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he is still afraid and terrified, and does not wish to see him. Here is the comparison: The time when those men were afflicted by a snake or an enemy is like the time when the bhikkhu is associated with physical form as an object. Their quick flight and going to another village is like the time when the bhikkhu transcends physical form by means of the fourth jhāna of the form sphere. Their fear, terror, and unwillingness to see the drawing of a snake, palm leaf, etc., and the man similar to the enemy, in the place they fled to and in the other village, is like the bhikkhu's Recognizing that even the kasina-form and its counterpart are "this" (form), the desire is to transcend even that. Here, the simile should be understood of a timid person struck by a boar, a dog, or a demon. 276. Thus, he, desiring to depart, disgusted with the kasina-forms that are the object of the fourth jhana, having become skilled in the five ways, rising from the well-practiced fourth jhana of the form sphere, sees the danger in that jhana: "This form, which I am disgusted with, makes an object," and "It is an enemy to the proximate joy," and "It is gross compared to the peaceful liberation." There is no grossness of factors here. Just as this form is two-factored, so too are the formless attainments. He, having seen such danger there, and having exhausted attachment, attends to the base of infinite space as peaceful and infinite. Having spread the kasina as far as the world-system's end, or as much as he desires, attending to the space pervaded by it as "space, space" or "infinite space," he "opens" the kasina. When opening, he does not roll it up like a mat, nor does he lift it out like a cake from a bowl. He simply does not advert to it, does not attend to it, does not review it. Not adverting, not attending, not reviewing, but rather attending to the space pervaded by it as "space, space," he is said to "open" the kasina. When the kasina is being opened, it does not roll up or unfold. It is merely said to be opened due to his non-attention and his attention to "space, space." Only the space opened from the kasina appears. "Space opened from the kasina," or "space pervaded by the kasina," or "space devoid of kasina" – all these are one and the same. He repeatedly adverts to that sign of space opened from the kasina as "space, space," he makes it struck by thought, struck by initial application. As he repeatedly adverts in this way, making it struck by thought, struck by initial application, the hindrances are suppressed, mindfulness is established, and the mind becomes concentrated by access. He repeatedly attends to, develops, and makes much of that sign. As he repeatedly attends and pays attention, his mind of the form-sphere, like that of the earth-kasiṇa and so on, becomes absorbed in the base of infinite space in space. Here too, in the initial stage, three or four impulsion thoughts are of the sense-sphere, accompanied by equanimity-feeling. The fourth or fifth is of the formless-sphere. The rest is as stated for the earth-kasiṇa. This is the distinction: When such a formless-sphere mind arises, that bhikkhu is like a man who, having tied a pot-mouth or similar opening of a vehicle-basket with a blue cloth or some other cloth of yellow, red, or white, and is looking at it, then, when the cloth is removed by the force of the wind or by something else, stands looking only at space. Just so, having previously dwelt looking at the kasiṇa-disk with the eye of jhāna, when that sign is suddenly removed by the preparatory attention "space, space," he dwells looking only at space. It is in this way that it is said: "By completely transcending perceptions of form, by the disappearance of perceptions of resistance, by not attending to perceptions of diversity, 'space is infinite' – he enters and dwells in the base of infinite space." 277. Here, "completely" means in every way, or without remainder for all. "Perceptions of form" refers, by the heading of perception, to the form-sphere jhānas and their objects. For the form-sphere jhāna is also called "form" in phrases like "one with form sees forms," and its object is also called "form" in phrases like "he sees external forms, beautiful and ugly." Therefore, here, "perception of form" is an appellation for the form-sphere jhāna, meaning "perception in form." "Perception is form" means "its name is form." It should be understood that this is an appellation for the earth-kasiṇa and so on, and their objects. "Transcending" means by dispassion and cessation. What is meant? Of these fifteen form-perceptions called jhānas, due to wholesome, resultant, and functional states, and of these nine form-perceptions called objects, such as the earth-kasina, from the dispassion and cessation of all of them, without remainder, and from the cause of dispassion and the cause of cessation, one enters and dwells in the sphere of infinite