The Seven Elements of Higher Experience – A Teaching from the Saṃyutta Nikāya
On an enlightened day in Śrāvastī, during a live teaching session on 26 May 2025 Datuk Dr. Lim Siow Jin delved into a deep and profound passage from the Saṃyutta Nikāya of the Pāli Tipiṭaka. The teaching centered on a set of seven dhātus (elements), as meditative realms and experiential foundations—progressive states of consciousness encountered through advanced meditation.
He quoted the Buddha’s words to the bhikkhus:
“Bhikkhus, there are seven dhātus. What are these seven?”
- Ābhā Dhātu – The Element of Light
This element symbolizes the inner luminosity of awareness, often encountered in deep meditation. Light here is not just visual but symbolic of clarity, insight, and inner radiance. - Śubha Dhātu – The Element of Beauty
This refers to refined mental states characterized by beauty, harmony, and purity. It points toward a heart-mind cleansed of defilements, filled with serene joy and elegance of being. - Aakāsā Ananta Āyatana Dhātu – The Element of Infinite Space
A meditative absorption where the mind expands beyond the body, perceiving infinite, boundless space. This is the first of the formless attainments (arūpa samāpatti). - Viññāṇa Ananta Āyatana Dhātu – The Element of Infinite Consciousness
Going beyond the perception of space, the meditator becomes absorbed in boundless consciousness, realizing the vast, non-local nature of awareness itself. - Ākiñcaññā Āyatana Dhātu – The Element of Nothingness
A deeper, more subtle attainment where the perception shifts from “something” to “nothing”—the realization of emptiness, a profound detachment from form and conceptuality. - Nevasaññā-Nāsaññā Dhātu – The Element of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception
A subtle and nearly unfathomable state where perception exists at its barest level, a threshold between awareness and cessation, beyond the grasp of ordinary consciousness. - Saññāvedayita Nirodha Dhātu – The Element of Cessation of Perception and Feeling
The pinnacle of meditative attainment. In this state, perception and feeling entirely cease, and the mind rests in complete stillness. It is the direct experience of liberation—nirodha—only accessible to those with deep realization and mastery of jhānas and insight.
Dr. Lim explained that these seven dhātus represent progressive inner elements—not physical substances but stages of self realization. Teachings like this remind us of the depth and dignity of the human mind. The potential to access light, beauty, vastness, consciousness, and even transcend perception itself lies within each of us.
To watch this session, please click the link below:
