A Meditator's Life of the Buddha

Anālayo. (2017). A Meditator’s Life of the Buddha: Based on the Early Discourses. Windhorse Publications.

Presents a scholarly and practical biography tracing the Buddha’s inner journey, based exclusively on early Buddhist discourses from Pāli and their Chinese Āgama parallels.
Distinguishes historical accounts from later legends by adhering to the earliest available texts.
Chronologically follows Siddhartha Gotama’s path from his motivation to go forth, through his awakening, his forty-five years of teaching, and his final meditation.
Functions as a practical guidebook for meditators, with each chapter concluding with a meditative exercise.
Enables readers to apply the Buddha’s insights on topics such as moral conduct, overcoming fear, the four noble truths, and dwelling in emptiness to their own spiritual practice.

A Meditator’s Life of the Buddha

This book by Bhikkhu Anālayo is a biography of the Buddha that focuses on his life as a meditator, based on early Buddhist discourses from Pāli and Chinese sources.
It traces the Buddha’s inner journey from his motivation to seek enlightenment, through his awakening, his decades of teaching, and to his final meditation and passing away.
The book is described as a scholarly portrait, an insightful study of Early Buddhism, and a practical guidebook for meditators.
Each of the 24 chapters details a meditative dimension of the Buddha’s life and concludes with a related exercise for the reader to practice.
Praise from scholars like Bhikkhu Bodhi and a foreword by Jack Kornfield highlight the book’s ability to make the Buddha’s journey accessible and inspirational for one’s own spiritual practice.
Key themes from the Buddha’s life explored for practitioners include developing fearlessness and cultivating wholesome states of mind.

INTRODUCTION

This book studies the meditative dimensions of the Buddha’s life, targeting fellow meditators for inspiration and guidance.
It is not a comprehensive biography but focuses specifically on the Buddha’s meditative experiences and practices.
The source material is exclusively from the Pāli discourses and their parallels, particularly the Chinese Āgamas, which means some traditional stories are excluded.
A central aim is to encourage the practice of “recollection of the Buddha”.
The book is structured into 24 chapters: 12 cover the period up to the Buddha’s awakening, and 12 cover the period from his awakening to his final meditation.
Each chapter concludes with suggestions for meditative practice or reflection.
The text outlines the topics of all 24 chapters, covering the future Buddha’s motivation, moral conduct, concentration, asceticism, awakening, decision to teach, and final passing away.
Most translated passages are from Chinese originals, presented in English for the first time to allow comparison with existing Pāli translations.
The introduction explains translation conventions, such as the use of italics for supplemented text and the use of Pāli terms for ease of comparison.

I THE MOTIVATION TO GO FORTH

The future Buddha had a luxurious upbringing but gained insight into the predicaments of human existence.
He observed that ordinary people are disgusted by sickness, old age, and death in others, forgetting that they themselves are also subject to these conditions.
By reflecting on his own vulnerability to disease, old age, and death, he overcame the conceit associated with being healthy, young, and alive.
This realization motivated his “noble quest” to find a state free from these predicaments, which led him to leave his household life at age 29.
Early texts suggest he left with the knowledge of his parents, who were upset, contradicting later hagiographic tales of a secret night departure and his first-ever sighting of an old, sick, and dead person.
These later tales may have originated from pictorial teaching aids that were later interpreted literally.
Poetic verses in the Attadaṇḍa-sutta describe his insight, seeing the world as “ablaze” and recognizing a “dart” of suffering that must be removed.

II - MORAL CONDUCT

The future Buddha established that pure moral conduct—in body, speech, mind, and livelihood—is a necessary foundation for dwelling in seclusion without giving rise to fear.
Ethical conduct prevents regret, which is an internal cause of fear, and provides a sound basis for successful meditation.
Observing precepts is a “gift of fearlessness” to others, which in turn grants one freedom from fear and regret.
Fear in seclusion can also arise from external dangers, such as wild animals, criminals, or illness.
The future Buddha’s practice for overcoming fear was to mindfully remain in the same physical posture until the fear passed, rather than reacting to it.
Moral conduct can be cultivated through reflections, such as not doing to others what one would find unpleasant, and emulating the virtuous conduct of arahants.
Recollecting one’s own morality is compared to cleaning a dirty mirror; it helps purify the mind and strengthens the motivation to improve one’s ethical foundation.

