Reading guide
A concrete occasion, not an abstract mechanism
Where most of this vagga's own discourses describe a general mechanism or make a categorical claim, this one names an ordinary, recognizable moment — genuinely attentive listening to a teaching — as the specific occasion when both conditions (hindrance-absence and awakening-factor-completeness) hold simultaneously, confirmed by the discourse's own explicit question-and-answer structure for each.
Key terms
The text
§1 — the occasion“Mendicants, sometimes a noble disciple pays attention, applies the mind, concentrates wholeheartedly, and actively listens to the teaching. At such a time the five hindrances are absent, and the seven awakening factors are fully developed.
§2 — the hindrances confirmed absentWhat are the five hindrances that are absent? Sensual desire, ill will, dullness and drowsiness, restlessness and remorse, and doubt. These are the five hindrances that are absent.
§3 — the awakening factors confirmed completeAnd what are the seven awakening factors that are fully developed? The awakening factors of mindfulness, investigation of principles, energy, rapture, tranquility, immersion, and equanimity. These are the seven awakening factors that are fully developed. Sometimes a noble disciple pays attention, applies the mind, concentrates wholeheartedly, and actively listens to the teaching. At such a time the five hindrances are absent, and the seven awakening factors are fully developed.”
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