Find how the **suttas and Vinaya define a Pāli term in their own words**.
The canon defines its own terms with fixed formulas — "Katamañca …
dukkhaṁ?" (what is X?) … "ayaṁ vuccati … dukkhaṁ" (this is called X),
"X adhivacana" (X is a designation for …), or the Vinaya "X nāma". This
tool locates those definitional passages and returns them **cited**, so
the assistant can present the doctrinal essence straight from the source.
🧭 **This tool vs `get_word_definition`:**
- **`define_from_suttas`** → the *doctrinal* definition, how the term is
defined **inside the canon**. Use for "how do the suttas define X",
"what is the canonical definition of X", "define X from the suttas".
Returns a few precise segments, not a lexicon essay.
- **`get_word_definition`** → the *lexical* definition from dictionaries
(Payutto / PTS / DPPN). Use for etymology and word meaning.
They complement each other — offer both when the user wants the full
picture (dictionary sense + how the Buddha defined it).
📖 **How to present the result:**
Results are ranked; the top one is usually the canonical definition.
**Quote the Pāli (and English where present) verbatim** and render each
`cross_reference.tripitaka_mcp_reader.segment_url` as clickable markdown
so the user can verify. Do NOT paraphrase into your own definition — the
point is the canon's own words. Each result is tagged `kind`
(direct / simile) and `detail` (descriptive / enumerative); a
*descriptive* definition characterises the term, an *enumerative* one
lists its types — prefer the descriptive when explaining the essence.
⚠️ A result tagged `context: true` **does not contain the term in its own
line**. The canon's stock similes attach to a formula rather than to a
word: the four jhāna similes (bath powder, deep lake, lotus pond, white
cloth) never say *jhāna*, they illustrate the `vivicceva kāmehi …` formula
that opens the paragraph. Such rows are found through that paragraph, so
**say so when quoting one** — present it as the simile the passage uses,
not as a line that defines the term.