217: Formless Sphere Consciousness (Arūpāvacara Citta)

This episode introduces Formless Sphere Consciousness (Arūpāvacara Citta) and the four formless jhānas: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither-perception-nor-non-perception. It explains how these refined states arise after mastering the fifth form-sphere jhāna and how they relate to the formless Brahma realms.

The talk also outlines the twelve types of formless consciousness—wholesome, resultant, and functional—and clarifies their role in meditation and rebirth. While these attainments represent the highest bliss in the mundane world, the episode reminds us that liberation from suffering is achieved only through insight leading to Nibbāna

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Sayar Myat: 0:01

Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa,Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa, Namo tassa bhagavato arahato samma sambuddhassa. Theravada Buddhism series, Dhamma talk number forty. Consciousness of Formless Ram Arupa Vachara Jita Formless Rams Consciousness mainly arises in the non material or formless sphere. The highest full Brahma Rams out of twenty. First of all, it mainly arises in the formless sphere and it is the full highest Brahma Rams out of the twenty Brahma Rams. To be born in these formless Rams, one must practice formless jhana after attaining the fifth form sphere jhana. Four formless jhana in the wholesome resultant and functional group gives twelve formless sphere consciousness. Of course they are full formless ram. Each has three kinds of consciousness wholesome, resultant and functional. So three multiply by four, twelve. So there are twelve formless consciousness in the formless sphere. These jhanas have two jhana factors. They only have two jhana factors and they are aquanimity, upaka and one pointlessness samadhi. Only two and they are always associated with penya insight or knowledge. So these consciousness are always consist of three good roots aloba adosa a moha. Nan greed, nan anger, nan delusion. They have three root groups three good roots. This consciousness can also arise in the human realms. In yogis who have attained formless jhana. So even though they mainly arise, mostly arises in the top full Brahma Ram, they can also arise in human ram, only in those people who has attained formless jhana. Sixteen of the twenty Brahma Rams belong to the fine material or form sphere. Fine material sphere or form sphere. In other words, there is material. Even though it might be so subtle and slight. And one out of these sixteen form spheres, Ram is body only or fine material only Brahma Ram. Such beings, such kind of Brahma has no consciousness, simply the body. And they were lived out up to the extents of the karma they have accumulated. The remaining full highest domain belongs to the formless sphere Aruba. Brahma in the immaterial or formless sphere has no material body, only mind. These Brahmas have no body of any kind, any substance, only the mind exists. When we say mind it's the consciousness and a certain mental factors. So that is those are the four realms we are going to discuss. The first and the lowest of the full formless jhana depends on the infinite space as the meditation object. To get the lowest form of jhana you use the infinite space as the object of material meditation. One choose this object to practice formless jhana. After attaining the fifth form sphere jhana, you cannot go and practice directly. First of all, you need to achieve or attain the fifth form jnat. In other words, form jhanas are lower quality than the formless jhana. But without that foundation, you cannot go right into the formless jhana. So let's say a yogi achieved this fifth form jhana, the fifth jhana of the form sphere by using the Adgasena. Adgasena. It's a little round disc made out of earth. You carry along and you meditate upon it. Let's see, let's use that as an example to explain. The yogi with the fifth jhana, who possesses the earth disc counterpart sign? Abandon that project. So what it means is the fifth form of sphere, jhana consciousness, already possessed the counterpart signs of this Adgasina, counterpart sign, flawless, bright at this conceptual sign. They already possessed it once you have that fifth jhana. But here one has to abandon that sign. One has to abandon that sign. If you don't abandon it, if you are still with it, you cannot go up into the formless level. So you have to give up whatever you own or you have in the form sphere, which is this counterpart at sign. Once one successfully leaves the object, you abandon, you're gonna just like throw it away and gone. You really have to practice to abandon it. It is the willpower of the fifth jhana that is establishing that sign. So you have to really try hard to abandon it once you are successful leaving that object, that sign. A blank or an empty space will occupy the counterpart sign area because in your mind there's always that flawless casina of dist. When you abandon it, that's counterpass highnesska. But in that place there will be a blank totally. A blank a space will occupy. One has to meditate on that conceptual space or blank by labeling infinite space, infinite space repeatedly. You know when you are practicing in bread outbread, you say in bread, outbread, in bread, outbread, or rising, falling, rising, falling. Just like that, you observe that blank space and repeatedly label infinite space, infinite space. Once the yogi expand, that