SuttaCentral
What is the Pali term for single-quoted text in Ven. Analayo’s Satipatthana translation, such as in the short snippet below:
“Breathing in long, he knows ‘I breathe in long,’ breathing out long … etc.”
I am curious to know the Pali term and where I might find some discussion of its usage and meaning within the Canon.
I am new to this fabulous Sutta-related resource btw. Welcome to me! 
Howard Katz
Welcome to the forum!
Are you talking about the Satipatthana exclusively?
Ven @Dhammanando do you know if there is a commentarial term for these bits?
Greetings, and welcome to the forum.
You probably refer to this passage in the Satipathanasutta (here in Bhante Sujato’s translation on SuttaCentral).
If you click on “views” in the tool bar at the top, you can select to see the Pali together with the translation. This way it is easy to identify the Pali text that underlies a translated passage. And if you click on a Pali word, you’ll see a dictionary entry, so you can narrow down your search on specific words.
You can also choose to see comments if available in that same “views” panel. Here Bhante Sujato has the following comment to this passage:
In the beginning, the breath is somewhat rough and coarse. The Pali idiom is “long” and “short” breath, but in English we usually say to breathe “heavily” or “lightly”.
This comment explains the difference between Ven. Analayo’s and Bhante Sujato’s choices of translation for dīgha (long, heavily) and rassa (short, lightly).
I am not sure this is exactly what you’re after, but I hope to show you a way to find what you are looking for. If it isn’t what you wish, please specify your question in more detail.
Perhaps the original post is asking about what in English is called “direct speech”.
In Pāli translations this is rendered with the single quotes, and in the Pāli language with the word “iti”, often shortened to “ti” (thus).
E.g. ‘I breathe in long,’
In Pāli language grammars, this may be called 'iti-saddha’.
Steven Collins, in his Pali Grammar based on the Saddanīti remarks that the word iti is referred to as an avyayībbhāva nipāta, which he translates as ‘adverb of manner’.
(Collins Grammar, p. 141)
In both the Kaccāyana and Saddanīti grammar traditions, a Pali word, phrase, clause or sentence that ends in iti can be referred to by any one of seven terms (i.e., hetu, parisamāpana, ādi, padatthavipariyāya, pakāra, avadhāraṇa and nidassana), depending on what particular semantic function is being performed by the iti.
Translations of these terms and one example of each are given in Steven Collins’ chapter on iti, referenced above by Stephen.
That’s useful information to have. Thank you.
Howard
I believe @stephen has answered my query. I asked out of simple curiosity. I heard Joseph Goldstein use this term in one of the 46 talks on the Satipatthana sutta he delivered at the Forest Refuge between 2004 and 2009. I went back to DharmaSeed recently, listened to a few of his talks but couldn’t find it again. (I unfortunately don’t happen to have a spare week in my life right now!
Thank you to everybody who replied.
Howard
I’m guessing that you might be referring to the same point that Goldstein makes in his article, Not Just a Concept, where he cites the sutta’s use of iti in his justification for the Mahasi tradition’s practice of mental labelling.
This brings us to the skillful meditation technique known as labeling or mental noting. People sometimes associate this technique with the teaching of Mahasi Sayadaw, who popularized it in the last century. But the technique of noting actually goes back to the time of the Buddha and has its roots in the Satipatthana Sutta itself.
Throughout the sutta, the Buddha uses a particular grammatical article from the Pali language, iti, that indicates direct speech. It’s like adding quotation marks to a word or phrase. For instance, in one refrain he talks about being mindful that (quote) there is a body (unquote). This is a way of using a phrase to acknowledge and emphasize an experience: “There is a body.” Later on in the sutta, he says, “Breathing in long, he [the Buddha here is addressing the monks] knows, ‘I breathe in long.’” Likewise, he says, “When walking he knows, ‘I am walking.’”
This grammatical construction throughout the sutta suggests what we might call labeling or acknowledging the recognition of what is happening. This is the use of perception, even of concepts, in the service of mindfulness.
this is beautiful! and exactly what i very inexactly remember. -
thank you.
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Thank you for your kindness, Alex, and your moderators too.
I am happy to be here. I presume things will seem somewhat less confusing as time goes on. Just like in my practise!
Howard
