Reading guide
A well-known meditation, here in its own briefest form
Mindfulness of death is treated at considerable length elsewhere in the canon; this discourse, by contrast, compresses the entire teaching to a single elided line, confirming this vagga's own consistent brevity even for a topic of major independent significance.
Key terms
maraṇasaññā — “the perception of death” — a meditation on mortality, elaborated at much greater length elsewhere in the canon
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 this meditation topic
mahapphalā mahānisaṁsā — the implied sixfold benefit carried over from SN 46.57's own full elaboration
dutiyaṁ — “the second” — 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 the perception of death 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 is notable about this discourse's own treatment of the perception of death, compared to elsewhere in the canon?
Correct: A. Confirming this vagga's own consistent brevity even for topics of major independent significance elsewhere.
Question 2 of 3
What structure does this discourse implicitly carry, per the pattern established across this and the preceding vagga?
Correct: A. Confirmed to span vagga boundaries, as established at SN 46.67.
Question 3 of 3
What confirms this discourse's own position as the vagga's own second topic?
Correct: A. Consistent with the sequential numbering confirmed throughout this vagga's own ten topics.