sammsamdhi

Sammsamdhi is a term found in Buddhist texts and discussions that is generally treated as a variant or nonstandard spelling of sammā-samādhi, meaning “right concentration.” The standard form sammā-samādhi comes from Pali sammā “right” and samādhi “concentration” or “meditative absorption.” In Theravāda doctrine and in many Mahāyāna contexts, sammā-samādhi is identified as the eighth factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, representing a cultivated mental state of unified attention that arises through meditation and leads to deep absorptions (jhānas) in the early Buddhist map of practice.

Usage and interpretation vary. In English-language scholarship and practice guides, sammsamdhi is often described as synonymous with sammā-samādhi; other sources treat it as a misspelling or transliteration variant. There is no widely recognized doctrinal meaning assigned to the form sammsamdhi itself.

Practice associated with sammā-samādhi involves sustaining attention on a single object—such as the breath, a mantra, or a chosen focal point—and cultivating stability of mind. Through progressive concentration, a practitioner may enter the jhāna states, described in traditional Theravāda expositions as deepening levels of stillness, rapture, and equanimity, culminating in a refined focus and mental clarity.

Relation to other terms: sammā-samādhi is closely linked to samādhi in Sanskrit and to the broader discipline of samatha, but in the framework of the Noble Eightfold Path it specifically denotes the “right” factor of concentration rather than concentration in a general sense. See also samadhi, sammā-sankappa, Noble Eightfold Path.