Buddhist meditation

part of the deliverance of mind by loving-kindness.
Just as, monks, in the autumn, in the last month of the rains, when the
sky is clear and the clouds have gone, the sun, on rising, dispels the
darkness that has been in the sky and then alone shines forth, bright and
radiant: even so, whatever bases there are for making merit for a future
rebirth, all of these do not equal a sixteenth part of the deliverance of
mind by loving-kindness.
Just as, monks, in the night, at the time towards dawn, the healing star
shines forth bright and radiant: even so, whatever bases there are for
making merit for a future rebirth, all of these do not equal a sixteenth
part of the deliverance of mind by loving-kindness.
The deliverance of mind by loving-kindness surpasses them all and
shines forth, bright and radiant.

Whoever, mindful, cultivates immeasurable loving-kindness,
Seeing the destruction of attachment,
The fetters are diminished in him.
The one who extends loving-kindness to just one being,
With a mind that is uncorrupted: through that he is skilful.
The one who extends a compassionate mind to all beings:
Through that, he produces an abundance of merit.
Whatever royal seers, who conquered the thicket of the earth, filled
with beings,
Then went around making sacrifices:
Sacrifices of the horse, the man, the water, soma,
And the unobstructed:
They do not experience a sixteenth part of a heart
Where loving-kindness has been brought into being,
Just as the radiance of the moon surpasses the whole host of stars.
Whoever does not kill, nor causes to kill,
Whoever does not conquer, nor causes to conquer:
Extending loving-kindness to all beings, there is no enemy for him.’
This is the meaning of what was said by Exalted One: so I have heard.
(It 19–22)
T H E   F O U R   D I V I N E  A B I D I N G S
172

173
11
35–38. MEDITATION ON THE
FORMLESS (AR
ÁPASAMAPATTI )
All the meditations discussed so far have clearly defined and recognizable objects
as a starting point. Some have involved an object with a complexity of attributes,
as in those recollection practices recommended for daily business, as a prelimi-
nary to meditation or for arousing a particular quality such as faith or a sense of
urgency. Others are so simple that the mind can rest entirely on the object, to the
exclusion of others, and need to be undertaken in seclusion. The formless
meditations refine attention further: they do not at first sight start from an easily
identifiable physical object at all. Unlike the rupa realms, they are described as
spheres (ayatanani):
5
The sphere of infinite space (akasanañcayatana)
6
The sphere of infinite consciousness (viññajañcayatana)
7
The sphere of nothingness (akiñcaññayatana)
8
The sphere of neither perception nor non-perception (nevasaññanasaññayatana).
The fifth jhana takes as an object the sense of space left behind when the kasija,
the object of the form realms, has been withdrawn for the attainment of the
‘sphere of infinite space’. The sixth takes as an object the nature of the attention
that is required for the experience of boundless space: the sphere of ‘infinite
consciousness’. The third, the sphere of nothingness, examines the sphere that is
present when the relationship between the object and its perceiver is withdrawn.
This is the jhana that the Buddha practised with one of his first teachers before
his enlightenment, but rejected as a sole means of finding release from suffering.
The last, the eighth, appears to be an examination of the arising of perception in
the mind: the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception, also practised
by the Buddha before his enlightenment but also rejected as the sole means of
ending suffering.
We tend to think of the realms of Buddhist cosmology in vertically ascending
order. If the rebirths after death in various heaven realms are taken as a counter-
part for the different levels of meditation they are certainly the most refined.
1
But
it is difficult to see that which is without form only in terms of ‘up’: they describe
experience unbounded by any kind of spatial differentiation, and appear to move

