<p>From the <a href="https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN48_38.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SN 48.38</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Monks, there are these five faculties. Which five? The
pleasure-faculty, the pain-faculty, the happiness-faculty, the
distress-faculty, the equanimity-faculty.</p>
<p>“And what is the pleasure-faculty? Any physical pleasure, physical
comfort born of body-contact to be experienced as pleasure &amp; comfort.
That is called the pleasure-faculty.</p>
<p>“And what is the pain-faculty? Any physical pain, physical discomfort
born of body-contact to be experienced as pain &amp; discomfort. That is
called the pain-faculty.</p>
<p>“And what is the happiness-faculty? Any mental pleasure, mental
comfort born of intellect-contact to be experienced as pleasure &amp;
comfort. That is called the happiness -faculty.</p>
<p>“And what is the distress-faculty? Any mental pain, mental discomfort
born of intellect-contact to be experienced as pain &amp; discomfort. That
is called the distress-faculty.</p>
<p>“And what is the equanimity-faculty? Anything, physical or mental, to
be experienced as neither comfort nor discomfort. That is called the
equanimity-faculty.</p>
<p>“With regard to this, the pleasure-faculty &amp; happiness-faculty are to
be seen as a feeling of pleasure. The pain-faculty &amp; distress-faculty
are to be seen as a feeling of pain. The equanimity-faculty is to be
seen as a feeling of neither pleasure nor pain. Thus, by this
exposition, the five are three; and the three, five.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Pali can be viewed <a href="https://suttacentral.net/sn48.38/en/sujato?layout=linebyline&amp;reference=none&amp;notes=asterisk&amp;highlight=false&amp;script=latin" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a></p>

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2022-05-28T21:00:15.723Z
2023-06-26T09:26:56.677Z
2023-06-26T09:26:56.677Z
user23789
<p>See my answer to your question on the difference between sukha and sukha-indriya here: <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/47311/what-is-difference-between-sukha-and-sukhendriyam">what is difference between sukha and sukhendriyam?</a></p>
<p>The same sutta referenced for that question, SN 48.37,  also answers your question on the difference between sukha indriya and somanassa indriya (my version of the sutta is annotated showing clearly which factors are physical and mental).</p>
<p>Also, if you study SN 36 suttas carefully, you'll find that sukha (unqualified) and sukha vedana usually referring to physical pleasant sensations. Example of the dart sutta. First you feel the physical sensation of dart, then mental baggage of mental pain is added on unnecessarily. But even a Buddha still feels physical pain of the dart, or physical pleasure of eating a mango for example.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-22T15:07:09.310Z
2022-05-22T15:07:09.310Z
frankk
<p>Sukha is defined in the context of <em>feeling</em>: pleasant, painful and neutral.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn44/en/sujato#mn44:24.2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN44:24.2</a>: “Sukhā kho, āvuso visākha, vedanā ṭhitisukhā vipariṇāmadukkhā;<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn44/en/sujato#mn44:24.2" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN44:24.2</a>: “Pleasant feeling is pleasant when it remains and painful when it perishes.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn44/en/sujato#mn44:24.4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN44:24.4</a>: adukkhamasukhā vedanā ñāṇasukhā aññāṇadukkhā”ti.<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn44/en/sujato#mn44:24.4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN44:24.4</a>: Neutral feeling is pleasant when there is knowledge, and painful when there is ignorance.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Somanassa is defined in terms of outcome:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/dn21/en/sujato#dn21:2.3.11" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DN21:2.3.11</a>: ‘imaṁ kho me somanassaṁ sevato akusalā dhammā abhivaḍḍhanti, kusalā dhammā parihāyantī’ti, evarūpaṁ somanassaṁ na sevitabbaṁ.<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/dn21/en/sujato#dn21:2.3.11" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DN21:2.3.11</a>: ‘When I cultivate this kind of happiness, unskillful qualities grow, and skillful qualities decline.’ You should not cultivate that kind of happiness.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/dn21/en/sujato#dn21:2.3.13" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DN21:2.3.13</a>: ‘imaṁ kho me somanassaṁ sevato akusalā dhammā parihāyanti, kusalā dhammā abhivaḍḍhantī’ti, evarūpaṁ somanassaṁ sevitabbaṁ.<br />
<a href="https://suttacentral.net/dn21/en/sujato#dn21:2.3.13" rel="nofollow noreferrer">DN21:2.3.13</a>: ‘When I cultivate this kind of happiness, unskillful qualities decline, and skillful qualities grow.’ You should cultivate that kind of happiness.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We can also understand these two terms with regard to mindfulness meditation:</p>
<p>Sukha is part of the second kind of mindfulness meditation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn10/en/sujato#mn10:3.3" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN10:3.3</a>: They meditate observing an aspect of feelings—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And somanassa is part of the fourth kind of mindfulness meditation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://suttacentral.net/mn10/en/sujato#mn10:3.5" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MN10:3.5</a>: They meditate observing an aspect of principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-22T15:09:16.790Z
> Sukha is experiential and of the moment. Somanassa is subtler in that it requires an understanding and mindfulness of principle.   <-----   Not correct. See my detailed answer on this thread, as SN 48.37 shows. Sukha and Somanassa can both be coarse or subtle, both are experiential, both can be experienced in the present moment.
frankk
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-22T18:13:28.813Z
Good point. Deleted.
OyaMist
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-22T12:11:18.567Z
2022-05-22T18:13:13.603Z
2022-05-22T18:13:13.603Z
OyaMist
<p>internet is talking more abouut difference between piti and sukha because its important for Jhana   I liked this discussion here <a href="https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/28280/is-p%C4%ABti-physical-and-sukha-emotional">Is pīti physical and sukha emotional?</a>
However in VedanA SaSyutta, sukha and somanassa also refered together..
Can you give me  the subtle difference between them.
and similarly what is difference between dukhas and domanassa..</p>

<jhana>
what is difference between sukha and somanassam?
# what is difference between sukha and somanassam?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-05-22)

internet is talking more abouut difference between piti and sukha because its important for Jhana I liked this discussion here [Is pīti physical and sukha emotional?](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/28280/is-p%C4%ABti-physical-and-sukha-emotional)
However in VedanA SaSyutta, sukha and somanassa also refered together..
Can you give me the subtle difference between them.
and similarly what is difference between dukhas and domanassa..

**Tags:** jhana


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-05-28. Score: 1

From the [SN 48.38](https://www.dhammatalks.org/suttas/SN/SN48_38.html):

> “Monks, there are these five faculties. Which five? The
> pleasure-faculty, the pain-faculty, the happiness-faculty, the
> distress-faculty, the equanimity-faculty.
>
> “And what is the pleasure-faculty? Any physical pleasure, physical
> comfort born of body-contact to be experienced as pleasure & comfort.
> That is called the pleasure-faculty.
>
> “And what is the pain-faculty? Any physical pain, physical discomfort
> born of body-contact to be experienced as pain & discomfort. That is
> called the pain-faculty.
>
> “And what is the happiness-faculty? Any mental pleasure, mental
> comfort born of intellect-contact to be experienced as pleasure &
> comfort. That is called the happiness -faculty.
>
> “And what is the distress-faculty? Any mental pain, mental discomfort
> born of intellect-contact to be experienced as pain & discomfort. That
> is called the distress-faculty.
>
> “And what is the equanimity-faculty? Anything, physical or mental, to
> be experienced as neither comfort nor discomfort. That is called the
> equanimity-faculty.
>
> “With regard to this, the pleasure-faculty & happiness-faculty are to
> be seen as a feeling of pleasure. The pain-faculty & distress-faculty
> are to be seen as a feeling of pain. The equanimity-faculty is to be
> seen as a feeling of neither pleasure nor pain. Thus, by this
> exposition, the five are three; and the three, five.”

