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# SN 5.14 · Posala's Questions (Posala-manava-puccha)
- URL: https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/sn-5-14/
- Published: 2026-06-20T00:37:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-13T16:57:10.000Z
- Description: Saṁyutta Nikāya · SN 5.14. Translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.
- Author: Ninth Heaven Literature & Arts Association (NHLAA)
- Tags: Buddhism, Sutta Piṭaka, Text, Indian, The Buddha, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Saṁyutta Nikāya, Discourse, English, Early Buddhist, Library, #Import 2026-07-06 06:23

\[Posala:\]

To one who reveals the past — unperturbed, his doubts cut through — who has gone to the beyond of all phenomena, I've come with a question. I ask the Sakyan about the knowledge \[1\] of one devoid of perception of forms, who has abandoned all the body, every body, who sees, within & without, 'There is nothing': How is he to be led further on? 

\[The Buddha:\]

The Tathagata, knowing directly all stations of consciousness, \[2\] knows for one stationed in them release & the steps leading there. Knowing directly the origin of nothingness to be the fetter of delight, one then sees there clearly. That's his genuine knowledge — the brahman who has lived to fulfillment. 

# Notes

1.

Posala's question concerning the knowledge of the person in the dimension of nothingness has a double meaning: He is asking about the Buddha's knowledge about that person, and also what a person in that dimension of attainment should do to develop his/her knowledge even further. The Buddha's answer deals with the question in both its senses.

2.

On the seven stations of consciousness, see [DN 15](https://www.journal.ninthheaven.co/civilisation/trad-buddhism/dn-15/). The dimension of nothingness, discussed in this dialogue, is the seventh and most refined.

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*Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.* From [Access to Insight](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.5.14.than.html?ref=journal.ninthheaven.co) (BCBS Edition). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) — for free distribution only. Never sold.