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SN 40.7PTS SN 4.2671 min read

A Question About the Dimension of Nothingness

Ākiñcaññāyatanapañhāsutta

Moggallāna speaks to the mendicants of a time when his practice of the dimension of nothingness was faltering. He expresses his gratitude for the Buddha, who urged him to stabilize that attainment.

Translated by Bhikkhu Sujato · Pāli: Mahāsaṅgīti Tipiṭaka · Public domain (CC0) via SuttaCentral

  • 0.1Saṁyutta Nikāya 40.7Linked Discourses 40.7
  • 0.21. Moggallānavagga1. By Moggallāna

0.3ĀkiñcaññāyatanapañhāsuttaA Question About the Dimension of Nothingness

1.1“‘Ākiñcaññāyatanaṁ, ākiñcaññāyatanan’ti vuccati.“They speak of this thing called the ‘dimension of nothingness’.1.2Katamaṁ nu kho ākiñcaññāyatananti?What is the dimension of nothingness?1.3Tassa mayhaṁ, āvuso, etadahosi:It occurred to me:1.4‘idha bhikkhu sabbaso viññāṇañcāyatanaṁ samatikkamma natthi kiñcīti ākiñcaññāyatanaṁ upasampajja viharati.‘It’s when a mendicant, going totally beyond the dimension of infinite consciousness, aware that “there is nothing at all”, enters and remains in the dimension of nothingness.1.5Idaṁ vuccati ākiñcaññāyatanan’ti.This is called the dimension of nothingness.’

1.6So khvāhaṁ, āvuso, sabbaso viññāṇañcāyatanaṁ samatikkamma natthi kiñcīti ākiñcaññāyatanaṁ upasampajja viharāmi.And so … I was entering and remaining in the dimension of nothingness.1.7Tassa mayhaṁ, āvuso, iminā vihārena viharato viññāṇañcāyatanasahagatā saññāmanasikārā samudācaranti.While I was in that meditation, perception and focus accompanied by the dimension of infinite consciousness beset me.

2.1PTS 4.268Atha kho maṁ, āvuso, bhagavā iddhiyā upasaṅkamitvā etadavoca:Then the Buddha came up to me with his psychic power and said,2.2‘moggallāna, moggallāna.‘Moggallāna, Moggallāna!2.3Mā, brāhmaṇa, ākiñcaññāyatanaṁ pamādo, ākiñcaññāyatane cittaṁ saṇṭhapehi, ākiñcaññāyatane cittaṁ ekodiṁ karohi, ākiñcaññāyatane cittaṁ samādahā’ti.Don’t neglect the dimension of nothingness, brahmin! Settle your mind in the dimension of nothingness; unify your mind and immerse it in the dimension of nothingness.’

2.4So khvāhaṁ, āvuso, aparena samayena sabbaso viññāṇañcāyatanaṁ samatikkamma natthi kiñcīti ākiñcaññāyatanaṁ upasampajja vihāsiṁ.And so, after some time … I entered and remained in the dimension of nothingness.

2.5Yañhi taṁ, āvuso, sammā vadamāno vadeyya …pe… mahābhiññataṁ patto”ti.So if anyone should be rightly called a disciple who attained to great direct knowledge with help from the Teacher, it’s me.”

2.6Sattamaṁ.