Sukhasomanassasutta — 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
A single six-item list stated only positively, with no paired negative half — the first such discourse in this chapter
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The pairing of joy in the teaching with laying the groundwork for liberation recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and entirely positive, the first one-sided list in this chapter
Why this discourse
Every discourse in this chapter so far has paired a blocking list with its reversal. AN 6.78 breaks that pattern: it states only what a mendicant who enjoys six things — the teaching, meditation, giving up, seclusion, kindness, and non-proliferation — experiences, with no corresponding list of what blocks joy stated separately.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
A mendicant who enjoys the teaching, meditation, giving up, seclusion, kindness, and non-proliferation is full of joy and happiness in this very life, having laid the groundwork for ending the defilements.
The chapter's first one-sided list
Every discourse from AN 6.75 through 6.77 named a blocking six paired with an enabling six. This discourse states only the positive side, with no explicit negative list given for contrast — the implicit opposite (not enjoying these six things) is left for the reader to infer rather than spelled out.
Six objects of delight, not six practices
The list names what a mendicant enjoys (abhirati) rather than six practices to be performed: the teaching (dhamma), meditation (bhāvanā), giving up (pahāna), seclusion (paviveka), kindness (abyāpajjha, sometimes rendered “non-affliction”), and non-proliferation (nippapañca) — the last of these the same term whose relishing was the decisive item at AN 6.14 and 6.15, here inverted from a trap to a source of joy.
Present joy as groundwork, not proof, of liberation
The discourse is careful to state its outcome in two parts: joy and happiness “in this very life,” and separately, having “laid the groundwork for ending the defilements” — a foundation, not the ending itself. The six delights bring a felt happiness now and a condition favorable to further progress, without the discourse claiming that progress has already been completed.
Key terms
abhirati — “enjoyment, delight” — the discourse's own framing for its six-item list, delight rather than duty.
nippapañca — “non-proliferation” — the sixth and closing item, the same term whose relishing (the opposite orientation) was the decisive trap named at AN 6.14 and 6.15 earlier in this series.
pahāna, paviveka — “giving up, seclusion” — the third and fourth items, echoing seclusion's role as a precondition already met in AN 6.68's chain earlier in this collection.
abyāpajjha — “kindness,” non-affliction — the fifth item, echoing the same term among Soṇa's own six dedications at AN 6.55.
āsavakkhayāya ca padhāniyaṅgaṁ — “laid the groundwork for ending the defilements” — the discourse's second, distinct outcome, a foundation rather than a claim of completed liberation.
The text
The discourse in full: six things a mendicant delights in, bringing joy and laying the groundwork for ending the defilements. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six things a mendicant delights in
§1“Mendicants, when a mendicant has six things they’re full of joy and happiness in this very life, and they have laid the groundwork for ending the defilements. What six? It’s when a mendicant enjoys the teaching, meditation, giving up, seclusion, kindness, and non-proliferation. When a mendicant possesses these six things they’re full of joy and happiness in this very life, and they have laid the groundwork for ending the defilements.”
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Self-check quiz
7 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 7
How does AN 6.78's structure break the pattern set by AN 6.75 through 6.77?
Correct: B. The chapter's first discourse without a stated negative half.
Question 2 of 7
What six things does a mendicant enjoy, according to this discourse?
Correct: B. Six objects of delight, not six practices to perform.
Question 3 of 7
Where else in this series has 'non-proliferation' (papañca/nippapañca) appeared, and how does its role differ here?
Correct: B. The same term's opposite orientation, from trap to delight.
Question 4 of 7
What two distinct outcomes does the discourse name?
Correct: B. A felt present happiness and a foundation for further progress, not a claim of completed liberation.
Question 5 of 7
Is a setting stated for AN 6.78?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching this chapter's other discourses.
Question 6 of 7
What does abyāpajjha mean, and where else has it appeared in this series?
Correct: B. A term this series has already met, applied here as one of six objects of delight.
Question 7 of 7
What is 'the groundwork for ending the defilements,' according to the guide?
Correct: B. Careful phrasing distinguishing groundwork laid from completion claimed.
