The Mahānidāna Sūtra (Number IX) from the Dīrgha Āgama

(10) Original text: The Buddha told Ananda: There are seven stations of consciousness and two spheres of existence. Some ascetics and brahmins say: 'This place is secure, a salvation, a refuge, a lamp, a light, a reliance, not false, free from affliction.' What are the seven? There are beings with diverse bodies and diverse perceptions — this is the first station of consciousness, namely gods and humans. Some ascetics and brahmins say: 'This place is secure, a salvation, a refuge, a lamp, a light, a reliance, not false, free from affliction.' Ananda, if a bhikkhu knows the first station of consciousness, knows its arising, knows its cessation, knows its gratification, knows its danger, knows the escape from it, and knows it as it really is — Ananda, that bhikkhu declares: 'That is not mine, I am not that, that is not my self.' He knows and sees this as it really is.

Explanation: The Buddha told Ananda: There are seven stations of consciousness and two spheres of existence; you should know them. Some ascetics and brahmins say these seven stations of consciousness and two spheres are secure, are places of salvation, are shelters and lamps, are illumination and refuges, are places of truth without falsehood, are places free from affliction. What are the seven stations of consciousness? The first station of consciousness is among gods and humans — beings with material bodies of gods and humans, differing in types of bodies and differing in perceptions. Ascetics and brahmins say the abode of gods and humans is secure, salvific, a habitable shelter, an illuminating lamp, brightness, a place of reliance, a true and non-deceptive existence, a place without affliction.

Ananda, if bhikkhus know the first station of consciousness, understand its arising and cessation, understand the gratification and clinging towards the station of consciousness, understand its dangers, understand how to be liberated from the station of consciousness, and know this first station of consciousness as it really is — then the bhikkhus will say: 'The station of consciousness is not me, I am not the station of consciousness; I can know and see this truth as it really is.'

Original text: Or there are beings with diverse bodies but a single perception — the gods of Brahma's Radiance are such. Or there are beings with a single body but diverse perceptions — the gods of Radiance are such. Or there are beings with a single body and a single perception — the gods of Universal Purity are such. Or there are beings abiding in the base of the infinity of space. Or there are beings abiding in the base of the infinity of consciousness. Or there are beings abiding in the base of nothingness. These are the seven stations of consciousness. Some ascetics and brahmins say: 'This place is secure, a salvation, a refuge, a lamp, a light, a reliance, not false, free from affliction.' Ananda, if a bhikkhu knows the seven stations of consciousness, knows their arising, knows their cessation, knows their gratification, knows their danger, knows the escape from them, and knows them as they really are — that bhikkhu declares: 'That is not mine, I am not that, that is not my self.' He knows and sees this as it really is. These are the seven stations of consciousness.

Explanation: The second station of consciousness is among the gods of the first jhāna in the form realm, the Brahma's Radiance Heaven, who have diverse material bodies but only a single perception. The third station of consciousness is among the gods of the second jhāna, the Radiance Heaven, who have a single material body but diverse perceptions. The fourth station of consciousness is among the gods of the third jhāna, the Universal Purity Heaven, who have a single material body and a single perception. The fifth station of consciousness is among the gods of the formless realm in the base of the infinity of space, who have no material body, only extremely subtle perception. The sixth station of consciousness is among the gods in the base of the infinity of consciousness, who similarly have no material body, only even subtler perception. The seventh station of consciousness is among the gods in the base of nothingness, who have no material body, and their perception is even subtler and harder to discern. These are the seven stations of consciousness.

Some ascetics and brahmins say these abodes are secure, salvific, shelters, lamps, light, reliable refuges, non-deceptive places, places without affliction. Ananda, if bhikkhus can know the seven stations of consciousness, understand their arising and cessation, understand the gratification and dangers of the stations of consciousness, understand the essential path of liberation from the stations of consciousness, and know and see all these abodes as they really are — then the bhikkhus will say: 'The stations of consciousness are not me, I am not the stations of consciousness.' To know and see the stations of consciousness as they really is is to understand the seven stations.