pīti
Rapture, zest
[ PEE-tee ]
Seeing it in life
Pīti is interest and zest in the object. The texts list five grades, from minor thrill to all-pervading rapture; it is the third jhāna factor.
In short
Pervading joy that refreshes mind and body.
The analysis
Pīti is interest and zest in the object — the texts describe five grades, from minor thrill through momentary rapture, showering rapture, uplifting rapture, to all-pervading rapture, the most refined form. As the third jhāna factor, pīti is dropped at the fourth jhāna once even this refreshing quality is recognized as a subtle disturbance to settle beyond.
Where it sits
Pīti and sukha are closely related but distinct — the texts compare pīti to the relief of finding water in a desert, and sukha to the subsequent pleasure of drinking it.
The distinct lift of genuine interest catching hold of a task — different from the calmer satisfaction of having completed it — is closer to pīti than to sukha; the energized quality, not the settled one.
Commonly mistaken for
The same as sukha (pleasure). They're paired but distinguishable — pīti is interest/zest; sukha is the pleasant feeling-tone itself.
Excitement in the ordinary excitable sense. The finer grades of pīti are described as calm and pervading, not agitated.
Abhidhammattha Saṅgaha II, IX; Visuddhimagga IV.
Related terms