Āvaraṇasutta — Sītivagga — the ninth 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, the first of three discourses sharing an identical opening and closing formula
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The threefold obstruction by deeds, defilements, and results (karmāvaraṇa) recurs widely across Abhidharma literature and its Chinese parallels; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — opens a closely matched triplet where the shared formula can obscure real differences between the three discourses' actual lists
Why this discourse
AN 6.86 opens a triplet with AN 6.87 and 6.88, all three sharing the identical opening and closing formula — “unable to step into the sure path with regards to skillful qualities even when listening to the true teaching” — but naming three genuinely different six-item lists. This discourse's own list names three obstructions (by deeds, defilements, or results) plus three further deficits: faithless, unenthusiastic, and witless.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Someone obstructed by deeds, defilements, or results, and faithless, unenthusiastic, and witless, cannot step onto the sure path even while listening to the true teaching; the reversal of all six makes that step possible.
A shared formula opening three distinct discourses
AN 6.86, 6.87, and 6.88 open and close with word-for-word identical framing, differing only in what fills their six-item lists — a pattern that, checked against the identical “respect” formula met four times earlier in this collection, warns against assuming shared framing means shared content.
Three obstructions, a fixed technical set
Kammāvaraṇa (obstruction by deeds), kilesāvaraṇa (by defilements), and vipākāvaraṇa (by results) form a recognized threefold set elsewhere in the canon and Abhidharma literature, naming three distinct ways past action can block present spiritual progress: through the deed itself, through the underlying defilement, or through the deed's ripening result.
'Even when listening to the true teaching' — the formula's real stakes
The shared formula's force lies in its qualifier: these six items don't merely make the teaching hard to find, they block someone from benefiting from it even while directly hearing it taught — naming obstacles internal to the listener rather than obstacles of access.
Key terms
kammāvaraṇa, kilesāvaraṇa, vipākāvaraṇa — “obstruction by deeds, by defilements, by results” — a recognized threefold technical set, the first three items of this discourse's list.
assaddha, anussuka, duppañña — “faithless, unenthusiastic, witless” — the remaining three items, closing the list.
niyāmaṁ okkamituṁ — “to step into the sure path” — the shared formula's central phrase, identical across AN 6.86, 6.87, and 6.88.
kusalesu dhammesu — “with regards to skillful qualities” — qualifying what the sure path concerns, shared across the triplet.
saddhammaṁ suṇantopi — “even when listening to the true teaching” — the formula's decisive qualifier, naming obstacles internal to the listener rather than obstacles of access to the teaching.
The text
The discourse in full: three obstructions plus three deficits blocking the sure path, and their reversal. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six things that block the sure path
§1“Mendicants, someone with six qualities is unable to step into the sure path with regards to skillful qualities even when listening to the true teaching. What six? They’re obstructed by deeds, defilements, or results. And they’re faithless, unenthusiastic, and witless. Someone with these six qualities is unable to step into the sure path with regards to skillful qualities, even when listening to the true teaching.
Six things that enable it
§2Someone with six qualities is able to step into the sure path with regards to skillful qualities when listening to the true teaching. What six? They’re not obstructed by deeds, defilements, or results. And they’re faithful, enthusiastic, and wise. Someone with these six qualities is able to step into the sure path with regards to skillful qualities when listening to the true teaching.”
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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
What formula does AN 6.86 share word for word with AN 6.87 and 6.88?
Correct: B. Identical framing around three genuinely different six-item lists.
Question 2 of 7
What three obstructions open this discourse's list?
Correct: B. A recognized threefold technical set from elsewhere in the canon and Abhidharma literature.
Question 3 of 7
What does the guide caution about a shared formula across multiple discourses, drawing on an earlier pattern in this collection?
Correct: B. A caution earned by this collection's repeated near-duplicate discourses.
Question 4 of 7
What does the formula's qualifier 'even when listening to the true teaching' emphasize, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Obstacles internal to the listener, not obstacles of access.
Question 5 of 7
Is a setting stated for AN 6.86?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching this chapter's other discourses.
Question 6 of 7
What does vipākāvaraṇa mean?
Correct: C. The third of the three named obstructions.
Question 7 of 7
What are this discourse's final three blocking items, after the three obstructions?
Correct: A. Three further deficits closing this discourse's list.