M E D I TAT I O N   O N  T H E   F O R M L E S S
174
the meditation into another dimension altogether. They are of the world (lokiya)
and not thought essential to the path but they are described as the most peaceful
form of meditative experience, all characterized by imperturbability (anenjam)
(Vibh 135).
2
We find almost nothing about these highly developed and subtle forms of
meditation in modern manuals of practice. There is an obvious reason for this: in
the Buddhist tradition, they are practised only on the basis of the attainment of the
fourth jhana. Only from this point of stability of mind is the meditator ready to
examine the object and the nature of the attention on that object in an entirely
different way. The canon is also economical in description of these states, and
gives only hints at method. In explanation of this Khantipalo says that they are
ineffable – and that meditators can think they have attained path on reaching
them. He comments: ‘Teachers in Northeast Thailand usually do not identify any
of these attainments when asked by a pupil about some meditative experience’
(Khantipalo 1981: 61). A ninth element is often added to the list in the canon:
cessation, nirodha samapatti, said to be accessible only to arahats.
3
Buddhaghosa
and Upatissa describe how these practices have traditionally been conducted: in
this instance the commentators are really essential, as we shall see later in this
section, as their discussion gives some idea of what these highly specialized
meditations involve.
4
The suttas provide little in the way of elucidation. Few images refer solely to
the formless realms, with the exception of one which says they are outside the
influence and sight of Mara, that great mythical opponent to meditative practice,
whom they are said to blindfold (see A IV 434; M I 174). They are, however,
frequently mentioned within the canon. We know from his own account that two
of the meditations predate the Buddha: he was taught the seventh jhana by A¬ara
Kalama and the eighth by Uddaka Ramaputta before embarking on his own
method, which involved a starting point in the simple happiness of the first jhana.
On the night of the enlightenment he practises all eight jhanas – though starts,
significantly, with the first. Although he had rejected his two earlier teachers, he
considered them the only people capable of grasping the teaching after his
enlightenment, an indication of the high esteem with which he held the practice
of these meditations: both teachers had in fact just died, A¬ara Kalama seven days
before, and Uddaka Ramaputta the night before (see M I 169–70). The realms
feature again just before his death. The Buddha ascends through all eight jhanas,
then back down again just before his parinibbana. He enters into the fourth jhana,
however, the traditional starting point for the formless realms and for so much of
the Buddhist path, for the moment of death.
5
From the evidence of the texts the
Buddha constantly practised and taught the formless realms, though the fact that
they are so often described after the first four confirms their dependency on a
form-sphere basis. They are usually described in the list of eight: Moggallana, for
instance, works his way through each one in turn, overcoming difficulties at each
stage before attaining the next (S IV 262–9). The following text compares the
meditator who attempts any of the jhanas after the first without a sound footing

M E D I TAT I O N   O N  T H E   F O R M L E S S
175
in the one before to a ‘foolish cow’ who slips while climbing a mountain: perhaps
also a reason for the paucity of description of these states within the canon (A IV
418–9). Other evidence in the canon emphasizes the relationship between this
practice and a starting point in the form-sphere jhanas. The list of the eight deliv-
erances, frequently mentioned in the canon alongside one or both the lists of the
spheres of transcendence and the kasijas, implies that formless meditation is a
development from skills associated with kasija practice (1–10).
6
So what do the suttas say about these subtle levels? The method of obtaining
the first is described routinely with a formula that is sparse. The usual description
is that ‘completely surmounting the perception of material forms, by leaving
behind perceptions of sensory impact and by not paying attention to perceptions
of diversity, reflecting, “space is infinite” he enters upon and abides in the sphere
of infinite space’.
7
The vocabulary used for this first and subsequent formless
jhanas reflects the shift in emphasis from earlier states. Termed spheres
(ayatanani), they are also denoted by a new verb. Two verbs are routinely applied
to all jhanas. Viharati, which means to dwell or abide, is commonly used for
residing or staying in a particular location like a house: it is the word from which
vihara, a monastery, is derived. The other is upasampajjati, to attain or enter into.
Each of the formless spheres, however, is also obtained by the meditator who
‘passes beyond’ or ‘surmounts’ (samatikkama) the state before.
8
A different kind
of movement seems to be operating, not necessarily upward. It is difficult to draw
conclusions about these changes, other than noting that they occur, and that they
are always applied: it appears that the transcendence of the object of the one
before which had operated in the first four jhanas is of a different kind. Another
noteworthy feature is that these realms do not appear to be concerned with the
refinement of feeling, purified in the first four jhanas, but rather with exploration
of the khandhas of consciousness and perception. Each of the first four jhanas are
standardly described with the factors of joy, happiness and equanimity: this last
is assumed as a basis for the formless jhanas. Indeed, according to the
Abhidhamma the mental factors present in these realms are the same as for the
fourth jhana (see DhS 265–8). The effects on the mind and body that perceive and
experience the object, so memorably evoked for the first four jhanas, are not
described for these states at all. Rather, a new dimension of exploration is
implied, involving the ability to discard the object which had previously occupied
the mind through a more subtle and refined attention as much to the means by
which the object is perceived as to the object itself. Many objects are said to lead
to the richly varied unification of the first jhana (1–10, 11–20, 27, 29, 31–40).
These jhanas, however, are each defined not by associated mental factors, but by
the single feature which is both their object and their sphere.
These few points tell us that the nature of the experience involved is of a
different order than the first four jhanas, though it needs them and their object as
a basis. The usual building blocks by which we measure and define our world and
which give us some understanding of the rupa realm are successively examined
and then transcended, so that the mind enters into an experience which concerns

