i guess the boader line is when `there is no part of his entire body not suffused with rapture and happiness.` i think that refers to a level of completeness attained with concentration. allthogh preethi and sukha can arises before jhana the completeness of the level of concentration with its deapth at the jhanic level would be distinguishable..
@dymuffshthers There seems to be a lot of debate as to what constitutes jhana, which implies there are a lot of people talking about it, who do not know what it is. In the suttas it is always defined in the arising of piiti and sukha, which are generally expressed as bliss and joy respectively. Only DN-2 defines the jhanas in terms of saturation. In my experience jhana is simply defined by the arising of bliss and joy. Saturation just defines how saturate one is when there.
Thank you for the video, it´s nice to see people speeking openly about the jhanas. But i have to question if you have experienced psychic powers like remembering your past lifes, seeing celestial beeings, understanding every human languages and the sonds of the animals, etc. In the sutras the buddha says that these powers appear after the jhanas, usualy after the fourth jhana.
@xebrega through the attainment of the ecstasies (jhana) I now experience intuitive, revelatory insight (vipassana), OOBEs (mano-maya), freedom from anxiety (adhukkha), liberation from neuroses (vimokha), recollection of previous life times (pubbenivásánussati), Equanimity (upekkha), Fearlessness (abhiita), Clairaudience (dibba-sota),
@jhananda In the DN 2 the buddha says other psychic powers that you have not mention. Like The Mind-made Body, appear and vanishe, dive in and out of the earth as if it were water, walk on water without sinking as if it were dry land, mind reading, trougth the divine eye see beings passing away and re-appearing. I mean these things are hard to believe, they are in the suttas but i don´t see no one talking about this. In your opinion these kind of things are possible?
@xebrega Yes, in my experience these charisms, or phala, are accessible, I experience them regularly as a consequence of the daily saturation in the 4th jhana. I have recalled my previous lifetimes. When out-of-body (manomaya) I see celestial beings, understanding every human languages and animals, appear and vanishe, dive in and out of the earth as if it were water, walk on water without sinking as if it were dry land, etc. Do see my videos on the Fruit (Phala) of the contemplative life.
Thank you so very much for the reply. I was so lost in the "dissolving process." I didn't know what to expect. I guess that I was expecting more than nothing. I started to question my practice.
@puppybunny1 Well, samadhi is more than nothing, but 'you' will dissolve into everything. This means that the 8 stages of samadhi are relative degrees of non-dual states
I tried to dive deeper. Basically does that mean that the consciousness stop expanding and go down deeper. For example, the water flowing into the ocean. The water stop expanding out, but good deeper into a bottomless pit in the earth. What is the purpose of consciousness expansion?
@puppybunny1 Just dissolve yourself into the infinite over and over again every time you meditate, because as you dissolve yourself into the infinite ocean of consciousness, as a doll of salt when dropped into the ocean dissolves into the whole ocean, you will become everything and nothing.
@puppybunny1 diving deeper into samadhi is about leading a rigorous contemplative life, and surrendering yourself completely to the phenomena that arises in your samadhi. Just remember samadhi is union (yoga) with the sacred (Brahma). The early Christians called samadhi the Holy Spirit. So, completely give yourself up to the process of samadhi
@puppybunny1 one dives deeper into the transformational qualities of jhana by leaving behind the meditation object as one recognizes the phenomena of jhana (jhana-nimitta) arising and puts one's attention fully upon these phenomena, and submits completely to that phenomena. One then sits with that phenomena as long as it persists. Thus, allow the jhana to control the meditation, not you. This is where jhana becomes non-volitional, and deepens.
Thanks for your response. I am so glad to find you and the videos. Can you tell me if this is Jhana level 4? I feel like I am stuck in nothingness with full meditation mode. There is no thoughts at all. I feel everything from the outside world. I just feel like my mind/soul had separated from my physical body.
@puppybunny1 since you were aware of your sensory domain, then you were in jhana, and it sounds like the 3rd jhana, because you could sense everything from the outside world, and it sounds like you had a non-dual experience, which is typical of the 3rd jhana. Do keep up your meditation practice and dive deeper, ever deeper.
From my experience, I feel like I was expanding and now became part of nothingness. One can call this space. It is like there is no body just mind and nothingness. I call this super consciousness. I am not sure if this is correct. I know that everyone's experiences are based on their paramis and kamma. Since I have been meditating for only 2 years without a teacher, it is really freaky.
