A Question About the Fourth Absorption

“They speak of this thing called the ‘fourth absorption’.What is the fourth absorption?It occurred to me:‘It’s when, with the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulnesssatiAtención plena, memoria, poderes de referencia y retención. En algunos contextos, la palabra sati cuando se usa sola cubre también la alerta (sampajañña).Ver en el glosario.This is called the fourth absorption.’

“‘Catutthaṁ jhānaṁ, catutthaṁ jhānan’ti vuccati. Katamaṁ nu kho catutthaṁ jhānanti? Tassa mayhaṁ, āvuso, etadahosi: ‘idha bhikkhu sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā pubbeva somanassadomanassānaṁ atthaṅgamā adukkhamasukhaṁ upekkhāsatipārisuddhiṁ catutthaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. Idaṁ vuccati catutthaṁ jhānan’ti.

“They speak of this thing called the ‘fourth absorption’.“‘Catutthaṁ jhānaṁ, catutthaṁ jhānan’ti vuccati. What is the fourth absorption?Katamaṁ nu kho catutthaṁ jhānanti? It occurred to me:Tassa mayhaṁ, āvuso, etadahosi: ‘It’s when, with the giving up of pleasure and pain and the disappearance of former happiness and sadness, a mendicant enters and remains in the fourth absorption, without pleasure or pain, with pure equanimity and mindfulness.‘idha bhikkhu sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā pubbeva somanassadomanassānaṁ atthaṅgamā adukkhamasukhaṁ upekkhāsatipārisuddhiṁ catutthaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. This is called the fourth absorption.’Idaṁ vuccati catutthaṁ jhānan’ti.

And so … I was entering and remaining in the fourth absorption.While I was in that meditation, perception and focus accompanied by pleasure beset me.

So khvāhaṁ, āvuso, sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā pubbeva somanassadomanassānaṁ atthaṅgamā adukkhamasukhaṁ upekkhāsatipārisuddhiṁ catutthaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharāmi. Tassa mayhaṁ, āvuso, iminā vihārena viharato sukhasahagatā saññāmanasikārā samudācaranti.

And so … I was entering and remaining in the fourth absorption.So khvāhaṁ, āvuso, sukhassa ca pahānā dukkhassa ca pahānā pubbeva somanassadomanassānaṁ atthaṅgamā adukkhamasukhaṁ upekkhāsatipārisuddhiṁ catutthaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharāmi. While I was in that meditation, perception and focus accompanied by pleasure beset me.Tassa mayhaṁ, āvuso, iminā vihārena viharato sukhasahagatā saññāmanasikārā samudācaranti.

Then the BuddhaBuddhaEl nombre dado a quien redescubre por sí mismo el sendero liberador del Dhamma, tras un largo período de haber sido olvidado por el mundo. Según la tradición, una larga línea de Buddhas se extiende hasta el pasado distante. El Buddha más reciente nació como Siddhattha Gotama en la India alrededor del año 500 a.e.c. Un joven bien educado y acomodado, renunció a su familia y su herencia principesca en la flor de la vida para buscar la verdadera libertad y el fin del sufrimiento (dukkha). Después de siete años de austeridades en el bosque, redescubrió el «camino medio» y alcanzó su meta, convirtiéndose en el Buddha.Ver en el glosario came up to me with his psychic power and said,‘Moggallāna, Moggallāna!Don’t neglect the fourth absorption, brahmin! Settle your mind in the fourth absorption; unify your mind and immerse it in the fourth absorption.’

Atha kho maṁ, āvuso, bhagavā iddhiyā upasaṅkamitvā etadavoca: ‘moggallāna, moggallāna. Mā, brāhmaṇa, catutthaṁ jhānaṁ pamādo, catutthe jhāne cittaṁ saṇṭhapehi, catutthe jhāne cittaṁ ekodiṁ karohi, catutthe jhāne cittaṁ samādahā’ti.

Then the Buddha came up to me with his psychic power and said,Atha kho maṁ, āvuso, bhagavā iddhiyā upasaṅkamitvā etadavoca: ‘Moggallāna, Moggallāna!‘moggallāna, moggallāna. Don’t neglect the fourth absorption, brahmin! Settle your mind in the fourth absorption; unify your mind and immerse it in the fourth absorption.’Mā, brāhmaṇa, catutthaṁ jhānaṁ pamādo, catutthe jhāne cittaṁ saṇṭhapehi, catutthe jhāne cittaṁ ekodiṁ karohi, catutthe jhāne cittaṁ samādahā’ti.