AN 9.34. Extinguishment

Venerable Sariputta was once staying at the squirrels’ feeding ground in the bamboo grove near Rajagaha. There he addressed the mendicants: “Venerables, extinguishment is pleasant!”

Then Venerable Udayi asked him: “But, Venerable Sariputta, what can be pleasant when nothing is experienced?”

“Then exactly that, venerable, is pleasant: that nothing is experienced.

There are these objects of the five senses. What five? Sights cognized with the sense of sight, sounds cognized with the sense of hearing, smells cognized with the sense of smell, flavors cognized sense of taste, and tangibles cognized with the sense of touch, which are likable, desirable, agreeable, pleasurable, sensual, and alluring. Those are the objects of the five senses. The pleasure and happiness that are based on these objects of the five senses is called sensual pleasure.

When you get fully separated from sensual objects and separated from unwholesome states of mind, you attain the first jhana, where there is delight and bliss caused by the separation, to which the mind moves and holds on. If, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of sensual objects comes back, that will be an affliction to you. Just like pain that might come up is mere affliction to one who feels at ease, if, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of sensual objects comes back, that will be an affliction to you. And the Buddha said that whatever is an affliction, is suffering. So that is one way you can come to understand that extinguishment is pleasant.

Further, when the moving and holding subside, you attain the second jhana, where the mind is confident within and at one, not moving or holding on, so there is just delight and bliss caused by the unification. If, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the movement comes back, that will be an affliction to you. Just like pain that might come up is mere affliction to one who feels at ease, if, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the movement comes back, that will be an affliction to you. And the Buddha said that whatever is an affliction, is suffering. So that is another way you can come to understand that extinguishment is pleasant.

Further, when the delight fades away too, you attain the third jhana, where even-minded, alert, and aware, you yourself experience just bliss, which the noble ones describe as blissful abiding, even-minded and alert. If, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of delight comes back, that will be an affliction to you. Just like pain that might come up is mere affliction to one who feels at ease, if, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of delight comes back, that will be an affliction to you. And the Buddha said that whatever is an affliction, is suffering. So that is another way you can come to understand that extinguishment is pleasant.

Further, when the bliss is abandoned, you attain the fourth jhana—the purification of alertness and even-mindedness—where, since pain was abandoned, and earlier happiness and unhappiness ended too, there is just a neutral sensation. If, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the even-minded bliss comes back, that will be an affliction to you. Just like pain that might come up is mere affliction to one who feels at ease, if, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the even-minded bliss comes back, that will be an affliction to you. And the Buddha said that whatever is an affliction, is suffering. So that is another way you can come to understand that extinguishment is pleasant.

Further, after the complete transcendence of perceptions of form, after the disappearance of impinging perceptions, not focusing on diversified perceptions, aware of unbounded space, you attain state of unbounded space. If, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of form comes back, that will be an affliction to you. Just like pain that might come up is mere affliction to one who feels at ease, if, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of form comes back, that will be an affliction to you. And the Buddha said that whatever is an affliction, is suffering. So that is another way you can come to understand that extinguishment is pleasant.

Further, after the complete transcendence of state of unbounded space, aware of unbounded consciousness, you attain state of unbounded consciousness. If, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the state of unbounded space comes back, that will be an affliction to you. Just like pain that might come up is mere affliction to one who feels at ease, if, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the state of unbounded space comes back, that will be an affliction to you. And the Buddha said that whatever is an affliction, is suffering. So that is another way you can come to understand that extinguishment is pleasant.

Further, after the complete transcendence of state of unbounded consciousness, aware of there being nothing, you attain state of nothingness. If, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the state of unbounded consciousness comes back, that will be an affliction to you. Just like pain that might come up is mere affliction to one who feels at ease, if, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the state of unbounded consciousness comes back, that will be an affliction to you. And the Buddha said that whatever is an affliction, is suffering. So that is another way you can come to understand that extinguishment is pleasant.

Further, after the complete transcendence of state of nothingness, you attain state of neither awareness nor nonawareness. If, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the state of nothingness comes back, that will be an affliction to you. Just like pain that might come up is mere affliction to one who feels at ease, if, while meditating like that, due to loss of focus, perception of the state of nothingness comes back, that will be an affliction to you. And the Buddha said that whatever is an affliction, is suffering. So that is another way you can come to understand that extinguishment is pleasant.

Further, after the complete transcendence of state of neither awareness nor nonawareness, you attain the cessation of awareness and what’s experienced. And after you see with understanding, your defilements are fully ended. So that is another way you can come to understand that extinguishment is pleasant.”