Anupubbanirodhasutta

“‘Anupubbanirodho, anupubbanirodho’ti, āvuso, vuccati. Kittāvatā nu kho, āvuso, anupubbanirodho vutto bhagavatā”ti?

“Reverend, they speak of ‘progressive cessation’. What is the progressive cessation that the Buddha spoke of?”

“Idhāvuso, bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi …pe… paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. Ettāvatāpi kho, āvuso, anupubbanirodho vutto bhagavatā pariyāyena …pe….

“First, take a mendicant who, quite secluded from sensual pleasures … enters and remains in the first absorption. To this extent the Buddha spoke of progressive cessation in a qualified sense. …

Puna caparaṁ, āvuso, bhikkhu sabbaso nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṁ samatikkamma saññāvedayitanirodhaṁ upasampajja viharati, paññāya cassa disvā āsavā parikkhīṇā honti. Ettāvatāpi kho, āvuso, anupubbanirodho vutto bhagavatā nippariyāyenā”ti. Dasamaṁ.

Furthermore, take a mendicant who, going totally beyond the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, enters and remains in the cessation of perception and feeling. And, having seen with wisdom, their defilements come to an end. To this extent the Buddha spoke of progressive cessation in a definitive sense.”