the very nature of perception and consciousness itself. Buddhaghosa’s commentary
is particularly helpful here, as his instructions in this case are practical, do take a
common solid object as their starting point, and at each stage give figurative
analogies to make the next step in the process clear. The procedure is much the
same as with other meditations, in that an easily recognizable object and a
straightforward premise introduces the practice, which is then carried through
from stage to stage until a more subtle object is discerned.
Nirodha sam
apatti
Before considering his comments, mention should be made of the state often
described alongside the eight jhanas as a culmination of their work, nirodha
samapatti. This seems to be an experience of nibbana within the world that does
not, however, constitute the attainment or the fruit of any of the paths. In the lists
we considered briefly earlier, it is taken as the consummation of meditational
attainment, in which it appears difficult to distinguish the state from nibbana
itself. One sutta concerns two brahmins: Puraja Kassapa is said to subscribe to
the view that ‘with infinite knowledge I abide knowing, seeing a finite world’,
while the Jain, Nataputta, declares, ‘with infinite knowledge I abide knowing,
seeing an infinite world’ (A IV 428). The Buddha compares the situation to four
men standing at each corner of the world, who think they can run to the other end,
but never will in their own lifetime: both views placed at the beginning are, the
sutta implies, still limited by the parameters with which they circumscribe their
understanding. Mentioning each jhana in turn, the Buddha states that even the
one who transcends the allure and pleasure of shapes, sounds, smells, tastes
and touch to attain each jhana has still not crossed over the world: the one
who practises  nirodha samapatti can be said, ‘to have come to the end of the
world and abide at the end of the world, having crossed over clinging in the world’
(A IV 432).
Buddhaghosa and Upatissa: the sphere 
of infinite space
Both Buddhaghosa and Upatissa cite the problems of the sense-sphere realm as
like the pains and threats that encompass gross physical existence. Buddhaghosa
says that although these have been overcome in the form sphere, they have not
been entirely surmounted (see Vism X 3–4). It is, he says, like a man who lives in
a village where he is ill-treated, and escapes to another, where he meets another
man of similar appearance and becomes fearful and anxious. So the monk escapes
from the threats of the sense sphere by the fourth jhana. However, the earth kasija –
always a paradigm for the basis of form-sphere meditation – still reminds him of
the sense sphere, and he wishes to escape from that too. This meditation on
boundless space, he says, is practised not by removing the earlier object ‘like a
mat or by removing a cake from a tin’ but by becoming aware of the space it
M E D I TAT I O N   O N  T H E   F O R M L E S S
176

