Saṃyuktāgama (347-2)

(2) Original Text:

Again he asked: "Venerable one, how is it that by abandoning pain and ceasing pleasure, having first eliminated sorrow and joy, abiding in the equanimity that is neither painful nor pleasant, with pure mindfulness and a focused mind, fully attaining the fourth jhāna, without giving rise to any outflows, the mind is well liberated?" He replied: "No, Susima." Again he asked: "Or if, through tranquility, one is liberated from the bonds of the form and formless realms, having personally realized and fully abiding in liberation, without giving rise to any outflows, the mind is well liberated?" He replied: "No, Susima." Susima again asked: "Venerable one, why do your words differ from the actual realization of liberation, being inconsistent? Why do you claim to have attained the state of no further rebirth without having attained the four jhānas and eight samādhis?" The bhikkhu replied: "I am wisdom-liberated." After saying this, many bhikkhus arose from their seats and departed.

Explanation:

Susima again asked: "Venerable one, how is it that by leaving behind painful feelings, extinguishing pleasant feelings, eliminating both sorrow and joy, abiding in the equanimity that is neither painful nor pleasant, with pure mindfulness, focusing the mind, fully attaining the fourth jhāna, without giving rise to any afflictive outflows, the mind is well liberated?" The bhikkhu replied: "Liberation is not attained in this way." Susima again asked: "How does one make the mind tranquil, liberated from the bonds of the form and formless realms, personally realizing and fully abiding in liberation, without giving rise to any afflictive outflows, so the mind is well liberated?" The bhikkhu replied: "Liberation is not attained in this way." Susima again asked: "Why do your words, Venerable one, differ from the actual realization of liberation, contradicting each other? Why do you claim to have attained the state of no further rebirth without having realized the four jhānas and eight samādhis?" The bhikkhu replied: "I am liberated by wisdom." After saying this, many bhikkhus arose from their seats and departed.

Susima assumed that realizing the fruits of the path required cultivating the four jhānas and eight samādhis. He did not understand that liberation requires knowing the Dharma of liberation through wisdom and realizing the Dharma of liberation. Thus, he misunderstood, thinking that the self-proclaimed attainments of those arahants were inconsistent with the state of liberation. Arahants may be wisdom-liberated, samādhi-liberated, or both-liberated. Wisdom-liberated arahants need only possess the first jhāna; their liberation wisdom must be fully perfected, and upon the end of their lifespan, they enter parinirvāṇa relying solely on this wisdom. Samādhi-liberated arahants must possess the four jhānas and eight samādhis along with the wisdom of liberation; they primarily rely on samādhi to attain liberation and enter parinirvāṇa, with control over their lifespan—able to shorten or extend it. Both-liberated arahants must possess not only the four jhānas and eight samādhis but also the cessation of perception and feeling (nirodha-samāpatti); their wisdom of liberation must also be fully perfected, enabling them to enter parinirvāṇa at will from the state of cessation, without waiting for the end of their lifespan.