Re: vibhuta in AN 11.10

Dear Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi & others,

A very interesting discussion.

It seems to me that these texts are indicating two things: first, that this
> attainment is not to be identified with saññāvedayita-nirodha, in which all
> saññā (and presumably manasikāra) would be absent; and second, that the
> “object” or “domain” of this special samādhi is nibbāna, which is
> apprehended by a direct meditative experience.
>


Especially regarding this *particular samadhi*, I checked Ven. Katukurunde
Nyanananda's wonderful book "*Nibbana - the mind stilled*" as he happens to
have a very long discussion on the idea of "arahatta-phala-samadhi" as
portrayed in the suttas and discusses the meaning of some of the passages
quoted before. I was curious to see how he translated them:

http://books.nibbanam.com/epubs/nibbana_mind_stilled.pdf (p. 295) and again
(p. 428)


*“bhavanirodho nibbānaṃ bhavanirodho nibbānan”ti kho me, āvuso, aññāva
>
saññā uppajjati aññāva saññā nirujjhati. seyyathāpi, āvuso, sakalikaggissa
> jhāyamānassa aññāva acci uppajjati aññāva acci nirujjhati; evamevaṃ kho,
> āvuso, ‘bhavanirodho nibbānaṃ bhavanirodho nibbānan’ti aññāva saññā
> uppajjati aññāva saññā nirujjhati. ‘bhavanirodho nibbānan’ti saññī ca
> panāhaṃ, āvuso, tasmiṃ samaye ahosin”ti.*
>
> This is the sutta in this set that I have found most problematic. I would
> interpret it to mean that Sāriputta was percipient that “cessation of
> becoming is Nibbāna” before entering the attainment and immediately after
> emerging from it. Throughout the attainment he would have been percipient
> of nibbāna but without relying on the verbal formula. This is just a
> conjecture.
>
>
  ...same book, page 448, where Ven. K. Nyanananda explains this simile in
the context of another sutta:

..."The worldling who attends to the arising aspect and ignores the
cessation aspect is carried away by the perception of the compact. But the
mind, when steadied, is able to see the phenomenon of cessation: *Thitam
cittam vippamuttam, vayancassànupassati*, The mind steadied and released
contemplates its own passing  away (A III 379, Sonasutta).

with metta,
Lennart


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