III - OBSTACLES TO CONCENTRATION

Recognizing mental obstructions is the essential first step to overcoming them.
Before his awakening, the Buddha divided his thoughts into two types: unwholesome (sensuality, ill will, harming) and wholesome (their absence). He understood that unwholesome thoughts were harmful and worked to abandon them.
The Buddha-to-be had to overcome his own attraction to sensual pleasures, first by abstaining from indulgence and then by weaning his mind from its obsession with them.
A simile illustrates this: one cannot achieve awakening (make a fire) while indulging in sensuality (with wet wood in water) or even while just mentally obsessed with it (with wet wood out of water). The mind must be free from sensual desire (dry wood).
While the Buddha-to-be actively cultivated wholesome thoughts, he realized that excessive thinking, even of a wholesome nature, could strain the mind and prevent deeper concentration.
He concluded that he needed to quiet the mind through inner tranquility and mental unification to attain concentration.

IV - ABSORPTION

The Buddha’s struggle to gain absorption, detailed in the Upakkilesa-sutta, involved experiencing bright light and visions of forms which then disappeared.
This disappearance was due to not penetrating the “sign” (nimitta), a term that can mean either the “cause” for the visions’ disappearance or a “mark” used as a meditative object to enter deep concentration.
The Buddha overcame nine key mental obstructions, such as doubt, sloth-and-torpor, fear, and perception of diversity, which mostly relate to balancing the mind between being too tense or too lax.
He then cultivated three levels of concentration: with both mental application and sustaining; with sustaining only; and with neither. This threefold analysis may have been the Buddha’s original contribution, focusing on the conditionality of absorption states.
This contrasts with the more common four-absorption model, which focuses on the quality of happiness experienced at each stage.
The Buddha could sustain these states for a whole day and/or night, indicating this development took considerable time.
The meditative visions of light and forms are also linked to seeing celestial beings (devas), relating internal mental experiences to early Buddhist cosmology.

V - THE IMMATERIAL ATTAINMENTS

The future Buddha trained under two teachers, Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta, to learn about immaterial meditative attainments.
Under Āḷāra Kālāma, he quickly mastered the “sphere of nothingness”, demonstrating he already possessed the five faculties of confidence (saddhā), energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.
Impressed, Āḷāra Kālāma offered him shared leadership, but the bodhisattva left, realizing this attainment only led to rebirth in that sphere and not to Nirvāṇa.
He then studied with Uddaka Rāmaputta and attained the higher “sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception”, even surpassing his teacher.
He again concluded that even this refined state was not the final goal and did not lead to the supreme peace he was searching for.
This dissatisfaction with the highest meditative states led him to abandon this path and pursue ascetic practices instead.

VI - FORCEFUL CONTROL OF THE MIND

This chapter discusses the bodhisattva’s ascetic practices, focusing on forceful mind control, breath control, and fasting.
It distinguishes these from the austerities in the Mahāsīhanāda-sutta (e.g., ritual bathing followed by accumulating dirt), which are likely from a past life as suggested by the Lomahaṃsa-jātaka.
The Mahāsaccaka-sutta describes the Buddha’s pre-awakening asceticism, which he undertook after finding immaterial attainments insufficient for liberation.
He practiced forceful mind control by clenching his teeth and pressing his tongue against the roof of his mouth to overpower the mind with the mind.
This caused great physical strain, but he was able to endure painful feelings without his mind being overwhelmed.
This method is a last resort for dealing with unwholesome thoughts, as it only provides a temporary effect and does not lead to lasting freedom from defilements.

VII - BREATH CONTROL

After attempting to control his mind by force, the future Buddha practiced “breathless meditation,” which involved forcefully stopping his inhalations and exhalations.
This practice caused extreme pain, described with similes such as being struck in the head with a sword or having a leather band tightened around the head.
Despite the pain, his energy was tireless, his body calm, and his mind concentrated. However, the Mahāsaccaka-sutta version notes the body was overwrought.
Various texts describe three to five different modes of this intense breath retention, indicating it was a prominent part of his ascetic striving.
His practice was so extreme that observers, including deities (devas), believed he was dead or dying.
He eventually gave up this forceful method, realizing it was not the path to awakening.
After his enlightenment, the Buddha’s practice shifted from breath retention to mindfulness of breathing, which involves observing the natural flow of breath.
He held this new practice in high esteem, dedicating a two-month solitary retreat to it and describing it as a “noble dwelling”.
This post-awakening practice is structured into sixteen steps, progressing from awareness of the breath to calming the body and mind, and finally to insight contemplation.