@puppybunny1 it definitely sounds like you are experiencing some level of samadhi. One of the key ways of knowing where you are at is whether you had any awareness at all of the outside world. If so, then you were in jhana. If, on the other hand, you were in a lucid alternate reality, then you were in an OOBE.
Yes, a teacher who really understands meditation phenomena is very important to one's progress. This is why I am posting these videos and created my website.
The most simple way to define jhana is: when the five hindrances have been overcome and the respective jhana factors have been brought to unity. The state when the hindrances are overcome but the jhana factors have not been adequately developed is known as access concentration, and can be quite pleasant in itself, but jhana is much more powerful. Only words like "bliss" and rapture" do it justice.
The most simple way to define jhana is: when the five hindrances have been overcome and the respective jhana factors have been brought to unity. The state when the hindrances are overcome but the jhana factors have not been adequately developed is known as access concentration, and can be quite pleasant in itself, but jhana is much more powerful. Only words like "bliss" and rapture" do it justice.
@rolfeder Thank-you for posting your comment to this video; however, your definition of jhana comes from the commentaries, and not from the suttas. Also, 'rapture' is an OOBE, and jhana is not, so it would not be a correct term for defining jhana
I agree with you, one should not believe a word anyone says until one tests it for oneself. On the other hand, it can be useful to read what someone says about these subjective states so that one can have an idea of what is ahead, so that one can explore them for oneself.
And from the experience and of a friend who undertook long retreats in samatha meditation, his Jhana experiences were that there was a complete dropping off of all faculties - hearing, smelling, touching, tasting, seeing, thinking, and there is a complete absorption to the object of meditation/nimitta with concurrent jhana factors.
My friend is a monk who lives a remote life in Asia. To those who are close to him, his attainment in Jhana and vipassana enables him to recall his past lives and some extraordinary siddis.. It's hard to believe but I actually see it for myself, not magic!
Well, I have lived a remote contemplative life here in the USA, and I also have attained absorption (jhana) and insight into the nature of things (vipassana). The insight I have gained is that the translations of the suttas and the commentaries are quite incorrect. Perhaps you friend might find the same thing
I personally think that depending on one's intrinsic nature and/or paramis (according to general orthodox Buddhist's beliefs), the personal experience for Jhanas may differ among one another. As Jhana is to "purify" and concentrate the mind and overcome the hindrances, as long as the purpose is served, any particular experience is secondary.
Well, begintosee, I would agree that the personal experience of absorption (Jhanas) in deed does differ from one individual to the next; however, to interpret absorption (Jhanas) as merely concentration, only demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the attainment (phala) of absorption (Jhanas), which is a transcendental altered state of consciousness that is the product of the practice (magga) of concentration (sati).
I personally think that suttas may possibly contain inaccuracies of real historic records, but the main tenet shouldn't be drifted away from the core teachings. If my experience differs from the translation of suttas or commentaries, I will first try to find out from experienced teachers and see whether there are other key aspects in my meditation that I may have missed. I personally find that Tina and Stephen's practicing the Jhana really gives a good practical guide for attaining Jhanas.
Yes, I agree with you begintosee, there are definitely historic inaccuracies on the translation and interpretation of the suttas. Interpreting absorption (Jhanas) as merely concentration is one of those historic inaccuracies. Another one of those historic inaccuracies in Buddhism is believing that insight (vipassana) is a practice (magga) model of meditation; whereas it is an attainment of transcendental revelation. The same is true for a belief that Jhana is a practice.
Thanks for the note. I am neither a pali scholar nor sutta scholar, but in general both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhisms agree that jhanas comprised of first form (rupa) jhanas and the formless (arupa) jhanas.
Hello tanned06, considering that the suttas do not use the terminology of arupa-jhana, whereas Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism do, it would suggest that these forms of Buddhism do not understand the suttas very well. Is it possible that the various Buddhist institutions might be like how the various Christian institutions have redefined the Christian doctrine in their own image?
Well, I cannot judge for myself without first off experiencing the teachings. But thanks for the note, I will try to see and experience it for myself as I will take up a long retreat on samatha meditation very soon next month. Take care.
Thank you Jhananda.. I will, and I hope I at least can experience for myself some form of jhanas, if not upacara/access concentration. I wish you all the best toward the bliss of Nirvana.
