Sn 5.14
Posala-manava-puccha: Posala's Questions
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

[Posala:]

To one who reveals the past — unperturbed, his doubts cut through — who has gone to the beyond of all phenomena, I've come with a question. I ask the Sakyan about the knowledge [1] of one devoid of perception of forms, who has abandoned all the body, every body, who sees, within & without, 'There is nothing': How is he to be led further on?

[The Buddha:]

The Tathagata, knowing directly all stations of consciousness, [2] knows for one stationed in them release & the steps leading there. Knowing directly the origin of nothingness to be the fetter of delight, one then sees there clearly. That's his genuine knowledge — the brahman who has lived to fulfillment.

Notes

1 .
Posala's question concerning the knowledge of the person in the dimension of nothingness has a double meaning: He is asking about the Buddha's knowledge about that person, and also what a person in that dimension of attainment should do to develop his/her knowledge even further. The Buddha's answer deals with the question in both its senses.
2 .
On the seven stations of consciousness, see DN 15 . The dimension of nothingness, discussed in this dialogue, is the seventh and most refined.