blank space left by the round counterpart sign of the dist to the unlimited space. In other words, that space becomes infinite. Unlimited, everything is covered with that space. Unlimited space. The first formless jhana is established. If you can hold that space on an infinite level, then you have established the first formless jhana. Only then, only after you have established the first formless jhana, the first formless consciousness will arise. And here the first one. You try hard to get it, now you feel repulsive about it because it is close to the fifth form jhana. Okay. Fifth form jhana. Form jhanas are made out of material object. So it is very close, adjacent to the the fifth jhana of the form sphere. So it is close to the material. Ah this is pretty gross. Pretty gross. And by feeling that pretty gross, you become repulsive about the first formless jhana. It is gross. It is not refined enough because it is close to the material form sphere jhana. So it is inferior. Because of that thought one takes the first formless jhana consciousness. One take the first formless jhana consciousness that knows that infinite space. You take that and meditate upon it by labeling infinite consciousness, infinite consciousness repeatedly. First of all, you have to feel repulsive about the first jhana consciousness, which takes the infinite space as an object. Once you become repulsive, then you take that consciousness, the first jhana consciousness as an object. The first time was you take the space as an object. Now you take the consciousness as the object and you observe it repeatedly saying infinite consciousness, infinite consciousness, until one attains the second formless jhana. By meditating like that, eventually one will attain second formless jhana, arpa jhana. Once the second formless consciousness arrives, the first formless consciousness disappear because two consciousness cannot coexist. They exist one at a time. At first you have a first jhana consciousness, but once you have the second jhana, formless jhana, the second formless jhana consciousness arise, its arising make the other disappear because they cannot coexist together. And the first one is inferior as well. The object of the second jhana consciousness is the concept of the first formless consciousness. So in other words, the second consciousness took the first consciousness that has disappeared, so you have to take it as a conceptual form and meditate on that. The first formless consciousness. So that is the second Arupa Jita. And once you have attained it, the yogi thinks that the second formless jhana cannot be that refined as it is close to the first formless jhana, which is close to the fifth form material jhana. That's how one reflects, thinks or contemplate. With that reflection, one tries to get into the third jhana. So to get into the third jhana, one has to so to speak, let go of the second jhana. Without letting go of the second jhana, you cannot go into the third jhana. Without letting go of the first jhana, you cannot go into the second jhana. You have to think, reflect, contemplate that way. Only when you think and reflect that way, you'll be on that path. One tries to get into the third jhana by taking the disappearance of the absence of the first jhana consciousness. First formless jhana consciousness. Because when you have second jhana, the first jhana is gone. To get into the third jhana, one has to take that jhana consciousness, the first formless jhana consciousness that has disappeared already as an object, conceptual object. And then when you take that as an object that has already disappeared, that is not there, that is gone, you are taking an object which is not there and you have to label it. There is nothing, there is nothing. That to make a full sentence, that first jhana consciousness has disappeared. It is upset. There is nothing. There is nothing. As such one labeled and meditate upon something that is not there. In other words, you are meditating upon nothingness. So one practice the meditation on the conceptual object of nothingness. Some call it void. You meditate on nothingness or you come meditate upon void. One attain third formless jhana when the void of nothing that nothingness become a conceptual reality. They are not ultimate reality, they are conceptual reality. In other words, that nothing out of void is a reality once you attain the third jhana. In that way the third formless jhana consciousness arises. Only when you attain the jhana then the jhana consciousness will arise. You take the void nothingness as an object of meditation to attain the third formless jhana. However, the yogi is practicing to attain the highest formless jhana that was the original goal set. So he takes the third formless jhana consciousness as an object again, as an object, and emerges out of it. Because in the third jhana you are with nothingness. Nothingness is you, void is you, you are void, you are nothingness. But you have to abandon it, so to speak. How do we abandon? First of all, you have to emerge out of it. Get out of it. That nothingness and void. Then you have to take the third formless jhana. Not which is nothingness of void. In other words, you take the nothingness of void as an object and meditate. You just stay in the nothingness of void and meditate, saying peaceful, peaceful, peaceful. The void is peaceful, nothingness is peaceful. Peaceful, peaceful, peaceful. He contemplates that the third formless consciousness is highly advanced and subtle