The Buddha's struggle with the first absorption

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How are you able to know that M I 246 is within MN 36 and M III 162 is within MN 128 ? Is there a rule you followed to deduce this?

Both number-systems (e.g. "MN 1" compared to MN i 1") are ordered and in the same sequence, i.e. increasing from lowest to highest.

  • This page lists from "MN 1" ("MN i 1") through "MN 50" ("MN i 332")
  • This page lists from "MN 51" ("MN i 339") through "MN 100" ("MN ii 209")
  • This page lists from "MN 101" ("MN ii 214") through "MN 152" ("MN iii 298")

If you're looking for "M I 246" for example, go to the first page and scan it (i.e. look at the ranges of numbers):

  • MN 36 starts with MN i 237
  • MN 37 starts with MN i 251

So M I 246 is somewhere inside MN 36.

246 is about half-way between 237 and 251: so I guess that it's half-way, in the middle, of MN 36.

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Go to https://suttacentral.net/mn and follow the 2nd set of sutta references.

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M I 246 is within MN 36.

M III 162 is within MN 128.

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The above said, Analayo's ideas about MN 128 are probably wrong. MN 128 is about a certain dilemma of Venerable Anuruddha, who later was renowned for his psychic powers. The certain dilemma or subject matter of MN 128 is 'obhāsañceva sañjānāma dassanañca rūpānaṃ', namely, 'perception of light and seeing of forms'. MN 128 appears to be about the coming to be of a psychic power rather than about the 1st jhana. Here, the Buddha gives an account of his own struggle with what appears to be a naturally occurrence of a physic power (which will not occur with every meditator, such as Venerable Sariputta, who did not have any psychic powers). Therefore, MN 128 does not appear to be about the Buddha's struggle with the first absorption.

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