{"collection":"Anguttara Nikaya","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/suttacentral_an10.29/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/suttacentral_an10.29","id":"suttacentral_an10.29","license":"CC0","rights_basis":"suttacentral_bilara_data_cc0","source":"suttacentral","source_url":"https://suttacentral.net/an10.29/en/sujato","summary":null,"tags":["Anguttara Nikaya","Early Buddhist Texts"],"text":"\u201cAs far as K\u0101si and Kosala extend, and as far as the dominion of King Pasenadi of Kosala extends, King Pasenadi is said to be the foremost. But even King Pasenadi decays and perishes. Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with it. Their desire fades away even for the foremost, let alone the inferior. A galaxy extends a thousand times as far as the moon and sun revolve and the dazzling ones light up the quarters. In that galaxy there are a thousand moons, a thousand suns, a thousand Sinerus king of mountains, a thousand Black Plum Tree Lands, a thousand lands west of God\u0101var\u012b, a thousand lands north of Kuru, a thousand lands east of Videha, four thousand oceans, four thousand great kings, a thousand realms of the gods of the four great kings, a thousand realms of the gods of the thirty-three, of the gods of Yama, of the joyful gods, of the gods who love to create, of the gods who control what is created by others, and a thousand realms of divinity. As far as the galaxy extends, the Great Divinity is said to be the foremost. But even the Great Divinity decays and perishes. Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with it. Their desire fades away even for the foremost, let alone the inferior. There comes a time when this cosmos contracts. As it contracts, most sentient beings migrate to the realm of sublime luminosity. There they are mind-made, feeding on rapture, self-radiant, wandering in midair, steadily glorious, and they remain like that for a very long time. When the cosmos is contracting, the gods of sublime luminosity are said to be the foremost. But even the gods of sublime luminosity decay and perish. Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with it. Their desire fades away even for the foremost, let alone the inferior. There are these ten universal dimensions of meditation. What ten? Someone perceives the meditation on universal earth above, below, across, undivided and limitless. They perceive the meditation on universal water \u2026 the meditation on universal fire \u2026 the meditation on universal air \u2026 the meditation on universal blue \u2026 the meditation on universal yellow \u2026 the meditation on universal red \u2026 the meditation on universal white \u2026 the meditation on universal space \u2026 They perceive the meditation on universal consciousness above, below, across, undivided and limitless. These are the ten universal dimensions of meditation. The best of these ten universal dimensions of meditation is when someone perceives the meditation on universal consciousness above, below, across, undivided and limitless. Some sentient beings perceive like this. But even the sentient beings who perceive like this decay and perish. Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with it. Their desire fades away even for the foremost, let alone the inferior. There are these eight dimensions of mastery. What eight? Perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, limited, both pretty and ugly. Mastering them, they perceive: \u2018I know and see.\u2019 This is the first dimension of mastery. Perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, limitless, both pretty and ugly. Mastering them, they perceive: \u2018I know and see.\u2019 This is the second dimension of mastery. Not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, limited, both pretty and ugly. Mastering them, they perceive: \u2018I know and see.\u2019 This is the third dimension of mastery. Not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, limitless, both pretty and ugly. Mastering them, they perceive: \u2018I know and see.\u2019 This is the fourth dimension of mastery. Not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, blue, with blue color and blue appearance. They\u2019re like a flax flower that\u2019s blue, with blue color and blue appearance. Or a cloth from Varanasi that\u2019s smoothed on both sides, blue, with blue color and blue appearance. In the same way, not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, blue, with blue color and blue appearance. Mastering them, they perceive: \u2018I know and see.\u2019 This is the fifth dimension of mastery. Not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, yellow, with yellow color and yellow appearance. They\u2019re like a champak flower that\u2019s yellow, with yellow color and yellow appearance. Or a cloth from Varanasi that\u2019s smoothed on both sides, yellow, with yellow color and yellow appearance. In the same way, not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, yellow, with yellow color and yellow appearance. Mastering them, they perceive: \u2018I know and see.\u2019 This is the sixth dimension of mastery. Not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, red, with red color and red appearance. They\u2019re like a scarlet mallow flower that\u2019s red, with red color and red appearance. Or a cloth from Varanasi that\u2019s smoothed on both sides, red, with red color and red appearance. In the same way, not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, red, with red color and red appearance. Mastering them, they perceive: \u2018I know and see.\u2019 This is the seventh dimension of mastery. Not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, white, with white color and white appearance. They\u2019re like the morning star that\u2019s white, with white color and white appearance. Or a cloth from Varanasi that\u2019s smoothed on both sides, white, with white color and white appearance. In the same way, not perceiving form internally, someone sees forms externally, white, with white color and white appearance. Mastering them, they perceive: \u2018I know and see.\u2019 This is the eighth dimension of mastery. These are the eight dimensions of mastery. The best of these dimensions of mastery is when someone, not perceiving form internally, sees forms externally, white, with white color and white appearance. Mastering them, they perceive: \u2018I know and see.\u2019 Some sentient beings perceive like this. But even the sentient beings who perceive like this decay and perish. Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with it. Their desire fades away even for the foremost, let alone the inferior. There are four ways of practice. What four? Painful practice with slow insight, painful practice with swift insight, pleasant practice with slow insight, and pleasant practice with swift insight. These are the four ways of practice. The best of these four ways of practice is the pleasant practice with swift insight. Some sentient beings practice like this. But even the sentient beings who practice like this decay and perish. Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with it. Their desire fades away even for the foremost, let alone the inferior. There are these four perceptions. What four? One individual perceives the limited. One individual perceives the expansive. One individual perceives the limitless. One individual, aware that \u2018there is nothing at all\u2019, perceives the dimension of nothingness. These are the four perceptions. The best of these four perceptions is when someone, aware that \u2018there is nothing at all\u2019, perceives the dimension of nothingness. Some sentient beings perceive like this. But even the sentient beings who perceive like this decay and perish. Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with it. Their desire fades away even for the foremost, let alone the inferior. This is the best of the convictions of outsiders, that is: \u2018I might not be, and it might not be mine. I will not be, and it will not be mine.\u2019 When someone has such a view, you can expect that they will not be attracted to continued existence, and they will not be repulsed by the cessation of continued existence. Some sentient beings have such a view. But even the sentient beings who have views like this decay and perish. Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with it. Their desire fades away even for the foremost, let alone the inferior. There are some ascetics and brahmins who advocate the ultimate purity of the spirit. This is the best of the advocates of the ultimate purity of the spirit, that is, when someone, going totally beyond the dimension of nothingness, enters and remains in the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. They teach Dhamma in order to directly know and realize this. Some sentient beings have such a doctrine. But even the sentient beings who have such a doctrine decay and perish. Seeing this, a learned noble disciple grows disillusioned with it. Their desire fades away even for the foremost, let alone the inferior. There are some ascetics and brahmins who advocate ultimate extinguishment in this very life. This is the best of those who advocate extinguishment in this very life, that is, liberation by not grasping after truly understanding the origin, disappearance, gratification, drawback, and escape of the six fields of contact. Though I state and assert this, certain ascetics and brahmins misrepresent me with the incorrect, hollow, false, untruthful claim: \u2018The ascetic Gotama doesn\u2019t advocate the complete understanding of sensual pleasures, forms, or feelings.\u2019 But I do advocate the complete understanding of sensual pleasures, forms, and feelings. And I advocate complete extinguishment with no fuel for grasping in this very life, wishless, quenched, and cooled.\u201d","title":"Kosala (1st)","tradition":"Anguttara Nikaya","translated_text":null,"word_count":1500}