Brahmavihārās and the Formless

[Ceisiwr]

In SN 46.54 it is said that compassion culminates in infinite space, altruistic joy in infinite consciousness and equanimity in Nothingness. Does anyone know of any explanation as to how the brahmavihārās relate to the formless?

[pitithefool]

In SN 46.54 it is said that compassion culminates in infinite space, altruistic joy in infinite consciousness and equanimity in Nothingness. Does anyone know of any explanation as to how the brahmavihārās relate to the formless?

We can continue this here,

Part of cultivating the brahmaviharas would be radiating it out in all directions, so it's safe to say proper brahmavihara practice is a practice of formlessness.

This is not a really standard way of practice but Bhante Vimalaramsi has a pretty good analysis of that sutta in particular. AN 8.63 also relates the brahmaviharas to jhana practice directly.

Honestly, I don't know if I have the time to explain but these suttas are exceptions rather than rules and the Brahmaviharas are often given as a precedent to jhana in order to clear the mind. I don't think there was supposed to be such clear distinction conceptually between jhana and "meditation" though when the Buddha was alive, and I think AN 8.63 and SN 46.54 probably point to that. What's important is that we should consider brahmavihara as "right concentration" in Buddhist context and not "wrong concentration"

[Ceisiwr]

...

Ven. Bodhi refers to the commentary in his SN translation. There it states:

1. Via Loving-Kindness one can easily enter into the colour kasiṇa (beautiful liberation).
2. Via Compassion one sees the danger in form and so enters into infinite space.
3. Via Altruistic Joy one apprehends the joyful consciousness of other beings, and so enters into infinite consciousness.
4. Via Equanimity the one who is skilled in diverting his mind from pleasure and pain can easily divert to the absence of any concrete entity, thus entering into Nothingness.

[Ceisiwr]

I made a table trying to put all of this together.

[pitithefool]

Ven. Bodhi refers to the commentary in his SN translation. There it states:

1. Via Loving-Kindness one can easily enter into the colour kasiṇa (beautiful liberation).
2. Via Compassion one sees the danger in form and so enters into infinite space.
3. Via Altruistic Joy one apprehends the joyful consciousness of other beings, and so enters into infinite consciousness.
4. Via Equanimity the one who is skilled in diverting his mind from pleasure and pain can easily divert to the absence of any concrete entity, thus entering into Nothingness.

Sounds reasonable to me.

HOWEVER, I have some trepidation in regard to pigeonholing things found in the canon into extremely rigid definitions and interpretations like the commentaries and Buddhagosa's works do.

Suttas like this I tend to stay away from practice-wise because they are non-standard. If I were to teach, I wouldn't really bring it up unless pressured to do so. The fact that it seemingly requires additional explanation and that it's so different tells me it was again tailored to the listener. I don't really know why it was taught like this but I have no reason to doubt its authenticity either. I don't generally practice brahmaviharas in a way that lines up with this sutta either. The commentary seems perfectly reasonable but there could also be contextual clues missing as to why this sutta was given in this way.

Time and time again in the canon however, I do find a standard stock formula that involves jhana and formless attainments and that seems to me to be commonplace enough in the canon to accept as valid. I do feel that if I were to interpret this sutta on my own terms, it would be using that framework. This sutta to me seems evidence enough that jhana can be developed by means of brahmavihara and that maybe (this is highly speculative) the Buddha was encouraging someone who practiced this way to also delve into the formless realms, and that's why it was taught how we see it.

It could be that the point was being made by the Buddha to the learner was that the brahmaviharas are more conducive to perceiving the beautiful rather than say seeng the danger and the escape to things and also perhaps that the learner may have been attached to becoming in the form realm, to which an apt antidote would be becoming in the formless realm. Again, highly speculative but you can see where I'm going.

Jhana undercuts attachment to the sense realm and the formless attainments undercut attachment to jhana. If that's the case, and that's what the Buddha was trying to convey, then this sutta would be an incredibly concise and deft way of telling the learner "your practice isn't leading you beyond the beautiful, here's how to practice in such a way where you can still utilize your skillset and go beyond it".

I like this interpretation but it may conflict with commentarial traditions. Let me know what you think. Also keep in mind that the Brahmaviharas were said to lead to rebirth in the Brahma realms, and this seems to play into the Formlessness as Annihilation connection you made apparent earlier.

[SteRo]

In SN 46.54 it is said that compassion culminates in infinite space, altruistic joy in infinite consciousness and equanimity in Nothingness. Does anyone know of any explanation as to how the brahmavihārās relate to the formless?

If that's the view of theravada doctrine (and SN 46.54 is theravada doctrine) then this is extremely interesting. Thanks.

[confusedlayman]

In SN 46.54 it is said that compassion culminates in infinite space, altruistic joy in infinite consciousness and equanimity in Nothingness. Does anyone know of any explanation as to how the brahmavihārās relate to the formless?

its given in visudhimagga but can I dont think it will lead directly there instead u need to do 1-3 and move on

I think awareness. release and brahmaviharas are different... awareness release has no passion but brahma vihara has passion

[Modus.Ponens]

I made a table trying to put all of this together.

Thank you for making this table.

I also think it has to do with the boundless aspect of the brahmaviharas. The 5th jhana is usually entered, from 4th jhana, by expanding awareness gradually to include more and more space until it is boundless/infinite space. So it makes sense that the brahmaviharas, which involve radiating in every direction to all beings, can culminate in immaterial jhanas. To be clear, this is the first time I read that the brahmaviharas have this culmination, so I'm not an authority on this by any means. But it makes a lot of sense.

[pitithefool]

its given in visudhimagga but can I dont think it will lead directly there instead u need to do 1-3 and move on

This is how I would probably explain this in practical terms. I don't think this necessarily conflicts with either view that brahmaviharas can or cannot be considered jhana proper. I think most people can agree they can at least be used as a preliminary practice for jhana though so this seems like a logical explanation.

I think it's simpler to say you can develop jhana from the brahmaviharas and then lead to the formless from there.

I think awareness. release and brahmaviharas are different... awareness release has no passion but brahma vihara has passion

I think you're probably referring to SN 41.7 .

This is true and I think this may have to do with the Buddha teaching SN 46.54. I think he may have been instructing the learner in a concise way to go beyond.

[Ceisiwr]

Thank you for making this table.

You’re welcome. I’ve found putting teachings into a table is most helpful for clarifying.