Eight liberations (Buddhism)

These are the eight means by which a being is liberated from the manifest activity of specific afflictions, although complete cessation (which includes freedom from the potential of the affliction) is not included in such liberation. These are: (i) embodied looking at form – meditation on the impurity of things both internal and external to the body removes attachment to them; (ii) formless looking at form – reinforcement of this non-attachment by meditation on the impurity of the external; (iii) beautiful form – meditation on the beautiful, not its impurity, still leads to no attachment; (iv) infinite space; (v) infinite consciousness; (vi) nothingness; (vii) peak of cyclic existence – here there is neither perception nor non-perception; (viii) equipoise of cessation, a state of nirodha samapatti (attainment of nirodha).

One of the paths of calming according to Buddhist teaching. Mastery of attachment to forms (the first two liberations) are the same as the first of the abhibhavayatana (eight masteries). The second liberation is equivalent to stages two and three of the eight masteries (strengthening concentration). The fourth to seventh liberations correspond to the four stages of formlessness – arupa samadhi.