SA 484 Buddha says first jhāna formula pīti sukha pervades entire physical body

SA 484 Buddha says first jhāna formula pīti sukha pervades entire physical body

SA 484 body means corporeal body; jhāna involves whole-body awareness
(SA 484 is from Sarvastivada EBT school. Comments and english translation of key chinese phrases are from Dr. William Chu)
•阿難尊者問:「什麼是極樂?」尊者跋陀羅回答說:「……阿難!有眾生離欲而產生喜樂,處處潤澤,處處敷悅,舉身充滿,無不滿處」
•SA 484: Ananda: “What constitutes a superior pleasure?” …“Ananda, from seclusion, some beings give rise to happiness and pleasure. Such [happiness and pleasure] pervade everywhere, nourish everywhere, and envelop and delight everywhere—the whole body is filled to the brim with them; the body is replete with them everywhere.”
{this phrase is from the standard EBT first jhāna formula}
123b28 離生喜樂
happiness and pleasure born of seclusion
The expression "lisheng xile" (happiness and pleasure born of seclusion) is an exclusive reference to the first jhana {corresponding to Pīti sukha, seclusion -> viveka}.
This passage is indubitably about jhanas, and indubitably about whole body being pervaded by piti-suka. Moreover, the expression "jushen" (whole body) makes it expressly about the corporeal body, rather than any metaphorical body/entity.

Saṃyuktāgama 雜阿含經

SA 484 (四八四) 跋陀羅

如是我聞:

一時,佛住舍衛國祇樹給 孤獨園。

0123b21爾時,尊者跋陀羅比丘及尊者阿 難俱住祇樹給孤獨園。

0123b22爾時,尊者阿難往 詣尊者跋陀羅所,共相問訊慰勞已,於一面 住。時,尊者阿難問尊者跋陀羅比丘言:「云何 名為見第一?云何聞第一?云何樂第一?云何 想第一?云何有第一?」

0123b26尊者跋陀羅語尊者 阿難言:「有梵天自在造作、化如意,為世之 父,若見彼梵天者,名曰見第一。

0123b28「阿難! 有眾生離生喜樂,處處潤澤,處處敷悅,舉 身充滿,無不滿處。所謂離生喜樂,彼從 三昧起,舉聲唱說,遍告大眾:『極寂靜者, 離生喜樂,極樂者,離生喜樂。』諸有聞彼聲 者,是名聞第一。

0123c04「復次,阿難!有眾生於 此身離喜之樂潤澤,處處潤澤,敷悅充滿, 舉身充滿,無不滿處,所謂離喜之樂,是 名樂第一。

0123c07「云何想第一?阿難!有眾生度一 切識入處無所有,無所有入處具足住,若起 彼想者,是名想第一。

0123c09「云何有第一?復次,阿 難!有眾生度一切無所有入處,非想非非 想入處具足住,若起彼有者,是名有第一。」

0123c12尊者阿難語尊者跋陀羅比丘言:「多有人 作如是見、如是說,汝亦同彼,有何差別? 我作方便問汝,汝當諦聽,當為汝說。如 其所觀,次第盡諸漏,是為見第一。如其 所 聞 ,次第盡諸漏,是名聞第一。如所生 樂,次第盡諸漏者,是名樂第一。如其所想, 次第盡諸漏者,是名想第一。如實觀察, 次第盡諸漏,是名有第一。」

0123c19時,二正士共論說 已,從座起去。

google translate has:

If I smell:

At one time, the house of the Buddha lived in the tree and gave it to Lonely Garden alone.

At 0123b21 hrs, the priests of the Vadodara and Psalm Adan lived alone and gave trees to Solitude Park.

At 0123b22 hrs, Ayana Sayādaw visited the Gandhara Institute of the Sakyamuni, and he was relieved by a total of inquiries. He lived on one side. At the time, His Holiness Ananda asked His Holiness the following words: “What is the name of the cloud? What is the first? What is the cloud? The cloud is the first? What cloud is the first?

0123b26 The Venerable Gandhara Says Amin says: “If Brahma is a man who creates and transforms himself as a father of the world, if he sees him, he will see the first.

0123b28 "Ananda! There are people living happy, everywhere moist, everywhere pleasing, full of body, full of dissatisfaction. The so-called free joy, he from the three voices, lifted and sang, said to the public: "extremely silent, from Joy, joy, and joy of living.

0123c04 "The second time, Ananda! There are people who are born out of joy and moisturizing this place. Everywhere is moist and full of pleasing. It is filled with full body. There is no place for dissatisfaction.

0123c07 "Why don’t think of the first in the cloud? Ananda! There are all living beings. There is nothing to know. There is no place for everything. If you want to think of others, it is the first name.

0123c09 “How does the cloud have the first? Repeatedly, Avon! There are all living beings who have no place to go. If you want to go from one place to another, you have the first place.”

0123c12 Ayana Sayādaw, Lord Buddha, said: “If there are many people who act as if they are seeing, if they say, what is the difference between you and the other person? What do you think is different? In order to see what is missing, it is to see the first. As they have heard, it is a famous name for everything you do. If you are happy, you will be the first to enjoy music. The leaker is the name of the first person. Truthfully observed, the leaks are the first and last name.”

At 0123c19, the two priests all talked about it, and they are going to get up.

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Does this differ from the Pāli parallels? Here’s an extract of AN 5.28 with my adapted version of Bodhi’s translation:

Katamā ca, bhikkhave, ariyassa pañcaṅgikassa sammāsamādhissa bhāvanā? Idha, bhikkhave, bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi … pe … paṭhamaṃ jhānaṃ upasampajja viharati.
So imameva kāyaṃ vivekajena pītisukhena abhisandeti parisandeti paripūreti parippharati; nāssa kiñci sabbāvato kāyassa vivekajena pītisukhena apphuṭaṃ hoti.

“Here, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters and dwells in the first jhāna, which consists of rapture and pleasure born of seclusion, accompanied by thought and examination. He makes the rapture and happiness born of seclusion drench, steep, fill, and pervade [parippharati] his body, so that there is no part of his whole body that is untouched [apphuṭaṃ] by the rapture and happiness born of seclusion.

It would be great if we could have the Chinese translated back into Pāli! But, my question is, what specifically is the significant difference in this parallel, compared to the Pāli? What new information does it give us or help to clarify, and how?

An unusual Sutta title! :hushed:

It agrees with the Pali EBT, as most people see it. Trust me, if I didn’t find it necessary to do detailed pali/english audits of relevant passages, I wouldn’t.

Later Theravada, Vism. and later abhidhamma, redefine jhana, kaya, vedana into something completely different. Unfortunately there is survivorship bias effect going on, with Vism. being a popular work, people regard it as authoritative, and most people have no clue why, how, or that it contradicts the EBT (pali, agamas, etc…) on this point.

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Using Chinese lookup tool on legacy SC, the title should be Bhadra (Pali: Bhadda)

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