Odd, that the term upacara samadhi (access concentration) does not appear in the suttas. Also, I find the term 'concentration' does not at all describe the experience of jhana for me. So, why do you think the Buddhist priesthood seems to think it is the correct term?
Access concentration in my understanding is almost near full absorption (jhana) but remains remnants of mind activities and other faculties. It occurs immediately when the mind leaves jhana or when it's getting close to it. When this mind state - which is bright and unblemished - is devised for insight meditation, one can penetrate the reality in a great clarity. That's what I was told.
A belief in Access concentration is another example of historic inaccuracies in the translation and interpretation of the suttas. If the suttas did not mention a state that arises before jhana, then why should the commentaries propose such a state? This suggests that the first jhana is that remnant of mind activity that you suggest exists before and after the arising of absorption (jhana).
I think you have your very personal views of what you think to be what the suttas are teaching about. I can't comment on that since I am not Pali or sutta scholar. The only thing I can offer is wishing you ever success in your own striving..Nite.
Interesting, but the term "arupa jhanas" does not appear in the Pali form of the suttas; however, a translator may have introduced it. Instead you will find the terms that are used in the suttas for the levels of Samadhi that are beyond the jhanas all use the suffix ayatana. They are: Àkàsànañcàyatanaü, Vinnananaacayatana, Akincannayatana, and Nevasannanasannnayatana. See the Ariyapariyesana Sutta (MN 26.28)
In fact tanned06, in the sutta you site, Anupada Sutta (MN#111), you will find, if you examine the Pali form of this sutta, in the middle of the sutta at about the 12th stanza the terms "Àkàsànañcàyatanaü, Vinnananaacayatana, Akincannayatana, and Nevasannanasannnayatana." And, you will not find the term 'arupa jhana' any where in this sutta
Referring to the most revered Burmese Jhana teacher Pa Auk Sayadaw and his Western students, Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Synder (please check out their recent book on Jhana attainments published by Shambala - Practicing the Jhana, there is a clear stages of attainment of 4 material (rupa) jhanas as well as 4 immaterial (arupa) jhanas. Appearance of nimitta - a light like morning star (depends on individuals) on the anapasati (breathing) spot precedes before full absorption (Jhana) occurs.
@Jhananda It is by experience one sees and knows this. When attention on a single object eg., single breath spot deepens, the light of nimitta formed in the mind-door matures into a very bright, diamond-like star that joins the breath spot. It instantly attracts your full attention and you will never be able to forget in your life how beaitiful it is. It then draws you from head to toe to a indescribable total absorption that comes with unwavering joy and bliss.
i guess the boader line is when `there is no part of his entire body not suffused with rapture and happiness.` i think that refers to a level of completeness attained with concentration. allthogh preethi and sukha can arises before jhana the completeness of the level of concentration with its deapth at the jhanic level would be distinguishable..
dymuffshthers 9 months ago
@dymuffshthers see .com/jhana8.htm
dymuffshthers 9 months ago
@dymuffshthers wx3. leighb
dymuffshthers 9 months ago
@dymuffshthers There seems to be a lot of debate as to what constitutes jhana, which implies there are a lot of people talking about it, who do not know what it is. In the suttas it is always defined in the arising of piiti and sukha, which are generally expressed as bliss and joy respectively. Only DN-2 defines the jhanas in terms of saturation. In my experience jhana is simply defined by the arising of bliss and joy. Saturation just defines how saturate one is when there.
Jhananda 9 months ago
Thank you for the video, it´s nice to see people speeking openly about the jhanas. But i have to question if you have experienced psychic powers like remembering your past lifes, seeing celestial beeings, understanding every human languages and the sonds of the animals, etc. In the sutras the buddha says that these powers appear after the jhanas, usualy after the fourth jhana.
xebrega 1 year ago
@xebrega through the attainment of the ecstasies (jhana) I now experience intuitive, revelatory insight (vipassana), OOBEs (mano-maya), freedom from anxiety (adhukkha), liberation from neuroses (vimokha), recollection of previous life times (pubbenivásánussati), Equanimity (upekkha), Fearlessness (abhiita), Clairaudience (dibba-sota),
Jhananda 1 year ago
@jhananda In the DN 2 the buddha says other psychic powers that you have not mention. Like The Mind-made Body, appear and vanishe, dive in and out of the earth as if it were water, walk on water without sinking as if it were dry land, mind reading, trougth the divine eye see beings passing away and re-appearing. I mean these things are hard to believe, they are in the suttas but i don´t see no one talking about this. In your opinion these kind of things are possible?
