Reading guide
What counts as “immersion”
Confirmed by direct reading, the discourse's own definition is spare: “if a mendicant depends on enthusiasm in order to gain immersion, gain unification of mind, this is called immersion due to enthusiasm” — and the same single-sentence pattern repeats for energy, mental development (citta), and inquiry in turn.
What counts as “active effort”: the four right efforts, restated
This project's own cross-reference: the discourse's own definition of “active effort” — generating enthusiasm, trying, making an effort, exerting the mind, and striving so that unskillful qualities don't arise or are given up, and skillful qualities arise or are developed to fulfillment — is word-for-word the four right efforts (sammappadhāna) already given their own full saṃyutta at SN 49; this discourse confirms directly that the two teachings share their own underlying content.
One formula, four times over
Confirmed by direct reading, the discourse's own structure simply repeats this same definition four times, once for each basis, with only the governing quality's own name changing — enthusiasm, energy, mental development, inquiry — closing each repetition with the exact technical term this saṃyutta's own other discourses have been using all along without spelling out.
Key terms
The text
§1“Mendicants, if a mendicant depends on enthusiasm in order to gain immersion, gain unification of mind, this is called immersion due to enthusiasm. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities that have arisen are given up. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that skillful qualities arise. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are fulfilled by development. These are called active efforts. And so there is this enthusiasm, this immersion due to enthusiasm, and these active efforts. This is called the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to enthusiasm, and active effort.
§2If a mendicant depends on energy in order to gain immersion, gain unification of mind, this is called immersion due to energy. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise … so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are fulfilled by development. These are called active efforts. And so there is this energy, this immersion due to energy, and these active efforts. This is called the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to energy, and active effort.
§3If a mendicant depends on mental development in order to gain immersion, gain unification of mind, this is called immersion due to mental development. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise … so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are fulfilled by development. These are called active efforts. And so there is this mental development, this immersion due to mental development, and these active efforts. This is called the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to mental development, and active effort.
§4If a mendicant depends on inquiry in order to gain immersion, gain unification of mind, this is called immersion due to inquiry. They generate enthusiasm, try, make an effort, exert the mind, and strive so that bad, unskillful qualities don’t arise … so that skillful qualities that have arisen remain, are not lost, but increase, mature, and are fulfilled by development. These are called active efforts. And so there is this inquiry, this immersion due to inquiry, and these active efforts. This is called the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to inquiry, and active effort.”
Self-check quiz
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