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sn.16.9 Saṁyutta Nikāya (Linked Discourses)

Jhanas and Direct Knowledges

At Savatthī. “Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, I enter and dwell in the first jhana, which is accompanied by thought and examination, with rapture and happiness born of seclusion. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, enters and dwells in the first jhana.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, with the subsiding of thought and examination, I enter and dwell in the second jhana, which has internal confidence and unification of mind, is without thought and examination, and has rapture and happiness born of concentration. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, with the subsiding of thought and examination, enters and dwells in the second jhana.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, with the fading away as well of rapture, I dwell equanimous, and mindful and clearly comprehending, I experience happiness with the body; I enter and dwell in the third jhana of which the noble ones declare: ‘He is equanimous, mindful, one who dwells happily.’ Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the third jhana.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous passing away of joy and displeasure, I enter and dwell in the fourth jhana, which is neither painful nor pleasant and includes the purification of mindfulness by equanimity. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the fourth jhana.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, with the complete transcendence of perceptions of forms, with the passing away of perceptions of sensory impingement, with nonattention to perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite,’ I enter and dwell in the base of the infinity of space. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the base of the infinity of space.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite,’ I enter and dwell in the base of the infinity of consciousness. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the base of the infinity of consciousness.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, by completely transcending the base of the infinity of consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ I enter and dwell in the base of nothingness. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the base of nothingness.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, by completely transcending the base of nothingness, I enter and dwell in the base of neither-perception-nor-nonperception. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the base of neither-perception-nor-nonperception.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, by completely transcending the base of neither-perception-nor-nonperception, I enter and dwell in the cessation of perception and feeling. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, enters and dwells in the cessation of perception and feeling.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, I wield the various kinds of spiritual power: having been one, I become many; having been many, I become one; I appear and vanish; I go unhindered through a wall, through a rampart, through a mountain as though through space; I dive in and out of the earth as though it were water; I walk on water without sinking as though it were earth; seated cross-legged, I travel in space like a bird; with my hand I touch and stroke the moon and sun so powerful and mighty; I exercise mastery with the body as far as the brahma world. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, wields the various kinds of spiritual power.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, with the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses the human, I hear both kinds of sounds, the divine and human, those that are far as well as near. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, with the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses the human, hears both kinds of sounds.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, I understand the minds of other beings and persons, having encompassed them with my own mind. I understand a mind with lust as a mind with lust; a mind without lust as a mind without lust; a mind with hatred as a mind with hatred; a mind without hatred as a mind without hatred; a mind with delusion as a mind with delusion; a mind without delusion as a mind without delusion; a contracted mind as contracted and a distracted mind as distracted; an exalted mind as exalted and an unexalted mind as unexalted; a surpassable mind as surpassable and an unsurpassable mind as unsurpassable; a concentrated mind as concentrated and an unconcentrated mind as unconcentrated; a liberated mind as liberated and an unliberated mind as unliberated. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, understands the minds of other beings and persons, having encompassed them with his own mind.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, I recollect my manifold past abodes, that is, one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many aeons of world-contraction, many aeons of world-expansion, many aeons of world-contraction and expansion thus: ‘There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life span; passing away from there, I was reborn elsewhere, and there too I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life span; passing away from there, I was reborn here.’ Thus I recollect my manifold past abodes with their modes and details. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, recollects his manifold past abodes with their modes and details.

“Bhikkhus, to whatever extent I wish, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, I see beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and I understand how beings fare on according to their kamma thus: ‘These beings who engaged in misconduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled the noble ones, held wrong view, and undertook actions based on wrong view, with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in a state of misery, in a bad destination, in the nether world, in hell; but these beings who engaged in good conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right view, and undertook action based on right view, with the breakup of the body, after death, have been reborn in a good destination, in a heavenly world.’ Thus with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, I see beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and I understand how beings fare on according to their kamma. Kassapa too, to whatever extent he wishes, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, sees beings passing away and being reborn, inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings fare on according to their kamma.

“Bhikkhus, by the destruction of the taints, in this very life I enter and dwell in the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for myself with direct knowledge. Kassapa too, by the destruction of the taints, in this very life enters and dwells in the taintless liberation of mind, liberation by wisdom, realizing it for himself with direct knowledge.”

- Translator: Bhikkhu Bodhi

- Editor: Blake Walsh


Absorptions and Insights

And so does Kassapa.”
At Sāvatthī.
“Mendicants, whenever I want, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unskillful qualities, I enter and remain in the first absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of seclusion, while placing the mind and keeping it connected.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, as the placing of the mind and keeping it connected are stilled, I enter and remain in the second absorption, which has the rapture and bliss born of immersion, with internal clarity and confidence, and unified mind, without placing the mind and keeping it connected.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, with the fading away of rapture, I enter and remain in the third absorption, where I meditate with equanimity, mindful and aware, personally experiencing the bliss of which the noble ones declare, ‘Equanimous and mindful, one meditates in bliss.’
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, with the giving up of pleasure and pain, and the ending of former happiness and sadness, I enter and remain in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, going totally beyond perceptions of form, with the ending of perceptions of impingement, not focusing on perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite’, I enter and remain in the dimension of infinite space.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite’, I enter and remain in the dimension of infinite consciousness.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing at all’, I enter and remain in the dimension of nothingness.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, going totally beyond the dimension of nothingness, I enter and remain in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, I enter and remain in the cessation of perception and feeling.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, I wield the many kinds of psychic power: multiplying myself and becoming one again; going unimpeded through a wall, a rampart, or a mountain as if through space; diving in and out of the earth as if it were water; walking on water as if it were earth; flying cross-legged through the sky like a bird; touching and stroking with the hand the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful. I control the body as far as the Brahmā realm.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, with clairaudience that is purified and superhuman, I hear both kinds of sounds, human and divine, whether near or far.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, I understand the minds of other beings and individuals, having comprehended them with my mind.
I understand mind with greed as ‘mind with greed’,
and mind without greed as ‘mind without greed’;
mind with hate …
mind without hate …
mind with delusion …
mind without delusion …
constricted mind …
scattered mind …
expansive mind …
unexpansive mind …
mind that is not supreme …
mind that is supreme …
mind immersed in samādhi …
mind not immersed in samādhi …
freed mind …
unfreed mind …
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, I recollect my many kinds of past lives. That is: one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand rebirths; many eons of the world contracting, many eons of the world expanding, many eons of the world contracting and expanding. I remember: ‘There, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn somewhere else. There, too, I was named this, my clan was that, I looked like this, and that was my food. This was how I felt pleasure and pain, and that was how my life ended. When I passed away from that place I was reborn here.’ And so I recollect my many kinds of past lives, with features and details.
And so does Kassapa.
Whenever I want, with clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, I see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. I understand how sentient beings are reborn according to their deeds. ‘These dear beings did bad things by way of body, speech, and mind. They spoke ill of the noble ones; they had wrong view; and they chose to act out of that wrong view. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a place of loss, a bad place, the underworld, hell. These dear beings, however, did good things by way of body, speech, and mind. They never spoke ill of the noble ones; they had right view; and they chose to act out of that right view. When their body breaks up, after death, they’re reborn in a good place, a heavenly realm.’ And so, with clairvoyance that is purified and superhuman, I see sentient beings passing away and being reborn—inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, in a good place or a bad place. I understand how sentient beings are reborn according to their deeds.
And so does Kassapa.
I have realized the undefiled freedom of heart and freedom by wisdom in this very life. And I live having realized it with my own insight due to the ending of defilements.