Immovable states

Bhikkhus, these three persons are evident in the world. What three?

Here, bhikkhus, a certain person overcoming all perceptions of matter and going beyond perceptions of anger, not attending to various perceptions, [1] With boundless space attains to the sphere of space. He becomes fully satisfied in it, strives after it and prospers in it. Becoming intent on it and making much of it, without falling away from it, he dies and is born with the gods of the sphere of space. The gods of the sphere of space have a life span of twenty thousand forward world cycles. An ordinary person having completed that life span would go even to hell, the animal world or be born with the ghosts. As for the disciples of the Blessed One, completing that life span would extinguish in that same birth. Bhikkhus, this is the difference and the peculiarity in the course of action, birth and conscience of the noble disciple and the ordinary person.

Again, bhikkhus, a certain person overcoming all the sphere of space With boundless consciousness attains to the sphere of consciousness. He becomes fully satisfied in it, strives after it and prospers in it. Becoming intent on it and making much of it, without falling away from it, he dies and is born with the gods of the sphere of consciousness. The gods of the sphere of consciousness have a life span of forty thousand forward world cycles. An ordinary person having completed that life span would go even to hell, the animal world or be born with the ghosts. As for the disciples of the Blessed One, completing that life span would extinguish in that same birth. Bhikkhus, this is the difference and the peculiarity in the course of action, birth and conscience of the noble disciple and the ordinary person.

Again, bhikkhus, a certain person overcoming all the sphere of consciousness, with there is nothing attains to the sphere of no-thingness. He becomes fully satisfied in it, strives after it and prospers in it. Becoming intent on it and making much of it, without falling away from it, he dies and is born with the gods of the sphere of no thingness. The gods of the sphere of no-thingness have a life span of sixty thousand forward world cycles. An ordinary person having completed that life span would go even to hell, the animal world or be born with the ghosts. As for the disciples of the Blessed One, completing that life span would extinguish in that same birth. Bhikkhus, this is difference and the peculiarity in the course of action, birth and conscience of the noble disciple and the ordinary person. Bhikkhus, these three persons are evident in the world.