The Buddha teaches that a mendicant accomplished in the six higher knowledges—psychic powers, clairaudience, mind reading, recollection of past lives, clairvoyance, and the ending of defilements—is worthy of offerings and the supreme field of merit.

AN 6.2 Worthy of Offerings (2nd)

“Chahi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu āhuneyyo hoti …pe… anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassa. Katamehi chahi?

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu anekavihitaṁ iddhividhaṁ paccanubhotiekopi hutvā bahudhā hoti, bahudhāpi hutvā eko hoti; āvibhāvaṁ tirobhāvaṁ; tirokuṭṭaṁ tiropākāraṁ tiropabbataṁ asajjamāno gacchati, seyyathāpi ākāse; pathaviyāpi ummujjanimujjaṁ karoti, seyyathāpi udake; udakepi abhijjamāne gacchati, seyyathāpi pathaviyaṁ; ākāsepi pallaṅkena kamati, seyyathāpi pakkhī sakuṇo; imepi candimasūriye evaṁmahiddhike evaṁmahānubhāve pāṇinā parimasati parimajjati; yāva brahmalokāpi kāyena vasaṁ vatteti.

Dibbāya, sotadhātuyā visuddhāya atikkantamānusikāya ubho sadde suṇātidibbe ca mānuse ca, ye dūre santike ca.

Parasattānaṁ parapuggalānaṁ cetasā ceto paricca pajānāti. Sarāgaṁ cittaṁ sarāgaṁ cittanti pajānāti, vītarāgaṁ cittaṁsadosaṁ cittaṁvītadosaṁ cittaṁsamohaṁ cittaṁvītamohaṁ cittaṁsaṅkhittaṁ cittaṁvikkhittaṁ cittaṁmahaggataṁ cittaṁamahaggataṁ cittaṁsauttaraṁ cittaṁanuttaraṁ cittaṁsamāhitaṁ cittaṁasamāhitaṁ cittaṁvimuttaṁ cittaṁavimuttaṁ cittaṁ avimuttaṁ cittanti pajānāti.

Anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati, seyyathidaṁekampi jātiṁ dvepi jātiyo …pe…. Iti sākāraṁ sauddesaṁ anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati.

Dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti: ‘ime vata bhonto sattā kāyaduccaritena samannāgatā vacīduccaritena samannāgatā manoduccaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ upavādakā micchādiṭṭhikā micchādiṭṭhikammasamādānā, te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ nirayaṁ upapannā. Ime pana bhonto sattā kāyasucaritena samannāgatā vacīsucaritena samannāgatā manosucaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ anupavādakā sammādiṭṭhikā sammādiṭṭhikammasamādānā, te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ saggaṁ lokaṁ upapannā’ti. Iti dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti.

Āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharati.

Imehi kho, bhikkhave, chahi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu āhuneyyo hoti …pe… anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassā”ti.

Dutiyaṁ.

Reference Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0).

“Chahi, bhikkhave, dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu āhuneyyo hoti …pe… anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassa.

“Mendicants, a mendicant with six qualities is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of veneration with cupped palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world.

Katamehi chahi?

What six?

Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu anekavihitaṁ iddhividhaṁ paccanubhotiekopi hutvā bahudhā hoti, bahudhāpi hutvā eko hoti; āvibhāvaṁ tirobhāvaṁ; tirokuṭṭaṁ tiropākāraṁ tiropabbataṁ asajjamāno gacchati, seyyathāpi ākāse; pathaviyāpi ummujjanimujjaṁ karoti, seyyathāpi udake; udakepi abhijjamāne gacchati, seyyathāpi pathaviyaṁ; ākāsepi pallaṅkena kamati, seyyathāpi pakkhī sakuṇo; imepi candimasūriye evaṁmahiddhike evaṁmahānubhāve pāṇinā parimasati parimajjati; yāva brahmalokāpi kāyena vasaṁ vatteti.

It’s a mendicant who wields the many kinds of psychic power: multiplying themselves and becoming one again; materializing and dematerializing; going unobstructed through a wall, a rampart, or a mountain as if through space; diving in and out of the earth as if it were water; walking on water as if it were earth; flying cross-legged through the sky like a bird; touching and stroking with the hand the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful. They control the body as far as the realm of divinity.

Dibbāya, sotadhātuyā visuddhāya atikkantamānusikāya ubho sadde suṇātidibbe ca mānuse ca, ye dūre santike ca.

With clairaudience that is purified and superhuman, they hear both kinds of sounds, human and heavenly, whether near or far.

Parasattānaṁ parapuggalānaṁ cetasā ceto paricca pajānāti.

They understand the minds of other beings and individuals, having encompassed them with their own mind.

