably (sappāyakārī) as its second requirement. This discourse adds a third: persistently (āsevanakārī) — naming sustained repetition specifically, where AN 6.71's more general formula did not.
A specific application of AN 6.71's general structure
This discourse's title, ‘Strength,’ names the specific result AN 6.71 left unspecified as “anything that can be realized.” Read together, the two discourses model the same reasoning applied at two different levels of generality: one covering realization broadly, the other narrowed to strength in immersion specifically.
Skill as a matter of degree, not presence or absence
Naming skill in entering, remaining, and emerging separately implies these are capacities that develop with practice and can be partial, not switches that are simply on or off. The discourse's closing requirement of persistent practice fits this reading: strength in immersion is treated as something built over time, not granted all at once.
Key terms
bala — “strength” — the discourse's own title, here specifically strength in immersion.
samāpajjana, ṭhāna, vuṭṭhāna — “entering, remaining in, emerging from” immersion — the three distinct skills this discourse names as required together.
sakkaccakārī, āsevanakārī, sappāyakārī — “one who practices carefully, persistently, and suitably” — the discourse's second requirement, adding persistence to AN 6.71's careful and suitable practice.
samādhibala — “strength in immersion” — the specific attainment this discourse concerns, narrower than AN 6.71's unspecified realization.
samādhikusala — “skilled in immersion” — the general quality this discourse breaks into three separate, named competencies.
The text
The discourse in full: three skills in immersion plus careful, persistent, suitable practice, and their absence. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six qualities that prevent strength in immersion
§1“Mendicants, a mendicant who has six qualities can’t attain strength in immersion. What six? It’s when a mendicant is not skilled in entering immersion, skilled in remaining in immersion, or skilled in emerging from immersion. And they don’t practice carefully and persistently, and they don’t do what’s suitable. A mendicant who possesses these six qualities can’t attain strength in immersion.
Six qualities that produce it
§2A mendicant who has six qualities can attain strength in immersion. What six? It’s when a mendicant is skilled in entering immersion, skilled in remaining in immersion, and skilled in emerging from immersion. And they practice carefully and persistently, and do what’s suitable. A mendicant who possesses these six qualities can attain strength in immersion.”
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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 specific attainment does AN 6.72 concern, narrower than AN 6.71's 'anything that can be realized'?
Correct: B. The discourse's own title, and a specific application of AN 6.71's general shape.
Question 2 of 9
What three skills does the discourse name as required together?
Correct: B. Samāpajjana, ṭhāna, and vuṭṭhāna — three distinct competencies, not one general skill.
Question 3 of 9
Why does the guide say all three skills are named separately, rather than as one unqualified 'skill in immersion'?
Correct: B. Three separable competencies, all required together for strength in immersion.
Question 4 of 9
What third requirement does this discourse add to AN 6.71's careful and suitable practice?
Correct: B. Sustained repetition specifically, absent from AN 6.71's more general formula.
Question 5 of 9
How does the guide relate AN 6.72 to AN 6.71?
Correct: B. AN 6.72's title names the specific result AN 6.71 left unspecified.
Question 6 of 9
What does the guide say about skill in entering, remaining, and emerging, based on how the discourse treats them?
Correct: B. The closing requirement of persistent practice fits a picture of gradual development.
Question 7 of 9
Is a setting stated for AN 6.72?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching AN 6.71 immediately before it.
Question 8 of 9
What does vuṭṭhāna mean?
Correct: C. The third of the three named skills — emerging from immersion.
Question 9 of 9
How does this discourse's difficulty compare to AN 6.71's, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A specific, concrete application of AN 6.71's more abstract structure.
