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Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 40.4

A Question About the Fourth Absorption

Catutthajhānapañhāsutta — 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, applied to the fourth absorption, closing the four-absorption sequence
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
★★☆☆☆ — closes the four-absorption sequence before the formless attainments begin

Why this discourse

The fourth absorption — giving up pleasure and pain, the earlier disappearance of happiness and sadness, pure equanimity and mindfulness — is disturbed by leftover perceptions of pleasure (sukha), the very quality the fourth absorption's own definition describes giving up. This discourse closes the four-absorption sequence (SN 40.1–4); SN 40.5 will turn to the first of the four formless dimensions, extending the identical residue pattern beyond the jhānas themselves.

Reading guide

The fourth absorption closes this sequence's first quarter

Pleasure (sukha) is exactly what the fourth absorption's own definition describes giving up — the fourth confirmation of the residue pattern, and the last within the four absorptions themselves before the sequence turns to the formless dimensions.

Key terms

catutthaṁ jhānaṁ — “the fourth absorption” — defined by giving up pleasure and pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness
sukhasahagatā saññāmanasikārā — “perception and focus accompanied by pleasure” — the residue disturbing Moggallāna, matching the factor the fourth absorption's own definition describes giving up
adukkhamasukhaṁ upekkhāsatipārisuddhiṁ — “without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness” — the fourth absorption's own defining phrase
cittaṁ saṇṭhapehi, cittaṁ ekodiṁ karohi, cittaṁ samādahā — “settle your mind... unify it... immerse it” — the Buddha's own fixed instruction, unchanged in form since SN 40.1
catutthaṁ — “fourth” — 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 ‘fourth absorption’. What is the fourth absorption? It occurred to me: ‘It’s when, with the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness. This is called the fourth absorption.’ And so … I was entering and remaining in the fourth absorption. While I was in that meditation, perception and focus accompanied by pleasure beset me.

§2Then the Buddha came up to me with his psychic power and said, ‘Moggallāna, Moggallāna! Don’t neglect the fourth absorption, brahmin! Settle your mind in the fourth absorption; unify your mind and immerse it in the fourth absorption.’ And so, after some time … I entered and remained in the fourth 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 fourth absorption?
Correct: A. The fourth confirmation of the residue pattern, closing the four-absorption sequence.
Question 2 of 2
What does this discourse's own position mark within the larger nine-discourse sequence?
Correct: A. SN 40.5 will extend the identical pattern to the first of the four formless dimensions.
Answered 0 of 2 · Correct 0

Further reading

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