Samadhanga Sutta (AN V. 28)

Edited for readability and sensitive to the language of gnosis and cognition, Sun 27-Feb-2005, by the contemplative recluse monk Sotapanna Jhanananda (Jeffrey S, Brooks)

I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying at Savatthi, in Jeta's Grove, Anathapindika's monastery. There he addressed the monks, "Monks, I will teach you the five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi). Listen, and pay close attention. I will speak."

The Blessed One said: "Now what, monks, is five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi)? There is the case where a monk -- quite withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful qualities -- enters and remains in the first absorption (jhana): bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born from withdrawal, accompanied by applied and sustained attention (vitakka and vicára). He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born from withdrawal. There is nothing of his entire body not pervaded by bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born from withdrawal.

"Just as if a skilled bathman or bathman's apprentice would pour bath powder into a brass basin and knead it together, sprinkling it again and again with water, so that his ball of bath powder -- saturated, moisture-laden, permeated within and without -- would nevertheless not drip; even so, the monk permeates, suffuses and fills this very body with the bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born of withdrawal. There is nothing of his entire body not pervaded by bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born from withdrawal. This is the first development of the five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi).

"Furthermore, with the stilling of applied and sustained attention (vitakka and vicára), he enters and remains in the second absorption (jhana): bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born of tranquility (passaddhi) and unification of awareness, which is free from applied and sustained attention (vitakka and vicára) -- internal assurance. He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born of tranquility (passaddhi). There is nothing of his entire body not pervaded by bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born of tranquility.

"Just like a lake with spring-water welling up from within, having no inflow from east, west, north, or south (1), and with the skies periodically supplying abundant showers, so that the cool fount of water welling up from within the lake would permeate and pervade, suffuse and fill it with cool waters, there being no part of the lake not pervaded by the cool waters; even so, the monk permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born of tranquility. There is nothing of his entire body not pervaded by bliss (piiti) and joy (sukha) born of tranquility. This is the second development of the five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi).

"And furthermore, with the fading of joy (sukha), he remains in equanimity, mindful and alert, and physically sensitive to bliss (piti). He enters and remains in the third jhana, of which the Noble Ones declare, 'Equanimous and mindful, he has a pleasurable abiding.' He permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the (joy) divested of joy (sukha), so that there is nothing of his entire body not pervaded with bliss (piti) divested of joy (sukha).

"Just as in a blue-, white-, or red-lotus pond, there may be some of the blue, white, or red lotuses which, born and growing in the water, stay immersed in the water and flourish without standing up out of the water, so that they are permeated and pervaded, suffused and filled with cool water from their roots to their tips, and nothing of those blue, white, or red lotuses would be not pervaded with cool water; even so, the monk permeates and pervades, suffuses and fills this very body with the bliss (piti) divested of joy (sukha). There is nothing of his entire body not pervaded with bliss (piti) divested of joy (sukha). This is the third development of the five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi).

"And furthermore, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain (dukkha) -- as with the earlier disappearance of elation and anxiety -- he enters and remains in the fourth absorption (jhana): purity of equanimity and mindfulness, neither-pleasure-nor-pain (dukkha). He sits, permeating the body with a pure, bright awareness, so that there is nothing of his entire body not pervaded by pure, bright awareness.

"Just as if a man were sitting wrapped from head to foot with a white cloth so that there would be no part of his body to which the white cloth did not extend; even so, the monk sits, permeating his body with a pure, bright awareness. There is nothing of his entire body not pervaded by pure, bright awareness. This is the fourth development of the five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi).

"And furthermore, the monk has his theme of reflection well in hand, well attended to, well-considered, well-tuned (well-penetrated) by means of discernment.

"Just as if one person were to reflect upon another, or a standing person were to reflect upon a sitting person, or a sitting person were to reflect upon a person lying down; even so, monks, the monk has his theme of reflection well in hand, well attended to, well-pondered, well-tuned (well-penetrated) by means of discernment. This is the fifth development of the five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi). (2)

"When a monk has developed and pursued the five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi) in this way, then whichever of the six higher types of wisdom he turns his mind to know and realize, he can witness them for himself whenever there is an opportunity. (3)

"Suppose that there were a water jar, set on a stand, brimful of water so that a crow could drink from it. If a strong man were to tip it in any way at all, would water spill out?"

"In the same way, when a monk has developed and pursued the five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi) in this way, then whichever of the six higher types of wisdom he turns his mind to know and realize, he can witness them for himself whenever there is an opportunity.

"Suppose there were a rectangular water tank -- set on level ground, bounded by dikes -- brimful of water so that a crow could drink from it. If a strong man were to loosen the dikes anywhere at all, would water spill out?"

