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indriyabhāvanāsuttaṁ

indriyabhāvanāsutta

accusative singular masculine of indriyabhāvanāsutta (compound noun); the surface form indriyabhāvanāsuttaṁ shows the accusative ending -ṁ

1. Discourse on the Development of the Faculties
2. a sutta (discourse) teaching how to cultivate the five spiritual faculties

Built from

• indriya — root · faculty, power
  Originally an adjective meaning pertaining to Indra (the rain-god and king of gods), then generalized to mean any power or faculty inherent in a being. Sanskrit cognate indriya.
• bhāvanā — stem · development, cultivation
  Derived from √bhū (to be, become) with abstract noun suffix -ā (seen in Latin -a, Greek -a), expressing the action of bringing into being or making grow.
• sutta — stem · discourse, thread
  From √sū (to sew), hence literally a thread or string; metaphorically a connected discourse or teaching, as if the words were sewn together. Cognate: Latin sutura (seam).

Analysis. indriya- (faculty, sense-power) + bhāvanā- (development, cultivation) + sutta- (discourse, thread); the compound denotes a specific sutta from the Pali canon that teaches the development of the faculties (faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, wisdom).

Etymology. indriya from Sanskrit indriya, originally "pertaining to Indra" (the chief deity), then "potency, faculty"; bhāvanā from √bhū (to become, be) + -anā suffix (action noun) — literally "bringing into being"; sutta from √sū (to sew, thread) — a sutture or thread, hence "discourse" strung along like a thread.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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