VIII - FASTING

The future Buddha’s final ascetic practice was fasting, which he undertook after attempting mind and breath control.
He initially considered a complete fast but instead chose to eat only very small quantities of food.
This extreme fasting resulted in severe emaciation, weakness, and physical deterioration, but the painful feelings did not overwhelm his mind.
He concluded that self-inflicted pain was not the path to awakening, as he had taken it to its extreme without success.
After his awakening, the Buddha taught that a “penetrative understanding” of food is crucial for overcoming sensual craving, rather than mere abstention.
He demonstrated mental independence from food, stating he could “feed on joy” from deep concentration when he received no alms.
For his monastic disciples, he established rules like eating only one meal a day, not to weaken the body but to find a middle path that supports practice without indulgence.
The Buddha’s approach shifted from reacting to feelings as pleasant or painful to evaluating whether they lead to wholesome or unwholesome states.
This principle is also found in the contemplation of feelings, which distinguishes between worldly and unworldly feelings based on their effect on liberation.

IX - FINDING THE PATH

After realizing his extreme ascetic practices had failed, the future Buddha remembered an experience from his youth of attaining the first absorption (a state of deep concentration) while sitting under a rose-apple tree.
This memory led him to the crucial insight that not all happiness should be avoided, challenging his previous belief that liberation required self-inflicted pain.
He understood that wholesome happiness, which is separate from sensuality and unwholesome states, is not something to be feared and can be part of the path to awakening.
While sources vary on his age and the depth of concentration he reached during this early experience, the core realization remained the same.
The path to awakening is not just absorption attainment alone but combines the three trainings: morality, concentration, and wisdom.

X - DETERMINATION

The Buddha’s determination is shown in his vow not to rise from his cross-legged meditation posture until he had eradicated all mental “influxes” and achieved awakening.
This episode is considered the origin of the story where Māra fails to displace him from his seat under the tree of awakening.
The ability to sit for long periods was not a challenge for the Buddha, as he could experience the bliss of deep concentration (absorption) for up to seven days and nights, a happiness he demonstrated was superior to a king’s sensual pleasures.
His determination was not about forcing the mind or enduring extreme pain, as he had already abandoned asceticism after realizing its futility.
It was the culmination of his unswerving motivation to find freedom from old age, disease, and death, which served as a guiding force throughout his quest.
This highlights the importance of motivation, which functions like right view in the noble eightfold path, providing direction for one’s practice.
On the eve of his awakening, after regaining his strength, he cultivated the four absorptions.
A key continuity from his ascetic practices was his ability to experience feelings—both the intense pain of asceticism and the sublime pleasure of absorption—without letting them overwhelm his mind.
This mindful monitoring of feelings without immediate reaction is a central aspect of satipaṭṭhāna meditation and was crucial to his breakthrough.

XI - RECOLLECTION OF PAST LIVES

The ability to recollect past lives was the first of the three higher knowledges the Buddha cultivated on the night of his awakening.
This was a natural extension of his recollection of events from his present life and was a specific aspect of his individual path to awakening.
He recalled details from countless past lives, including names, families, food, and experiences of pleasure and pain.
This process revealed the constructed nature of identity and the “causes and conditions” (dependent arising) that sustain it, particularly craving, the “housebuilder”.
The Buddha recollected ninety-one aeons but found no discernible beginning to saṃsāra, having experienced all types of rebirth except for the Pure Abodes.
His quest for liberation was the primary motivation for this recollection, turning it into a step toward insight.
The Buddha’s pre-awakening practices involved aspects of the four foundations of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhānas): mindfulness of body, feelings, mind, and dharmas.
The teaching of the four satipaṭṭhānas is presented as a direct outcome of his awakening, building on his pre-existing familiarity with mindfulness.

XII - THE DIVINE EYE

The divine eye is the ability to perceive the passing away and rebirth of other beings.
The Buddha cultivated this knowledge to understand the cause of the rebirth process he had witnessed in his own past lives.
This progression mirrors satipaṭṭhāna meditation, moving from internal contemplation (one’s own rebirths) to external contemplation (others’ rebirths).
A central insight gained was understanding karma, directly perceiving how wholesome and evil conduct affects rebirth.
The workings of karma are complex; the next rebirth is influenced not just by recent actions but also by deeds from many past lives.
This complexity leads to disenchantment with saṃsāra, as even good conduct cannot guarantee escape from the results of past evil deeds.
This realization prompted the Buddha to investigate dependent arising (paṭicca samuppāda) to find a way out of the entire cycle.
He discovered that the reciprocal conditioning of consciousness and name-and-form is the hub around which saṃsāra revolves.
This insight revealed why even profound meditative states are not the final solution, as they do not transcend this conditioned relationship.
The formulation of dependent arising identifies craving as the chief cause of suffering and shows that the ultimate solution is the cessation of ignorance.
After his awakening, the Buddha spent seven days reviewing dependent arising, highlighting its meditative and doctrinal importance.

