Amatappattasutta — Khemavagga — the sixth chapter of the Nines
Setting
Not restated; understood to continue from AN 9.54
Speakers
Venerable Udāyī questioning Venerable Ānanda, by implication
Form
A single opening line and an ellipsis, matching this chapter's other minimal stubs
Length
A few seconds to read what exists
Closing the second pair
This discourse pairs with AN 9.54 exactly as AN 9.53 paired with AN 9.52 — the achievement of arrival, following the bare state
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — trivial to read, its interest lying in its pairing
Why this discourse
The source reduces this discourse to a single line — ‘they speak of “reaching freedom from death”’ — closing the deathless pair opened at AN 9.54 by naming the achievement of arrival rather than the state itself.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
By the pattern established at AN 9.52, reaching any of the nine progressive attainments is what the Buddha meant by ‘reaching freedom from death’ — qualifiedly at each of the first eight stages, definitively only at the ninth.
The same state-versus-achievement shift as AN 9.53
This discourse relates to AN 9.54 exactly as AN 9.53 related to AN 9.52: amatappatta names the accomplishment of a person who has actually reached the deathless, not the deathless as a bare state or object — the same grammatical pairing pattern this chapter applies consistently across all five of its term-pairs.
Two pairs closed, three more discourses to go
With this discourse, the first two of this chapter's five term-pairs are complete: safety and reaching safety (AN 9.52-53), and the deathless and reaching the deathless (AN 9.54-55). Three further discourses in this run remain before AN 9.61 restores full treatment.
Consistency across an entirely elided run
Nothing in this discourse's own surviving text distinguishes it structurally from AN 9.53 or AN 9.54; its interest lies entirely in what term it names and how that term relates to its pair, not in any unique content of its own, since none survives.
Key terms
amatappattaṁ — “reaching freedom from death” — this discourse's own title term, naming the achievement of arrival rather than the deathless as a bare state.
…pe… — the Pāli peyyāla marker, left untranslated as an ellipsis — the source's own signal to supply the omitted content.
amataṁ — “freedom from death” — the paired term from AN 9.54, this discourse's own state-versus-achievement counterpart.
pariyāyena — “in a qualified sense” — not present in this discourse's own text, supplied by inference from AN 9.52's template.
nippariyāyena — “in a definitive sense” — likewise supplied by inference, reserved for the ninth attainment throughout this stretch of the nipāta.
The text
The discourse exactly as it survives in the source: one line and an ellipsis. Nothing has been added. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
The discourse in full, as it survives
§1“Reverend, they speak of ‘reaching freedom from death’. …”
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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 this discourse's term relate to AN 9.54's ‘amata’?
Correct: B. The same state-versus-achievement pairing pattern as AN 9.52-53.
Question 2 of 6
How many of this chapter's five term-pairs are complete after this discourse?
Correct: C. Safety/reaching safety, and the deathless/reaching the deathless.
Question 3 of 6
How much of this discourse survives in the source?
Correct: B. Matching every other stub in this chapter's run.
Question 4 of 6
Where does this discourse's real interest lie, according to the guide?
Correct: B. Nothing distinguishes its own surviving text from any other stub in this run.
Question 5 of 6
How many discourses in this run of stubs remain after this one, before full treatment is restored?
Correct: B. Fearless/reaching fearless and tranquility/progressive tranquility remain, plus bare cessation.
Question 6 of 6
Where does this discourse's implied content come from?
Correct: B. The same source of inference used throughout this run of stubs.
