1.1. Samādhisutta Concentration (SN 56:1; V 414)

Question 1

samādhiṃ

“Samādhiṃ, bhikkhave, bhāvetha.”

Answer 1

“concentration”; singular accusative of the masculine noun samādhi, the object of the verb bhāvetha.

Question 2

bhikkhave

“Samādhiṃ, bhikkhave, bhāvetha.”

Answer 2

a vocative plural of bhikkhu, monk; the other vocative plural, generally used at the beginning of a discourse to call attention, is bhikkhavo.

Question 3

bhāvetha

“Samādhiṃ, bhikkhave, bhāvetha.”

Answer 3

second-person plural imperative of bhāveti, “develops.” The verb, a causative of bhavati, “comes to be,” literally means “brings into being.”

Question 4

samāhito

”Samāhito, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti.”

Answer 4

“concentrated”; the past participle of the passive verb samādhiyati, from which the noun samādhi is also derived. It here functions as an adjective agreeing in gender, number, and case with the subject, bhikkhu.

Question 5

bhikkhu

”Samāhito, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti.”

Answer 5

“monk”; a masculine singular noun in the nominative case.

Question 6

yathābhūtaṃ

”Samāhito, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti.”

Answer 6

“as it really is”; an indeclinable adverbial compound (see p. 44) describing the manner in which one understands. It is composed of yathā, “as, in accordance with,” and bhūtaṃ, the past participle of bhavati: “what has come to be, what is real.”

Question 7

pajānāti

”Samāhito, bhikkhave, bhikkhu yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti.”

Answer 7

“understands”; a third-person singular verb, in the present indicative. The verb is composed of the prefix pa- added to jānāti, “knows.” Here it is in agreement with bhikkhu. In the following sentences, though no subject is mentioned, bhikkhu is implicit in the verb itself. Often in Pāli sentences a subject is not mentioned when it is clear from the context.

Question 8

kiñca

”Kiñca yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti?”

Answer 8

the interrogative pronoun kiṃ, “what,” followed by ca, “and.” By sandhi, -ṃ is changed to -ñ, the palatal nasal corresponding to the palatal ca (see p. 16).

Question 9

idaṃ

”Idaṃ dukkhan’ti yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti”

Answer 9

“this”; a neuter singular nominative pronoun in agreement with dukkhaṃ.

Question 10

dukkhaṃ

”Idaṃ dukkhan’ti yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti”

Answer 10

“suffering”; a neuter singular noun in the nominative case. In other contexts dukkha functions as an adjective, as in dukkhā vedanā, “painful feeling,” but here, as the subject of the four noble truths, it is a noun. Idaṃ dukkhaṃ is an equational sentence, with idaṃ as the subject and dukkhaṃ the predicate; hence no verb is needed.

Question 11

ti

”Idaṃ dukkhan’ti yathābhūtaṃ pajānāti”

Answer 11

the marker for the end of a direct quotation or an emphatic statement. Before ti, short vowels are lengthened and -ṃ changes to -n, the corresponding dental nasal.

Question 12

ayaṃ

”ayaṃ dukkhasamudayo’ti”

Answer 12

“this”; a masculine singular nominative pronoun, in agreement with samudayo.

Question 13

dukkhasamudayo

”ayaṃ dukkhasamudayo’ti”

Answer 13

“origin of suffering”; a genitive tappurisa compound (see p. 39) in the nominative case. The compound is made up of dukkha and the masculine singular noun samudayo, “origin.”

Question 14

dukkhanirodho

”ayaṃ dukkhanirodho’ti”

Answer 14

“cessation of suffering”; another genitive tappurisa in the nominative case made up of dukkha and the masculine singular noun nirodho, “cessation.”

Question 15

ayaṃ

”ayaṃ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti”

Answer 15

The pronoun ayaṃ, “this,” can be either masculine or feminine, depending on the noun it qualifies. Here it is feminine singular nominative in agreement with paṭipadā.

Question 16

dukkhanirodhagāminī

”ayaṃ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti”

Answer 16

“going to the cessation of suffering.” This is a complex accusative tappurisa compound in the nominative case, qualifying paṭipadā. It is made up of dukkhanirodha, a genitive tappurisa, and the suffix -gāminī (feminine singular of -gāmin), “going to, leading to,” which takes dukkhanirodha as its object in an accusative relationship.

Question 17

paṭipadā

”ayaṃ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā’ti”

Answer 17

“way, practice”; a feminine singular noun in the nominative case.

Question 18

tasmātiha

“Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṃ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo”

Answer 18

ind. “therefore,” often followed by an imperative (or, as here, a future passive participle suggesting a command). It is probably derived from Vedic Skt tasmāt, “therefore,” and iha, “here, in this case.”

Question 19

yogo

”Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṃ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo”

Answer 19

“exertion, effort”; a masculine singular in the nominative case.

Question 20

karaṇīyo

”Tasmātiha, bhikkhave, ‘idaṃ dukkhan’ti yogo karaṇīyo”

Answer 20

“should be done, should be made”; a future passive participle (see pp. 31–33) based on the verb karoti, “does, makes.” It is here masculine singular nominative in agreement with yogo.