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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 40.2

A Question About the Second Absorption

Dutiyajhānapañhāsutta — Moggallānavagga

Setting
Not restated; continues directly as Moggallāna's own account from SN 40.1's own setting
Speakers
Venerable Mahāmoggallāna addressing the mendicants
Form
The identical template as SN 40.1, applied to the second absorption
Length
<1 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
★★☆☆☆ — confirms the predicted pattern for the first time

Why this discourse

This discourse confirms the pattern predicted at SN 40.1: the identical template, now applied to the second absorption. Moggallāna defines it — internal clarity and unified mind, without placing the mind or keeping it connected — but while dwelling in it, “perception and focus accompanied by placing the mind beset” him: leftover perceptions of vitakka, the very factor the second absorption itself has already dropped. The Buddha's intervention and Moggallāna's eventual success follow, word for word matching SN 40.1's own structure apart from the specific attainment and its specific residue.

Reading guide

The predicted pattern, confirmed

Exactly as SN 40.1's own reading guide anticipated: the residue disturbing this discourse is precisely the factor the second absorption itself is defined by dropping — placing and keeping the mind connected (vitakka-vicāra), present in the first absorption but absent here by definition.

Key terms

dutiyaṁ jhānaṁ — “the second absorption” — this discourse's own subject, defined by internal clarity and a unified mind, without placing the mind or keeping it connected
vitakkasahagatā saññāmanasikārā — “perception and focus accompanied by placing the mind” — the residue disturbing Moggallāna, precisely the factor the second absorption's own definition has already dropped
cittaṁ saṇṭhapehi, cittaṁ ekodiṁ karohi, cittaṁ samādahā — “settle your mind... unify it... immerse it” — the Buddha's own fixed three-part instruction, unchanged in form from SN 40.1
satthārānuggahito sāvako mahābhiññataṁ patto — “a disciple who attained to great direct knowledge with help from the Teacher” — Moggallāna's own closing self-description, identical to SN 40.1's own
dutiyaṁ — “second” — this discourse's own untranslated closing ordinal

The text

The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1“They speak of this thing called the ‘second absorption’. What is the second absorption? It occurred to me: ‘As the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, a mendicant enters and remains in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and mind at one, without placing the mind and keeping it connected. This is called the second absorption.’ And so … I was entering and remaining in the second absorption. While I was in that meditation, perception and focus accompanied by placing the mind beset me.

§2Then the Buddha came up to me with his psychic power and said, ‘Moggallāna, Moggallāna! Don’t neglect the second absorption, brahmin! Settle your mind in the second absorption; unify your mind and immerse it in the second absorption.’ And so, after some time … I entered and remained in the second absorption. So if anyone should be rightly called a disciple who attained to great direct knowledge with help from the Teacher, it’s me.”

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Self-check quiz

2 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.

Question 1 of 2
What residue disturbs Moggallāna in the second absorption?
Correct: A. Confirming the pattern SN 40.1's reading guide predicted: each residue matches the coarser attainment's own dropped factor.
Question 2 of 2
How does this discourse's overall structure compare to SN 40.1's own?
Correct: A. Word for word matching apart from the attainment named and the residue disturbing it.
Answered 0 of 2 · Correct 0

Further reading

← PreviousSN 40.1 · A Question About the First Absorption