The Noble Council of Akanittha Brahma Realm was remembered with faith.
I repeated the upekka appamana meditation of 12/09/2025. In there, what will happen when ‘faculty of life’ (jivitha indriya) is not exhausted and the perversion of thought that ‘there is self’ comes up to the ‘faculty of life’ (jīvitindriya) and then breaks down was investigated in conjunction with the diagram 1 given in the 29/08/2025 upekka appamana meditation.
Here, due to the form like cotton being taken as self, there arises perversion of perception that ‘there is self’. This is a subtle phenomenon. There are no feelings being taken as self here. The form which is insubstantial like cotton being taken as self has reached such a subtle state, and it is accumulated in the ‘consciousness as nutriment’. Thus, there is My-making due to the self that arises at the top of the diagram.
Furthermore, we investigated that due to ‘volition’ there is a movement towards ‘feeling’, which causes the trident diagram to rotate anticlockwise.
In the 15/12/2023 fifth and sixth jhānas meditation, we learned that perception (saññā) matures after 5.5, that is, the perception is powerful enough to make view of self (attānudiṭṭhi), at which point birth in the base of infinite consciousness (viññāṇañcāyatana) takes place. This view of self is due to ‘feeling’ (vedanā) which has been well digested. Whether the ‘form’ is gross or subtle, the resulting ‘feelings’ have been well digested. What should be taken as ‘feeling’ (vedanā) here? It is a feeling that is provoked due to volition arriving at feeing. Since there are perceptions that ‘form’ has been abandoned, there is no arriving at ‘feeling’ from the direction of ‘form’. It is like a cow chewing its cud. This is so. Since one had previously dwelt in the sixth jhāna plane, volition was directed precisely toward that, and feeling too was directed precisely toward that.
If ‘perception’ does not mature, that is, ‘perception’ is not powerful enough to construct a view of self (attānudiṭṭhi), then due to the broken thought of self, birth occurs in the fifth jhāna plane. We have learned there that the stream has gone up to 6.3 and stopped before the decision regarding perception (sañña adhimokkha) takes place. Furthermore, two points have been examined there.
1. The case where the value of perception is not strong enough to abandon the bunny-toy due to its association with feeling (vēdanā). The feelings caused by the gross form (olārika rūpa) have not been abandoned. As an example, the appearance of the fifth jhāna plane in a grey colour, has been examined. In this case, birth in the fifth jhana plane does not occur when there is no view between ‘volition’ and ‘misapprehension’. Why is so? Because therein, a stability is not perceived by consciousness.
2. The case where the value of perception is strong enough to abandon the feelings caused by the gross form (olārika rūpa). For an example, the appearance of the fifth jhāna plane in black has been examined. He was happy with the space that he saw as dark. He has not abandoned it. Because of perceptions of form that are so subtle, one is reborn in the fifth jhana plane. There is feeling that is provoked due to volition arriving at feeing. Although the feeling due to the gross form has been abandoned, he was not skilled in abandoning the feeling due to volition.
This is the meditation I did.
If I am to add a little more to this,
1. At the beginning of this meditation, if pleasure arises within ‘misapprehension’ (parāmāsa), thought to be a catastrophe. Recalling the dhamma leading up to birth in the base of infinite consciousness (viññāṇañcāyatana), with the emergence of light and the face becoming blissful, arose the sixth jhāna. Escape from this state proved extremely difficult. This condition persisted throughout the meditation. Unlike before, thought occurred that base of infinite consciousness (viññāṇañcāyatana) is pleasurable to this extent. This happens without any effort. It is sufficient to have in mind, that it is a feeling that arose due to volition arriving at feeling. Saying no to something, it is like getting the same thing repeatedly. Even at the beginning of the repair process, it exists in this manner, Budu Piya said to “repair using it”. The repair was done well. With a happy mind, gratitude and appreciation was extended to all Great Arahants and to all divine beings including deities and divine mothers, who provided help and assistance so far.
2. When the feeling arising due to gross form is not abandoned, and if there is a view established in-between ‘volition’ and ‘misapprehension’ due to past doctrines, then in the case where the fifth jhāna plane appears in a grey colour, birth in the fifth jhāna plane is possible. The difference here is, that the ‘perception value’ is not powerful enough to construct a view, by the feeling arising due to gross form. (*1)
3. In the case where perception (saññā) is powerful enough to abandon feeling arising due to gross form, he delighted with the space that he saw as dark. Here, while there is feeling that is provoked due to volition arriving at feeling, it has also been reflected along the line from ‘perception’ to ‘misapprehension’. That is, ‘decision regarding feelings’ (Vedana adhimokkha) 5.4 has occurred. Consequently, there is a rapid anticlockwise rotation of the trident diagram, there also occurs a rapid drawing toward the space that appears as dark, which one has found pleasing.
4. During this meditation, recalling the dhamma leading up to birth in the ‘base of infinite consciousness’ (viññāṇañcāyatana), frequent emergence of light and the face becoming blissful, arose the sixth jhāna. When repairing, if there is a time of seperation from the sixth jhāna, and at that point if the fifth jhāna plane becomes visible, a perception arises as if being drawn towards an abyss. The pleasure experienced when transitioning from form-realms to the fifth jhāna plane, is absent here.
5. Without recalling the case ‘base of infinite consciousness’ (viññāṇañcāyatana), when recollecting birth in the fifth jhāna plane, the fifth jhāna plane appeared. After that, recalling the case of the sixth jhāna, it aroused. Thereafter recalling the case of the fifth jhāna, it aroused. Repeating this several times, a star emerged at the place where name-and-form (nāma–rūpa) is marked. Subsequently, from the point where name-and-form is marked, toward the direction where ‘volition’ is marked, the sixth jhāna plane appeared, and from the point where name-and-form is marked, toward the direction where ‘feeling’ is marked, the fifth jhāna plane appeared, both visible simultaneously.
6. Before going to the ‘base of infinite consciousness’ (viññāṇañcāyatana), recollecting the phrase ‘feelings that arise due to volition arriving at feeing’, and the case in which anticlockwise rotation of the trident diagram, ‘liberation of mind through appreciative joy' (muditā ceto vimutti) arises first. This is felt only after doing this meditation several times.
This is what I have to add.
[Discussion on 27/09/2025]
Foot notes added after the discussion
(*1) It is just like flipping a light switch ‘on’ and ‘off’. There is a ‘feeling’ then there is no ‘feeling’. Or if not, you see something in grey colour, but then that greyness disappears. If there is a situation like that, that means that our ‘perception’ is not powerful enough for us to construct a ‘view’.