The Buddha addressing the mendicants (by cross-reference)
Form
A peyyāla stub, identical in shape to SN 34.3–10, now pairing two named qualities instead of one quality against immersion
Length
under a minute to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — understood only alongside SN 34.1 and SN 34.10
Why this discourse
This discourse opens this saṃyutta's own combinatorial phase: rather than pairing a quality against immersion itself as SN 34.1–10 did, it pairs entering (samāpatti) against remaining (ṭhiti) — the first of forty-five combinations this saṃyutta will work through among its own ten named qualities.
Reading guide
A structural shift, not a new quality
"One meditator is skilled in entering immersion but not in remaining in it …" — the identical fourfold logic as before, but now both terms of the comparison are qualities in their own right, neither one immersion itself.
The first of forty-five combinatorial pairings
With ten qualities named at SN 34.1–10, this discourse begins systematically working through every possible unordered pair among them — C(10,2) = 45 combinations, starting with entering paired against each of the remaining nine qualities in turn.
Entering as this saṃyutta's own first combinatorial anchor
SN 34.11–19 will pair entering against each of the nine remaining qualities (remaining, emerging, gladdening, supports, territory, projecting, carefulness, persistence, and conducive) before this saṃyutta moves on to remaining as its own next anchor at SN 34.20.
The same minimal shape, carried into the new phase
As with SN 34.3–10, this discourse's own content is reduced to a single surviving line, trusting the reader to reconstruct the fourfold structure and simile from SN 34.1.
Key terms
samāpatti — entering — the first quality, now paired against the nine other qualities in turn
ṭhiti — remaining — the second quality named in this specific discourse
samādhi — immersion — the base capacity every quality was paired against at SN 34.1–10, no longer the comparison point here
peyyāla — an elision mark — here compressing both the fourfold structure and the closing simile to a single surviving line
jhāyī — meditator — the general term for the four types this discourse classifies, by cross-reference to SN 34.1
The text
The discourse as the source itself preserves it, compressed to its opening line. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, there are these four meditators. What four? One meditator is skilled in entering immersion but not in remaining in it. …”
· · ·
Self-check quiz
5 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 5
What does this discourse pair against entering, unlike SN 34.1–10's own discourses?
Correct: A. The first of this saṃyutta's own combinatorial pairings among its ten named qualities.
Question 2 of 5
How many total combinations will this saṃyutta's combinatorial phase work through?
Correct: A. C(10,2) = 45 unordered pairs among the ten named qualities.
Question 3 of 5
How many discourses will pair entering against each of the remaining nine qualities?
Correct: A. Before this saṃyutta moves on to remaining as its own next anchor at SN 34.20.
Question 4 of 5
How does this discourse's own compression compare to SN 34.3–10's own?
Correct: A. Trusting the reader to reconstruct the fourfold structure and simile from SN 34.1.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Consistent with this saṃyutta's other discourses, though given here only by cross-reference.