"Suppose there were a chariot on level ground at four crossroads, harnessed to thoroughbreds, waiting with whips lying ready, so that a skilled driver, a trainer of tamable horses, might mount and -- taking the reins with his left hand and the whip with his right -- drive out and back, to whatever place and by whichever road he liked; in the same way, when a monk has developed and pursued the five-factored noble right absorption (sama-samadhi) in this way, then whichever of the six higher types of wisdom he turns his mind to know and realize, he can witness them for himself whenever there is an opportunity.

The 6 higher types of wisdom, "knowledges" or "fruits" of the path

"If he wants, he wields manifold supranormal powers. Having been one he becomes many; having been many he becomes one. He appears. He vanishes. He goes unimpeded through walls, ramparts, and mountains as if through space. He dives in and out of the earth as if it were water. He walks on water without sinking as if it were dry land. Sitting crosslegged he flies through the air like a winged bird. With his hand he touches and strokes even the sun and moon, so mighty and powerful. He exercises influence with his body even as far as the Brahma worlds. He can witness this for himself whenever there is an opportunity.

"If he wants, he hears -- by means of the divine ear-element, purified and surpassing the human -- both kinds of sounds: divine and human, whether near or far. He can witness this for himself whenever there is an opportunity.

"If he wants, he knows the awareness of other beings, other individuals, having encompassed it with his own awareness. He discerns a mind with passion as a mind with passion, and a mind without passion as a mind without passion. He discerns a mind with aversion as a mind with aversion, and a mind without aversion as a mind without aversion. He discerns a mind with delusion as a mind with delusion, and a mind without delusion as a mind without delusion. He discerns a restricted mind as a restricted mind, and a scattered mind as a scattered mind. He discerns an enlarged mind as an enlarged mind, and an underdeveloped mind as an underdeveloped mind. He discerns an excelled mind as an excelled mind, and an unexcelled mind as an unexcelled mind. He discerns a absorbed mind as a absorbed mind, and an unabsorbed mind as an unabsorbed mind. He discerns a released mind as a released mind, and an unreleased mind as an unreleased mind. He can witness this for himself whenever there is an opportunity.

"If he wants, he recollects his manifold past lives (lit: previous homes), i.e., one birth, two births, three births, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, one hundred, one thousand, one hundred thousand, many aeons of cosmic contraction, many aeons of cosmic expansion, many aeons of cosmic contraction and expansion, [recollecting], 'There I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose there. There too I had such a name, belonged to such a clan, had such an appearance. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose here.' Thus he remembers his manifold past lives in their modes and details. He can witness this for himself whenever there is an opportunity.

"If he wants, he sees -- by means of the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human -- beings passing away and re-appearing, and he discerns how they are inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate in accordance with their kamma: 'These beings -- who were endowed with bad conduct of body, speech, and mind, who reviled the noble ones, held wrong views and undertook actions under the influence of wrong views -- with the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the plane of deprivation, the bad destination, the lower realms, in hell. But these beings -- who were endowed with good conduct of body, speech, and mind, who did not revile the noble ones, who held right views and undertook actions under the influence of right views -- with the break-up of the body, after death, have re-appeared in the good destinations, in the heavenly world.' Thus -- by means of the divine eye, purified and surpassing the human -- he sees beings passing away and re-appearing, and he discerns how they are inferior and superior, beautiful and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate in accordance with their kamma. He can witness this for himself whenever there is an opportunity.

"If he wants, then through the ending of the mental agitation, he remains in the effluent-free awareness-release and discernment-release, having known and made them manifest for himself right in the here and now. He can witness this for himself whenever there is an opportunity."

That is what the Blessed One said. Gratified, the monks delighted in the Blessed One's words.

1. This means there is nothing coming through the senses that one's attention is responding to. The mind is not disturbed by sensory phenomena.

2. this is the ability to penetrate the psyche of others with one's insight born of absorption.

1	Manomaya	lit. "mind-made body" (OOB), wields manifold supranormal powers
2	Dibba-sota	"divine ear-element" (Clairaudience)
3		knows the awareness of other beings (mental telepathy)
4	s. patisandhi	lit. “rethinking” or recollects of manifold past lives or paticca samuppada = dependent origination
5	Dibba-cakkhu	lit. "Divine eye" or sees beings passing away & re-appearing (Clairvoyance)
6		ending of mental agitation
7	Nanadassana	lit “knowledge" (nana) and "vision" (dassana)

See the Samaññaphala Sutta (DN 2) or the Kayagata-sati Sutta (MN 119). The claim that some of these "fruits" are "mundane" is pure dogma with no suttic support. They are all "supramundane."

4. The Buddha describes here something that he called "Manomaya," which is often translated as the "mind-made body." It is, however, more accurate to translate this term as "out-of-body" (OOB).

Bhikkhu Bodhi and Nyanaponika Thera, translation, "Anguttara Nikaya, AN (The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha)," Altamira Press, 1997

This translation based upon Thanissaro Bhikkhu's original revision from: Sun 19-Oct-2003