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nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṁ

nevasaññānāsaññāyatana

noun, accusative singular (nevasaññānāsaññāyatanaṁ); a celestial realm; also called the 'sphere of neither-perception-nor-non-perception'

1. realm of neither-perception-nor-non-perception (fourth formless sphere)
2. highest of the four formless realms in Buddhist cosmology
3. a meditative attainment

Built from

• neva — prefix · not even
  Intensified negation created by ne (not) + va (even), emphasizing the paradoxical neither-nor quality of the realm.
• saññā — root · perception, recognition
  From √jñā 'to know'; perception as mental labeling and recognition. The saṁ- prefix in its Sanskrit form suggests 'knowing together', cognitive synthesis.
• nāsaññā — stem · non-perception, absence of perception
  Contraction of na + a-saññā; the negation of perception itself, describing absence rather than mere lack of awareness.
• yatana — stem · sphere, realm, base
  From √yam 'to extend, stretch'; a stretching-out place; one of the four formless realms (arūpalokas) in the Buddhist cosmological ladder.

Analysis. Compound: neva + saññā + nāsaññā + yatana. Neva 'not-even' (ne + va); saññā 'perception'; nāsaññā 'non-perception' (nā + saññā, contraction of na + a-saññā 'absence of perception'); yatana 'sphere, base' (√yam 'stretch, extend'). The name describes a subtle state where perception is neither fully present nor fully absent—the borderland between conscious and unconscious experience.

Etymology. neva: contraction of ne ('not') + va ('even'), intensifying negation. saññā: from Sanskrit saṁjñā, from saṁ- 'together' + √jñā 'know', cognate with English 'ken', Greek gnōsis. yatana: from √yam 'to stretch' (English 'yoke' from the same Indo-European root), meaning 'base' or 'sphere'.

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

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