Jhana: meditative "absorption" ("meditation") chiefly refers to the first four meditative absorptions of form
I want to enter that bliss, but how?
Namely, these are the form absorptions of the fine-material sphere (rūpa-jjhāna or rūpāvacara-jjhāna, see avacara). These profound absorptions are reached through full (ecstatic) stillness, samādhi, concentration (appanā).
At this time there is a complete (albeit temporary) suspension of fivefold sense-activity and of the Five Hindrances (pancha-nīvarana). However, this state of consciousness is one of full alertness and lucidity and, it is said, singlepointedness (ekagata) of mind/attention.
Gandhara: meditating Buddha
This degree of concentration becomes a fully absorbed state. It is generally developed by the practice (cultivation) of one of the 40 subjects of tranquility meditation (samatha-kammatthāna, see bhāvanā).
There are four higher (more refined) states of absorption called the Four Formless Attainments of the immaterial Spheres (arūpāyatana). These are called the four absorptions of the immaterial sphere (arūpa-jjhāna or arūpāvacara-jjhāna).
The usual text, often met with in the Pali canon sutras, runs as follows:... More: jhāna
Ask a Buddhist teacher. Most will say, "There's no way to do it, so just do it." And that's pretty good advice as far as it goes, but it will only get a few there, the "naturals."
For a long time in this round, most of us are not the naturals, not inclined to even try. But when we finally "try," that is not a good sign of getting there. A person letting go, not aspiring, not striving, not anticipating, or doing nothing more than beginner's mind will is more likely to experience "beginner's luck."
That seems to be the Taoist approach advocated by Zen. How many Zen practitioners, however, ever get into a Zen state, a jhana, dhyana, seon, or absorción?
Not many. No one speaks of it, perhaps because of the threat/injunction that, "Anyone who knows doesn't speak; anyone who speaks doesn't know."
That may be true insofar as successful practitioners are not inclined to be worried about what anyone else does or does not do. But as a thinker, I am keen to figure out a practical way of teaching those cannot to be able to. There are a few ways that make sense or have some sort of logic.
First, we know that someone in an absorption has characteristics and is missing others. Things are present, and things are absent. How now if one were to include (cultivate) what is present for them and exclude (abandon) what is absent?
What is present? The Five Factors of Absorption (jhana-anga). What is absent? The Five Hindrances. Does it therefore not stand to reason that by such cultivation, one may very well fall into it? Drop away the obstacles, erect the parallels (those things present along with the wished-for state of heart-mind), and viola there it is!
Second, it is certain that what the Buddha taught was a pyramidal path with virtue (sila) as the base, stillness (samadhi) as the midlevel, and a capstone of wisdom (panna, prajna). So anyone who reaches the second level of "concentration" or singlepointedness of mind, or quietude, stillness, absorption does so on a base or foundation of Precepts and wholesome karma of skillful thoughts, words, and deeds or calm, noble silence, and restraint.
Third, there is the powerful suggestion of Leigh Brasington that these absorbed states of ecstatic composure, concentration, focus, or coherent mindful awareness can be brought about by a method. The method is simple to understand, a little less simple to implement. Attend a retreat, smile, stay calm, slow down, be comfortable, send metta to all in all directions until the heart/mind is restful and at ease then begin to meditate. When meditating, it will be the case that some part of the body is or begins to feel blissful (piti, one of the Factors of Absorption), pleasant, pleasurable. When it does, turn attention to that and just that. Seemingly on the maxim that "where attention goes, energy flows," that bliss (joy, happiness, sukha) will expand and overtake the entire body, bringing one into absorption. Leigh Brasington teaches, or taught, on Cloud Mountain and should be consulted for the details of this method. My coauthor, Virginia Tech Prof. Lori Marsh, attended a Brasington retreat and attained it.
Now this opens up a question that is difficult if not impossible to settle. What is "jhana"? What qualifies as "absorption"? If Prof. Marsh says she attained such a state, can anyone say any different? Because it is a direct and personal experience, can she even know? Does Brasington certify that retreatants are reaching it?
Fortunately, this question can be answered to some extent, but not completely because so much will depend on self-report. The most important thing is that a meditator not be self-deluded. One can know for oneself, and one's teacher can know, but as to whether or not anyone can say, who can say? One might have to possess psychic (abhinna, siddhi) powers to know what another is thinking or experiencing. Fortunately again, we are not concerned with what others are or are not attaining, only with what we are reaching.
