Beyond the jhānas and the “form realm”

The suttas described that even the perceptions of “form” in the

jhānas can be transcended, just like other mental activities can be
transcended
DN15: “There are beings who, with the complete transcending of
perceptions of [physical] form, with the disappearance of
perceptions of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of
diversity/multiplicity, [perceiving,] ‘Infinite space,’ arrive at the
dimension of the infinitude of space.”
Explain the word “resistance”
Notice the word “diversity/multiplicity”—further proof that the
form jhanas are ranges of activities rather than fixed focus
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Beyond the jhānas and the “form realm”

The descriptions of the four bases of the formless realm

MN111: “Furthermore, with the complete transcending of
perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of
resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, [perceiving,]
‘Infinite space,’ [the meditator] entered & remained in the
dimension of the infinitude of space.” (continued)
“Furthermore, with the complete transcending of the dimension
of the infinitude of space, [perceiving,] ‘Infinite consciousness,’
[the meditator] entered & remained in the dimension of the
infinitude of consciousness.” (continued)

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Beyond the jhānas and the “form realm”

(MN111 continued)
“Furthermore, with the complete transcending of the dimension
of the infinitude of consciousness, [perceiving,] ‘There is not-a-
thing-ness,’ [the meditator] entered & remained in the dimension
of not-a-thing-ness. ”
“Furthermore, with the complete transcending of the dimension
of not-a-thing-ness, [the meditator] entered & remained in the
dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.”
(notice that for this last one, there is no reiteration of the
“perceiving” formula)

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The “formless bases”

1. The base of boundless/infinite space

2. The base of boundless consciousness
3. The base of not-a-thing-ness/nothingness
4. The base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception
These are not jhānas in the suttas, but in the
commentaries, are sometimes called the formless jhānas

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The “formless bases”

“Rather than being determined by a surmounting of

[jhānas] factors, the order of the [formless bases] is
determined by a surmounting of objects. Whereas the
[form jhānas] the object can remain constant but the
factors must be changed, for the [formless bases] the
factors remain constant while the objects change.”—
Henepola Gunaratana (1988), the Jhānas, p. 42

Here, the “constant factors” are those that make up the

fourth jhāna. That is, the commentaries understood the
fourth jhāna as the common foundation for all the
formless bases (all of them are variations of the fourth
jhānas with increasingly subtle perceptual objects)
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The “Formless Realm” as part of The Three Realms

The Abhidhammika idea of the “Three Realms”:

1. the sensual/sensory realm (kāmadhātu)
2. the form realm (rūpadhātu—sometimes “material” or
“fine material” realm)
3. the formless realm (ārūpyadhātu—sometimes
“immaterial” realm)
These correspond to both the cosmological as well as
psychological domains

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The Three Realms

What is the sensual realm about?

A note on the Chinese apocrypha’s (Heroic March,
Perfect Enlightenment…) notion of sensual realm
(characterized by sexual activities)
Mainstream Buddhism’s sensual realm is about the
mode of mind that is characterized by sensory
desires/obsessions/fevers.
This is why, to enter jhānas, which are in the “form
realm,” one has to find composure in bodily sensations
that are not tied to the “five chords of sensory desires”

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Formless?

What about form and formless realms? What is “form”?

In many commentarial traditions, “form” is a conceptual
abstraction, or kasina—a stable meditation object
suitable for fixed absorption, such as an image (such as
the Visuddhimagga’s counterpart-image)
In these traditions, to enter the formless realm one has to
abandon the material kasinas and/or to pick up an
immaterial kasina (the concept of “space”)

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Formless?

The suttas, on the other hand, suggest that “form” is the

perception or the subjective experience of the physical
body
DN15: “To what extent, Ananda, does one delineate
when delineating a self? Either delineating a self
possessed of form and finite…or, delineating a self
possessed of form and infinite…or, delineating a self
formless and finite…or, delineating a self formless and
infinite...”

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Formless?

This felt sense of the body is characterized by the

subjective qualities of solidity (earth), temperature
(fire), liquidity (water), and movement (wind) (The
Vedas talk of the Great Elements in a cosmogenic way;
the Buddha, in contrast, spoke of them in a
phenomenological way)
SN12.2: “And what is name-&-form? Feeling,
perception, intention, contact, & attention: This is called
name. The four great elements, and the form dependent
on the four great elements: This is called form.”

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Formless?

As we have explained, Buddhist meditation is about

ferreting out causes of disturbance/agitation to the mind
(per the Four Noble Truth). In ferreting out these causes,
one can either 1. arrive at a more peaceful state (release
of the mind), or 2. discover the universal causes of all
suffering (release via wisdom)
These two possibilities are outlined in the following

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Two possibilities

MN140: “[In the fourth jhana], there remains only equanimity:

pure & bright, pliant, malleable, & luminous. One discerns that
‘If I were to direct equanimity as pure & bright as this toward the
dimension of the infinitude of space, I would develop the mind
along those lines’”...(i.e. the first possibility, which is to further
refine the fourth jhana as to arrive at a higher state of being)

The other possibility: “One neither fabricates nor mentally

fashions for the sake of becoming or un-becoming. This being the
case, one is not sustained by anything in the world (does not cling
to anything in the world). Unsustained, one is not agitated.
Unagitated, one is totally unbound right within.”

