Ru-Yi Meditation Center
Saṃyutta Nikāya · Discourse 56.1

Immersion

Samādhisutta — Samādhivagga

Setting
Sāvatthī
Speaker
The Buddha, addressing the mendicants directly
Form
A short, formulaic call to practice, opening onto this saṃyutta's own recurring closing refrain
Length
<1 minute to read
Northern parallel
No individual parallel confirmed by this project's own check
Significance
★★★★★ — the opening discourse of Book V's own final saṃyutta, the Saccasaṃyutta (131 discourses across 11 vaggas, confirmed by direct bilara-data listing)

Why this discourse

Confirmed by direct reading, this saṃyutta's own opening discourse does not begin by defining the four noble truths — it begins by naming the condition for truly understanding them: immersion (samādhi). A mendicant who has developed immersion, this discourse claims, truly understands suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the practice leading to its cessation — the same four-part refrain that recurs at the close of nearly every discourse across this entire saṃyutta.

Reading guide

Book V's own final saṃyutta

This project's own direct check of bilara-data: the Saccasaṃyutta comprises 131 discourses across 11 vaggas — the largest saṃyutta this project has yet undertaken, with its own final five vaggas (SN 56.71 onward) confirmed to be heavily peyyāla (repetition series) territory, several already pre-merged as multi-number ranges in bilara-data itself.

Immersion as precondition, not conclusion

This project's own reading: rather than opening with a definition of the four truths, this discourse opens with the condition for seeing them truly — a structural choice this project notes without overinterpreting, since the discourse itself offers no explicit commentary on the ordering.

Key terms

samādhiṁ bhāvetha — “develop immersion” — this discourse's own opening instruction
samāhito...yathābhūtaṁ pajānāti — “one who has immersion truly understands” — this discourse's own central claim, linking immersion directly to true understanding
idaṁ dukkhaṁ — “this is suffering” — the first of the four truths, in the exact formula recurring throughout this saṃyutta
ayaṁ dukkhasamudayo — “this is the origin of suffering” — the second of the four truths
ayaṁ dukkhanirodhagāminī paṭipadā — “this is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering” — the fourth of the four truths, closing the recurring formula

The text

Every genuinely translated fragment given in the consulted English source. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).

§1At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, develop immersion. A mendicant who has immersion truly understands. What do they truly understand? They truly understand: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’. Develop immersion. A mendicant who has immersion truly understands.

§2That’s why you should practice meditation to understand: ‘This is suffering’ … ‘This is the origin of suffering’ … ‘This is the cessation of suffering’ … ‘This is the practice that leads to the cessation of suffering’.”

· · ·

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 claim is the condition for truly understanding the four noble truths?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — this discourse's own opening instruction and central claim.
Question 2 of 3
How many discourses does this project's own direct bilara-data check confirm for the entire Saccasaṃyutta?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct listing — Book V's own largest and final saṃyutta.
Question 3 of 3
What four truths does this discourse's own closing refrain name?
Correct: A. Confirmed by direct reading — the four noble truths, in the formula recurring throughout this saṃyutta.
Answered 0 of 3 · Correct 0

Further reading

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