Editing Samadhi (section)

===The ''arupas''===
{{See also|Formless Realm}}

Appended to the ''jhana''-scheme are four meditative states, referred to in the early texts as ''arupas'' or as ''[[āyatana]]''. They are sometimes mentioned in sequence after the first four ''jhānas'' and thus came to be treated by later exegetes as jhānas. The immaterial are related to, or derived from, yogic meditation, and aim more specific at concentration, while the ''jhanas'' proper are related to the cultivation of the mind. The state of complete dwelling in emptiness is reached when the eighth ''jhāna'' is transcended. The four ''arupas'' are:
* ''fifth jhāna:'' infinite space (Pali ''ākāsānañcāyatana'', Skt. ''ākāśānantyāyatana''),
* ''sixth jhāna:'' infinite consciousness (Pali ''viññāṇañcāyatana'', Skt. ''vijñānānantyāyatana''),
* ''seventh jhāna:'' infinite nothingness (Pali ''ākiñcaññāyatana'', Skt. ''ākiṃcanyāyatana''),
* ''eighth jhāna:'' neither perception nor non-perception (Pali ''nevasaññānāsaññāyatana'', Skt. ''naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana'').

Although the "Dimension of Nothingness" and the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception" are included in the list of nine jhanas attributed to the Buddha, they are not included in the [[Noble Eightfold Path]]. Noble Path number eight is "Samma Samadhi" (Right Concentration), and only the first four Jhanas are considered "Right Concentration". When all the jhanas are mentioned, the emphasis is on the "Cessation of Feelings and Perceptions" rather than stopping short at the "Dimension of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception".