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← Saṃyutta Nikāya

Meditation (1st)

SN 45.11 · Paṭhamavihārasutta

Rain nourishes small fern shoots growing from dark woodland soil.

At Sāvatthī.

“Mendicants, I wish to go on retreat for a fortnight. No-one should approach me, except the one who brings my almsfood.”

“Yes, sir,” replied those mendicants. And no-one approached him, except the one who brought the almsfood.

Then after a fortnight had passed, the Buddha came out of retreat and addressed the mendicants:

“Mendicants, I’ve been practicing part of the meditation I practiced when I was first awakened. I understand that there’s feeling conditioned by wrong view and feeling conditioned by right view. … There’s feeling conditioned by wrong immersion, and feeling conditioned by right immersion.

There’s feeling conditioned by desire. There’s feeling conditioned by thought. There’s feeling conditioned by perception. As long as desire, thought, and perception are not stilled, there is feeling conditioned by that. When desire, thought, and perception are stilled, there is feeling conditioned by that.

There is effort to attain the unattained. When that state has been attained, there is also feeling conditioned by that.”

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Translation by Bhikkhu Sujato · SuttaCentral · CC0

This translation is an expression of an ancient spiritual text that has been passed down by the Buddhist tradition for the benefit of all sentient beings. It is dedicated to the public domain via Creative Commons Zero (CC0). You are encouraged to copy, reproduce, adapt, alter, or otherwise make use of this translation. The translator respectfully requests that any use be in accordance with the values and principles of the Buddhist community. In particular, please do not use this work in AI training datasets, for the development of any AI model or algorithm, or in any AI-derived technologies.

Published source. Translation wording and order are preserved; source headings and notes are retained, with navigation and formatting adapted for this reader.

The opening image is AI-generated nature artwork for Buddhist Atlas, an evocative companion rather than a historical depiction.