The path · The formless realms
Infinite space / compassion
Talks that speak mostly to this
- Day 7 Higher Arūpa Jhanas 5-8 leading to Stream Entry
Delson explains the higher jhanas (the formless states of infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception), building from the fourth jhana…
- The Brahma Viharas are explained - this is the first part of the Buddhist path to awakening
Delson explains what the Brahma Viharas (the divine abodes) are and why they are used as meditation objects.
- Day 4 'The Higher Jhanas (5-8)+Nibbana" - Progressing on the Path to Nibbana-Excellent
Delson explains the higher jhanas, from the fifth through the eighth attainments, which he presents as an extension of the fourth jhana into the four ayatanas: boundless space, boundless…
- Day 4 'The Higher 4 Jhanas (5-8)+Nibbana" - Progressing on the Path to Nibbana-Excellent
Delson explains the higher four jhanas, which he describes as the four ayatanas (infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception), and how…
- 2025 SN 46.54 Proof of Jhanas attained using Metta with Delson Armstrong Sunday Series at DSMC
Delson reads and comments on SN 46.54, in which the Buddha says that the liberation of mind by each brahmavihara (loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy, equanimity) can culminate in…
- Deerpark Retreat Day 3 MN 111 The Buddha's Map: through the Jhanas to Nibbana w/Delson Armstrong
Delson reads through MN 111, where Sariputta distinguishes each jhana and formless attainment as it occurs, and explains each stage in TWIM terms.
- Day 3 The Jhanas
Delson explains the jhanas through a sutta passage in which the Buddha describes ever more refined pleasures, from sensual pleasure through the four jhanas, the formless attainments, and…
- Delson Armstrong - Part I - Marvels of Mind & “High Altitude” States of Meditative Absorption(Jhana)
Delson Armstrong is interviewed on a podcast about his background and his teaching in TWIM.
- MN 109 : The Greater Discourse on the Full-Moon Night - Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and comments on MN 109, the Maha Punnama Sutta, explaining the five aggregates affected by clinging, how craving and identification sustain them, and how seeing them as…
- Online Retreat 23 Dec 2021 Group Q & A With Delson Armstrong
Delson answers questions from participants at a group Q&A closing an online retreat, opening with a reading from SN 56.10 on talk that leads to Dhamma.
- Mar 7 2021 - SN 22.86 - With Anuradha - Self and Not-Self and the Four Noble Truths
Delson reads and explains SN 22.86 (the Anuradha Sutta), in which Anuradha answers wanderers' questions about the Tathagata after death.
Talks that also touch on it
- Day 2 What is Meditation - The Brahmviharas
Delson explains what meditation is for in the TWIM practice, distinguishing meditation with an object from objectless observation and framing the aim as a collected, clear mind in which…
- June 11 -Day 7...Karma -Delson Armstrong
Delson explains karma as the Buddha taught it: karma is intention, and it is the basis for how old and new karma arise, ripen and can cease.
- Guided Meditation -Letting go of the 5 Aggregates with Delson Armstrong at the DO Conf.
Delson leads a guided meditation that opens with loving-kindness toward oneself and then radiates it in all directions, from the room out to the world and beyond.
- Delson's 5th Talk on the 8 fold path-Right Collectedness-Jhana-Nibbana
Delson explains right collectedness (samma samadhi) as the eighth path factor, following from right view through right mindfulness, and as the step that leads toward nibbana.
- Day 4 Jhanas Cont.- Japan Retreat Dec 2023
Delson continues his talk on the jhanas by moving from the form jhanas into the formless attainments, which he calls ayatanas and treats as extensions of the fourth jhana: infinite space…
- Jhanas + Q&A Mumbai 2023 Acharya Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the jhanas as levels of cessation that unfold from a loving-kindness practice, through the four form jhanas and the formless ayatanas, to cessation and nibbana.
- Kalimpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 5, Ayatanas, Jhanas 5-8
Delson explains the arupa states, which he presents as the fifth through eighth jhanas and the ayatanas, as they arise on a retreat after the fourth jhana.
- Bonhays UK Day 4- Retreat- Jhanas Pt 2
Delson continues his retreat teaching on the jhanas, covering the fourth jhana and the four immaterial states (infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception…
- Kalimgpong 2023 Buddha Pāda Day 5 Ayatanas
Delson explains the four arupa states that follow the fourth jhana, which he describes as the ayatanas: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor…
- Day 5 The Four HIgher Jhanas - Ayatanas, BUDDHA PĀDA INSTITUTE, Kalimpong- Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the arupa states, which he calls the ayatanas, as the stages that follow the fourth jhana: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor…
- Day 4 The Arupa Jhanas explained -5-8 & Nibbana with Delson Armstrong. Jhanas Pt 2
Delson explains the four arupa jhanas (ayatanas) that follow the fourth jhana: infinite space, infinite consciousness, nothingness, and neither perception nor non-perception.
- Day 4 Talk on Enlightenment Factors and Jhanas. "Accompanied by Lovingkindness".
Delson reads SN 46.54, the Metta Sahagata Sutta, in which the Buddha answers wanderers who say their teaching matches his: the Brahmaviharas lead to liberation of the mind when they are…
- Day 4 -2022 10 Day June Retreat - MN 131 'A Single Excellent Night'
Delson reads and comments on MN 131, the Bhaddekaratta Sutta (A Single Excellent Night), and explains the Buddha's instruction not to revive the past or build hopes on the future.
- Day 3 May Retreat SN 46.54.4 "Accompanied by Lovingkindness" with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads SN 46.54 (Accompanied by Lovingkindness), in which the Buddha says the liberation of mind by loving-kindness, compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity has a culmination, and…
- Day 3 Apr Retreat-MN 111 One by One - the Jhanas lead to Nibbana
Delson works through the Anupada Sutta (MN 111), reading how Sariputta recognized each of the four jhanas and the four formless attainments one by one as they occurred.
- Suttavada Foundation Online Retreat 17 Dec 2021 Many kinds of Feeling With Delson Armstrong
Delson walks through the Lahu Vedaniya Sutta (MN 59) and the jhana sequence, describing the four jhanas and the formless attainments as levels of experience and cessation.
- Interview#1: Dhamma Conversations with Delson Armstrong-Introduction & Jhanas
Delson describes his path from yoga, Yoga Sutra samadhis and Kriya Yoga to TWIM and the six R's, and explains why he sees these earlier practices as concentration that suppresses the…
- Day-3 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-3) with Delson Armstrong
This question-and-answer session from an online retreat covers jhana objects, development by application, and how to recognize jhana factors without verbalizing them.