pītisukhaṁ

pītisukha

accusative singular neuter of pītisukha (adjective or abstract noun)

joy and happiness
rapture and pleasure
the bliss of meditative absorption

Built from

pīti — root · joy, rapture
The emotional tone of meditative absorption, from √pi 'swell, fill', capturing the sense of fullness and exuberance.
sukha — stem · happiness, ease
From su- 'well' + an obscure element; opposite of dukkha. In jhāna contexts, sukha denotes the sustained tranquil pleasure that follows pīti's initial surge.

Analysis. pīti (joy, delight in meditation) + sukha (happiness, ease); a compound denoting the second and third factors of absorption (jhāna), where pīti is the intense emotional uplift and sukha the sustained pleasure accompanying deep concentration.

Etymology. pīti from √pi (to swell, be full) — the swelling forth of emotion; sukha from su- (well, good) + √kha (?) or cognate with Sanskrit sukha, opposite of dukkha. Together they form a canonical pair in the four jhānas, where pīti predominates in the first two and sukha in the third and fourth.

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

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