Arahattasutta — Arahattavagga — the eighth 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
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The theme of conceit (māna) in its several forms recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas and Abhidharma literature; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and formulaic, sharing its exact title with an earlier, unrelated discourse
Why this discourse
This is the second discourse in this series titled ‘Perfection’ (Arahattasutta) — AN 6.66, in the earlier Devatāvagga, was the first. Checked term by term, the two share nothing beyond a title and the fact that this chapter, Arahattavagga, is itself named for the same word: this discourse's blocking list is six varieties of conceit, not AN 6.66's meditative hindrances plus lack of faith.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Without giving up conceit, an inferiority complex, a superiority complex, overestimation, obstinacy, and groveling, perfection cannot be realized; giving up all six makes it realizable.
A second, unrelated 'Perfection'
AN 6.66's six blocking items were dullness, drowsiness, restlessness, remorse, lack of faith, and negligence — meditative hindrances plus one ethical deficit. This discourse's six are entirely different: varieties of conceit and its inverse distortions. Sharing a title twice within one collection, as already seen with this chapter's own name matching AN 6.76's title, is not evidence of shared content.
Six faces of one underlying distortion
Rather than six unrelated items, the list reads as six ways self-assessment can go wrong: conceit (māna, thinking oneself better), an inferiority complex (omāna, thinking oneself worse), a superiority complex (atimāna, an inflated version of conceit), overestimation (adhimāna, mistaking attainment not yet reached for attainment achieved), obstinacy (thambha), and groveling (sārambha, or self-abasing excess). Each names a different way the measuring of oneself against others, or against one's own attainment, can distort.
Why conceit specifically obstructs perfection
Arahantship is elsewhere in this literature described as the uprooting of the very conceit ‘I am’ (asmimāna) at its subtlest level; this discourse's list of six conceit-variants can be read as naming the coarser and more easily recognized forms that same underlying tendency takes before it is fully uprooted.
Key terms
māna — “conceit” — thinking oneself better than another, the first and namesake item of this discourse's six varieties.
omāna, atimāna — “an inferiority complex, a superiority complex” — thinking oneself worse, and an inflated form of conceit, the second and third items.
adhimāna — “overestimation” — mistaking an attainment not yet reached for one already achieved, the fourth item.
thambha, sārambha — “obstinacy, groveling” — the fifth and sixth items, closing the list.
asmimāna — “the conceit ‘I am’” — the subtlest form of conceit, described elsewhere as fully uprooted only at arahantship itself.
The text
The discourse in full: six varieties of conceit that block perfection, and their six reversals. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six things that block perfection
§1“Mendicants, without giving up six things you can’t realize perfection. What six? Conceit, inferiority complex, superiority complex, overestimation, obstinacy, and groveling. Without giving up these six qualities you can’t realize perfection.
Six things that enable it
§2After giving up six things you can realize perfection. What six? Conceit, inferiority complex, superiority complex, overestimation, obstinacy, and groveling. After giving up these six things you can realize perfection.”
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Self-check quiz
Eight questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 8
What earlier discourse in this series shares this discourse's exact title, 'Perfection' (Arahattasutta)?
Correct: B. A second, unrelated discourse of the same name within this collection.
Question 2 of 8
How much content is shared between AN 6.66 and AN 6.76, checked term by term?
Correct: B. A title shared twice is not evidence of shared content.
Question 3 of 8
What six things does this discourse actually name as blocking perfection?
Correct: B. Six varieties of conceit and its distortions, unrelated to AN 6.66's list.
Question 4 of 8
According to the guide, what unifies these six items?
Correct: B. Six faces of one underlying distortion in how one measures oneself.
Question 5 of 8
What does adhimāna mean?
Correct: B. The fourth item, a specific and easily overlooked form of overestimation.
Question 6 of 8
How does the guide connect this discourse's list to arahantship itself?
Correct: B. Coarser, more easily recognized forms of the same tendency finally uprooted at full awakening.
Question 7 of 8
Is a setting stated for AN 6.76?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching AN 6.75 immediately before it.
Question 8 of 8
What does thambha mean?
Correct: B. The fifth item on this discourse's six-item list.
