Cittasanto wrote:Can you show one instance the formless attainments are treated separately?
I'm looking.
mettam sutta has lots of weaselly ors, but concentration-enlightenment-factor replaces explicit jhana.
maha-nidana sutta relates infinite space to stations of consciousness, and any link between these beings and jhana is hidden from me right now.
"There are beings who,with the complete transcending of perceptions of [physical] form, with the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, and not heeding perceptions of diversity, [perceiving,] 'Infinite space,' arrive at the dimension of the infinitude of space."
Ananda Sutta
Here's what I was looking for -- straight into infinite space.
"[Ananda:] "There is the case where, with the complete transcending of perceptions of [physical] form,[...] one enters & remains in the dimension of the infinitude of space."
uh-oh!
This translation of Vihara Sutta says the 9 attainments are "step-by-step."
I'll keep looking.