Sacred Texts: Buddhism

Buddhism in Translations - § 78. The Trance of Cessa...

Henry Clarke WarrenPali Canon TranslationsTheravada Buddhism

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This is a doctrinal and practical Buddhist text from the Pali canon tradition (citing the Visuddhimagga and the Samyutta Nikaya), explaining the meditative state known as the "trance of cessation" (nirodha-samāpatti) — the progressive shutdown of all mental activity. The text's central argument is that consciousness is not an on/off phenomenon but dissolves in stages: across nine ascending meditative absorptions, bodily, vocal, and mental functions cease in a specific sequence, culminating in the complete cessation of perception and sensation. The text is notably procedural, detailing the exact preparatory steps a monk must perform before entering this state — protecting belongings with a mental resolve, committing to respect the Order's authority, arranging to respond to the Buddha's summons, and crucially checking that his remaining lifespan exceeds seven days, since death cannot occur during cessation and interrupting it would be disastrous. A distinctive claim is that the cessation trance requires insight of precisely calibrated sharpness — neither too dull nor too keen — and that failure to complete the preliminaries causes the meditator to involuntarily fall back to the prior absorption level, illustrated by a vivid road-crossing simile. On emerging, the text asserts the meditator's mind inclines naturally toward Nirvana, distinguishing this state from death by the preservation of bodily warmth and the capacity to resume consciousness.

Buddhism in Translations - § 78. The Trance of Cessa...

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