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- Anguttara Nikaya IX.43
- Kayasakkhi Sutta
- Bodily Witness
- For free distribution only, as a gift of Dhamma
[Udayin:] "'Bodily witness, bodily witness,' it is said. To
what extent is one described by the Blessed One as a bodily witness?"
[Ananda:] "There is the case, my friend, where a monk,
withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful qualities, enters & remains in
the first jhana: rapture & pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed
thought & evaluation. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an
opening there [see AN.IX.35]. It is to this extent that
one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness.
"Furthermore, with the stilling of directed thought & evaluation, he enters
& remains in the second jhana...the third jhana...the fourth jhana...the sphere of the
infinitude of space...the sphere of the infinitude of consciousness...the sphere of
nothingness...the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception. He remains touching
with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this extent that one is
described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily witness.
"Furthermore, with the complete transcending of the sphere of neither perception
nor non-perception, he enters & remains in the cessation of perception & feeling.
And as he sees with discernment, the mental fermentations go to their total end. He
remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there. It is to this
extent that one is described in a non-sequential way by the Blessed One as a bodily
witness."
See also: AN IX.44; AN IX.45.