The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha - Bhikkhu Nanamoli [238]
6. “Ānanda, there are these five cords of sensual pleasure. What are the five? Forms cognizable by the eye that are wished for, desired, agreeable, and likeable, connected with sensual desire and provocative of lust. Sounds cognizable by the ear… Odours cognizable by the nose…Flavours cognizable by the tongue…Tangibles cognizable by the body that are wished for, desired, agreeable, and likeable, connected with sensual desire and provocative of lust. These are the five cords of sensual pleasure. Now the pleasure and joy that arise dependent on these five cords of sensual pleasure are called sensual pleasure.
7. “Should anyone say: ‘That is the utmost pleasure and joy that beings experience,’ I would not concede that to him. Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure loftier and more sublime than that pleasure. And what is that other kind of pleasure? Here, Ānanda, quite secluded from sensual pleasures, secluded from unwholesome states, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the first jhāna, which is accompanied by applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of seclusion. This is that other kind of pleasure loftier and more sublime than the previous pleasure.
8. “Should anyone say: ‘That is the utmost pleasure and joy that beings experience,’ I would not concede that to him. [399] Why is that? Because there is another kind of pleasure loftier and more sublime than that pleasure. And what is that other kind of pleasure? Here, Ānanda, with the stilling of applied and sustained thought, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the second jhāna, which has self-confidence and singleness of mind without applied and sustained thought, with rapture and pleasure born of concentration. This is that other kind of pleasure loftier and more sublime than the previous pleasure.
9. “Should anyone say…And what is that other kind of pleasure? Here, Ānanda, with the fading away as well of rapture, a bhikkhu abides in equanimity, mindful and fully aware, and still feeling pleasure with the body, he enters upon and abides in the third jhāna, on account of which noble ones announce: ‘He has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful.’ This is that other kind of pleasure loftier and more sublime than the previous pleasure.
10. “Should anyone say…And what is that other kind of pleasure? Here, Ānanda, with the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the fourth jhāna, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. This is that other kind of pleasure loftier and more sublime than the previous pleasure.617
11. “Should anyone say…And what is that other kind of pleasure? Here, Ānanda, with the complete surmounting of perceptions of form, with the disappearance of perceptions of sensory impact, with non-attention to perceptions of diversity, aware that ‘space is infinite,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite space. This is that other kind of pleasure loftier and more sublime than the previous pleasure.
12. “Should anyone say…And what is that other kind of pleasure? Here, Ānanda, by completely surmounting the base of infinite space, aware that ‘consciousness is infinite,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of infinite consciousness. This is that other kind of pleasure loftier and more sublime than the previous pleasure.
13. “Should anyone say…And what is that other kind of pleasure? Here, Ānanda, by completely surmounting the base of infinite consciousness, aware that ‘there is nothing,’ a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of nothingness. This is that other kind of pleasure loftier and more sublime than the previous pleasure. [400]
14. “Should anyone say…And what is that other kind of pleasure? Here, Ānanda, by completely surmounting the base of nothingness, a bhikkhu enters upon and abides in the base of neither-perception-nor-non-perception.