The Immaterial Attainments
by Eric Van Horn
Copyright © 2015 Eric K. Van Horn
for free distribution
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Again, with the complete surmounting of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of sensory impact, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite space. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Māra…
Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite consciousness. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Māra…
Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Māra…
Again, by completely surmounting the base of nothingness, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Māra, to have become invisible to the Evil One by depriving Māra’s eye of its opportunity.
Again, by completely surmounting the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the cessation of perception and feeling. And his taints are destroyed by his seeing with wisdom. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Māra, to have become invisible to the Evil One by depriving Māra’s eye of its opportunity, and to have crossed beyond attachment to the world. - [MN 25.16-20]
The four jhānas focus on the same topic - the breath - but the way they relate to the breath grows progressively more refined. Once the mind reaches the fourth jhāna, this can form the basis for the formless attainments. Here the relationship among the stages is reversed: All the formless attainments relate to their themes in the same way - with the equanimity and singleness of the fourth jhāna - but they focus on different themes.
- [Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, With Each and Every Breath]
As noted previously, in the Pāli Canon these states are not called "jhānas". The closest thing that we have to a category name that the Buddha gives us is "the liberations that are peaceful and immaterial". [MN 6.10] They are called variously "the immaterial states/realms/spheres/attainments", and "the formless states/realms/spheres/attainments". The Pāli word is "arupa". The Pāli word "rupa" means "body" or "material", the prefix "a" means "not", so "arupa" means literally "not the body" or "not material".
Some scholars have stated that the immaterial states are extensions of the fourth jhāna, but I believe that is incorrect. The fourth jhāna is, after all, a material state, i.e., one in which you are aware of the body. In the "arupas" the sense of a body falls away. This is what makes them "immaterial".
(Admittedly this is somewhat academic. If it helps you to think of the immaterial states as extensions of the fourth jhāna, do it.)
However you categorize them, they are states of ever-deeper concentration. Thus it is credible to call them "jhānas".
Attaining The Base of Infinite Space
Again, with the complete surmounting of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of sensory impact, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite space. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Māra… - [MN 25.16]
O, that this too too solid flesh would melt.
- [William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1 Scene 2]
You may find that at times you fall into this state naturally. However, I am going to explain how to attain the base of infinite space from the fourth jhāna.
First let me make a brief comment about the word "attain". If you are familiar with the language of Zen, you know that in Zen they distance themselves from this word. There is some sense to that. As noted in the instructions for attaining the first jhāna, you must let go of any desire to enter it. You cannot force it to happen. This is true for much of the path. You apply mindfulness, awareness and ardency to the object of contemplation, and the fruits of the practice arise on their own.
However, it is an attainment, and the Buddha uses this word frequently. There are steps in this path. You develop skills. You see signs when the practice produces results. In the Four Noble Truths each truth has an activity associated with it. "Dukkha" is to be comprehended. "Clinging" is to be abandoned. "Cessation" is to be realized. The path is to be developed.
A word that may work better for some people is "enter", i.e., you enter each jhāna. But in fact the word that the Buddha uses is "attainment".
Another linguistic note is that at the time of the Buddha they did not have the notion of infinity. Semantically the word is "limitless" or "boundless". However most modern scholars use the term "infinity" because we do have that notion and it is accurate.
OK, so to enter the base of infinite space, start in the fourth jhāna. This must be quite stable. If it is not, keep practicing the fourth jhāna until you can get it stable.
Next, get in touch with the boundaries of your body.
Now begin to expand these boundaries. Expand the boundaries to the limit of the room. Expand them to the boundaries of the building. Then the property, the neighborhood, the town, the state, the country, the planet, outwards into space, and finally to the "infinitude of space". Just keep expanding, and keep your attention on the sense of outward expansion.
There are two caveats. One is not to get wrapped up in any physical objects. This is what "the perception of diversity" means. This contemplation is about "space". Every physical object in the universe is mostly space. If you had a good enough microscope and you looked at your body it would be almost entirely empty with only a few tiny particles here and there. This realm is the infinity of space, not any objects in it:
As the mind in the fourth jhāna stays with the stillness of the breath filling the body, it begins to sense that the only reason it feels a boundary or form to the body is because of the perception or mental image of the body’s form that it’s been holding to. There is no movement of the breath to confirm that perception. Instead, the body feels like a cloud of mist droplets, each droplet a sensation, but with no clear boundary to the cloud.
To reach the first formless attainment, allow the perception of the form of the body to drop away. Then focus, not on the droplets of sensation, but on the space in-between them. This space then goes out beyond the body without limit and can penetrate everything else. However, you don’t try to trace it out to its limit. You simply hold in mind the perception of “infinite space” or “unlimited space.” If you can stay there solidly, you reach the first formless attainment, the dimension of the infinitude of space.
- [Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, With Each and Every Breath]
The second caveat is that you may find at certain points that you encounter resistance to the outward expansion. Just push through it. Keep focused on the sense of outward expansion.
In the immaterial realms you will not feel any sense of a body or a sense of self. The sense of a separate self disappears.