The Pali can be viewed [here](https://suttacentral.net/sn48.38/en/sujato?layout=linebyline&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latin)


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2022-05-22. Score: 0

See my answer to your question on the difference between sukha and sukha-indriya here: [what is difference between sukha and sukhendriyam?](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/47311/what-is-difference-between-sukha-and-sukhendriyam)

The same sutta referenced for that question, SN 48.37, also answers your question on the difference between sukha indriya and somanassa indriya (my version of the sutta is annotated showing clearly which factors are physical and mental).

Also, if you study SN 36 suttas carefully, you'll find that sukha (unqualified) and sukha vedana usually referring to physical pleasant sensations. Example of the dart sutta. First you feel the physical sensation of dart, then mental baggage of mental pain is added on unnecessarily. But even a Buddha still feels physical pain of the dart, or physical pleasure of eating a mango for example.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-05-22. Score: -1

Sukha is defined in the context of *feeling*: pleasant, painful and neutral.

> [MN44:24.2](https://suttacentral.net/mn44/en/sujato#mn44:24.2): “Sukhā kho, āvuso visākha, vedanā ṭhitisukhā vipariṇāmadukkhā;  
> [MN44:24.2](https://suttacentral.net/mn44/en/sujato#mn44:24.2): “Pleasant feeling is pleasant when it remains and painful when it perishes.

> [MN44:24.4](https://suttacentral.net/mn44/en/sujato#mn44:24.4): adukkhamasukhā vedanā ñāṇasukhā aññāṇadukkhā”ti.  
> [MN44:24.4](https://suttacentral.net/mn44/en/sujato#mn44:24.4): Neutral feeling is pleasant when there is knowledge, and painful when there is ignorance.”

Somanassa is defined in terms of outcome:

> [DN21:2.3.11](https://suttacentral.net/dn21/en/sujato#dn21:2.3.11): ‘imaṁ kho me somanassaṁ sevato akusalā dhammā abhivaḍḍhanti, kusalā dhammā parihāyantī’ti, evarūpaṁ somanassaṁ na sevitabbaṁ.  
> [DN21:2.3.11](https://suttacentral.net/dn21/en/sujato#dn21:2.3.11): ‘When I cultivate this kind of happiness, unskillful qualities grow, and skillful qualities decline.’ You should not cultivate that kind of happiness.

> [DN21:2.3.13](https://suttacentral.net/dn21/en/sujato#dn21:2.3.13): ‘imaṁ kho me somanassaṁ sevato akusalā dhammā parihāyanti, kusalā dhammā abhivaḍḍhantī’ti, evarūpaṁ somanassaṁ sevitabbaṁ.  
> [DN21:2.3.13](https://suttacentral.net/dn21/en/sujato#dn21:2.3.13): ‘When I cultivate this kind of happiness, unskillful qualities decline, and skillful qualities grow.’ You should cultivate that kind of happiness.

We can also understand these two terms with regard to mindfulness meditation:

Sukha is part of the second kind of mindfulness meditation:

> [MN10:3.3](https://suttacentral.net/mn10/en/sujato#mn10:3.3): They meditate observing an aspect of feelings—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world.

And somanassa is part of the fourth kind of mindfulness meditation:

> [MN10:3.5](https://suttacentral.net/mn10/en/sujato#mn10:3.5): They meditate observing an aspect of principles—keen, aware, and mindful, rid of desire and aversion for the world.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: > Sukha is experiential and of the moment. Somanassa is subtler in that it requires an understanding and mindfulness of principle.   <-----   Not correct. See my detailed answer on this thread, as SN 48.37 shows. Sukha and Somanassa can both be coarse or subtle, both are experiential, both can be experienced in the present moment.  
> **username_3**: Good point. Deleted.  

---

