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Reference: Exploring the Words of the Buddha

We all go through birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, and defilement. That is part of life. But why get fixated on these things. You just want to get on with the purpose of seeing with wisdom and keep evolving. What then is spiritual progress?

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The Basis

This account is primarily from MN 4 and MN 36:

Prior to Buddha, the general belief in the society was that the path to spiritual enlightenment was only through self-mortification. Buddha’s earlier teachers must have practiced self-mortification to arrive at the “base of nothingness” and the “base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.” Buddha left his earlier teachers because he did not feel enlightened. But he continued on the path of self-mortification because that is what he thought he was supposed to do.

Striving on his own, Buddha took the practice of self-mortification to the utmost limit. Nobody else had gone through self-mortification to the extent Buddha did. Actually, Buddha almost died doing so. It was then that he suddenly realized the futility of this path. It was not self-mortification practiced by his earlier teachers that led them to the “base of nothingness” and the “base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.” It was something else.

This was a huge realization. It went against all beliefs about spiritual practice in those times. There was an immediate blow back to Buddha’s realization. As Buddha gave up the path of self-mortification, other ascetics working with him left him, thinking that he had gone astray.

The next realization of Buddha was, if it was not self-mortification, then what was it, that enabled him to reach the “base of nothingness” and the “base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception” so quickly under his prior teachers! Though Buddha went through self-mortification under his teachers, the reason for his success was something else. It was his complete abandonment of sensual desires and unwholesome states in living that spurred his spiritual success.

With this realization, Buddha went back to the first Jhana and rapidly progressed through to the fourth jhana. He realized the bases of “nothingness” and “neither-perception-nor-non-perception” and much more without the extremes of self-mortification. The abandonment of sensual desires and unwholesome states in living, then became the basis of the “Grade Chart” of Buddhism.

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The “Grade Chart”

The following Grade Chart of Buddhism is being put together from a study of Majjhima Nikaya. The following has been derived from MN 26, and modified further per MN4 and MN 36: 

1. First Jhana – seclusion from sensual stimulation
2. Second Jhana – stilling of applied and sustained thought
3. Third Jhana – fading away of rapture and pleasure born of seclusion
4. Fourth Jhana – abandoning of pleasure and pain
5. Entering upon the base of infinite space
6. Entering upon the base of infinite consciousness
7. Entering upon the base of nothingness
8. Entering upon the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception
9. Entering upon the cessation of perception and feeling 
10. Seeing with wisdom.

“1. First Jhana – seclusion from sensual stimulation”
One isolates oneself from the constant sensual stimulation coming from one’s environment. This is spelled out in MN 107.

The first Jhana is accompanied by preparations to become ethical and purified in one’s bodily, verbal and mental conduct and livelihood. The person secludes himself not only from sensual pleasure but also from unwholesome states. He uses mindfulness of breathing as his meditation subject. The applied and sustained thought is present, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. 

The way to subdue that fear and dread in haunted spaces is to keep the same posture that one is in (walking, standing, sitting, and lying down) until the fear and dread gradually dissipates.

“2. Second Jhana – stilling of applied and sustained thought”
Through meditation in seclusion one is able to recognize the various factors that are continually stimulating one’s thoughts. Thus, one is able to bring one’s mind to rest an quiet.

With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, one enters upon and abides in the second jhana. There is self-confidence and singleness of mind with rapture and pleasure born of concentration. 

“3. Third Jhana – fading away of rapture and pleasure born of seclusion”
One recognizes that the rest and peace that one has attained from secluding oneself is only the beginning of vast journey.

With the fading away as well of rapture, one enters upon and abides in the third jhana. He is now mindful and fully aware, and has equanimity; though he still feels pleasure with the body. 

“4. Fourth Jhana – abandoning of pleasure and pain”
One comes to recognize the phenomena of pleasure and pain, joy and grief for what it is. He is able to look at these phenomena as if he is separate from them, and looking at them from a distance. 

With no fixation on pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, one enters upon and abides in the fourth jhana. Now there is only the purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. There is neither-pain-nor-pleasure.

Having gone through the four jhanas, Buddha gained the following three true knowledge by directing his attention appropriately.

1. He recollected many aeons of world-contraction and expansion, and hundred thousand births with their aspects and particulars.
2. He saw beings inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate passing away and reappearing. He understood how beings pass on according to their actions.
3. He came to know very directly, the nature of suffering and taints , their origin, their cessation, and the way leading to their cessation. With this direct knowledge, Buddha’s mind was liberated from the taint of sensual desire, from the taint of being, and from the taint of ignorance. He directly knew: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.’ 

“5. Entering upon the base of infinite space”
Awareness of infinite space is basically the awareness of the whole substance of this universe. One recognizes what this universe is all about. All illusions disappear.

First one masters the four jhanas or meditative absorptions; then one passes beyond that to a state in which one perceives the infinity of space and masters that.

“6. Entering upon the base of infinite consciousness”
One’s viewpoint has broadened to encompass the consciousness of all other viewpoints. He comes to recognize the boundaries of his own self and is able to shed away its limitation.

One masters infinite space; then shifts the attention to consciousness which is aware of space. He then realizes the base of consciousness and masters that. 

“7. Entering upon the base of nothingness”
One recognizes nothingness as the ultimate reference point from which all phenomena can be understood objectively without any pre-conceived notion.

One masters consciousness; then attends to the insubstantiality or lack of solidity in this infinite consciousness. One gets some sense of absence of anything solid or substantial in it, and that is the base of nothingness. It is not a realization through insight or wisdom; it is purely through deepening of concentration.

“8. Entering upon the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception”
One recognizes that all perception is originating from his own assumptions. He finally recognizes those assumptions and is able to shed away the ALTER-IS arising from them. NOTE: ALTER-IS corruption of one’s awareness. 

“9. Entering upon the cessation of perception and feeling”
One is basically seeing what one has postulated. All his reasoning, perceptions and feelings flow from those postulates. He finally recognizes those postulates and is able to shed away the ALTER-IS arising from them.

“10. Seeing with wisdom”
When one reaches this level, all ALTER-ISNSS (the factors corrupting one’s awareness) is destroyed. The ONENESS OF REALITY is then revealed in full splendor. One had identified with ALTER-ISNESS so strongly that they appeared to be the truth to him. Finally, he is able to shed all alter-ised factors away and see things as they are.

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Notes

Jhanas (1 – 4) = meditative absorption (attainments with form)

Bases (5 – 8) = deeper concentration (formless attainments)

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