M E D I TAT I O N   O N  T H E   F O R M L E S S
177
occupies (Vism X 7). The meditator strikes at this, with initial and sustained
thought, repeating the word ‘space’. The rest of the process is the same as for the
kasija practice, except that, it is said, he becomes like a man who has stuffed a
coloured rag into a hole. When the rag is removed, he finds himself looking at
space. He notes that sense objects disappear here, and through this observation
the practice becomes imperturbable.
9
Buddhaghosa says that the practice is conducted on the basis of nine kasijas,
omitting limited space.
10
Upatissa, who describes the practice more simply than
Buddhaghosa, says, ‘But depending on space, one liberates oneself peacefully’
(PF 113). The meditator then abandons the earth kasija, its sign and dwells upon
space as an infinite object, with a mind untouched by the four elements, of fire,
water, earth and air, like an empty hole (PF 115 n. 2).
The sphere of infinite consciousness
Whereas the first formless jhana looks to an infinite object without, that of space,
the second takes the attention within to that which perceives that space.
According to the instructions we are given the meditator first considers the flaws
and tribulations of the sphere of infinite space: there is still an element of form,
it is still gross and the meditator is not completely free from a sense of diversity
and contact: so ‘he surpasses the spatial object’ (PF 117). The next sphere is
found, according to Buddhaghosa, by mastering the sphere before in five ways,
then by becoming aware of the consciousness that had perceived and pervaded
that space, repeating the word ‘consciousness’.
11
The object, which is, according
to the terminology of these realms, itself infinite, is one of the khandhas that con-
stitute the basic components of a being: the means by which one experiences the
world is being investigated. As for other formless attainments the mind (citta) is,
according to the Abhidhamma, still characterized in the same way as that of the
fourth jhana (see DhS 266).
The sphere of nothingness
Again the meditator perceives the problems of the state before: it is not com-
pletely free from a sense of space and consciousness, so, seeing the freedom of
nothingness, he attains it and surmounts the sphere of infinite consciousness and
attains to, or ‘enters into’ the sphere of nothingness that is ‘without the nature of
consciousness and is empty’ (PF 118). It is a state of ‘holding to nothing’. He then
‘dwells peacefully in the enjoyment of the reward of concentration’. Adverting to
the consciousness that has been present, he should say ‘there is not, there is not’
and ‘emptiness, emptiness’ or ‘secluded, secluded’. Two words Buddhaghosa
recommends repeating during the practice, n’atthi and suññata, are highly
suggestive in ancient Indian thought.
12
The object then becomes the empty, secluded,
non-existent state of the past consciousness that pervaded space. Buddhaghosa
compares it, evocatively, to going back to a hall where there has been an assembly

of monks, which is now empty. Sue Hamilton suggests that ‘the meditator is
learning to suspend, so to speak, the operating of his cognitive apparatus in the
usual making manifold (thing-like) way’ (Hamilton 2000: 155). Cousins suggests
the term ‘poverty’ for this realm in the sense it is sometimes taken in a Christian
context – a state of owning nothing at all (Cousins: 2001). This is supported by a
kind of joke in the Parosahassa Jataka (no. 99). The Bodhisatta assures his
disgusted fellow practitioners that he has attained ‘nothing’ on his deathbed, a
comment they misconstrue as indicative of lack of meditative skill. His meditation
ensures, however, that he is reborn in the radiant heavens (J I 405–7).
13
The sphere of neither perception nor non-perception
The tranquillity of the last formless realm is such that perception is at the bare
minimum: the meditator is compared by Buddhaghosa to a king, riding through a
city, who admires the beautiful work of dusty craftsmen working on ivory around
him, but does not wish to abandon the majesty of his status to become one (see
Vism X 46). So, he says, the meditator gives attention to the peace of his attain-
ment, but does not make any resolves to attain to it, to emerge from it or to review
it. Buddhaghosa continues his analysis through a variety of simple similes. A
novice smeared a bowl with oil, so when requested to bring it by his teacher, he
says he cannot, because there is oil in it; but when told to bring some oil he says
there is no oil. Or it is like a monk who, seeing a puddle, warns his teacher of
water ahead, so that he should take off his sandals; when the teacher proposes a
bathe, the monk says that there is no water. Or it is like tepid water, where the heat
element is not strong enough to burn. This is like perception in this state,
Buddhaghosa says, which is sufficient to be aware, but does not wish to make that
perception decisive: so there is neither perception nor non-perception.
The sparse accounts communicate a simplicity that can be sensed even in a
short summary: the formless realms explore the very nature of our consciousness
and the way the mind constructs. The first examines the measurelessness of the
space that is apparent when a physical object is withdrawn from the visual field
and a sense of the space it occupies is extended. The second takes as an object the
nature of the attention that is applied to that object, the third the sphere that is
present when the relationship between that object and its perceiver is withdrawn
and the last, it seems, the arising of awareness at the threshold of consciousness
itself. Each stage of formless meditation is dependent on earlier attainments;
careful preparation is involved in making the shift from one to the next, and each
is described by Buddhaghosa through simple and even homely analogies. The
meditation on these objects seems to use as its basis activities of the mind which
are most mundane and familiar, but which we never see or understand precisely
because they underlie all our sensory activities: we live in space, we are conscious,
we would like to own or identify things around and within us, and we perceive. It
is oddly reminiscent of the way children ask what is there when that is not, and
go on and on trying to find a solution, but in this case the reassurance that
M E D I TAT I O N   O N  T H E   F O R M L E S S
178

