‹ Back to the text

paṭisañcikkhati

pr 3rd sg of paṭisañcikkhati (verb)

1. reflects; considers; discerns

Built from

• paṭi — prefix · back, against
  The concrete image of reversal or counter-direction; thought turning back on its object, as in paṭiccasamuppāda (dependent co-arising).
• sañ — prefix · together, with
  From sam-, assimilated before c-; brings elements into unity, here unifying attention or mental factors into focused consideration.
• cikkhati — stem · considers, thinks
  Present stem of cikkh-; the root sense is mental activity directed at an object. The full compound is the 3rd singular present indicative, expressing habitual or iterative reflection.

Analysis. paṭi- (back, against) + sañ- (together) + cikkhati (considers). Compound verb expressing the turning back of thought upon itself, deliberation or reflection on experience.

Etymology. √cikkh- (to think, consider) is related to √cint- (to think, ponder); the prefix paṭi- (back, against) reverses or turns the action inward, as in paṭiccasamuppāda. The whole compound conveys the sense of thought folding back upon itself—reflection proper to meditation.

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

Lite mode — plain HTML for e-readers and old browsers. Full version