Attaining the Base of Infinite Consciousness
Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite consciousness. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Māra… - [MN 25.17]
When you attain the base of infinite space, you will see a subtle sense of an observer. There is the infinite space, and there is the awareness of the infinite space. In order to attain the base of infinite consciousness, you turn your attention to the awareness itself:
After you’ve become adept at staying with the perception of infinite space, you can pose the question, “What knows infinite space?” Your attention shifts to the awareness of the space, and you realize that the awareness, like the space, has no limits, although again you don’t try to trace it out to its limits. You just stay centered where you are. (If you try asking this question before you’re adept at staying with the perception of infinite space, the mind will just revert to a lower level of concentration, or may leave concentration entirely. So go back to the perception of space.) If you can stay with that perception of infinite or unlimited awareness - or simply, “knowing, knowing, knowing” - you enter the second formless attainment, the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness.
- [Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, With Each and Every Breath]
In this case, the observed and the observer become one:
It’s at this stage that your inner observer gets thrown into sharp relief. When you dropped the breath for the perception of “space,” you gained a clear sense that your breath and your awareness of the breath were two separate things, and you could see precisely where and how they were separate. When you dropped the perception of “space,” you could see that the awareness was separate even from space. As you carry your perception of “aware” into daily life, you can apply the same principle to everything that comes your way: Objects and events are one thing; the knowing awareness is something else.
- [Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, With Each and Every Breath]
Leigh Brasington notes that people who have a theistic orientation often mistake this state for become one with "atman" in Hindu terms, a "higher power" in general terms, or "God" in mono-theistic terms. That is because there is a sense of "oneness". When the distinction between the observed and the observer drops away, that may be how it feels if that is how you are predisposed. But this is not the end of the path. There is still more to go. This is simply an awareness that if space is infinite, then that which is aware of the infinite space must also be infinite.
The understanding that the immaterial attainments are not the final goal was one of the Buddha's great insights. His teachers were telling him that this was it, this was the final goal, final release. But he examined these states and decided that they are not the end, so he kept searching.
Attaining the Base of Nothingness
Again, by completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Māra… - [MN 25.18]
And now we turn the attention to what consciousness is conscious of, which is nothing.
Treat this with some care. As noted in the section on Right Mindfulness, the Buddha did not teach nihilism. The base of nothingness is not suggesting that ultimately nothing exists. Rather, more subtly, no "things" exist. That is why this is sometimes called the base of no-"thingness". And now, as you drop the sense of oneness, what is left is nothing:
There’s still awareness, but you’re not labeling it as awareness. You’re just with the sense of lightness that comes from replacing the label of “knowing” with something that feels less burdensome. The label of “knowing” requires that you make an effort to keep knowing. But the label of “nothing” allows you to put that burden down. If you can stay with that perception of, “There’s nothing” or “Nothing’s happening,” you enter the third formless attainment, the dimension of nothingness.
- [Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, With Each and Every Breath]
Another way to look at the formless attainments - indeed, all of the jhānas - is that in each state the question we are asking is, "Where is there still stress, where is there still a disturbance?" It is a radical form of stress reduction in increasingly subtle forms. In the case of the base of infinite consciousness, the stress is in the oneness, so you let go of it.
Attaining the Base of Neither Perception Nor Non-perception
Again, by completely surmounting the base of nothingness, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. This bhikkhu is said to have blindfolded Māra, to have become invisible to the Evil One by depriving Māra’s eye of its opportunity. - [MN 25.19]
In the first 7 jhānas, we use perception to see what is going on. Now you drop the perception itself:
After you’ve become adept at staying with the perception of “There’s nothing” or “Nothing’s happening,” you can ask yourself if there’s still any disturbance in that sense of nothingness. When you see that the disturbance is caused by the perception itself, you drop the perception. If you do this when your focus is not subtle enough, you’ll revert to a lower stage of concentration. But if you can stay in the mental space left empty by the perception when it falls away, that’s what you do. You can’t say that there’s another perception there, but because you have a non-verbal sense that you know where you are, you can’t say that there’s no perception, either. If you can continue staying there, you enter the fourth formless attainment, the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.
- [Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, With Each and Every Breath]
The 8th jhāna is unique in that you cannot discern what is happening when you are in that state. You have to come out of the 8th jhāna to analyze it, and to have insights. In the other jhānas, because perception is there, insights will arise when you are in them.
Perception is our ability to identify or name things. The mind takes raw input, like colors and shapes and sounds and texture, and interprets that input as table, car passing by, etc. In the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, however, that quality ceases. This makes it difficult to describe. You are in a state in which there are no characteristics by which you can describe it. This is why it is a state of "non-perception". But it is also a state that can be described as being not describable, which is the quality of "perception". Thus the state exists in the nether world between perception and non-perception.
In each state we look for the stress, or the disturbance, and we look to abandon that stress. It is also a process of simplification. While they are "attainments", they can also be called "abandonments". We start with the 1st jhāna, which is full of activity, and step by step we abandon mental phenomena, the stress gets less, and we get to a point of extreme simplification in mental activity.
Summary
In this section we have looked at how to enter the immaterial attainments:
- The base of infinite space
- The base of infinite consciousness
- The base of nothingness
- The base of neither perception nor non-perception
