Nevasañññ

Nevasañññ is a concept found in Buddhist philosophy, specifically within the Pali Canon. It translates roughly to "neither perception nor non-perception" and represents the eighth and highest level of meditative absorption, known as arupa jhana. This state is characterized by a profound stillness and transcendence of conventional sensory experience and conceptual thought. It is not a state of unconsciousness or annihilation, but rather a highly refined awareness where the ordinary distinctions between perceiving and not perceiving, existing and not existing, begin to dissolve.

The path to achieving Nevasañññ involves rigorous meditation practice, moving through progressively subtler states of concentration. It is considered a difficult but ultimately liberating attainment, offering a glimpse of the cessation of suffering. While it represents a peak of meditative achievement, it is also understood as a temporary state. The ultimate goal in Buddhism is Nibbana (Nirvana), a permanent cessation of suffering, which transcends even the highest jhanic states. Nevasañññ is therefore a crucial stepping stone, a powerful concentration that can facilitate the realization of ultimate truth, but it is not the end of the path itself.