xebrega 1 year ago
@xebrega Yes, in my experience these charisms, or phala, are accessible, I experience them regularly as a consequence of the daily saturation in the 4th jhana. I have recalled my previous lifetimes. When out-of-body (manomaya) I see celestial beings, understanding every human languages and animals, appear and vanishe, dive in and out of the earth as if it were water, walk on water without sinking as if it were dry land, etc. Do see my videos on the Fruit (Phala) of the contemplative life.
Jhananda 1 year ago
Thank you so very much for the reply. I was so lost in the "dissolving process." I didn't know what to expect. I guess that I was expecting more than nothing. I started to question my practice.
Metta/Karuna,
PB1
puppybunny1 1 year ago
@puppybunny1 Well, samadhi is more than nothing, but 'you' will dissolve into everything. This means that the 8 stages of samadhi are relative degrees of non-dual states
Jhananda 1 year ago
Hello there,
I tried to dive deeper. Basically does that mean that the consciousness stop expanding and go down deeper. For example, the water flowing into the ocean. The water stop expanding out, but good deeper into a bottomless pit in the earth. What is the purpose of consciousness expansion?
Thanks in advance/metta/karuna...
puppybunny1 1 year ago
@puppybunny1 Just dissolve yourself into the infinite over and over again every time you meditate, because as you dissolve yourself into the infinite ocean of consciousness, as a doll of salt when dropped into the ocean dissolves into the whole ocean, you will become everything and nothing.
Blessings on your journey to Nibbāna, Jhananda
Jhananda 1 year ago
Thank you so very much Master/Teacher Jhanana,
How do you dive deeper?
puppybunny1 1 year ago
@puppybunny1 diving deeper into samadhi is about leading a rigorous contemplative life, and surrendering yourself completely to the phenomena that arises in your samadhi. Just remember samadhi is union (yoga) with the sacred (Brahma). The early Christians called samadhi the Holy Spirit. So, completely give yourself up to the process of samadhi
Jhananda 1 year ago
@puppybunny1 one dives deeper into the transformational qualities of jhana by leaving behind the meditation object as one recognizes the phenomena of jhana (jhana-nimitta) arising and puts one's attention fully upon these phenomena, and submits completely to that phenomena. One then sits with that phenomena as long as it persists. Thus, allow the jhana to control the meditation, not you. This is where jhana becomes non-volitional, and deepens.
Jhananda 1 year ago
Thanks for your response. I am so glad to find you and the videos. Can you tell me if this is Jhana level 4? I feel like I am stuck in nothingness with full meditation mode. There is no thoughts at all. I feel everything from the outside world. I just feel like my mind/soul had separated from my physical body.
Is OOBE the same as astral projection?
puppybunny1 1 year ago
@puppybunny1 since you were aware of your sensory domain, then you were in jhana, and it sounds like the 3rd jhana, because you could sense everything from the outside world, and it sounds like you had a non-dual experience, which is typical of the 3rd jhana. Do keep up your meditation practice and dive deeper, ever deeper.
Jhananda 1 year ago
From my experience, I feel like I was expanding and now became part of nothingness. One can call this space. It is like there is no body just mind and nothingness. I call this super consciousness. I am not sure if this is correct. I know that everyone's experiences are based on their paramis and kamma. Since I have been meditating for only 2 years without a teacher, it is really freaky.
Please let me know what comes after nothingness?
Thanks in advance,
BLN
puppybunny1 1 year ago
@puppybunny1 it definitely sounds like you are experiencing some level of samadhi. One of the key ways of knowing where you are at is whether you had any awareness at all of the outside world. If so, then you were in jhana. If, on the other hand, you were in a lucid alternate reality, then you were in an OOBE.
Yes, a teacher who really understands meditation phenomena is very important to one's progress. This is why I am posting these videos and created my website.
