The same question as SN 52.4, now about the adept rather than the trainee
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★ — confirmed directly as the promised companion to SN 52.4, with a minimal but significant contrast: trainee versus adept
Why this discourse
Confirmed by direct reading, this discourse resolves what SN 52.4's own title promised: the identical question and answer structure, but now asking what a mendicant who is an “adept” (asekha — one beyond training, an arahant) should practice, rather than the “trainee” (sekha) of the previous discourse.
Reading guide
The same question, one word changed
Confirmed by direct reading, Sāriputta's own question here is identical to SN 52.4's own, with a single substitution: “asekha” (adept) in place of “sekha” (trainee) — the difference between one still developing the path and one who has completed it.
The identical answer, for both stages
This project's own comparison: Anuruddha's own answer is word-for-word the same as SN 52.4's own — the four kinds of mindfulness meditation, in the same plain formula — confirming that this project's own observation applies here directly: the same practice serves both the trainee working toward the goal and the adept who has already reached it, with no different or more advanced technique reserved for the latter.
A minimal pair, deliberately placed
This project's own observation: placing SN 52.4 and SN 52.5 back to back, differing only in the practitioner's own stage while sharing an identical answer, reads as a deliberate teaching point in its own right — the four foundations of mindfulness are not merely a beginner's practice, but remain the arahant's own practice as well.
Key terms
asekho bhikkhu — “a mendicant who is an adept” — one who has completed the training and reached arahantship, this discourse's own subject
dutiya — “second” — this discourse's own root Pāli title, confirming it as SN 52.4's own promised companion
kismiṁ dhamme samādāya vattitabbaṁ — “what things should [an adept] enter and remain in?” — Sāriputta's own question, identical in structure to SN 52.4's own
cattāro satipaṭṭhānā — “the four kinds of mindfulness meditation” — Anuruddha's own answer, unchanged from SN 52.4
kāye kāyānupassī viharati — “meditates by observing an aspect of the body” — the same plain formula given word-for-word in both discourses
The text
The complete discourse. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāketa. Sāriputta said to Anuruddha: “Reverend Anuruddha, what things should a mendicant who is an adept enter and remain in?” “Reverend Sāriputta, a mendicant who is an adept should enter and remain in the four kinds of mindfulness meditation. What four? It’s when a mendicant meditates by observing an aspect of the body—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. They meditate observing an aspect of feelings … mind … principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of covetousness and displeasure for the world. A mendicant who is an adept should enter and remain in these four kinds of mindfulness meditation.”
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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
How does Sāriputta's own question here differ from SN 52.4?
Correct: A. The identical question structure, with a single substitution: adept in place of trainee.
Question 2 of 3
What does this project's own comparison find about Anuruddha's own answer?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct comparison: the identical answer, regardless of the practitioner's own stage.
Question 3 of 3
What teaching point does this project's own observation draw from pairing SN 52.4 and SN 52.5 together?
Correct: A. This project's own reading of the deliberate minimal-pair structure.
