Page 140 - The Buddha‘s Noble Eightfold Path

Though with the attainment of the fourth dhyana we have gone

quite far, Buddhist tradition speaks of four states of
consciousness which are, in a sense, higher still. These are the

four 'formless spheres'. Though sometimes referred to as the
four formless dhyanas, the four formless spheres are in fact
subdivisions — or successive refinements — of the fourth

dhyana. Unlike the four dhyanas, they are described in
exclusively conceptual terms. First comes the 'sphere of infinite

space', reflection on which has the effect of 'widening' the mind
and transporting it beyond its natural boundaries. Here one has
the experience of absolute infinity, without limitation, or barrier,

or obstacle. Beyond the 'sphere of infinite space', is the 'sphere
of infinite consciousness', where one realizes that the mind itself

is infinite. Far from being confined to the body it is, as it were,
conterminous with infinite space and therefore capable of
expanding without limit in all directions. The third sphere is that

of 'no-thingness' or 'non-particularity', which is not a state of
blankness but an experience in which, though things are present,

it is not really possible to distinguish one thing from another. To
say that there is an underlying unity is a very crude way of
putting it. Things lose their sharp edges, and no longer mutually

exclude one another.

The fourth sphere, the 'sphere of neither perception nor non-
perception', is altogether beyond expression. There is no
perception because of the extreme subtlety of the object, and

no non-perception because the subject, though no less subtle, is
nonetheless still there. The subject-object duality has been

practically transcended.

Such are the four dhyanas and the four 'formless spheres', the

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