[KCI-Indexed] The Discursive Intensity of Cetanā in Early Buddhist Practice Discourse

Abstract

This study examines how cetanā (intention) in the practice discourse of the Majjhima Nikāya functions not as a uniform element but as a feature that is foregrounded or backgrounded with varying intensity according to scriptural context. As its doctrinal foundation, the study draws on the three operative layers of cetanā articulated in the Cetanā-sutta group of the Saṃyutta Nikāya (SN II, 65–67): intending (ceteti), planning (pakappeti), and lying latent (anuseti).

Six suttas are organized into three contrastive pairs, through which the discursive intensity of cetanā is classified as strong, intermediate, or weak. Triangulation across three independent textual indicators — verb-selection patterns, breath accompaniment, and dhammānupassanā complexity — shows that each intensity level reflects a trans-textual pattern rather than a feature limited to a single text.

The analysis shows that, at the strong level, the discourse is characterized by the dense use of forceful verbs from the abhiniggaṇhāti series and by graduated intervention through manasikāra. At the intermediate level, sustained investment of cetanā is expressed through repeated use of sikkhati ("trains"). At the weak level, cetanā is discursively backgrounded through discourse dominated by amanasikāra (non-attention) and pajānāti ("knows").

Notably, the saññā-cetanā concomitant relationship, in which cetanā is progressively backgrounded as saññā-based recognition becomes more firmly established, is identified as a pattern confined to progressive practice discourse; its validity is confirmed within the analytical scope of the present study.

This study shifts the discussion of cetanā from ethical and normative frameworks to the discursive structure of practice discourse. The strong–intermediate–weak distinction derived from the textual analysis offers an interpretive framework for extending the study of cetanā intensity to practical meditative contexts.

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