--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Not unconsciousness, but a ceasing of…" description: "\"“Not unconsciousness, but a ceasing of perception and feeling is experienced.”\" — Ayya Khema" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/ayya-khema-16045_unconsciousness_not-unconsciousness-but-a-ceasing-of-per_2422067.jpg" --- # Not unconsciousness, but a ceasing of perception and… ![“Not unconsciousness, but a ceasing of perception and feeling is experienced.” quote by Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/ayya-khema-16045_unconsciousness_not-unconsciousness-but-a-ceasing-of-per_2422067.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/ayya-khema-16045_unconsciousness_not-unconsciousness-but-a-ceasing-of-per_2422067.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/486/ayya-khema-16045_unconsciousness_not-unconsciousness-but-a-ceasing-of-per_2422067.jpg) > ““Not unconsciousness, but a ceasing of perception and feeling is experienced.”” [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True consciousness ends when perception and feeling cease, not merely unconsciousness. **In simple terms:** Awareness stops with loss of feeling. Key Takeaway Cultivate mindful presence. Themes mindfulness consciousness spirituality Mood calm insightful Type spiritual philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - spiritual practice - stress reduction - pain management - end‑of‑life care Key Concepts Buddhist philosophy psychology meditation Questions to Reflect On - What practices help maintain perception during hardship? - How does this view affect attitudes toward death? A Different Perspective Distinguishing unconsciousness from true cessation can be complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ceasing Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceasing-perception-6133607/) [Feeling Experienced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feeling-experienced-2094185/) [Perception Feeling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception-feeling-3106619/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Unconsciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconsciousness/) [Unconsciousness Ceasing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconsciousness-ceasing-6133606/) ## Related quotes > [The psychic perception is a feeling as opposed to a thinking. Not a feeling that is engendered through emotion necessarily. 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She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-between-the-busy-heads-and-over-reaching-arms-he-could-see/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [I use color in terms of emotional quality, as a vehicle for feeling... feeling is everything I have experienced or thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolph-gottlieb/i-use-color-in-terms-of-emotional-quality-as-a-vehicle-for-feeling/) [Adolph Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolph-gottlieb/) > [The unconsciousness of man is the consciousness of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-unconsciousness-of-man-is-the-consciousness-of-god/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Consciousness slipped slowly away, as he watched through gaping roof-holes pinprick stars high up, glistening against a purple sky. He thought of his mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-y-sam/consciousness-slipped-slowly-away-as-he-watched-through-gaping-roof/) [J.Y. Sam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-y-sam/) > [There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. 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The darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-jacobson/as-each-one-of-us-awakens-it-is-like-a-light-going-on-followed-by/) [Leonard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-jacobson/) > [“Forcing his lids down, he brought Blay’s knuckles to his mouth, brushing a kiss against them. Then he gave himself up to sleep, letting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/forcing-his-lids-down-he-brought-blay-s-knuckles-to-his-mouth/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) ## More by Ayya Khema > [It is often thought that the Buddha's doctrine teaches us that suffering will disappear if one has meditated long enough, or if one sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/it-is-often-thought-that-the-buddha-s-doctrine-teaches-us-that/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [Half the spiritual life consists of remembering what we are up against and where we are going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/half-the-spiritual-life-consists-of-remembering-what-we-are-up/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [“In meditation, we have to give ourselves totally, with no holding back. Whatever meditation subject we have chosen, we must become immersed in it;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/in-meditation-we-have-to-give-ourselves-totally-with-no-holding-back/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [“The teaching of the Buddha is called the Dhamma. He did not teach Buddhism, any more than Jesus taught Christianity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/the-teaching-of-the-buddha-is-called-the-dhamma-he-did-not-teach/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [“There is no one creator, but there is the realm of creation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/there-is-no-one-creator-but-there-is-the-realm-of-creation/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [“when the words we speak or write come from inner experience and are heartfelt, they are always imbued with “trembling for the welfare of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/when-the-words-we-speak-or-write-come-from-inner-experience-and-are/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [“Wisdom comes only from the understood experience and from nothing else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/wisdom-comes-only-from-the-understood-experience-and-from-nothing-else/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [We could become quite satisfied with ourselves because we are sitting in meditation and are endeavoring to practice the spiritual path. Such satisfaction with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/we-could-become-quite-satisfied-with-ourselves-because-we-are-sitting/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [Unless we practice loving feelings toward everyone we meet, day in, day out, we're missing out on the most joyous part of life. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/unless-we-practice-loving-feelings-toward-everyone-we-meet-day-in-day/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [“To be in the present is actually to be in eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/to-be-in-the-present-is-actually-to-be-in-eternity/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [the more we abandon ill-will and hatred, the easier it will be to meditate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/the-more-we-abandon-ill-will-and-hatred-the-easier-it-will-be-to/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [Eventually we will find (mostly in retrospect, of course) that we can be very grateful to those people who have made life most difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/eventually-we-will-find-mostly-in-retrospect-of-course-that-we-can-be/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [A truly happy person is someone who is joyfully independent of outer conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/a-truly-happy-person-is-someone-who-is-joyfully-independent-of-outer/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [“on the higher levels of the spiritual path, celibacy is considered a most important aspect of the training.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/on-the-higher-levels-of-the-spiritual-path-celibacy-is-considered-a/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [If we do not try, we will not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/if-we-do-not-try-we-will-not-know/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) [Explore all 40 Ayya Khema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) ## More Unconsciousness quotes > [“Consciousness slipped slowly away, as he watched through gaping roof-holes pinprick stars high up, glistening against a purple sky. He thought of his mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-y-sam/consciousness-slipped-slowly-away-as-he-watched-through-gaping-roof/) [J.Y. Sam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-y-sam/) > [“Forcing his lids down, he brought Blay’s knuckles to his mouth, brushing a kiss against them. Then he gave himself up to sleep, letting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/forcing-his-lids-down-he-brought-blay-s-knuckles-to-his-mouth/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [As each one of us awakens, it is like a light going on, followed by another light, another light, and another light. The darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-jacobson/as-each-one-of-us-awakens-it-is-like-a-light-going-on-followed-by/) [Leonard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-jacobson/) > [The unconsciousness of man is the consciousness of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-unconsciousness-of-man-is-the-consciousness-of-god/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [There is a drowsy state, between sleeping and waking, when you dream more in five minutes with your eyes half open, and yourself half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/there-is-a-drowsy-state-between-sleeping-and-waking-when-you-dream/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Not in the state of unconsciousness, but in full awareness when the higher Power will descend into and direct us, then only the yogic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/not-in-the-state-of-unconsciousness-but-in-full-awareness-when-the/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [There is only one perpetrator of evil on the planet: human unconsciousness. That realization is true forgiveness. With forgiveness, your victim identity dissolves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-is-only-one-perpetrator-of-evil-on-the-planet-human/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [You will have to go deep into man. From where comes this violence? From where comes this exploitation? From where come all these ego-trips?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/you-will-have-to-go-deep-into-man-from-where-comes-this-violence-from/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“When the black thing was at its worst, when the illicit cocktails and the ten-mile runs stopped working, I would feel numb as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/when-the-black-thing-was-at-its-worst-when-the-illicit-cocktails-and/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [“When the chit is seized, it will remain there, and the mind will become restless, the intellect will scream, hence here is pitch darkness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dada-bhagwan/when-the-chit-is-seized-it-will-remain-there-and-the-mind-will-become/) [Dada Bhagwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dada-bhagwan/) > [I believe we are a species with amnesia, I think we have forgotten our roots and our origins. I think we are quite lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-hancock/i-believe-we-are-a-species-with-amnesia-i-think-we-have-forgotten-our/) [Graham Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-hancock/) > [“Can you give some more examples of ordinary unconsciousness?   See if you can catch yourself complaining, in either speech or thought, about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/can-you-give-some-more-examples-of-ordinary-unconsciousness-see-if/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Life is one passage and then you keep moving into another state. It's like you might be reborn, but the process of being born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hiroshi-sugimoto/life-is-one-passage-and-then-you-keep-moving-into-another-state-it-s/) [Hiroshi Sugimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hiroshi-sugimoto/) > [“But our logic is skewed in this respect. A dog that bites is a dead dog. 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