The Book of the Sixes

A mendicant is worthy of gifts because of equanimity for the six senses.

A mendicant is worthy of gifts because of the six higher knowledges.

A mendicant is worthy of gifts because of six faculties.

A mendicant is worthy of gifts because of six powers.

A steed is worthy of the king for six reasons, and a mendicant is worthy for six similar reasons.

A steed is worthy of the king for six reasons, and a mendicant is worthy for six similar reasons.

A steed is worthy of the king for six reasons, and a mendicant is worthy for six similar reasons.

Six things that are unsurpassable.

Six topics for recollection.

The Buddha teaches his relative Mahānāma that a noble disciple often practices the six recollections, which lead to joy and peace.

Six warm-hearted qualities practiced among the mendicants.

Six warm-hearted qualities practiced among the mendicants.

The Buddha’s teachings are effective, so we can’t claim to have practiced them fully if we’re still afflicted by the various forms of suffering.

A mendicant who lives well and doesn’t waste time will have a good death.

A mendicant who lives well and doesn’t waste time dies without regret.

A sick householder is consoled by his wife, who says there is no need for him to be worried about dying, as she is well able to support the family and practice the Dhamma. He recovers, and visits the Buddha, who sings the praises of his kind and wise wife.

Neither a king nor a mendicant gets anything accomplished if they just sleep all the time.

Those whose livelihood is the killing of animals do not prosper.

Many of those who practice mindfulness of death don’t do so urgently enough. Death might come to us at any moment.

A method for recollecting one’s own death that leads to urgency, diligence, and joy.

Even the gods know that some monks are falling away from their practice.

In the past, future, and present, practicing six good qualities protects against decline.

Sensual pleasures are perilous.

A mendicant who has fully mastered meditation could even split apart the Himalayas.

The six recollections are a way to escape from greed.

Mahākaccāna teaches that the six recollections are a way to escape from greed and lead to a mind as vast as space.

The right time to visit an esteemed mendicant is when you need spiritual guidance and support.

Some senior mendicants discuss the right time to see an esteemed mendicant, and Mahākaccāna answers by quoting the Buddha from AN 6.27.

When the Buddha asks about the topics for recollection, a monk reveals his ignorance. Ānanda then gives an unusual list of five recollections, which the Buddha supplements with a sixth.

There are things in the world considered to be unsurpassed, but none of them compare with the Dhamma.

Things leading to decline or non-decline.

A god speaks on things leading to decline or non-decline.

The Buddha recounts the events of the previous discourse.

Mahāmoggallāna visits a Brahmā god who had formerly been a mendicant, and they discuss which of the gods are stream-enterers.

Six kinds of perception that lead to wisdom.

If a mendicant nurses six kinds of defilements it leads to bitterness and disputes in the Saṅgha.

Seeing the laywoman Veḷukaṇṭakī preparing a meal for the Saṅgha, the Buddha celebrated by saying that giving is of great benefit when the donor and the recipient each possess three qualities.

The Buddha rebuts a brahmin’s claim that there is no such thing as actions initiated by oneself.

Greed, hate, and delusion are the roots of deeds.

The Buddha explains to Venerable Kimbila the reasons why Buddhism lasts long after the Buddha’s demise.

Even a simple block of wood can be perceived in different ways by a mendicant with advanced meditation.

When visited by a noisy crowd, the Buddha speaks to his attendant Nāgita of his love of seclusion and solitude, and of his regard for forest mendicants.

When going for a bath, the Buddha encounters a giant royal elephant. But a spiritual giant is even more impressive.

In response to criticism, the Buddha explains that it is difficult to compare the spiritual development of different individuals, so we should not be judgmental.

Poor people suffer when they get in debt. Spiritual practitioners who are devoid of good qualities suffer in a similar way.

In a discourse evidently set some time after the Buddha’s passing, Venerable Mahācunda urges different groups of meditators, whether they emphasize serenity or insight, to respect and support each other.

The Buddha explains to the wanderer Moliyasīvaka how the teaching may be realized in the present life.

The Buddha explains a brahmin how the teaching may be realized in the present life.

Two monks separately come to the Buddha and speak of awakening in terms of letting go conceit. The Buddha affirms that they are, in fact, awakened, and that such indirect means are the proper way to make such declarations.

Just as a tree without leaves cannot grow, sense restraint is the foundation for spiritual growth.

Venerables Ānanda and Sāriputta discuss how a mendicant can further their learning and understanding.

The Buddha explains to the brahmin Jāṇussoṇī the ambition, quest, commitment, insistence, and ultimate goal of aristocrats, brahmins, householders, women, bandits, and ascetics.

