Chaanussatiniddesa — Part II: Samādhi (Concentration)
Setting
No narrative setting; the chapter turns from the vivid material of Chapter 6 to a structurally different group of subjects
Speaker
Buddhaghosa, continuing the survey of the forty meditation subjects previewed in Chapter 3
Form
Six related recollections treated in turn, each built on a set of qualities to be called to mind rather than a fixed visual object
Length
substantial; the recollections of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha each carry an extended traditional formula of qualities explored individually
Northern parallel
Recollection of the Three Jewels appears widely across Buddhist traditions in some form, though specific formulas and expansions differ; this guide does not assert a specific matching passage
Difficulty
★★☆☆☆ — conceptually accessible, though the catalogued qualities of the Buddha and the Dhamma are numerous
Why this chapter
Chapters 4 through 6 covered subjects built on a single object — a kasina disk, a corpse's visible decay. Chapter 7 introduces something structurally different: recollections built on calling to mind a set of qualities rather than fixing attention on one simple sign. These particular six are grouped together because each works by recalling something worthy of confidence — the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, one's own virtue, one's own generosity, or the qualities that account for a deity's state — and each is presented as especially suited to a person of faithful or devoted temperament.
Reading guide
A different kind of object
Where a kasina rests attention on a single visual sign, each of these six recollections works by calling to mind a whole set of qualities in turn. This difference in structure matters later in the chapter, when it becomes the reason given for why these six reach a different depth of concentration than several of the kasinas.
Recollection of the Buddha
The first recollection has a practitioner call to mind a traditional formula of the Buddha's qualities — among them being worthy, fully self-awakened, and accomplished in both knowledge and conduct — reflecting on each in turn as grounds for settled confidence.
Recollection of the Dhamma
The second recollection turns to qualities traditionally attributed to the teaching itself: that it is well-expounded, visible in the present, not delayed in its results, inviting inspection, and to be experienced individually by the wise.
Recollection of the Sangha
The third recollection reflects on qualities of the community of accomplished practitioners — that they practice the good way, are worthy of hospitality and offerings, and constitute what the tradition calls an unsurpassed field for cultivating merit.
Recollection of one's own virtue and generosity
The fourth and fifth recollections turn the same reflective method inward: recalling one's own unbroken and unblemished conduct, and recalling one's own history of giving, each as grounds for confidence rather than self-congratulation.
Recollection of deities
The sixth recollection reflects on the qualities said to account for a deity's favorable state — faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom — but the chapter frames its actual purpose as using that reflection as a kind of mirror, checking whether one possesses those same qualities oneself, rather than as devotion to deities as such.
Confidence, not absorption
Because each of these six objects is a set of qualities rather than a single simple sign, the chapter treats all six as capable of bringing the mind to a settled confidence and access concentration, but not to the fuller absorption several of the kasinas were said to reach in Chapters 4 and 5.
What follows
Chapter 8 completes the set of ten recollections with four more: death, the body, the breath, and peace — broadening the range of objects this same reflective approach can be applied to.
Key terms
anussati — “recollection” — the class of ten subjects this chapter and the next cover; Chapter 7 treats the first six.
Buddhānussati — recollection of the Buddha — reflecting on a traditional formula of his qualities.
Dhammānussati — recollection of the Dhamma — reflecting on qualities traditionally attributed to the teaching itself.
Saṅghānussati — recollection of the Sangha — reflecting on qualities of the community of accomplished practitioners.
sīlānussati, cāgānussati, devatānussati — recollection of one's own virtue, one's own generosity, and the qualities of deities — the chapter's remaining three recollections.
Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
How do the six recollections in this chapter differ structurally from a kasina?
Correct: B. This difference becomes the chapter's reason for their different ceiling on concentration.
Question 2 of 10
Which temperament from Chapter 3 do these six recollections particularly suit?
Correct: A. Each works by calling to mind something worthy of confidence.
Question 3 of 10
What is recollection of the Buddha built on?
Correct: C. Each quality is reflected on in turn as grounds for settled confidence.
Question 4 of 10
What is recollection of the Dhamma built on?
Correct: C. Including that it invites inspection and is to be experienced individually by the wise.
Question 5 of 10
What do recollection of virtue and recollection of generosity turn attention toward?
Correct: D. Each is treated as grounds for confidence rather than self-congratulation.
Question 6 of 10
What does the chapter say recollection of deities is actually for?
Correct: C. Framed as a check on one's own faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom, not devotion to devas as such.
Question 7 of 10
What depth of concentration does the chapter say all six recollections here can reach?
Correct: A. Contrasted with several of the kasinas from Chapters 4 and 5.
Question 8 of 10
Why can't these six recollections reach full absorption, per the chapter's account?
Correct: B. The same structural difference noted early in the chapter becomes the reason given here.
Question 9 of 10
What does Chapter 8 add to complete the set of ten recollections?
Correct: A. Broadening the range of objects the same reflective approach can be applied to.
Question 10 of 10
Where can a reader go for Chapter 7's full translated text?
Correct: C. As with every page in this series, since none reproduces the translation itself.