How can I know if I was in an absorption during my meditation? And if I can know, how can I know which absorption (Jhana 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8) I was in? There is an answer. In the teaching method of the renowned Buddhist Meditation Master Pa Auk Sayadaw, one will not know it when one is in it, but one can be sure which jhana one was just in. How? By reflecting and counting the Jhana Factors, that is, the Factors of Absorption present during the meditation, one can know which it was. As one moves up towards higher and more refined absorbed states, factors fall away.
The Five Factors are actually six when ekagata (one-pointedness) is counted. See teachers Sayalay Susila, Beth Upton, Sayalay Dipankara, Ven. Dhammadipa (now lay teacher Thomas), Shaila Catherine, Ven. Revata, and others for detailed confirmation of personal experience. The lay Buddhist teachers Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder or check out their handy guide to the jhanas first published as Jhanas Advice. The later name became From First Sit to First Jhana:
Bashar’s shocking revelations on "God," multiple Big Bangs, multiverse, and "creation"
(Path of Knowledge) March 26, 2025: What if everything we thought we knew about God, the Big Bang, and the nature of reality were completely wrong?
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In this exclusive Bashar compilation, we’ve gathered his most profound insights on the origin of the universe, the mechanics of creation, and the true nature of existence. Prepare for mind-expanding revelations that will challenge standard beliefs, ignite curiosity, and unlock a new understanding of reality itself.
👁️ Watch until the end for a perspective shift that will change how humanity sees reality forever.
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(Baba Ram Dass) Let's spend an evening with gurus Ram Dass (former Harvard hippie Dr. Richard Alpert, Ph.D.) and Oprah's spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle (author of The Power of Now), as these two [Hindu-style] teachers engage in an open conversation about spiritual "awakening" [by which they seem to equate Advaita Vedanta principles or samadhi states with actual permanent liberation] and the transformation of consciousness.
[The Buddha taught that samma samadhi, "right concentration or stillness," while very beneficial and leading to saintly qualities is not nearly enough for the attainment of actual awakening (bodhi) and liberation (nirvana). It may seem a fine distinction, but the Buddha's whole reason for teaching was to establish the Dharma in the world that had been lost for thousands of years or much long, in spite of the fact that we had the Vedas and Brahmanism and Indian teachers all of that time. If those things had been enough to bring people to enlightenment, he would have had no reason to establish "right view" and a "path of purification" that leads to a real/permanent state of moksha or "liberation." While Hinduism literally uses the exact same words -- nirvana, moksha, samadhi,karma, and the like, they mean very different things in the Teachings of the historical Buddha. Mahayana Buddhism, on the other hand, seems to have bought into the Hindu definitions and acts as a kind of popular sect of Hinduism more than as a form of Buddhism. But the average person will never know this without studying it deeply. Indeed, other religions have "salvation" and "liberation," but it is only because they are defining those words differently. From an Early Buddhist standpoint, the terms are being misapplied to impermanent states, to forms of rebirth in heaven or in the company of Brahma, as if one would stay there forever and therefore be free of samsara when someone was actually still fully immersed in the problem the Buddha found a final solution to.]
Host Tami Simon (Sounds True) referees (or mediates the conversation). Filmed in Maui, Hawaii, on October 28, 2011, posted on May 19, 2014.
People don't see it: Alan Watts on life's [Mahayana-Hindu] secret awakening
(T&H - Inspiration & Motivation) Dec. 27, 2021: Here is a brief, inspirational, and profound speech on life's illusions and secret awakening by Alan Watts. Original audio sourced from: Alan Watts - The Works. Speaker: Alan Watts, "Enlightenment or awakening is not the creation of a new state of affairs but the recognition of what already is," Alan Watts (1915–1973). #AlanWatts#TheSecret#T&HInspiration
ABOUT: The Love Serve Remember Foundation is dedicated to preserving and continuing the teachings of Ram Dass and his guru Neem Karoli Baba.
Website: ramdass.org. Instagram: babaramdass, Facebook: babaramdass, Twitter: babaramdass.
Ven. Thanissaro (orig. mistranslation from the Pali canon, SN 25:1-10, dhammatalks.org); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
The Eye: Cakkhu Sutta
The eye that see, the third eye that knows?
(SN 25:1) Thus have I heard. When the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī, he said: “Meditators, the eye is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. The ear… The nose… The tongue… The body… The mind is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.
“One who has confidence and conviction that these phenomena are this way is called a faith-follower: one who has entered the right path, entered the plane of the noble ones, transcended the plane of the ordinary uninstructed worldlings.
“Such a person is now incapable of doing any deed (karma) by which one might be reborn in hell, in an animal womb, or in the realm of hungry ghosts. One is incapable of passing away until one has realized the fruit of stream-entry (the first stage of enlightenment).
