Eight liberations
eight liberations are:
(1) From subjective desires that have arisen,
(2) from the arising of no subjective desires during meditation,
(3) the liberation by concentration upon the pure and gaining freedom from all desires,
(4) liberation of realizing immateriality,
(5) the liberation of realizing infinite knowledge,
(6) liberation of realizing non-locality,
(7) the liberation of the mind having neither thought nor absence of thought, and
(8) the liberation of nirvana.
eight liberations (aṣṭa-vimokṣa, 八解脫, 八背捨). Through samādhi power, one successively achieves eight liberations from one’s greed for rebirth in the form and formless realms:
(1) liberation from perceptible desires for form by visualizing the impurity of external objects;
(2) liberation from imperceptible desires for form by visualizing the impurity of external objects;
(3) liberation from all desires for form by visualizing the purity of external objects;
(4) liberation from visualization of the purity of external objects through the mental state of boundless space;
(5) liberation from the state of boundless space through the mental state of boundless consciousness;
(6) liberation from the state of boundless consciousness through the mental state of nothingness;
(7) liberation from the state of nothingness through the mental state of neither with nor without perception; and
(8) liberation from the state of neither with nor without perception through the mental state of total suspension of sensory reception and perception.
Liberations 1 and 2 correspond to the first two dhyānas, and liberation 3 corresponds to the fourth dhyāna. The third dhyāna is not used because one’s mind is not vigilant in a subtle joyful state. Liberations 4–7 correspond to the four samādhis in the formless realm (see samādhi), and liberation 8 is the liberation samādhi attained by an Arhat.
