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ākiñcaññāyatanato

ākiñcaññāyatana

nt abl sg of ākiñcaññāyatana (noun)

1. dimension of nothingness; sphere of emptiness; base of nothingness

Built from

• ā — prefix · toward, up to
  Reverses motion and marks approach or entry into a state; here the dimension one enters into.
• kiñcañña — stem · anything, something
  Compound of kiñci (indefinite pronoun, 'anything') plus -ñña (suffix forming abstracts); negated by preceding a- to mean 'not-anything', 'nothingness'.
• āyatana — stem · base, realm, dimension
  From ā + √tan (to stretch, extend); a 'stretched-out' base or sphere; used for the six internal and external sense-bases and the four formless meditation attainments.
• to — ending · ablative singular
  Marks the instrumental or locative sense: 'from the dimension of nothingness' or 'by means of that sphere'.

Analysis. Compound of ā-kiñcañña (negation + anything) + āyatana (base, realm). The dimension where there is not-anything (neither perception nor non-perception), the third of the four formless attainments (arūpajjhāna) in the Buddha's meditation cosmology.

Etymology. Kiñcañña from kiñci (anything, something) with negative a- prefix; āyatana from ā (toward) + √tan (stretch, extend), meaning 'base' or 'realm'; together they name the meditative sphere 'nothingness' in the jhānic hierarchy.

Meanings from the Digital Pāḷi Dictionary; morphology and etymology by Claude.

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