Table of Contents

  • rūpa is not a-rūpa, 4 jhānas operate in rūpa
    • misc.
      • KN Iti 72: escape from kāma is nekkhamma (right resolve’s renunciation)
      • KN Iti 73 santatara
      • KN Iti 51 dhātu: property: rūpa-dhātu, a-rūpa-dhātu, nirodha

rūpa is not a-rūpa, 4 jhānas operate in rūpa

See the neighboring articles in this section on kāya and vedana, which have jhāna subsections.
Studying the article on (infinite space dimension) ākāsānañcā-(a)yatanaṃ, under formless attainments, gives detailed passages that show the specialized terminology the Buddha uses when he is being clear that the mind is divorced from the body. Especially passage MN 43 and AN 9.37.
Vism., a late Theravada treatise, did much work to spread misinformation about the 4 jhānas, and confuse the issue between rūpa, arūpa, kāya (physical body which they redefine as mental body). The article “EBT Jhāna Vs. Vism. Redefinition”.

misc.

KN Iti 72: escape from kāma is nekkhamma (right resolve’s renunciation)

♦ “tisso imā, bhikkhave, nissaraṇiyā VAR dhātuyo.
 “Monks, there are these three properties for escape.
katamā tisso?
 Which three?
kāmānam-etaṃ nissaraṇaṃ yadidaṃ nekkhammaṃ,
 This is the escape from sensuality: renunciation.1
rūpānam-etaṃ nissaraṇaṃ yadidaṃ āruppaṃ,
 This is the escape from form: formlessness.
yaṃ kho pana kiñci bhūtaṃ
 And as for whatever has come into being,
saṅkhataṃ paṭiccasamuppannaṃ
 is fabricated & dependently co-arisen,
nirodho tassa nissaraṇaṃ —
 the escape from that is cessation.
imā kho, bhikkhave, tisso nissaraṇiyā dhātuyo”ti.
 These are the three properties for escape.”
♦ “kāma-nissaraṇaṃ ñatvā,
 Knowing the escape from sensuality,
rūpānañca atikkamaṃ.
 & the overcoming of forms
♦ sabba-saṅkhāra-samathaṃ,
 –ardent always– touching the stilling
phusaṃ ātāpi sabbadā.
 of all fabrications:
♦ “sa ve sammaddaso bhikkhu,
 he is a monk who’s seen rightly.
yato tattha vimuccati.
 From that he is there released.
♦ abhiññā-vosito santo,
 A master of direct knowing,
sa ve yogātigo munī”ti.
 at peace, he is a sage gone beyond bonds.
There are those who mistakenly misinterpret this phrase as meaning the body disappears, that the mind becomes divorced from the 5 sense faculties, one can not move the body, feel pain, hear sounds in first jhāna. They base that on interpreting kāmehi as sensual pleasure objects, and that seclusion from those objects means mind separates from the physical body. This is not the case. If you look at ever single occurrence of the first jhana in the suttas, right before first jhana, it always mentions 5kg or 5niv (5 strands of sensual pleasure and/or 5 hindrances). For the mind to be divorced from the body, the Buddha has a more specific way to make that clear. See the article “rūpa is not a-rūpa, 4 jhānas operate in rūpa”.

KN Iti 73 santatara

♦ 4. santatara-suttaṃ (KN 4.73)
♦ 73. vuttañhetaṃ bhagavatā, vuttamarahatāti me sutaṃ --
 §73. This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, formless phenomena are more peaceful than forms; cessation, more peaceful than formless phenomena.”
Those beings headed to forms,
♦ “rūpehi, bhikkhave, arūpā VAR santatarā, arūpehi nirodho santataro”ti. etamatthaṃ bhagavā avoca. tatthetaṃ iti vuccati —
 and those standing in the formless,
with no knowledge of cessation,
♦ “ye ca rūpūpagā sattā, ye ca arūpaṭṭhāyino VAR .
 return to further becoming.
But, comprehending form,
♦ nirodhaṃ appajānantā, āgantāro punabbhavaṃ.
 not taking a stance in formless things,
those released in cessation
♦ “ye ca rūpe pariññāya, arūpesu asaṇṭhitā.
 are people who’ve left death behind.
Having touched with his body
♦ nirodhe ye vimuccanti, te janā maccuhāyino.
 the deathless property free
from acquisitions,
♦ “kāyena amataṃ dhātuṃ, phusayitvā nirūpadhiṃ.
 having realized relinquishing
of acquisitions,
♦ upadhippaṭinissaggaṃ, sacchikatvā anāsavo.
 effluent-free,
the Rightly Self-awakened One
♦ deseti sammāsambuddho, asokaṃ virajaṃ padan”ti.
 teaches the state
with
♦ ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā, iti me sutanti. catutthaṃ.
 no sorrow,
no dust.

KN Iti 51 dhātu: property: rūpa-dhātu, a-rūpa-dhātu, nirodha

♦ 2. dhātu-suttaṃ (KN 4.51) n
♦ 51. vuttañhetaṃ bhagavatā, vuttamarahatāti me sutaṃ —
 §51. This was said by the Blessed One, said by the Arahant, so I have heard: “Monks, there are these three properties. Which three? The property of form, the property of formlessness, the property of cessation.1 These are the three properties.”
Comprehending the property of form,
♦ “tisso imā, bhikkhave, dhātuyo. katamā tisso? rūpadhātu, arūpadhātu, nirodhadhātu — imā kho, bhikkhave, tisso dhātuyo”ti. etamatthaṃ bhagavā avoca. tatthetaṃ iti vuccati —
 not taking a stance in the formless,
those released in cessation
♦ “rūpadhātuṃ VAR pariññāya, arūpesu asaṇṭhitā.
 are people who’ve left death      behind.
Having touched with his body
♦ nirodhe ye vimuccanti, te janā maccuhāyino.
 the deathless
property                  free
♦ “kāyena amataṃ dhātuṃ, phusayitvā VAR nirūpadhiṃ.
 from acquisitions,
having realized the relinquishing
♦ upadhippaṭinissaggaṃ, sacchikatvā anāsavo.
 of acquisitions,
effluent-free,
♦ deseti sammāsambuddho, asokaṃ virajaṃ padan”ti.
 the Rightly
Self-awakened One
♦ ayampi attho vutto bhagavatā, iti me sutanti. dutiyaṃ.
 teaches the state
with
no sorrow,
no dust.
Note
1. The property of form corresponds to the experience of the form of the body as present in the first four levels of jhāna (see Glossary). The property of formlessness corresponds to the formless experiences based on the fourth level of jhāna: the dimension of the infinitude of space, the dimension of the infinitude of consciousness, the dimension of nothingness, and the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception. The property of cessation is the experience of the total cessation of stress.
See also: §§72-73