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- Anguttara Nikaya IX.44
- Paññavimutti Sutta
- Released Through Discernment
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
[Udayin:] "'Released through discernment, released through
discernment,' it is said. To what extent is one described by the Blessed One as released
through discernment?"
[Ananda:] "There is the case, my friend, where a monk,
withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful qualities, enters & remains in
the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed
thought & evaluation. And he knows it through discernment. It is to this extent that
one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as released through discernment.
"Furthermore, with the stilling of directed thought & evaluation, he enters
& remains in the second jhana...the third jhana...the fourth jhana...the sphere of the
infinitude of space...the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness...the sphere of
nothingness...the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. And he knows it through
discernment. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed
One as released through discernment.
"Furthermore, with the complete transcending of the sphere of neither perception
nor non-perception, he enters & remains in the cessation of perception & feeling.
And as he sees with discernment, the mental fermentations go to their total end. And he
knows it through discernment. It is to this extent that one is described in a
non-sequential way by the Blessed One as released through discernment."
See also: AN IX.43; AN IX.45.