No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★ — confirmed by direct reading to be this saṃyutta's own barest discourse, naming the four bases with no outcome stated at all
Why this discourse
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse's own root Pāli title, “Suddhikasutta” (“plain version”), describes its own content precisely: the four bases are simply named, without even the arahantship outcome that SN 51.18 and SN 51.23 both kept.
Reading guide
The bare list, and nothing more
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse stops after naming the four bases — enthusiasm, energy, mental development, inquiry, each with active effort — without stating any outcome, method, or result at all, making it the shortest and least elaborated discourse in this saṃyutta so far.
A title that names its own function
This project's own observation: unlike most discourses in this saṃyutta, whose titles name a person, place, or simile, this discourse's own title directly describes its own literary function — a bare, unadorned restatement of the list itself, likely serving as a reference point for the more elaborate discourses surrounding it.
Key terms
suddhika — “plain version” — this discourse's own root Pāli title, describing its own bare, unelaborated content
cattāro iddhipādā — “these four bases of psychic power” — the discourse's own entire content, without further elaboration
chandasamādhipadhānasaṅkhārasamannāgataṁ — “immersion due to enthusiasm, and active effort” — the first basis, named without the detailed method given at SN 51.11 or defined at SN 51.13
vīmaṁsāsamādhi — “immersion due to inquiry” — the fourth and final basis, closing the discourse's own bare list
ime cattāro iddhipādā — “these are the four bases of psychic power” — the discourse's own closing line, ending without any stated outcome
The text
The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1“Mendicants, there are these four bases of psychic power. What four? It’s when a mendicant develops the basis of psychic power that has immersion due to enthusiasm … energy … mental development … inquiry, and active effort. These are the four bases of psychic power.”
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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 does this discourse's own root Pāli title, "Suddhikasutta," mean, and how does it describe the discourse's own content?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading: the title precisely matches the discourse's own bare, unadorned content.
Question 2 of 3
How does this discourse differ from SN 51.18 and SN 51.23, both of which also gave a bare four-basis list?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading: this discourse omits even the sole arahantship outcome SN 51.18 and SN 51.23 both retained.
Question 3 of 3
What does this project's own observation suggest about this discourse's own likely function?
Correct: A. This project's own reading of the title's own descriptive function, not confirmed by any external source.
