SN 14.11

Sattadhātusutta

Sāvatthiyaṁ viharati. “Sattimā, bhikkhave, dhātuyo. Katamā satta? Ābhādhātu, subhadhātu, ākāsānañcāyatanadhātu, viññāṇañcāyatanadhātu, ākiñcaññāyatanadhātu, nevasaññānāsaññāyatanadhātu, saññāvedayitanirodhadhātu— imā kho, bhikkhave, satta dhātuyo”ti.

Seven Elements

At Sāvatthī. “Mendicants, there are these seven elements. What seven? The element of luminosity, the element of beauty, the element of the dimension of infinite space, the element of the dimension of infinite consciousness, the element of the dimension of nothingness, the element of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, and the element of the cessation of perception and feeling. These are the seven elements.”

Evaṁ vutte, aññataro bhikkhu bhagavantaṁ etadavoca: “yā cāyaṁ, bhante, ābhādhātu yā ca subhadhātu yā ca ākāsānañcāyatanadhātu yā ca viññāṇañcāyatanadhātu yā ca ākiñcaññāyatanadhātu yā ca nevasaññānāsaññāyatanadhātu yā ca saññāvedayitanirodhadhātu—imā nu kho, bhante, dhātuyo kiṁ paṭicca paññāyantī”ti?

When he said this, one of the mendicants said to the Buddha, “Sir, due to what does each of these elements appear?”

“Yāyaṁ, bhikkhu, ābhādhātu—ayaṁ dhātu andhakāraṁ paṭicca paññāyati. Yāyaṁ, bhikkhu, subhadhātu—ayaṁ dhātu asubhaṁ paṭicca paññāyati. Yāyaṁ, bhikkhu, ākāsānañcāyatanadhātu—ayaṁ dhātu rūpaṁ paṭicca paññāyati. Yāyaṁ, bhikkhu, viññāṇañcāyatanadhātu—ayaṁ dhātu ākāsānañcāyatanaṁ paṭicca paññāyati. Yāyaṁ, bhikkhu, ākiñcaññāyatanadhātu—ayaṁ dhātu viññāṇañcāyatanaṁ paṭicca paññāyati. Yāyaṁ, bhikkhu, nevasaññānāsaññāyatanadhātu—ayaṁ dhātu ākiñcaññāyatanaṁ paṭicca paññāyati. Yāyaṁ, bhikkhu, saññāvedayitanirodhadhātu—ayaṁ dhātu nirodhaṁ paṭicca paññāyatī”ti.

“Mendicant, the element of luminosity appears due to the element of darkness. The element of beauty appears due to the element of ugliness. The element of the dimension of infinite space appears due to the element of form. The element of the dimension of infinite consciousness appears due to the element of the dimension of infinite space. The element of the dimension of nothingness appears due to the element of the dimension of infinite consciousness. The element of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception appears due to the element of the dimension of nothingness. The element of the cessation of perception and feeling appears due to the element of cessation.”

“Yā cāyaṁ, bhante, ābhādhātu yā ca subhadhātu yā ca ākāsānañcāyatanadhātu yā ca viññāṇañcāyatanadhātu yā ca ākiñcaññāyatanadhātu yā ca nevasaññānāsaññāyatanadhātu yā ca saññāvedayitanirodhadhātu—imā nu kho, bhante, dhātuyo kathaṁ samāpatti pattabbā”ti?

“Sir, how is each of these elements to be attained?”

“Yā cāyaṁ, bhikkhu, ābhādhātu yā ca subhadhātu yā ca ākāsānañcāyatanadhātu yā ca viññāṇañcāyatanadhātu yā ca ākiñcaññāyatanadhātu—imā dhātuyo saññāsamāpatti pattabbā. Yāyaṁ, bhikkhu, nevasaññānāsaññāyatanadhātu—ayaṁ dhātu saṅkhārāvasesasamāpatti pattabbā. Yāyaṁ, bhikkhu, saññāvedayitanirodhadhātu—ayaṁ dhātu nirodhasamāpatti pattabbā”ti.

“The elements of light, beauty, the dimension of infinite space, the dimension of infinite consciousness, and the dimension of nothingness are attainments with perception. The element of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception is an attainment with residual conditioned phenomena. The element of the cessation of perception and feeling is an attainment of cessation.”