The compressed formula, matching SN 28.5–6's own treatment
Length
Under a minute to read
Northern parallel
A rough counterpart may exist in the Chinese Saṃyukta-āgama (T99), though this reading guide does not assert a specific matching sutra number
Difficulty
★☆☆☆☆ — brief and familiar by this point
Why this discourse
The seventh step: going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, Sāriputta enters the dimension of nothingness — a further transcendence in the same structural pattern already established at SN 28.5–6, the third of the four formless attainments.
Reading guide
Beyond infinite consciousness itself
"Going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that 'there is nothing at all', I entered and remained in the dimension of nothingness" — the same pattern as SN 28.6: not adding a new quality, but transcending the attainment just reached.
A name that could mislead
"Nothingness" here names a specific meditative attainment with its own defining awareness ("there is nothing at all"), not a state of blankness or absence of experience altogether — it remains, like every attainment in this saṃyutta, something Sāriputta "entered and remained in," an actively sustained state rather than a mere gap.
The same brevity, holding steady
As with SN 28.5–6, only the bare formula survives, the surrounding narrative entirely trusted to the reader's memory by this point in the saṃyutta.
One formless attainment remains
SN 28.8 will complete the four formless attainments with neither perception nor non-perception, before SN 28.9 returns to full treatment for the cessation of perception and feeling.
Key terms
viññāṇañcāyatanaṁ samatikkamma — going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness — this discourse's own defining transition
natthi kiñcīti — "there is nothing at all" — the awareness defining this attainment, not a claim of blank unconsciousness
ākiñcaññāyatana — the dimension of nothingness — the third of the four formless attainments, giving this discourse its name
āruppa — the formless attainments — each an actively sustained state Sāriputta "enters and remains in," not a mere gap in experience
peyyāla — an elision mark — continuing this saṃyutta's compression pattern from SN 28.5–6
The text
The complete discourse as bilara-data preserves it: Sāriputta's report of the dimension of nothingness. Translation: Bhikkhu Sujato (CC0, SuttaCentral).
§1At Sāvatthī. Venerable Ānanda saw Venerable Sāriputta … “Reverend, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing at all’, I entered and remained in the dimension of nothingness. …” …
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Self-check quiz
Ten questions. Click an answer to see immediate feedback. No score is recorded — this is for your own checking.
Question 1 of 10
What meditative attainment does Sāriputta report in this discourse?
Correct: A. The third of the four formless attainments.
Question 2 of 10
What does this discourse say Sāriputta goes beyond to reach this attainment?
Correct: A. The same structural pattern as SN 28.6: transcending the attainment just reached.
Question 3 of 10
What does "nothingness" actually name in this discourse?
Correct: A. Something Sāriputta actively "entered and remained in," not a mere gap.
Question 4 of 10
What awareness defines this attainment?
Correct: A. The dimension of nothingness's own defining perception.
Question 5 of 10
What does this discourse's source preserve, given its own compression?
Correct: A. Matching SN 28.5–6's own compressed treatment.
Question 6 of 10
What one formless attainment remains after this discourse?
Correct: A. Completing the four formless attainments before SN 28.9's own full treatment.
Question 7 of 10
Where is this discourse set?
Correct: A. Matching the setting of most discourses in this saṃyutta.
Question 8 of 10
What discourse comes next in this saṃyutta's sequence?
Correct: A. Continuing this saṃyutta's own ascending sequence one attainment at a time.
Question 9 of 10
What structural principle governs how each formless attainment relates to the one before it?
Correct: A. Confirmed already at SN 28.6, holding here as well.
Question 10 of 10
What is this saṃyutta's own recurring narrative frame, trusted to memory here?
Correct: A. Established at SN 28.1, compressed away here but still implied.
