Progressive CessationAnupubbanirodhasutta

“Reverend, they speak of ‘progressive cessation’.“‘Anupubbanirodho, anupubbanirodho’ti, āvuso, vuccati. What is the progressive cessation that the Buddha spoke of?”Kittāvatā nu kho, āvuso, anupubbanirodho vutto bhagavatā”ti?

“First, take a mendicant who, quite secluded from sensual pleasures … enters and remains in the first absorption.“Idhāvuso, bhikkhu vivicceva kāmehi …pe… paṭhamaṁ jhānaṁ upasampajja viharati. To this extent the Buddha spoke of progressive cessation in a qualified sense. …Ettāvatāpi kho, āvuso, anupubbanirodho vutto bhagavatā pariyāyena …pe….

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.Puna caparaṁ, āvuso, bhikkhu sabbaso nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṁ samatikkamma saññāvedayitanirodhaṁ upasampajja viharati, paññāya cassa disvā āsavā parikkhīṇā honti. To this extent the Buddha spoke of progressive cessation in a definitive sense.”Ettāvatāpi kho, āvuso, anupubbanirodho vutto bhagavatā nippariyāyenā”ti.