Sussūsatisutta — 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, closing AN 6.86–88's shared-formula triplet
Length
under 1 minute to read
Northern parallel
The theme of genuine versus merely formal listening recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas' treatment of receiving the teaching; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — closes the triplet with the most self-referential list of the three, describing failures of listening itself
Why this discourse
AN 6.88 closes the triplet begun at AN 6.86 with a list unlike either of its companions: not a technical obstruction, not a severe transgression, but failures of the very act the shared formula names — not wanting to listen, not actively listening, learning the wrong meaning while neglecting the right one, and accepting views that contradict the teaching.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Someone who doesn't want to listen to the teaching, doesn't actively listen or try to understand, learns the incorrect meaning while neglecting the correct one, and accepts views contradicting the teaching, cannot step onto the sure path even while listening to the true teaching; the reversal of all this makes that step possible.
A self-referential close to the triplet
Where AN 6.86 named an abstract technical obstruction and AN 6.87 named severe past deeds, this discourse turns the shared formula's own key phrase — “even when listening to the true teaching” — back on itself: here, the failure named is a failure of the listening act described in the formula, not something separate from it.
Wanting to listen, distinguished from actually listening
The list's first two items separate desire from execution: not wanting to listen (asussūsanā) is distinct from not actively listening or trying to understand (ohitasota) even once listening has begun, implying a mendicant could in principle want to listen while still failing at the second, active step.
Meaning and view, the list's final two items
Learning the incorrect meaning while neglecting the correct one, and accepting views that contradict the teaching, close the list on two further, distinguishable failures: one of interpretation, the other of the conclusions drawn from what was heard.
Key terms
asussūsanā — “not wanting to listen” — the discourse's own title term, negated, opening this discourse's blocking list.
na ohitasoto — “not actively listening” — the second item, distinct from the first: a failure of execution rather than of desire.
anaññāya atthaṁ dhāreti — “learns the incorrect meaning” — the third item, a failure of interpretation.
dhammānudhammaṁ paṭipajjati — “accepts views that conform with the teaching” — the reversal's closing item, the direct opposite of accepting contradicting views.
niyāmaṁ okkamituṁ — “to step into the sure path” — the phrase shared word for word across all three discourses of this triplet.
The text
The discourse in full: four failures of genuine listening 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? When the teaching and practice proclaimed by the Realized One is being taught they don’t want to listen. They don’t actively listen or try to understand. They learn the incorrect meaning and neglect the correct meaning. They accept views that contradict the teaching. 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? When the teaching and practice proclaimed by the Realized One is being taught they want to listen. They actively listen and try to understand. They learn the correct meaning and neglect the incorrect meaning. They accept views that conform with the teaching. 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
How does AN 6.88's list differ in character from AN 6.86's and AN 6.87's, according to the guide?
Correct: B. A self-referential close to the triplet, unlike its two companions.
Question 2 of 7
How does the guide distinguish this discourse's first two items?
Correct: B. Desire and execution treated as separable failures.
Question 3 of 7
What do this discourse's final two items concern?
Correct: B. Two distinguishable failures beyond the initial failures of desire and attention.
Question 4 of 7
What phrase is shared word for word across all three discourses of this triplet?
Correct: B. The triplet's identical opening and closing framing, filled three different ways.
Question 5 of 7
Is a setting stated for AN 6.88?
Correct: B. A bare formula, matching this triplet's other two discourses.
Question 6 of 7
What does na ohitasoto mean?
Correct: B. The second item, a failure of execution distinct from the first item's failure of desire.
Question 7 of 7
What does this discourse's position, closing the triplet, suggest about the triplet's overall arrangement, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Three distinct registers of obstacle, sharing one formula.