XIII - AWAKENING

The Buddha’s awakening was the culmination of his journey, achieved by eradicating the three influxes (āsava): sensuality, existence, and ignorance.
This eradication, known as the third higher knowledge, followed his recollection of past lives and the divine eye.
The influxes originate from ignorance and perpetuate the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra); their cessation is achieved through the noble eightfold path.
The Sabbāsava-sutta outlines seven practices to remove influxes, with a key method being the cultivation of the seven awakening factors (mindfulness, investigation, energy, joy, tranquillity, concentration, and equipoise).
A parallel is drawn between the Buddha’s progress and the cultivation of these factors:
- Absorption attainment relates to seclusion.
- Recollection of past lives relates to dispassion.
- The divine eye relates to cessation.
- Removal of the influxes relates to letting go/liberation.

XIV - THE DECISION TO TEACH

After his awakening, the Buddha first considered teaching his former teachers, Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta, believing they would understand quickly, but discovered they had recently died.
Scriptural accounts differ on what happened next. The Ariyapariyesanā-sutta and an Ekottarika-āgama discourse state the Buddha was initially hesitant to teach, finding his Dharma too profound for others to grasp.
In these versions, the god Brahmā intervenes, pleading with the Buddha to teach for the sake of those with “little dust in their eyes,” using the simile of lotus flowers to illustrate beings with different capacities to understand.
However, the Madhyama-āgama parallel and other accounts do not mention this hesitation or Brahmā’s intervention, suggesting it might be a later addition to some traditions.
The episode of Brahmā’s intervention implies that teaching was not an inevitable result of awakening and introduces the concept of the Paccekabuddha, who attains awakening but does not establish a following.
The decisive difference between a Buddha and an arahant (liberated disciple) is that the Buddha discovers and proclaims the path on his own, while arahants follow the path he has taught.
The Buddha encouraged his first arahant disciples to wander and teach the Dharma for the benefit of all beings, passing on the teaching mission.
The Buddha’s decision to teach, whether prompted by Brahmā or not, is presented as an act of compassion.

XV - THE TWO EXTREMES

After his awakening, the Buddha decided to teach his five former ascetic companions.
These companions had previously left him when he abandoned extreme asceticism, believing he had reverted to a life of luxury.
On his way, the Buddha met a wanderer, Upaka, who was not convinced by the Buddha’s claim to be self-awakened without a teacher.
The five companions were initially skeptical of the Buddha’s claim to have reached awakening, but he convinced them by teaching the “middle path”.
This path avoids two extremes: attachment to sensual pleasures and self-inflicted pain from asceticism.
The middle path is identified as the Noble Eightfold Path.
The concept of a middle path also has wider applications, such as avoiding the philosophical extremes of “existence” and “non-existence” (where the middle path is dependent arising) and balancing effort in meditation to avoid both stagnation and overexertion.

XVI - THE FOUR TRUTHS

The Buddha taught the Four Truths after introducing the middle path; some versions suggest these were separate discourses.
The term dukkha is best understood as “unsatisfactory” rather than “suffering,” as it describes the impermanent nature of all conditioned experiences, including pleasant ones.
The Four Truths are:
1. The truth of dukkha (the unsatisfactory nature of existence).
2. The truth of the arising of dukkha (caused by grasping and craving).
3. The truth of the cessation of dukkha (the eradication of craving).
4. The truth of the way out of dukkha (the noble eightfold path).
The second truth identifies craving as the key point where mental training can prevent the arising of dukkha.
The structure of the Four Truths mirrors an ancient Indian medical diagnostic scheme: disease (dukkha), pathogen (craving), health (cessation), and cure (the eightfold path).
This diagnostic framework was a skillful and pragmatic way for the Buddha to teach, emphasizing an analytical approach and personal realization rather than blind belief.
A preliminary understanding of the Four Truths constitutes “right view,” the first step on the eightfold path, which motivates one to begin the practice.