Sarāgaṁ cittaṁ sarāgaṁ cittanti pajānāti,

They understand mind with greed as ‘mind with greed’,

vītarāgaṁ cittaṁ

and mind without greed as ‘mind without greed’.

sadosaṁ cittaṁ

They understand mind with hate …

vītadosaṁ cittaṁ

mind without hate …

samohaṁ cittaṁ

mind with delusion …

vītamohaṁ cittaṁ

mind without delusion …

saṅkhittaṁ cittaṁ

constricted mind …

vikkhittaṁ cittaṁ

scattered mind …

mahaggataṁ cittaṁ

expansive mind …

amahaggataṁ cittaṁ

unexpansive mind …

sauttaraṁ cittaṁ

mind that is not supreme …

anuttaraṁ cittaṁ

mind that is supreme …

samāhitaṁ cittaṁ

mind immersed in samādhi …

asamāhitaṁ cittaṁ

mind not immersed in samādhi …

vimuttaṁ cittaṁ

freed mind …

avimuttaṁ cittaṁ avimuttaṁ cittanti pajānāti.

They understand unfreed mind as ‘unfreed mind’.

Anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati, seyyathidaṁekampi jātiṁ dvepi jātiyo …pe…. Iti sākāraṁ sauddesaṁ anekavihitaṁ pubbenivāsaṁ anussarati.

They recollect many kinds of past lives. That is: one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand rebirths; many eons of the world contracting, many eons of the world expanding, many eons of the world contracting and expanding. They remember: ‘There, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn somewhere else. There, too, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn here.’ And so they recollect their many kinds of past lives, with features and details.

Dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti: ‘ime vata bhonto sattā kāyaduccaritena samannāgatā vacīduccaritena samannāgatā manoduccaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ upavādakā micchādiṭṭhikā micchādiṭṭhikammasamādānā, te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā apāyaṁ duggatiṁ vinipātaṁ nirayaṁ upapannā. Ime pana bhonto sattā kāyasucaritena samannāgatā vacīsucaritena samannāgatā manosucaritena samannāgatā ariyānaṁ anupavādakā sammādiṭṭhikā sammādiṭṭhikammasamādānā, te kāyassa bhedā paraṁ maraṇā sugatiṁ saggaṁ lokaṁ upapannā’ti. Iti dibbena cakkhunā visuddhena atikkantamānusakena satte passati cavamāne upapajjamāne hīne paṇīte suvaṇṇe dubbaṇṇe, sugate duggate yathākammūpage satte pajānāti.

With clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, they see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. They understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds: ‘These dear beings did bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. They denounced the noble ones; they had wrong view; and they chose to act out of that wrong view. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. These dear beings, however, did good things by way of body, speech, and mind. They never denounced the noble ones; they had right view; and they chose to act out of that right view. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.’ And so, with clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, they see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. They understand how sentient beings pass on according to their deeds.

Āsavānaṁ khayā anāsavaṁ cetovimuttiṁ paññāvimuttiṁ diṭṭheva dhamme sayaṁ abhiññā sacchikatvā upasampajja viharati.

They realize the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life. And they live having realized it with their own insight due to the ending of defilements.

Imehi kho, bhikkhave, chahi dhammehi samannāgato bhikkhu āhuneyyo hoti …pe… anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassā”ti.

A mendicant with these six qualities is worthy of offerings dedicated to the gods, worthy of hospitality, worthy of a religious donation, worthy of veneration with cupped palms, and is the supreme field of merit for the world.”

Dutiyaṁ.

Qualities:

Delusion

Delusion

A fundamental distortion of reality that sustains confusion, clouds discernment, and fuels further doubt.

Also known as: illusion, hallucination, misapprehension, distorted view
Pāli: moha, micchāñāṇa
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Greed

Greed

A grasping mental quality of craving, possessiveness, or lustful wanting that clings to objects or experiences; it fuels attachment and obstructs renunciation and contentment

Also known as: acquisitiveness, avarice, covetousness, rapacity, money grabbing, grabbiness
Pāli: lobha, gedha
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Harm

Harm

Intention or action that causes injury or suffering to oneself or others. It arises from aversion and heedlessness and destroys trust and safety. The opposite of non-harm, it obscures compassion and leads to regret.

Also known as: injury causing behavior, destructiveness, bad, evil
Pāli: pāpaka
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Merit

Merit

Wholesome result of good conduct, generosity, and right intention. Merit brightens the mind and supports happiness and favorable conditions for practice.

Also known as: good deeds, spiritual wealth
Pāli: puñña, kalyāṇa
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Right view

Right view

View that is in line with the Dhamma — teachings of the Buddha that point to the nature of reality, the ultimate truth.

Also known as: right understanding, right belief, view that is inline with the Dhamma
Pāli: sammādiṭṭhi
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Wholesome

Wholesome

Conducive to or suggestive of good health and mental well-being.

Also known as: blameless, skillful, beneficial, good, useful, healthy, nourishing, sustaining
Pāli: kusala
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Last updated on July 27, 2026