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sampassamāno

sampassamāna

masc nom sg of sampassamāna (prp)

1. seeing; observing; considering

Built from

• sam — prefix · together, completely
  The prefix saṁ- (before p-) brings the sense of unified, integrated seeing rather than scattered observation. Cognate with English 'same', Latin similis, and works like Latin con- (con-spicuous, con-sider).
• passati — root · sees, perceives
  √pass: to see, perceive, be visible. Cognate with Latin patere (to be open, visible); the underlying sense is 'to appear' or 'to be open to sight'. The participle form -amāna marks present progressive action.
• amāna — ending · present participle
  The suffix -amāna forms the present participle (gerund) in the nominative singular masculine, marking an ongoing or habitual action: 'seeing' or 'one who is seeing'.

Analysis. saṁ + passati, 'seeing together'; the prefix saṁ- (together, completely) intensifies the simple verb passati (to see), giving the sense of comprehensive, attentive viewing. In the canon, often describes the meditator's mindful observation of phenomena.

Etymology. saṁ- (together, with) + √pass (to see). The root √pass is cognate with Latin patere (to be open, visible) and English 'pass' in the sense of perceiving. The prefix saṁ- carries the concrete sense of bringing things together into unified awareness—the same prefix seen in samādhi (collectedness) and saṁvara (restraint).

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

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