With a series of vivid similes, the Buddha shows how diligence leads to benefits in both this life and the next.

The monk Dhammika annoys both the monks and the layfolk so badly that they banish him. He comes to the Buddha, who consoles him and raises his spirits with a story, while at the same time showing him the error of his ways.

When Venerable Soṇa thinks of disrobing, the Buddha comes and encourages him with the famous simile of the lute that is tuned neither too loose nor too tight.

The Buddha consoles Venerable Phagguṇa on his deathbed, and he dies at peace. The Buddha then explains to Ānanda the benefits of hearing the Dhamma at the right time.

Ānanda asks the Buddha about the six classes of people described by the rival ascetic Pūraṇa Kassapa. The Buddha rejects them, and proposes an alternate scheme, emphasizing the importance ones deeds in this life.

The Buddha explains diverse methods for overcoming diverse kinds of defilements.

The householder Dārukammika claims to give gifts to arahants. But the Buddha warns him that it’s hard to know who is really an arahant, and encourage him instead to make offerings to the Saṅgha.

The junior monk Citta Hatthisāriputta rudely interrupts his seniors, and is admonished by Mahākoṭṭhita. His friends speak in his defense, but Mahākoṭṭhita warns them with a long explanation of how hard it is to know another’s mind. Ultimately, Citta disrobes.

Several senior mendicants discuss the “Questions of Metteyya” from the Pārāyana (Snp 5.3). Each propose an interpretation, and they then ask the Buddha. He praises each reading, but gives his own intended meaning.

A monk asks whether, when the Buddha said that Devadatta was going to hell, he was speaking metaphorically. The Buddha castigates him, wondering how anyone could misunderstand such a straightforward statement, and explains how he reads the minds of others and understands where their deeds will lead them.

A detailed analysis of several central themes, including sense perception, feeling, defilements, kamma, etc.

The Buddha possesses six spiritual powers that enable him to roar his lion’s roar.

Six things lead to non-return.

Six things lead to perfection.

With bad friends, a mendicant cannot fulfill six good qualities, but with good friends they can.

A mendicant who loves to socialize can’t find peace in meditation, but one who loves solitude can.

A god speaks on the factors of non-decline. When the Buddha repeats what he says, Sāriputta gives an explaination.

Without samādhi or immersion it is impossible to realize the higher truths of the path.

Six qualities that enable a mendicant to gain understanding.

Six qualities that enable a mendicant to gain strength in meditation.

Six qualities that enable a mendicant to gain the first absorption.

Six qualities that enable a mendicant to gain the first absorption.

Six qualities that lead to suffering, and whose absence leads to happiness.

Qualities for realizing arahantship.

Qualities for realizing superhuman states.

Qualities leading to happiness.

Qualities for gaining and strengthening good qualities.

Possessing six qualities a mendicant attains to greatness.

Things leading to hell or heaven.

Things leading to hell or heaven.

Things leading to or obstructing the attainment of perfection.

Things leading to growth or deterioration by day or night.

Possessing six qualities a mendicant attains to coolness.

Things that enable or obstruct true understanding while listening to the teachings.

Things that enable or obstruct true understanding while listening to the teachings.

Things that enable or obstruct true understanding while listening to the teachings.

Requirements for becoming a stream-enterer.

Things given up by a stream-enterer.

Things impossible for a stream-enterer.

Things impossible for a stream-enterer.

Things impossible for a stream-enterer.

Things impossible for a stream-enterer.

Things impossible for a stream-enterer.

Things rare to find in the world.

Benefits of stream-entry.

A mendicant on the path cannot see any condition as permanent.

A mendicant on the path cannot see any condition as pleasurable.

A mendicant on the path cannot see any thing as not-self.

A mendicant on the path cannot see extinguishment as suffering.

Reasons for meditating on impermanence.

Reasons for meditating on suffering.

Reasons for meditating on not-self.

Giving up rebirth in the three realms of existence, and developing the three trainings.

Giving up conceit and craving.

Antidotes for greed, hate, and delusion.

Antidotes for bad conduct.

Antidotes for bad thoughts.

Antidotes for harmful perceptions.

Antidotes for harmful properties.

Antidotes for views of gratification, self, and wrong views.

Antidotes for discontent, cruelty, and misconduct.

Antidotes for discontent, unawareness, and desire.

Antidotes for being hard to correct, bad friendship, and distraction.

Antidotes for restlessness, lack of restraint, and heedlessness.

Things that enable or obstruct meditation on the body.

Things that enable or obstruct meditation on various things.

Possessing six qualities, the householder Tapussa sees the Dhamma.

Possessing six qualities, various householders see the Dhamma.