Aṇguttara Nikāya
Aṭṭhaka Nipāta
Rāgādi Peyyālaṃ
The Book of Eights
Sutta 93
Aṭṭha-Vimokkha Suttaṃ
The Spheres of Deliverance from Passion
Translated from the Pāḷi
by
Michael M. Olds
Once upon a time The Lucky Man, Sāvatthi Town revisiting.
There, to the Beggars gathered round he said:
"Beggars!"
And, "Broke Tooth!" they responded.
"Beggars, for the complete understanding of passion eight things must be developed.
What eight?
Seeing the materiality of material.
Perceiving personal immateriality
one sees external forms.
Thinking 'How pure!'
he is intent on that.
Elevating himself above all perceptions of materiality,
allowing perceptions of resistance to subside,
not scrutinizing perceptions of diversity,
thinking:
'Un-ending is space.'
he enters into and makes a habitat of the Dimension of Space.
Elevating himself completely above the Dimension of Space,
thinking:
'Unending is consciousness.'
he enters into and makes a habitat of the Dimension of Consciousness.
Elevating himself completely above the Dimension of Consciousness,
thinking:
'There is nothing to own there.'
he enters into and makes a habitat of the Dimension of No Things There.
Elevating himself completely above the Dimension of No Things There
he enters into and makes a habitat of the Dimension of Neither-perception-nor-non-perception.
Elevating himself completely above the Dimension of Neither-perception-nor-non-perception,
he enters into and makes a habitat of
the ending of sense-perception and sense-experience.
Beggars, for the complete understanding of passion these eight things must be developed."
