Pahīnasutta — 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
A single six-item list, stated descriptively rather than paired with a blocking half — the same list as AN 6.89, restated as accomplished fact
Length
under 30 seconds to read
Northern parallel
The description of a stream-enterer's accomplished fetter-removal recurs widely across the Chinese Āgamas' treatment of the four stages; this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — the collection's briefest discourse so far, a single descriptive sentence
Why this discourse
AN 6.90 is the shortest discourse in this collection so far: a single sentence stating that “an individual accomplished in view has given up these six things,” followed by the identical list already met at AN 6.89, with no separate negative half, no reversal, and no further elaboration.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
An individual accomplished in view has given up substantialist view, doubt, misapprehension of precepts and observances, and forms of greed, hatred, and delusion that lead to rebirth in places of loss.
A descriptive fact, not a prescription
AN 6.89 stated its list as a requirement (“without giving up... you can't”); this discourse simply describes an accomplished fact about anyone already accomplished in view, with none of AN 6.89's conditional framing. The shift from prescription to description is the discourse's entire content.
The collection's shortest discourse to date
At a single sentence beyond its title and setting, AN 6.90 is markedly briefer than even this chapter's other compact formulaic discourses, closer in form to a definitional restatement than to a teaching addressed to an audience needing persuasion or instruction.
Why restate rather than merely cross-reference
That this near-identical content receives its own discourse, rather than a bare cross-reference to AN 6.89, suggests the collection's compilers valued having the descriptive claim (what is true of the accomplished) stated independently from the prescriptive claim (what must be done to become accomplished), even where the underlying six items are unchanged.
Key terms
pahīna — “given up” — the discourse's own title and its central claim, past tense rather than AN 6.89's conditional framing.
sakkāyadiṭṭhi, vicikicchā, sīlabbataparāmāsa — “substantialist view, doubt, misapprehension of precepts and observances” — the three fetters, identical to AN 6.89's list.
apāyagamanīyaṁ rāgaṁ dosaṁ mohaṁ — “forms of greed, hate, and delusion that lead to rebirth in places of loss” — the sixth item, likewise identical to AN 6.89's.
diṭṭhisampanna puggalo — “an individual accomplished in view” — the discourse's subject, described rather than instructed.
ime cha dhammā pahīnā — “these six things have been given up” — the discourse's entire content in one closing clause.
The text
The discourse in full: a single descriptive sentence naming the three fetters plus rebirth-bound greed, hate, and delusion as already given up. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Six things already given up
§1“Mendicants, an individual accomplished in view has given up these six things. What six? Substantialist view, doubt, misapprehension of precepts and observances, and forms of greed, hate, and delusion that lead to rebirth in places of loss. An individual accomplished in view has given up these six things.”
· · ·
Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 6
How does AN 6.90's list compare to AN 6.89's, checked term by term?
Correct: B. The same six items, restated under a different framing.
Question 2 of 6
How does this discourse's framing differ from AN 6.89's?
Correct: B. A shift from prescription to description, with the underlying content unchanged.
Question 3 of 6
How does the guide describe this discourse's length compared to the rest of this collection?
Correct: B. Markedly briefer than even this chapter's other compact formulaic discourses.
Question 4 of 6
According to the guide, why might this content receive its own discourse rather than merely cross-referencing AN 6.89?
Correct: B. A deliberate compositional choice, not redundancy.
Question 5 of 6
Is a setting stated for AN 6.90?
Correct: B. A bare formula, as brief as the discourse's single-sentence content.
Question 6 of 6
Does AN 6.90 include a reversal or negative half, unlike most discourses in this chapter?
Correct: B. One of this chapter's few genuinely one-sided discourses.