enough to take the void as an object. How can you take a void, nothing as an object? So whatever it is, it must be in a very subtle and very advanced. Subtle and advanced. It is very peaceful. It is lofty. That is how one contemplates on it. Peaceful, subtle, lofty, highly advanced, highly blissful. Then the mind becomes concentrated and the hindrances subdued. However subtle there is still a hindrance. Those little hindrances subdued and the fourth formless consciousness arises. And the procedure is you just look at the nothingness and say peaceful, peaceful, peaceful till the fourth consciousness, formless consciousness arises. The object of this fourth formless consciousness is neither perception or non-perception. In other words, neither with perception or with non-perception. That is the object of the fourth jhana, fourth formless jhana. And we hear the word perception. In Pali you remember we call it sannya. We call the word perception sannya. Sanya by itself is a mental factor. But the word perception here is when we call neither perception or non-perception. In this context, the perception here is not a mental factor, not J Sika, but a mind base. If you recall them, ear base, eye base, nose base, tongue base, body base, and the mind base. Actually it is the mind base itself that is neither perception or non perception. It is simply a trace of mental activity, just a slight trace of mental activity that is so subtle that it is like almost nothing. And yet there is something that what neither perception or non perception. It is like there's almost nothing, but yet it is there's something. That kind of state is neither perception or non-perception. And something like it seems like there is perception there, or and it's at the same time it feels like there is no perception there. That is the object of the thought, formless jhana consciousness. So these are the four levels of jhana. Each one has a distinct object to meditate upon. The first one is infinite space. The second one is infinite consciousness. The third object is nothingness or void. The fourth object is neither perception or non perception. Four. And these four can be found in the wholesome, formless consciousness. Because if you remember, these form sphere consciousness has three groups. One is wholesome, one is resultant, one is functional. So the first explanation is for the wholesome functional formless consciousness. Wholesome formless consciousness. And the second one, formless resultant consciousness is identical to the formless wholesome consciousness. They both are identical. One is the karma forming consciousness. Wholesome consciousness is the karma forming karma producing consciousness. Resultant consciousness are they do not form new karma. They do not have power to produce new karma. Apart from that, they are exactly the same, identical. Let's say a person practice wholesome, formless jhana in a human ram. He takes all the four jhanas and he dies. And then he's reborn in the formless Brahma Ram. And when he reborns, his relinquishing consciousness, rebirth consciousness, or resultant consciousness is identical to the wholesome, formless jhana consciousness. Except that one is the karmic forming, the other one is resultant. These four types of formless resultant consciousness arises only in the formless Brahma Ram. It can arise nowhere except in the formless Brahma Ram. Human Deva. And the Brahmas from the form sphere, sixteen of them cannot experience this formless resultant consciousness. So that is wepa got resultant. The next one is functional. Full formless functional consciousness arises in arahants. We all know by now functional conscious are mainly for the arahants. Of course, Buddha and Silent Buddhas included. But let's say arahants. Who has attained the full formless jhana? Not every arahant. There are arahants without these jhana. But there are arahants who practice these arupa jhana and they have attained it. And in those arahants who have attained the full formless jhana, that kind of formless functional consciousness arises in them. And again, these consciousness are identical to the formless wholesome consciousness. They are just identical. The only thing is they do not produce any more new karma because they appear in Arahants and Arahants have abandoned all kilisa mental defilements. That's why these wholesome consciousness are called functional consciousness. The same thing, the name change and one quality change, producing karma and not producing karma. Resultant does not produce karma because it is simply a result. Functional does not produce karma because Arahant has abandoned craving and ignorance. That is the third group. So the above summaries or the above summarized what Arupa was rajita formless sphere consciousness described in detail in the scripture. What we just said is a very brief statement. It is described in detail in the scriptures. But you have to know it is not the way to get out of sansara even though these are the highest bliss one can attain in this mundane world. Lokya mundane world. In the mundane world there is nothing more blissful than these. But still these are not the way out of Santara. So may all of you be able to understand the eighty-one types of mundane consciousness, their characteristics, their functions, their proximate cause and manifestation, and may you be able to utilize it as needed, as required for the benefits of escaping from sansara as soon as possible. Sadhu sadhu sadhu. Thank you very much.