Voropitasutta — 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 second of AN 6.86–88's shared-formula triplet
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The five heinous deeds (ānantarika-kamma) as a fixed list recur throughout the Chinese Āgamas and Vinaya literature; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — names the canon's most severe fixed list of transgressions, condensed into a shared six-item formula
Why this discourse
AN 6.87, sharing AN 6.86's identical formula, names an entirely different and far more severe list: the five heinous deeds (ānantarika-kamma) — matricide, patricide, killing an arahant, maliciously wounding a Buddha, and causing a schism in the Saṅgha — joined by a sixth item, intellectual dullness, closing the list.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Someone who has committed any of the five heinous deeds, or who is witless, dull, and idiotic, cannot step onto the sure path even while listening to the true teaching; abstaining from the five deeds, and being wise, bright, and clever, makes that step possible.
The canon's most severe fixed list, compressed to one item
Where the five heinous deeds are elsewhere often treated at length given their gravity, this discourse compresses all five into what functions as a single blocking category within a larger six-item formula shared with AN 6.86 and 6.88 — the same triplet framework accommodating both a threefold technical obstruction (AN 6.86) and the canon's gravest transgressions (this discourse) without altering its shared opening and closing words.
Three qualities of intellect, not conduct, close the list
Duppañña, dull, and idiotic (elagala, or a near-synonym rendered similarly across translations) name failures of intellectual capacity rather than further acts, standing apart from the five heinous deeds' register of severe, deliberate wrongdoing.
An echo, not a repeat, of AN 6.94 later in this chapter
The five heinous deeds recur later in this same chapter at AN 6.94, listed among things “impossible” for one accomplished in view — a different framing (impossibility for the already-accomplished, rather than an obstacle for the not-yet-accomplished) applied to substantially the same content, worth checking rather than assuming identical when reached.
Key terms
mātā vā pitā vā arahaṁ vā — “mother, father, or a perfected one” — the first three of the five heinous deeds, murder of each treated within one compressed list item.
Tathāgatassa lohitaṁ uppādeti — “maliciously sheds the blood of a Realized One” — the fourth heinous deed, wounding a Buddha.
saṅghabheda — “schism in the Saṅgha” — the fifth heinous deed, causing division within the monastic community.
duppañña, jaḷa, eḷamūga — “witless, dull, idiotic” — the sixth item, naming intellectual deficits rather than further acts.
ānantarika-kamma — “heinous deed with immediate result” — the standard canonical term for this fixed set of five, recurring later at AN 6.94 under a different framing.
The text
The discourse in full: the five heinous deeds plus intellectual dullness 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 murder their mother or father or a perfected one. They maliciously shed the blood of a Realized One. They cause a schism in the Saṅgha. They’re witless, dull, and idiotic. 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 don’t murder their mother or father or a perfected one. They don’t maliciously shed the blood of a Realized One. They don’t cause a schism in the Saṅgha. They’re wise, bright, and clever. 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 five deeds does this discourse name, compressed within its six-item list?
Correct: B. The canon's gravest and most severe fixed list of transgressions.
Question 2 of 7
How does this discourse's list compare to AN 6.86's, despite sharing an identical formula?
Correct: B. The same shared framework accommodates very different specific content.
Question 3 of 7
What does this discourse's sixth item, duppañña/jaḷa/eḷamūga, name?
Correct: B. A different register from the five heinous deeds — intellect, not conduct.
Question 4 of 7
Where do the five heinous deeds recur later in this same chapter, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Substantially the same content, worth checking rather than assuming identical when a different framing is applied.
Question 5 of 7
Is a setting stated for AN 6.87?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching this triplet's other two discourses.
Question 6 of 7
What is the standard canonical term for the five heinous deeds?
Correct: B. 'Heinous deed with immediate result' — the fixed technical term for this set of five.
Question 7 of 7
What does the shared triplet formula's flexibility across AN 6.86 and 6.87 demonstrate?
Correct: B. One shared frame, genuinely different content each time it is filled.