“One who, after contemplating with even a small amount of wisdom (discernment), has accepted that these phenomena are this way is called a Dharma-follower: one who has entered the right path, entered the plane of the noble ones, transcended the plane of ordinary uninstructed worldlings. One is incapable of doing any deed by which one might be reborn in hell, in an animal womb, or in the realm of hungry ghosts. One is incapable of passing away until one has realized the fruit of stream-entry.
“One who knows-and-sees that these phenomena are this way is called a stream-enterer, steadfast, never again destined for [subhuman] states of woe, headed for full awakening.”
(SN 25:2) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, forms are inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Sounds.… Fragrances.… Flavors.… Tactile sensations.… Ideas [mind objects] are inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…
Consciousness: Viññāṇa Sutta
(SN 25:3) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, eye-consciousness is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Ear-consciousness.… Nose-consciousness.… Tongue-consciousness.… Body-consciousness.… Mind-consciousness is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…
Contact: Phassa Sutta
(SN 25:4) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, eye-contact is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Ear-contact.… Nose-contact.… Tongue-contact.… Body-contact.… Mind-contact is inconstant, changeable, impermanent…
Feeling: Vedanā Sutta
(SN 25:5) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, feeling born of eye-contact is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Feeling born of ear-contact.… Feeling born of nose-contact.… Feeling born of tongue-contact.… Feeling born of body-contact.… Feeling born of mind-contact is inconstant, changeable, impermanent…
Perception: Saññā Sutta
(SN 25:6) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, perception of forms is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Perception of sounds.… Perception of fragrances.… Perception of tastes.… Perception of tactile sensations.… Perception of ideas [mind objects] is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…
Intention: Cetanā Sutta
(SN 25:7) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, intention [motivation] for forms is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Intention for sounds.… Intention for fragrances.… Intention for tastes.… Intention for tactile sensations.… Intention for ideas [mind objects] is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…
Craving: Taṇhā Sutta
(SN 25:8) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, craving for forms is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Craving for sounds.… Craving for fragrances.… Craving for tastes.… Craving for tactile sensations.… Craving for ideas [mind objects] is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…
Elements: Dhātu Sutta
(SN 25:9) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, the earth element [quality, characteristic of materiality] is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. The water element.… The fire element.… The wind element.… The space [delineating solid objects] element.… The consciousness element is inconstant, changeable, impermanent.…
Aggregates: Khandha Sutta
(SN 25.10) Near Sāvatthī. “Meditators, form is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. Feeling.… Perception.… Mental formations (fabrications).… Consciousness is inconstant, changeable, impermanent. More
More often than not, these were detrimental to women, ignorant, as well as blatantly misogynistic (women-hating).
In this gallery, Stars Insider revisits some of these beliefs, from ancient civilizations to the Victorian era, and everything in between.
Women have no sexual desire? In Victorian times, sexual urges were something most exclusively attributed to males. Any expression of sexual desire from females was frowned upon. Queen Victoria herself reportedly told her daughter to "lie back and think of England" on her honeymoon wedding night. More
(THE HINDU SAGA) Oct. 5, 2021. The festival of Navaratri is celebrated to cherish the victory of Dharma (Goodness) over Adharma (Evil).
These nine days, ending today, are associated with the battle that was fought between Goddess Durga and the Demon King Mahish-asura.
Throughout these nine days, the nine avatars of the Goddess known as Navadurga is worshipped, each day dedicated to one incarnation or facet of her personality. Let us see the story behind each avatar.
1. Shailaputri: "the daughter of the mountains" was born to the Mountain King Himavan (of the Himalayas). She is also commonly known as Parvati and is the first of the nine Navadurga. She is depicted having two hands, holding a trident on her right hand and a lotus on left. Being the wife of Lord Shiva, she rides on his bull named Nandi.
2. Brahmacharini: The second avatar, holding a 108-bead mala or rosary in her right hand and a kamandala (water pot) in her left hand, Brahmacharini signifies tapas (tapasya) or austerities does as penance.
3. Chandraghanta: The strangest wedding procession, known as baraat, consisting ghosts, Aghoris, sages, ascetics, and every being unimaginable, was conducted. Upon seeing this sight, Parvati’s mother and relatives were in shock, mostly out of terror. To avoid any embarrassment to her family or to Shiva, Parvati transformed herself into a terrifying form, Chandraghanta.
4. Kushmanda: Ma Kushmanda is worshipped on the fourth day of Navaratri. It is believed that she is the ultimate source of life.