Jhananda 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
The most simple way to define jhana is: when the five hindrances have been overcome and the respective jhana factors have been brought to unity. The state when the hindrances are overcome but the jhana factors have not been adequately developed is known as access concentration, and can be quite pleasant in itself, but jhana is much more powerful. Only words like "bliss" and rapture" do it justice.
rolfeder 1 year ago
The most simple way to define jhana is: when the five hindrances have been overcome and the respective jhana factors have been brought to unity. The state when the hindrances are overcome but the jhana factors have not been adequately developed is known as access concentration, and can be quite pleasant in itself, but jhana is much more powerful. Only words like "bliss" and rapture" do it justice.
rolfeder 1 year ago
@rolfeder Thank-you for posting your comment to this video; however, your definition of jhana comes from the commentaries, and not from the suttas. Also, 'rapture' is an OOBE, and jhana is not, so it would not be a correct term for defining jhana
Jhananda 1 year ago
May I have more information on your practice and the daily techniques ?with Metta
humaner 1 year ago
@humaner a video has been posted that gives you more information on my practice and the daily techniques that I practiced to experience jhana.
Jhananda 1 year ago
Comment removed
tetherball23 2 years ago
Thank you for this video but I don't believe a word you said untill it's my experience...
chandikaliyanawaduge 2 years ago
I agree with you, one should not believe a word anyone says until one tests it for oneself. On the other hand, it can be useful to read what someone says about these subjective states so that one can have an idea of what is ahead, so that one can explore them for oneself.
Jhananda 2 years ago
@chandikaliyanawaduge Nice to see you jeffrey and thankyou for the videos
Ozay Rinpoche
AgentX6586 2 years ago
@AgentX6586 Thank-you Ozay, for posting your kind and supportive words
Jhananda 1 year ago
That is not what Buddha taught and a frequently incorrect use of this phrase...anyways I think this fellow really has reached some stages.With Metta
humaner 1 year ago
And from the experience and of a friend who undertook long retreats in samatha meditation, his Jhana experiences were that there was a complete dropping off of all faculties - hearing, smelling, touching, tasting, seeing, thinking, and there is a complete absorption to the object of meditation/nimitta with concurrent jhana factors.
tanned06 2 years ago
Good to know that your friend's experience corresponded to his teacher's training. I wounder what would have happened if it did not?
Jhananda 2 years ago
My friend is a monk who lives a remote life in Asia. To those who are close to him, his attainment in Jhana and vipassana enables him to recall his past lives and some extraordinary siddis.. It's hard to believe but I actually see it for myself, not magic!
tanned06 2 years ago
Well, I have lived a remote contemplative life here in the USA, and I also have attained absorption (jhana) and insight into the nature of things (vipassana). The insight I have gained is that the translations of the suttas and the commentaries are quite incorrect. Perhaps you friend might find the same thing
Jhananda 2 years ago
I personally think that depending on one's intrinsic nature and/or paramis (according to general orthodox Buddhist's beliefs), the personal experience for Jhanas may differ among one another. As Jhana is to "purify" and concentrate the mind and overcome the hindrances, as long as the purpose is served, any particular experience is secondary.
tanned06 2 years ago
Well, begintosee, I would agree that the personal experience of absorption (Jhanas) in deed does differ from one individual to the next; however, to interpret absorption (Jhanas) as merely concentration, only demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the attainment (phala) of absorption (Jhanas), which is a transcendental altered state of consciousness that is the product of the practice (magga) of concentration (sati).
Jhananda 2 years ago
I personally think that suttas may possibly contain inaccuracies of real historic records, but the main tenet shouldn't be drifted away from the core teachings. If my experience differs from the translation of suttas or commentaries, I will first try to find out from experienced teachers and see whether there are other key aspects in my meditation that I may have missed. I personally find that Tina and Stephen's practicing the Jhana really gives a good practical guide for attaining Jhanas.
tanned06 2 years ago
Yes, I agree with you begintosee, there are definitely historic inaccuracies on the translation and interpretation of the suttas. Interpreting absorption (Jhanas) as merely concentration is one of those historic inaccuracies. Another one of those historic inaccuracies in Buddhism is believing that insight (vipassana) is a practice (magga) model of meditation; whereas it is an attainment of transcendental revelation. The same is true for a belief that Jhana is a practice.
