How do we know we have “re-seen” something? For those who form mental images, a comparison is done between internal and external imagery. Rūpa is deeper than imagery, however. How may we know we have “re-thought” something?
It may be that your question is moved to being answered by considering how we may say something has been perceived again, from before, by the marks “we” have made on it.
Its procedure is compared to a carpenter’s recognition of certain kinds of wood by the mark(s) he has made on each. - Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi
I wonder if it means a more deliberate recognition and noticing, as opposed to what is usually an instinctive and unconscious process? It implies focussing on a specific aspect of experience.
I don’t know if this answers your question, but personally I translate saññā as ‘relative-cognizance’, as opposed to paññā which I translate as ‘direct-cognizance’. I’ve tried to use perception but found it too general to fit anywhere specific. Here is a link to a sutta which I’m still working on which explains these terms in context of how they relate to the path and liberation. MN 43 Mahāvedallasutta.
@AniOrgyen Thank you for your answer. I usually rely on the Chinese Agamas for the teachings of the Buddha and his noble disciples (and compare them with English translations of the Pali Nikayas by Venerable Sujato, and by Venerable Bodhi), that’s why I was perplex by the use of the word “想” which usually means "perception"in Chinese Agamas, especially when “十想” is translated as “ten kinds of contemplations” in buddhism-dict.net.
I actually found the answer to my question by chance in this lecture by Venerable Bodhi: YouTube. He talks about the definition of “perception” in the context of “seven perceptions” or “ten perceptions” at 3:57.
