The Discourse about the Great Emancipation

The Third Chapter for Recitation
abides in the sphere of endless space. 97
liberation.
This is the fourth
5) Having completely transcended the sphere of endless space,
(understanding): ‘This is endless consciousness’, he abides in the
sphere of endless consciousness. This is the fifth liberation.
6) Having completely transcended the sphere of endless
consciousness, (understanding): ‘This is nothing’, he abides in the
sphere of nothingness. This is the sixth liberation.
7) Having completely transcended the sphere of nothingness, he
abides in the sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. This
is the seventh liberation.
8) Having completely transcended the sphere of neither-perceptionnor-non-perception,
he abides in the cessation of perception and
feeling. This is the eighth liberation.
These, Ānanda, are the eight liberations.
[23: Ānanda's Fault]
At one time Ānanda I was living at Uruvelā, on the bank of the river
Nerañjarā, at the root of the Goatherd's Banyan tree, in the first
97 This and the three that follow are the spheres of concentration developed
through refinement of the fourth absorption.
93