XVII - THE THREE TURNINGS

The three turnings are applied to each of the four noble truths: understanding (1st turning), implementation (2nd turning), and successful completion (3rd turning).
The second turning involves specific actions for each truth: dukkha should be further understood, its arising (craving) should be eradicated, its cessation should be realized, and the path should be cultivated.
The third turning is the complete fulfilment of these actions.
The Buddha declared his supreme awakening only after completing these three turnings for all four truths, resulting in twelve modes.
The four truths are not four distinct insights but interrelated aspects of a single realization, analogous to a medical diagnosis (disease, pathogen, health, cure).
The realization of Nirvāṇa (the third truth) is the single experience that simultaneously fulfils the tasks associated with all four truths.
The four-truths framework is a way to express the realization of Nirvāṇa and can be applied to other concepts, such as “the world”.
Many core Buddhist doctrines, such as dependent arising and insight into the five aggregates, converge on the realization of Nirvāṇa.
The Buddha’s first discourse successfully “turned the wheel of Dharma” because his listener Koṇḍañña attained the first stage of awakening, validating the teaching.
Seeing the four truths with wisdom is described as the ultimate safe refuge, leading to release from all dukkha.

XVIII - HONOURING THE DHARMA

After his awakening, the Buddha concluded that he should honour the Dharma, as there was no being in the world superior to him in morality, concentration, wisdom, or liberation.
This decision was affirmed by Brahmā, who stated that past and future Buddhas also act in this manner.
The Buddha’s refusal to pay homage to elder brahmins was based on his awakened status, which embodies the Dharma and supersedes seniority of age or caste.
Monastics are instructed to ensure the Dharma is received with respect when teaching, reflecting the high honour it is due.
The Buddha insisted his five former companions address him as a Tathāgata, not as a “friend,” because he was now an embodiment of the Dharma.
A Tathāgata is defined as one who awakens to the four noble truths and whose speech is always true.
Despite his status, the Buddha demonstrated humility, for example, by inviting his disciples to point out his shortcomings, showing his authority was rooted in the Dharma, not arrogance.
The Buddha explained that the Dharma, such as dependent arising, is an invariable principle that exists independently, which he only discovered and taught.
He rejected the role of a controlling leader, instead instructing his followers to be a refuge to themselves by taking refuge in the Dharma through the practice of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna).

XIX - TEACHING

The Buddha taught from his own practical experience and practiced what he taught.
His teaching involved a set of three satipaṭṭhānas (foundations of mindfulness), where he remained equanimous and mindful whether his disciples were respectful, disrespectful, or a mix of both.
This combination of compassion and equanimity was a key feature of his teaching attitude.
Examples of his equanimity include remaining calm when attacked or verbally abused. When offered abuse, he explained that since he did not accept the “gift,” it remained with the giver.
His lack of ego was demonstrated when he waited outside a door for his disciples to finish their own Dharma discussion before he entered.
He proactively taught those in need, such as visiting the sick or monks struggling with meditation, like Mahāmoggallāna (sleepiness), Soṇa (frustration), and Anuruddha (to complete his reflections).
He was ready to teach in any situation and would use impromptu circumstances as teaching aids, such as using a water vessel to teach his son about truthfulness or a forest fire to teach about morality.

XX - SEEING THROUGH VIEWS

The Buddha consistently refused to take a position on speculative philosophical questions, such as whether the world is eternal or what happens to an awakened being (a Tathāgata) after death.
This refusal was based on the understanding that such questions contained flawed premises, like the existence of a self-existent “world” or a “soul”. Answering them would implicitly validate these incorrect assumptions.
He used the simile of a man shot by a poisoned arrow who demands irrelevant details before allowing treatment, arguing that such metaphysical speculation is not beneficial and does not lead to liberation.
Instead of speculative “views” (diṭṭhi), the Buddha emphasized a direct “vision” (diṭṭha) of reality, specifically the Four Noble Truths, which he taught as the practical path to ending suffering.
He compared an awakened being to an extinguished fire: just as one cannot say where the fire has gone, one cannot make pronouncements about a Tathāgata after death, as they are no longer identifiable with the five aggregates.