5. Skandamata: The fifth avatar, Skanda-mata literally means the "Mother of Skanda." Skanda is another name of Lord Karthikeya, often known as Murugan in the South. She rides a lion and has four arms. Two of her arms carry lotus, one is raised in blessing while the fourth holds her son Karthikeya.
6. Katyayani: Being one of the most worshipped forms of Durga, Ma Katyayani is worshipped on the sixth day of Navaratri. This the form that is often referred to as Durga. She took birth as the daughter of the Sage Katyayan, and hence came to be known as Katyayani.
7. Kaalratri: Kaal refers to death and ratri means night. Hence, Ma Kaalratri is the one who brings an end or death to anything that is associated with evil or darkness. She is more commonly referred as Kali and is worshipped on the seventh day. Kaalratri is the most terrorizing form of Durga.
8. MahaGauri: Worshipped on eight day, the story of Mahagauri has many versions. Maha means great and gauri means white or fair.
9. Siddhidatri: worshipped on the final day, she is the Adi Shakti avatar of Durga. She existed as pure energy and had no physical form. Lord Rudra worshipped her for creating the universe, and she appeared from the left side of Shiva. That is why she and Shiva represent the duality of the universe in the form of masculine and feminine energies. They unite to form Ardhanarishwara.
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"Meditators, be islands unto yourselves (1);
be your ownguide (refuge), having no other.
1. Atta-dipa: dipa means both "island" and "lamp" (Sanskrit dvipa and dipa). The meaning "island" is well-established here. "Self" refers to the pronoun "oneself" (cf. SN 3.8, n. 1).
"Let the Dharma be an island and a guide to you, having no other.
"Those who are islands unto themselves...should investigate to the very heart of things (2):
2. It is necessary to withdraw, to be "an island to unto oneself," at
least for a time (as any meditator knows), not because it is "selfish" but precisely to make a profound introspective
investigation. Buddhists in another sense would, of course, agree with
John Donne that "No man is an island."
"'What is the source of disappointment, lamenting (crying), pain, grief, and despair (hopelessness)? How do they arise?' [That is to say, What is their origin?]
"Change occurs in this person's body (form), and it becomes different. On account
of this change and difference, disappointment, crying, pain, grief, and
despair arise.
"But seeing (3) the body's impermanence, its changeability, its waning (4),
its ceasing, one says, 'Formerly, as now, all bodies were impermanent and unsatisfactory and subject to change.'
3. Woodward remarks (in the Book of the Kindred Sayings, the PTS translation of SN, Vol. III, 1924) that one would expect
to find here the words he inserts in the text: "The well-taught
[noble] disciple," as in many passages. For if one in fact directly sees these things
and reflects on them as stated in the text, one will cease to be an ordinary uninstructed "worldling" and become a noble (enlightened) disciple.
"Thus, seeing this as it really
is, with full insight, one abandons all disappointment, lamenting, pain,
grief, and despair.
"One is not worried at their abandonment, but unworried
lives at ease, and thus living at ease one is said to be 'assuredly
delivered'" (5). [The same is said with regard to "feelings," "perceptions," "mental formations," and "consciousness"].
5. Tadanganibbuto means rather more than Woodward's "one who is rid of all that."
Dr. Pert passed away on Sept. 12, 2013 and memorial services will be held on Oct. 27, 2013 at 10:00 am at the Historic Jewish Synagogue, Sixth & I, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Candace Pert, who discovered the opiate receptor and starred in "What the Bleep Do We Know?" brilliantly shared her scientific research in a form that made readily
understandable and engaging for non-scientists.
She communicated her wisdom via lectures worldwide,
documentaries, films, CDs, and in her books, Molecules of Emotion: The
Scientific Basis Behind Mind-Body Medicine and her Hay House publication, Everything You Need to Feel Go(o)d.
Curing cancer spontaneously with inner work and natural remedies? Doctors cannot see/admit the possibility even with verifiable proof. There is a lot of money to be made from cancer by "blind" treatment specialists using radiation, chemotherapy poisons, and costly invasive surgeries. Viva el capitalismo! (See Part II)
Energetic meditation for health
She taught how the BodyMind functions as a single psychosomatic
network of informational molecules which deeply influence our health and
happiness. Moreover, in a way that includes yet transcends left-brained
scientific inquiry, she guided us on how to utilize this knowledge to
enhance our lives by embarking on spiritual and emotional paths to healing.
She
welcomed all spiritual practice into her life, and she loved all people. Dr. Pert dedicated herself to creating new drugs
for serious illnesses. She was, after all, first trained as a pharmacologist. More than 25 years ago, she had an inspiration, a "vision" as it is described in her first book, about how to make a drug
for HIV/AIDS. At that time this scourge was not controlled; it was destroying
the lives of many.