space. Indeed, it is not possible for one who has not entirely transcended form-perception to enter and dwell in this. Therein, since for one not dispassionate towards the object, transcendence of perception does not occur, and when perceptions are transcended, the object is also transcended. Therefore, without speaking of the transcendence of the object, 'What are form-perceptions there? Perception, cognizing, the state of having cognized, for one who has attained a form-sphere attainment, or has been reborn in it, or dwells happily in this very life, these are called form-perceptions. One has transcended, gone beyond, completely transcended these form-perceptions. Therefore, it is said: "by the complete transcendence of form-perceptions."' (Vibha. 602) Thus, in the Vibhaṅga, only the transcendence of perceptions is stated. However, since these attainments are to be reached by transcending the object, not like the first jhāna and so on in just one object. Therefore, it should be understood that this explanation is also made in terms of transcending the object. 278. 'The disappearance of contact-perceptions' means: Perception arisen through contact of objects like forms with bases like the eye, is contact-perception. This is a designation for form-perception and so on. As it is said: 'What are contact-perceptions there? Form-perception, sound-perception, odor-perception, taste-perception, tangible-perception, these are called contact-perceptions.' (Vibha. 603) The disappearance, abandonment, non-arising, and making non-operative of all ten contact-perceptions— the five wholesome-resultant and the five unwholesome-resultant— is what is meant. Although these do not exist even for one who has attained the first jhāna and so on. Indeed, at that time, consciousness does not proceed through the five doors. Even so, elsewhere, abandonment... of pleasant and unpleasant feelings, as in the fourth jhāna; and of personality view and so on, as in the third path; the mention of these here is to be understood as praise of this jhāna, in order to generate enthusiasm for it. Or, although they do not exist for one who has attained the form-sphere, they do not exist because they are not abandoned. For the cultivation of the form-sphere does not lead to dispassion for form; and their occurrence is dependent on form. But this cultivation leads to dispassion for form. Therefore, it is proper to say that they are abandoned here. And not only is it proper to say so, it is proper to hold this as certain. For because they were not abandoned before this, the Buddha called the sound for one who had attained the first jhāna a "thorn." And here, because they are abandoned, the imperturbability and the peaceful liberation of the formless attainments are spoken of. And Āḷāra Kālāma, having attained the formless, neither saw nor heard the sound of five hundred carts passing by, one after another. 279. "Non-attending to perceptions of diversity" means perceptions occurring in diverse objects, or perceptions that are diverse. For these are defined in the Vibhaṅga thus: "What are perceptions of diversity? The perception, the perceiving, the state of having perceived of one who is not attained, who is endowed with the mind-element or endowed with the mind-consciousness element— these are called perceptions of diversity." The perceptions intended here, comprising the mind-element and mind-consciousness element of one who is not attained, occur in diverse objects such as form and sound, which are of diverse natures. And because these forty-four perceptions— eight wholesome perceptions of the sense-sphere, twelve unwholesome perceptions, eleven wholesome resultant perceptions of the sense-sphere, two unwholesome resultant perceptions, and eleven functional perceptions of the sense-sphere— are diverse, of diverse natures, and dissimilar to each other, they are called perceptions of diversity. "Non-attending to all perceptions of diversity" means not adverting, not considering, not reflection. Because he does not reject them, does not pay attention to them, does not reflect on them, thus it is said. And because here the former perceptions of form and perceptions of aversion do not exist in the state produced by this jhāna. How much more so while abiding, having attained this jhāna in that state. Therefore, their transcending and their disappearance are stated as a twofold non-existence. But regarding perceptions of diversity, because the eight wholesome kāma-sphere perceptions, the nine functional perceptions, and the ten unwholesome perceptions—these twenty-seven perceptions—exist in the state produced by this jhāna, therefore it should be understood that it is said "non-attention to them." For even there, one abides, having attained this jhāna, by non-attention to them. But if one pays attention to them, one is not in attainment. In brief, here, by "transcending perceptions of form," the abandonment of all rūpa-sphere phenomena is stated.