Anupubbanirodhasutta — Sattāvāsavagga — the third chapter of the Nines
Setting
None stated in the source
Speakers
The Buddha alone, addressing the mendicants
Form
A single bare list of nine, each item naming what has ceased at a specific meditative attainment
Length
~1 minute to read
Closing the chapter, and its own colophon
This discourse closes Sattāvāsavagga, the third chapter of the Nines; the source's own untranslated closing verse names all eleven discourses of the chapter by their opening words
Difficulty
★★★☆☆ — a precise meditative catalogue, best read alongside AN 9.24's abodes
Why this discourse
Nine progressive cessations mark each successive meditative attainment: sensual perceptions cease at the first absorption, placing and keeping the mind connected cease at the second, rapture at the third, breathing at the fourth, and, through the four formless dimensions, perception of form, of infinite space, of infinite consciousness, and finally of nothingness, each cease in turn, ending with the total cessation of perception and feeling.
Reading guide
The teaching in one sentence
Nine things cease in progressive order across nine meditative attainments: sensual perceptions at the first absorption, placing and keeping the mind connected at the second, rapture at the third, breathing at the fourth, and then, through the four formless dimensions and the cessation of perception and feeling, each successively subtler perception in turn.
Nine attainments, not nine practices
Unlike most nine-item lists in this chapter, this discourse's nine items are not nine parallel options to choose among but nine stages of a single deepening sequence, each attainment definitionally including everything that ceased at the stages before it.
From the four absorptions through the formless dimensions
The first four cessations track the four form-absorptions familiar throughout this collection; the next four track the four formless dimensions already met in full at AN 9.24's abodes of sentient beings, each one's perception replaced by a subtler one still. The ninth and final cessation, of perception and feeling itself, goes further than even the abodes catalogue in AN 9.24 reaches.
Closing the third chapter
With this discourse, Sattāvāsavagga, the third chapter of the Nines, closes. The source's own untranslated colophon and chapter-summary verse name all eleven discourses of the chapter by their opening words, as with every chapter closer met so far in this collection.
Key terms
anupubbanirodhā — “progressive cessations” — the discourse's own title term, naming nine successive stages rather than nine parallel options.
kāmasaññā niruddhā honti — “sensual perceptions have ceased” — the first cessation, marking the first absorption.
assāsapassāsā niruddhā honti — “breathing has ceased” — the fourth cessation, marking the fourth absorption.
ākiñcaññāyatanasaññā niruddhā honti — “the perception of the dimension of nothingness has ceased” — the eighth cessation, marking the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception.
saññāvedayitanirodhaṁ samāpannassa saññā ca vedanā ca niruddhā honti — “for someone who has attained the cessation of perception and feeling, perception and feeling have ceased” — the ninth and final cessation, closing the sequence and this chapter.
The text
The discourse in full: nine progressive cessations across the four absorptions, the four formless dimensions, and the cessation of perception and feeling. The source's own closing colophon and chapter-summary verse are untranslated in the English and are described rather than quoted here. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
Nine progressive cessations
§1“Mendicants, there are these nine progressive cessations. What nine? For someone who has attained the first absorption, sensual perceptions have ceased. For someone who has attained the second absorption, the placing of the mind and keeping it connected have ceased. For someone who has attained the third absorption, rapture has ceased. For someone who has attained the fourth absorption, breathing has ceased. For someone who has attained the dimension of infinite space, the perception of form has ceased. For someone who has attained the dimension of infinite consciousness, the perception of the dimension of infinite space has ceased. For someone who has attained the dimension of nothingness, the perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness has ceased. For someone who has attained the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, the perception of the dimension of nothingness has ceased. For someone who has attained the cessation of perception and feeling, perception and feeling have ceased. These are the nine progressive cessations.”
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Self-check quiz
6 questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 6
How do this discourse's nine cessations differ in kind from most other nine-item lists in this chapter?
Correct: B. Each attainment builds on and includes what ceased before it.
Question 2 of 6
What ceases at the first absorption, according to this discourse?
Correct: B. The first of nine progressive cessations.
Question 3 of 6
How do the fifth through eighth cessations relate to AN 9.24?
Correct: B. The same territory, reframed here as successive cessation rather than as an abode.
Question 4 of 6
What is the ninth and final cessation, and how does it compare to AN 9.24's reach?
Correct: B. A stage beyond even the four formless dimensions catalogued at AN 9.24.
Question 5 of 6
What does this discourse close?
Correct: B. The chapter's own closing colophon, left untranslated in the English.
Question 6 of 6
Is a setting given for this discourse?
Correct: C. A bare meditative catalogue, closing the chapter without narrative frame.
