ABSTRACT
All the meditations discussed so far have clearly defined and recognizable objects as a starting point. Some have involved an object with a complexity of attributes, as in those recollection practices recommended for daily business, as a preliminary to meditation or for arousing a particular quality such as faith or a sense of urgency. Others are so simple that the mind can rest entirely on the object, to the exclusion of others, and need to be undertaken in seclusion. The formless meditations refine attention further: they do not at first sight start from an easily identifiable physical object at all. Unlike the rupa realms, they are described as spheres (ayatanani):
5 The sphere of infinite space (akasanañcayatana) 6 The sphere of infinite consciousness (viññajañcayatana) 7 The sphere of nothingness (akiñcaññayatana) 8 Thesphere of neither perception nor non-perception (nevasaññanasaññayatana).