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Two possibilities

Given this fact, even when one has arrived at a serene,

equanimous, and unified experience of tactile sensations
(jhānas), one can continue to go further along this line
of “ferreting out” subjective suffering
That is, one can look at how even such an experience of
the “form” is still afflicted with the feeling of being
confined to a body, the feeling of corporeal resistance…
(Laozi, after all, said that “my greatest torment lies in
that I have this corporeal existence”), and aim instead at
not being confined to or hemmed into a physical place
(boundless space)

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Formless bases as formless perceptions

MN121: http://
www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.121.than.html

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Formless bases as formless perceptions

MN121 describes the sequential order of developing

different perceptions. By discovering and ferreting out what
“disturbance” lies within a certain perception, the meditator
can move into increasingly more serene states:
1. Perceptions of village
What are possible disturbances in such a perception?
2. (in the Chinese version, the second perception is
“community of practitioners,” which is not mentioned in the
Pali version)
What are possible disturbances in such a perception?
(continued)

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Formless bases as formless perceptions

(continued)
3. Earth
What are possible disturbances in such a perception?
Note that Buddhism speaks of very subtle psychology. Here,
even the very activity to delineate boundaries and borders is
considered stressful. Why not let go of the constant need to
draw perceptual boundaries?
The stories of night diving and an anecdote on wobbly and
distorted perceptions (enlarged head, shrunken body, and,
eventually, losing orientation, etc.) (continued)

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Formless bases as formless perceptions

(continued)
4. 1st to 4th formeless bases
What are possible disturbances in such a perception?
The disturbances are so subtle and hard to describe that the
sutta simply mentions the name of each and every of the
bases as disturbances
Going over the four formless bases

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Formless bases as formless perceptions

One possible way to look at the progression through the

formless bases is based on reflecting upon the “existential
grounds” of the former perception (let me show you)…
Felt sense of the bodyboundless space
Boundless spaceboundless consciousness
Boundless consciousnessnot-a-thing-ness
Not-a-thing-nessneither perception nor non perception

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Formless bases as formless perceptions

(continued)
5. Themeless/signless: “‘There is only this non-emptiness
(that which is not emptied/obviated): that connected with the
six sensory spheres, dependent on this very body with life as
its condition.’”
What is this about?
This is basically saying that, however subtle a perception,
not having to perch within any perception is an even greater
release!
This is very close to, but not quite “Release” from all
conditioned activities (continued)

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Formless bases as formless perceptions

(continued)
6. Release: “He discerns that ‘This theme-less concentration
of awareness is fabricated & mentally fashioned.’ And he
discerns that ‘Whatever is fabricated & mentally fashioned
is inconstant & subject to cessation.’ For him — thus
knowing, thus seeing — the mind is released from the
effluent of sensuality, the effluent of becoming, the effluent
of ignorance. With release, there is the knowledge,
‘Released.’ He discerns that ‘Birth is ended, the holy life
fulfilled, the task done. There is nothing further for this
world.’”

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Formless bases as formless perceptions

Any and all of the jhānas and the formless bases can be used
to fabricate greater peace and, in that process, help one
discover the universal causes of suffering
AN9.36: “I tell you, the ending of the mental fermentations
depends on the first jhana... the second jhana... the third...
the fourth... the dimension of the infinitude of space... the
dimension of the infinitude of consciousness... the
dimension of nothingness. I tell you, the ending of the
mental fermentations depends on the dimension of neither
perception nor non-perception.”

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Formless bases as formless perceptions

These formless experiences can be experienced by

Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike
These formless experiences (anything short of Release) are
described as not-uniquely-Buddhist experiences. Without
Right Understanding, they often lead to mystical
views/philosophies (many later developed so-called
Buddhist philosophies are actually reminiscent of the
formless bases)
It is said that with Right Understanding, these are just
unique experiences without leading to reified views

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Formless bases and mystical views

Base of boundless space:

Those practicing the Satipaṭṭhānas can become so immersed
in the sensations that physical boundaries disappear
On the other hand, those without Right Understanding who
have experienced that physical boundary is a mental
construct and can be transcended (the base of boundless
space) often couch their views about Reality, God, Soul,
Love in such terms (continued)

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Formless bases and mystical views

Base of boundless consciousness:

Those practicing the Satipaṭṭhānas can feel as if all the
objects being mindfully observed are transient phenomena
against the backdrop of an all-enveloping awareness
On the other hand, those without Right Understanding
would often subscribe to some kind of mystical idealism
(“There is only this Buddha Mind!” “Consciousness is God
that creates and sustains All!”)

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Formless bases and mystical views

Base of not-a-thing-ness:
Those practicing the Satipaṭṭhānas can feel as if all the
observed objects lose their entity-ness and are radically
impermanent
On the other hand, those without Right Understanding
would often subscribe to some kind of mystical non-
substantism (“Emptiness,” “all phenomena are unreal, but a
dream”)

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Formless bases and mystical views

Interestingly, MN106 tells us that when perching on the

views of impermanence and no-self, one can arrive at the
base of not-a-thing-ness
This is why impermanence and not-self are “perceptions”
and not Reality in early Buddhism; they can potentially lead
to rebirth in a highly mystical state

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Formless bases and mystical views

The view that is engendered by the base of neither-

perception-nor-non-perception is highly reminiscent of the
Perfection of Wisdom teaching:
Deconstruction of all thought constructs
“non-production of all dharmas…inherently quiescent”
Nonduality of all opposing pairs: samsara/nirvana,
suffering/happiness…

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