A single elided line, marking a shift from body contemplation to the four immeasurable states
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — short, opening this vagga's own second group of topics
Why this discourse
Love (mettā) — already met in its own fully elaborated form at SN 46.54 — returns here as this vagga's own sixth topic overall, marking a clear shift from the five charnel-ground body contemplations just completed to the four immeasurable states, all still carrying the same sixfold benefit structure established at SN 46.57.
Reading guide
A topic shift, confirmed by the vagga's own uddāna
The vagga's own closing uddāna groups “mettā karuṇā muditā, upekkhā” (love, compassion, rejoicing, equanimity) together as a distinct set, confirming this discourse opens a genuinely new sequence within the vagga rather than continuing the charnel-ground group.
A second appearance, in this vagga's own compressed idiom
Where SN 46.54 elaborated love's own apex in full detail (the beautiful, reached through flexible perception of the repulsive and unrepulsive), this discourse compresses the entire teaching to a single elided line — the same topic, treated in this vagga's own established shorthand rather than repeated in full.
Key terms
mettā — “love” or “loving-kindness” — the first of the four immeasurable states, already met in fuller elaboration at SN 46.54
bhāvitā bahulīkatā — “developed and cultivated” — the standard phrase, followed by the source's own elision
satta bojjhaṅgā — the seven awakening factors, implicitly developed together with love, per this vagga's own established pattern
mahapphalā mahānisaṁsā — the implied sixfold benefit carried over from SN 46.57's own full elaboration
chaṭṭhaṁ — “the sixth” — the Pāli root's own closing numeral for this discourse
The text
The complete discourse as the source itself gives it. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, when love is developed and cultivated it’s very fruitful and beneficial. …”
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Self-check quiz
3 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 3
What shift does this discourse mark within the vagga's own sequence?
Correct: A. Confirmed by the vagga's own uddāna, which groups love, compassion, rejoicing, and equanimity as a distinct set.
Question 2 of 3
Where was love already treated in fuller elaboration earlier in this saṃyutta?
Correct: A. This discourse compresses that same topic into this vagga's own established single-line shorthand.
Question 3 of 3
What is developed together with love, per this vagga's own established pattern?
Correct: A. Every topic in this vagga implicitly pairs with the seven awakening factors, this saṃyutta's own core teaching.
