No narrative setting; the chapter goes one step further than Chapter 9's absorption-capable subjects
Speaker
Buddhaghosa, continuing the survey of the forty meditation subjects previewed in Chapter 3
Form
Four progressively subtler attainments, each explicitly built by taking full mastery of the one before it as a direct basis
Length
moderate; shorter than Chapters 4 or 8, though conceptually demanding
Northern parallel
Formless absorption states appear across the wider meditative tradition of the Buddha's own time, not unique to Buddhism; this guide does not assert a specific matching passage
Difficulty
★★★★☆ — abstract by nature, since each stage's object becomes progressively harder to describe in ordinary terms
Why this chapter
Several subjects in Chapters 4 through 9 — the kasinas, mindfulness of breathing, three of the four divine abidings — were shown capable of producing deep absorption while still resting on some kind of form or physical process. Chapter 10 goes one step further, describing four attainments that leave form behind entirely, each one built by taking the previous attainment's own consciousness, or its absence, as its next object. It is the most abstract material the forty-subject survey has covered so far.
Reading guide
Beyond form entirely
The chapter's basic move is this: starting from the fourth jhāna already reached through a kasina, a practitioner reflects on the drawback of still depending on any material sign as an object at all, and moves to do without one — the starting point for all four immaterial states that follow.
Base of infinite space
The first immaterial state begins by expanding the kasina sign until it seems to extend in every direction without limit, then setting aside the sign's color or quality itself and taking the boundless space that remains as the new object.
Base of infinite consciousness
The second state does not stay with that space itself. Instead, the awareness that had extended through the infinite space becomes the new object — attention shifts from the space known to the knowing of it.
Base of nothingness
The third state moves further still, attending not to any positive-seeming object but to the plain absence, the sheer nonexistence, of that former consciousness.
Base of neither perception nor non-perception
The fourth and most refined state brings perception itself to such an attenuated point that it can no longer be firmly said to be present, nor firmly said to be absent — described as the subtlest point the whole scheme of forty subjects reaches.
A ladder, not four separate paths
The chapter is explicit that each of these four is developed only by taking full mastery of the one immediately before it as a direct basis — a sequential ladder, unlike most of the forty subjects, which for the most part can each be taken up more or less independently of the others.
What follows
Chapter 11 turns to a final small set of subjects rounding out the concentration section: the perception of food's repulsiveness and the analytical defining of the four elements.
Key terms
āruppa — “immaterial” or “formless” — the general term for this chapter's four attainments, taken up together as a sequential group.
ākāsānañcāyatana — base of infinite space — the first immaterial state, taking the boundless space left after setting aside a kasina sign as its object.
viññāṇañcāyatana — base of infinite consciousness — the second, taking the awareness that had known that infinite space as its object.
ākiñcaññāyatana — base of nothingness — the third, attending to the plain absence of that former consciousness.
nevasaññānāsaññāyatana — base of neither perception nor non-perception — the fourth and most refined, where perception can no longer be firmly said to be present or absent.
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 four attainments does this chapter cover?
Correct: C. Each one built by taking the previous attainment's consciousness, or its absence, as its next object.
Question 2 of 10
What must a practitioner already have achieved before beginning the first immaterial state?
Correct: A. The starting point for reflecting on the drawback of depending on a material sign at all.
Question 3 of 10
What is the object of the first immaterial state, the base of infinite space?
Correct: A. Reached by expanding the kasina sign until it seems to extend without limit, then setting the sign itself aside.
Question 4 of 10
What is the object of the second immaterial state, the base of infinite consciousness?
Correct: B. Attention shifts from the space known to the knowing of it.
Question 5 of 10
What is the object of the third immaterial state, the base of nothingness?
Correct: C. Not a positive-seeming object, but attention to an absence.
Question 6 of 10
What characterizes the fourth immaterial state, the base of neither perception nor non-perception?
Correct: D. Described as the subtlest point the whole forty-subject scheme reaches.
Question 7 of 10
How does each immaterial state relate to the one before it?
Correct: C. A sequential ladder, described explicitly in the chapter.
Question 8 of 10
How does this sequential structure differ from how most of the forty subjects are approached?
Correct: D. This chapter's structure is unusual within the broader forty-subject survey.
Question 9 of 10
What does Chapter 11 turn to next?
Correct: A. A final small set of subjects rounding out the concentration section.
Question 10 of 10
Where can a reader go for Chapter 10's full translated text?
Correct: D. As with every page in this series, since none reproduces the translation itself.
