Saṃjñā
| Translations of Saṃjñā |
|
|---|---|
| English | perception, cognition, conceptualization, distinguishing |
| Pali | sañña, सञ्ञा |
| Sanskrit | saṃjñā, संज्ञा |
| Chinese | 想 |
| Japanese |
(rōmaji: sō) |
| Tibetan |
འདུ་ཤེས། (Wylie: 'du shes; THL: du shé) |
| Glossary of Buddhism | |
| Table: Uses of samādhi | |
|---|---|
| (based on AN IV.41) | |
| object of concentration |
development |
| four jhānas | pleasant abiding (sukha-vihārāya) in this life (diţţhadhamma) |
| perception (sañña) of light (āloka) |
knowing (ñāṇa) and seeing (dassana) |
|
arising, passing, fading of feelings (vedanā), perceptions (saññā) and thoughts (vitakkā) |
mindfulness (sati) and clear comprehension (sampajaññā) |
|
arising and fading of the five aggregates of clinging (pañc'upādāna-khandha) |
extinction (khaya) of the taints (āsava) [Arahantship] |
Saṃjñā (Sanskrit; Pali: sañña) is a Buddhist term that is typically translated as "perception" or "cognition." It can be defined as grasping at the distinguishing features or characteristics.
Saṃjñā is identified within the Buddhist teachings as follows:
Bhikkhu Bodhi states:
According to the Theravada tradition, saññā experiences the same object as the citta it accompanies but it performs its own task: it 'perceives' or 'recognizes' the object and it 'marks' it so that it can be recognized again.
The Atthasālinī (I, Part IV, Chapter 1, 110) provides the following two definitions for saññā:
The Abhidharma-samuccaya states:
Mipham Rinpoche states:
Alexander Berzin gives the following informal explanation:
Saṃjñā is identified as one of the Five Aggregates, as shown in the following diagram
In the early Buddhism Theravadin texts of the Nikayas/Āgamas, saṃjñā/sañña is the third of the Five Aggregates (Skt.: skandha; Pali: khandha) which can be used to skillfully delineate phenomenological experiences during meditation. Whether as one of the Five Aggregates, meditative concentration (samādhi) on the passing and rising (P. vipassana, S. vipaśyanā) of sañña can lead to mindfulness (P.sati, S. smṛti), clear comprehension (P. sampajanna, S. samprajaña) enlightenment and Arhantship (see Table).
In the Pali Canon, sañña is frequently defined as:
In post-canonical Pali commentaries, the Visuddhimagga likens sañña to "a child without discretion."
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