Jhananda 2 years ago
Thanks for the note. I am neither a pali scholar nor sutta scholar, but in general both Theravada and Mahayana Buddhisms agree that jhanas comprised of first form (rupa) jhanas and the formless (arupa) jhanas.
tanned06 2 years ago
Hello tanned06, considering that the suttas do not use the terminology of arupa-jhana, whereas Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism do, it would suggest that these forms of Buddhism do not understand the suttas very well. Is it possible that the various Buddhist institutions might be like how the various Christian institutions have redefined the Christian doctrine in their own image?
Jhananda 2 years ago
Well, I cannot judge for myself without first off experiencing the teachings. But thanks for the note, I will try to see and experience it for myself as I will take up a long retreat on samatha meditation very soon next month. Take care.
tanned06 2 years ago
May you receive wise guidance and apply yourself diligently.
Jhananda 2 years ago
Thank you Jhananda.. I will, and I hope I at least can experience for myself some form of jhanas, if not upacara/access concentration. I wish you all the best toward the bliss of Nirvana.
tanned06 2 years ago
Odd, that the term upacara samadhi (access concentration) does not appear in the suttas. Also, I find the term 'concentration' does not at all describe the experience of jhana for me. So, why do you think the Buddhist priesthood seems to think it is the correct term?
Jhananda 2 years ago
Access concentration in my understanding is almost near full absorption (jhana) but remains remnants of mind activities and other faculties. It occurs immediately when the mind leaves jhana or when it's getting close to it. When this mind state - which is bright and unblemished - is devised for insight meditation, one can penetrate the reality in a great clarity. That's what I was told.
tanned06 2 years ago
A belief in Access concentration is another example of historic inaccuracies in the translation and interpretation of the suttas. If the suttas did not mention a state that arises before jhana, then why should the commentaries propose such a state? This suggests that the first jhana is that remnant of mind activity that you suggest exists before and after the arising of absorption (jhana).
Jhananda 2 years ago
I think you have your very personal views of what you think to be what the suttas are teaching about. I can't comment on that since I am not Pali or sutta scholar. The only thing I can offer is wishing you ever success in your own striving..Nite.
tanned06 2 years ago
Perhaps, friend, you should check your sources. Just because a respected priest says something is true, does not make it so.
Jhananda 2 years ago
Thanks..Arupa Jhana is discussed in some detail in "Mahjjhima Nikaya: The Middle Length Discourse - Anupada Sutta (MN#111).
tanned06 2 years ago
Interesting, but the term "arupa jhanas" does not appear in the Pali form of the suttas; however, a translator may have introduced it. Instead you will find the terms that are used in the suttas for the levels of Samadhi that are beyond the jhanas all use the suffix ayatana. They are: Àkàsànañcàyatanaü, Vinnananaacayatana, Akincannayatana, and Nevasannanasannnayatana. See the Ariyapariyesana Sutta (MN 26.28)
Jhananda 2 years ago
In fact tanned06, in the sutta you site, Anupada Sutta (MN#111), you will find, if you examine the Pali form of this sutta, in the middle of the sutta at about the 12th stanza the terms "Àkàsànañcàyatanaü, Vinnananaacayatana, Akincannayatana, and Nevasannanasannnayatana." And, you will not find the term 'arupa jhana' any where in this sutta
Jhananda 2 years ago
Referring to the most revered Burmese Jhana teacher Pa Auk Sayadaw and his Western students, Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Synder (please check out their recent book on Jhana attainments published by Shambala - Practicing the Jhana, there is a clear stages of attainment of 4 material (rupa) jhanas as well as 4 immaterial (arupa) jhanas. Appearance of nimitta - a light like morning star (depends on individuals) on the anapasati (breathing) spot precedes before full absorption (Jhana) occurs.
tanned06 2 years ago
Interesting, but there are no "arupa jhanas" in the suttas
Jhananda 2 years ago
Does this suggest that Pa Auk Sayadaw and his Western students, Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Synder do not understand the suttas? I think it does.
Jhananda 2 years ago
@tanned06 There is also nothing in the suttas about a "light like morning star" arsing in one's meditation
Jhananda 1 year ago
@Jhananda It is by experience one sees and knows this. When attention on a single object eg., single breath spot deepens, the light of nimitta formed in the mind-door matures into a very bright, diamond-like star that joins the breath spot. It instantly attracts your full attention and you will never be able to forget in your life how beaitiful it is. It then draws you from head to toe to a indescribable total absorption that comes with unwavering joy and bliss.
tanned06 1 year ago