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
Why this discourse
The fourth quality paired against immersion: kallita, rendered here as "gladdening" in this discourse's own title but as "positivity for immersion" in its body text — the skill of actively brightening or encouraging the mind toward immersion, distinct from the mechanics of entering, remaining, or emerging.
Reading guide
A quality of encouragement, not mechanics
Where entering, remaining, and emerging all name structural moves into and out of immersion, kallita names something more like an inner disposition — actively gladdening or brightening the mind so that immersion becomes more accessible.
Two English renderings for one Pāli term
This discourse's own title translates kallita as "gladdening," while its body text uses "positivity for immersion" — two reasonable English glosses for the same underlying quality, worth noting as a minor but genuine translation variance within a single discourse.
The same compressed shape as SN 34.3
This discourse's own question and answer are elided in exactly the same pattern as SN 34.3's own, with only the quality name changed.
Fourth of ten qualities, six more still to come
SN 34.5–10 will apply this identical compressed shape to six further qualities paired against immersion.
Key terms
kallita — gladdening, or positivity — the fourth of ten qualities, rendered two ways within this single discourse
samādhi — immersion — the base capacity this quality is paired against
vuṭṭhāna — emerging — the previous discourse's own quality, replaced here by kallita
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 immersion but not in positivity for immersion. …”
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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
Which quality does this discourse pair against immersion?
Correct: A. The fourth of ten qualities this saṃyutta pairs against immersion.
Question 2 of 5
What two English renderings does this discourse itself use for kallita?
Correct: A. A minor but genuine translation variance within a single discourse.
Question 3 of 5
How does kallita differ in kind from entering, remaining, or emerging?
Correct: A. Actively gladdening or brightening the mind toward immersion.
Question 4 of 5
How many further qualities remain to be paired against immersion after this discourse?
Correct: A. SN 34.5–10 will apply this identical compressed shape to six further qualities.
Question 5 of 5
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Consistent with this saṃyutta's other discourses.