M E D I TAT I O N   O N  T H E   F O R M L E S S
179
underlies the questions is eventually found in the most refined, the nirodha sama-
patti, the experience of freedom in this world. Another dimension of meditation is
being described: not essential for the attainment of enlightenment, but which the
Buddha frequently practised and made use of himself. Vajirañaja writes,
‘According to Buddhist teaching the disciple should bear in mind that the object
of attaining these stages is to achieve the mastery of Samadhi; for without this
mastery of Samadhi his training would be incomplete’ (BMTP 335).
The eight jh
anas and the cessation of 
perception and feeling
Buddhaghosa quotes from the first part of this sutta while discussing the
masteries of meditation applied to the first jhana, suggesting that the meditator
should not try to review that state too much when it has first been attained. He
emphasizes the need to mature and stabilize one state before trying to enter
another (see Vism IV 130).
The foolish and the wise cow
Suppose, monks, a foolish, inexperienced mountain cow, with no
knowledge of the terrain and no skill in wandering in craggy mountains,
were to think, ‘What if I were to visit a place where I have never been
before, eat grasses I have never eaten before and drink waters I have
never drunk before?’ And, without placing her front leg carefully,
she would lift her back leg. Then she would not visit the area she had
never visited before, nor eat grasses she had never eaten before, nor
drink water she had never drunk before: and nor would she return to the
place where she had formerly thought, ‘What if I . . . ?’,  and where
she had been safe.
And what is the reason for this? It is because, monks, that foolish and
inexperienced mountain cow has no knowledge of the terrain and no
skill in wandering in craggy mountains. And in just this way, monks, if
some foolish and inexperienced monk, with no knowledge of the terrain
and no skill, secluded from the senses and secluded from unskilful
states, were to enter and abide in the first jhana, accompanied by initial
and sustained thought, with the joy and happiness born of seclusion; but
were not to practise, develop and make much of that mental image nor
settle it properly.
14
And then he thinks, ‘What if I, with the subsiding
of thoughts, were to enter and abide in the second jhana . . . ?’ but he
cannot, with the subsiding of thoughts, enter the second jhana. Then he
thinks, ‘What if I, secluded from the senses and secluded from unskilful
states, were to enter and abide in the first jhana . . . ?’ but he cannot,
secluded from the senses and secluded from unskilful states, enter and
abide in the first meditation, accompanied by initial and sustained

