“And what is the faculty of samādhi?
Idha, bhikkhave, ariyasāvako vossaggārammaṇaṃ karitvā labhati samādhiṃ, labhati cittassa ekaggataṃ—
ven. thanissaro has:
There is the case where a monk, a disciple of the noble ones, making it his object to let go, attains concentration, attains singleness of mind.
ven. sujato has:
It’s when a noble disciple, relying on letting go, gains immersion, gains unification of mind.
ven. bodhi has:
Here, bhikkhus, the noble disciple gains concentration, gains one-pointedness of mind, having made release the object. This is called the faculty of concentration.
Ven. Bodhi’s, the way I interpret it, sounds like ‘release’ is a code word for nirvana, and one has nirvana as the ulterior motive for attaining samadhi.
Ven. Thanissaro’s is similar, but a little more ambiguous.
Ven. Sujato’s sounds like vosagga is only a means to attain samadhi, and not a separate goal of nirvana.
Are all of of these interpretations legitimate?
I follow Bodhi’s translation, because of the very frequent 7sb formula, where vosagga clearly is referring to nirvana:
STED (7sb) satta -(sam)-bojjh-aṅgaṃ
1. Sati
|
sati- |
(the) Mindfulness- |
|
-sam-bojjh-aṅgaṃ |
-***-awakening-factor; |
|
bhāveti |
Develop (that)! |
|
viveka-nissitaṃ |
seclusion (is) necessary |
|
Vi-rāga-nissitaṃ |
Dis-passion (is) necessary |
|
nirodha-nissitaṃ |
cessation (is) necessary |
|
Vossagga-pariṇāmiṃ, |
relinquishment (is what it) matures (into). |
2. Dhamma-vicaya-
|
Dhamma-vicaya- |
(the) Dhamma-investigation- |
|
-sam-bojjh-aṅgaṃ |
-***-awakening-factor; |
|
bhāveti |
Develop (that)! |
|
viveka-nissitaṃ |
seclusion (is) necessary |
|
Vi-rāga-nissitaṃ |
Dis-passion (is) necessary |
|
nirodha-nissitaṃ |
cessation (is) necessary |
|
Vossagga-pariṇāmiṃ, |
relinquishment (is what it) matures (into). |