Ubhatobhaga Sutta
Released Both Ways

Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

 

[Udayin:] “‘Released both ways, released both ways,’ it is said. To what extent is one described by the Blessed One as released both ways?”

[Ánanda:] “There is the case, my friend, where a monk, withdrawn from sensuality, withdrawn from unskillful qualities, enters and remains in the first jhana: rapture and pleasure born from withdrawal, accompanied by directed thought and evaluation. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there, and he knows it through discernment. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as released both ways.

“Furthermore, with the stilling of directed thought and evaluation, he enters and remains in the second jhana… the third jhana… the fourth jhana… the dimension of the infinitude of space… the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness… the dimension of nothingness… the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there, and he knows it through discernment. It is to this extent that one is described in a sequential way by the Blessed One as released both ways.

“Furthermore, with the complete transcending of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, he enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And as he sees with discernment, the mental fermentations go to their total end. He remains touching with his body in whatever way there is an opening there, and he knows it through discernment. It is to this extent that one is described in a non-sequential way by the Blessed One as released both ways.”