XXI - DWELLING IN EMPTINESS

The Buddha often dwelled in emptiness, which involves seeing things as they are: what is not present is seen as empty, and what is present is seen as truly present.
The peak of emptiness is liberation from the influxes of sensual desire, existence, and ignorance.
The fetter in sense experience is not the senses or their objects, but the desire and lust that arise, likened to the yoke between two oxen.
The Buddha experiences sense objects without lustful desire and, out of compassion, teaches others how to achieve the same freedom.
Proper cultivation of the senses is not about avoiding experience (like a blind or deaf person) but about remaining free from reacting with desire or aversion.
A balance between formal meditation and applying its qualities to daily life is essential for progress.
Dwelling in emptiness leads to mental balance, free from dejection over loss or elation over acquisition.
Unlike a worldling who conceptually proliferates experience, the Buddha remains with bare experience, having “smashed the net of craving”.
The practice involves dropping into present-moment awareness to create mental space and avoid reactivity.
In daily life, this is applied by maintaining equanimity, having wholesome thoughts, engaging in beneficial conversations, and seeing the impermanence of alluring objects.

XXII - DAILY CONDUCT

Formal meditation and daily conduct are interrelated; meditation practice is about transforming oneself, which is reflected in everyday behaviour.
The Brahmāyu-sutta describes a student observing the Buddha’s daily conduct to verify his reputation.
The student first confirms the Buddha has subtle physical marks indicating he is a great being, destined to be a wheel-turning king or a Buddha.
The Buddha wears his robes in an orderly manner, purely for protection and modesty, not for pride or adornment.
He walks in a balanced and orderly way, exemplifying his balanced mind. This is comparable to walking meditation.
When eating, he sits gracefully and partakes of food mindfully, chewing properly. The purpose is to maintain health, not for pleasure. He experiences the taste without being defiled by lust for it.
After meals, the Buddha consistently practices formal sitting meditation, demonstrating its importance even for a fully awakened one.
His voice is described as exceptional, and he teaches skillfully to encourage and inspire his audience.
Though not in the Brahmāyu-sutta, the Buddha’s sleeping habits are discussed. He might nap if his body requires it, and he sleeps well because his mind is free from the three poisons (desire, aversion, delusion), not because of comfortable external conditions.

XXIII - OLD AGE, DISEASE, AND DEATH

Although the Buddha had achieved mental freedom from old age, disease, and death, his physical body was still subject to them.
At age 80, he described his body as an “old cart” patched up to keep going, using signless meditation to ease his pain and afflictions.
He demonstrated how to face pain with mindfulness rather than trying to escape it through meditative states.
He showed freedom from attachment to life by deliberately letting go of his life force when he felt his mission was complete.
Upon the death of his two chief disciples, he acknowledged the loss without grief and advised his followers to become self-reliant through mindfulness practice (satipaṭṭhāna).

XXIV - THE FINAL MEDITATION

The Buddha’s last words were, “All formations are of a nature to decay.”
Before entering final Nirvāṇa, he meditated by progressing up through the four absorptions and four formless spheres to the “cessation of feeling and perception.”
He then reversed the sequence, moving back down to the first absorption.
Finally, he progressed again from the first to the fourth absorption, from which he entered final Nirvāṇa.
This demonstrated his complete liberation and a mind unperturbed by the onset of death.
A similar account describes the passing of the Buddha’s foster mother, Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī, and 500 of her nun followers.
At the Buddha’s request, she performed supernormal feats to dispel doubts about women’s ability to achieve full realization.
She and her followers then passed away using the same meditative sequence as the Buddha: ascending to cessation, descending, and then ascending to the fourth absorption to enter final Nirvāṇa.
This highlights the high meditative attainments of female disciples and reinforces the truth of impermanence.

CONCLUSION

Recollection of the Buddha by reciting his qualities is a traditional practice attested in early discourses.
The preceding chapters offer various meditation practices related to the Buddha and the other five standard recollections: the Dharma, the Community, morality, generosity, and qualities similar to devas.
A discourse with Mahānāma illustrates how to make the Buddha a presence when he is physically absent by cultivating inner qualities like confidence and wisdom as a foundation for the six recollections.
Confidence in the Buddha’s awakening is a crucial ingredient for practice, overcoming modern obstructions like the belief that awakening is no longer possible.
Personal practice corroborates this initial trust, eventually making one’s confidence unshakeable.
Recollection of the Buddha is presented as a supreme practice that harnesses the mind’s natural tendency to reminisce and directs it toward liberation, with a potential similar to satipaṭṭhāna meditation.
The practice can overcome hindrances like lust and anger, leading to joy, calm, and concentration, which can then be harnessed for liberating insight.