thought, with the joy and happiness born of seclusion. So it is said, the
monk has fallen down at both, failed at both.
15
But suppose, monks, a wise, experienced mountain cow, with
knowledge of the terrain and skill in wandering in craggy mountains,
were to think, ‘What if I were to visit a place where I have never
been before, eat grasses I have never eaten before and drink waters I have
never drunk before?’ And, placing her front leg carefully, she would lift
up her back leg. Then she would visit the area she had never visited
before, eat grasses she had never eaten before, drink water she had never
drunk before: and she would also return to the place where she had
formerly thought, ‘What if I . . . ?’, where she had been safe. And what is
the reason for this? It is because, monks, she is a wise and experienced
mountain cow, with knowledge of the terrain and skill in wandering in
craggy mountains. And in just this way, monks, some wise and
experienced monk, with knowledge of the terrain, skilful, secluded from
the senses and secluded from unskilful states, enters and abides in the
first  jhana, accompanied by initial and sustained thought, with the joy
and happiness born of seclusion; but he does practise, develop and make
much of that mental image and he settles it properly.
He thinks, ‘What if I, letting initial and sustained thought subside,
were to enter and abide in the second jhana . . . ?’ And without harming
the second meditation, letting initial and sustained thought subside, he
enters and abides in the second jhana . . . .and he does practise, develop
and make much of that mental image and settles it properly’.
16
He thinks
‘What if I abandon...? and enters the third jhana . . . .  And without
harming the third jhana, abandoning joy, he enters and abides in the
third jhana and he does practise, develop and make much of that mental
image and settles it properly’. He thinks, ‘What if I, abandoning
happiness, enter and abide in the fourth jhana . . . . And without harming
the fourth jhana, abandoning happiness, he enters and abides in the
fourth  jhana . . . and he does practise, develop and make much of that
mental image and settles it properly’. Then he thinks, ‘What if I,
completely surmounting the perception of material forms, by leaving
behind perceptions of sensory impact and by not paying attention to
perceptions of diversity, enter upon and abide in the sphere of infinite
space, reflecting, ‘space is infinite’ . . . .  What if I, completely
surmounting the sphere of infinite space, reflecting, ‘consciousness is
infinite’, enter upon and abide in the sphere of infinite consciousness . . .
What if I, completely surmounting the sphere of infinite consciousness,
reflecting that ‘there is nothing’, enter upon and abide in the sphere 
of nothingness . . . What if I, completely surmounting the sphere of
nothingness enter upon and abide in the sphere of neither perception nor
non-perception . . .  ‘What if I, completely surmounting the sphere of
M E D I TAT I O N   O N  T H E   F O R M L E S S
180

M E D I TAT I O N   O N  T H E   F O R M L E S S
181
neither perception nor non-perception enter upon and abide in the ces-
sation of perception and feeling?’ . . . Without harming the cessation of
perception and feeling, completely surmounting the sphere of neither
perception nor non-perception he enters upon and abides in the cessation
of perception and feeling.
Indeed, monks, when a monk both enters into and emerges from an
attainment, his mind is soft and manageable, and with a soft and
manageable mind his concentration is well cultivated and limitless.
17
And with well cultivated, limitless concentration he inclines his mind
with higher knowledge to whatever state that can be realized by higher
knowledge: and in each case he acquires the possibilities of an
eyewitness, in whatever that sphere may be.
18
If he should wish, ‘May I experience the various manifestations of the
psychic powers, being one, may I become many, becoming many may
I become one . . . the divine ear . . . the knowledge that encompasses the
minds of others . . . the knowledge of the recollection of past lives . . . the
divine eye . . . the elimination of the corruptions . . . ‘ with well cultivated,
limitless concentration he inclines his mind with higher knowledge to
whatever state that can be realized by higher knowledge: and in each
case he acquires the possibilities of an eyewitness, in whatever that
sphere may be.
(A IV 418–9)
Two happinesses
Monks, there are these two happinesses. What two? The happiness
of having a visible object and the happiness of having a formless object.
These are the two. Of these two the latter has pre-eminence.
(A I 80)
Peace
This was said by the Exalted One, spoken by the arahat, I have heard.
‘The formless realms, monks, are more peaceful than the form realm
and cessation is more peaceful than the formless.’ The Exalted One
explained the meaning and this was said too:
‘Both those beings who reach the form realm
And those established in the formless:
If they do not know well cessation
They come once more to further becoming.
Those who fully understand forms
And do not linger in the formless:
They are released into cessation;
They leave death behind.

Having touched with his own body
The element that is deathless, free from clinging,
Having realized for himself the relinquishment of clinging,
Free from corruptions, the Fully Awakened One teaches
A state without sorrow, free from stain.’
This is the meaning of what was said by the Exalted One: so I have heard.
(It 61–2)
M E D I TAT I O N   O N  T H E   F O R M L E S S
182

183
12
THE ONE PERCEPTION AND
THE ONE DEFINING