She spent the last 28 years of her life pursuing research to create a non-toxic treatment and a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. More She went from neuropeptides to chakras.
Meditation: from neuropeptides to chakras
“Healing the Hurting, Shining the Light” was produced by Dr. Pert
with her son, Brandon Pert, a musician, audio production expert, and
sound mixer, exclusively for distribution from her website.
The download is a 30-minute meditation that uniquely combines
induction into a relaxed state via breathing directions, lecture
material, and chakra (subtle-energy wheel) affirmations. The music is composed according to a
scientifically designed key on a scale whose frequencies are in harmony
with the light spectrum.
An appreciation of the ancient wisdom of the Vedic chakra system, which
corresponds to modern scientific discoveries about the location of
neuropeptide-enriched nodal points along our bodies’ longitudinal axis,
can help us enter a relaxed state of mind where natural recuperation and
recovery can occur.
Learning new positive thought patterns is also
facilitated so that auditors can permit conscious calm access to our
“bodyminds” below the neck. So often today we are unnecessarily
stressed out instead of blissed out, spending time and energy subconsciously focusing on irrelevant frantic survival patterns which no
longer serve us.
This meditation is taken from the original CD “Healing the Hurting,
Shining the Light” available with three extra tracks exclusively on her site. More
Seven on consciousness, Chien Chi Liu on robotics (Wisdom Quarterly)
(T2) Gynoids and actroids, female robots, are advancing rapidly to serve humans.
Douglas Adams, author of the visionary comedy classic series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, defined robots in a futuristic marketing campaign as "Your plastic pal who's fun to be with." This may apply equally to marital devices already in use by women or the proxy products being developed by single Japanese nerds cooped up in laboratories in Yokohama.
Their amazing advances showcased in five years ago boggle the mind because this is what is being shown to the public not what is state-of-the-art. Covert black budget projects already involve androids. Robotics already dominate automobile manufacturing. Gynoids are not too far behind, with the misuse of psychological findings on the subtleties of what provokes human sexual response.
People are such that relations with inanimate objects already take place. And some with paraphilias even prefer the practice which keeps one safe from threatening intimacy issues. We are vulnerable to attachment but may feel safer expressing shamed impulses with automatons as the prophetic film "Westworld" once envisioned.
What is Consciousness?
An interesting question is, Can robots ever have consciousness? I think it is safe to say that they already possess a rudimentary form of awareness that qualifies as "consciousness." Are they able to tap into the metaconsciousness that connects all living organisms? Probably not, but the melding of organic life and artificial technology certainly seems to overcome that obstacle to full integration and conscious operating.
Buddhist phenomenology and psychology in the Abhidharma defines "self," or the ego-soul-individual, as a coherent and interdependent set of aggregates, "heaps," or grouped components. There are many such components. But for simplicity they are usually defined as five groups: (1) form, (2) sensation, (3) perception, (4) other mental formations, volition being the most salient, and (5) consciousness.
While they may sound like useless rubrics that have no meaning, they in fact represent a very profound understanding and intimacy with the inner workings of ourselves. To know oneself is to know these aggregates (skandhas). And when we speak of a "self" or what belongs to a self, invariably we are referring to one or more of these sets. As theoretical as it may seem, this is true in a conventional sense. It is possible to directly observe it, even if few attain this vision. The ultimate truth called anatta is to see that form and mind are empty, and the very emptiness is form and mind.
"Form" usually means body. But it is not limited to visible or tangible bodies. It is called "form" because it includes subtle bodies not seen by the denser eye faculty but visible to the refined mental faculty. The form group actually includes four things, qualities of materiality spoken of for the sake of simplicity as the Four Great Elements (solidity, extension, energy, cohesion) and derived elements. These subatomic elements can be seen directly in deep meditation and understood at the profoundest level without recourse to high tech equipment.
The mind itself is far subtler and better suited to the examination. Seeing things as they truly are, the information is undeniable and potentially liberating. At a subatomic level what one sees are called kalapas, which Wisdom Quarterly has frequently discusses. They are the ultimate constituents of matter. The ultimate constituents of mind are called cittas.
Mind is even more interesting than form. As a technical Abhidharma term, "mind" refers to the four remaining heaps (sensation, perception, volition, consciousness). Each is defined in exacting terms that should not be confused with the meaning or connotations that limit the English words used to translate and roughly approximate technical Pali and Sanskrit terms. The Buddha taught these things in great detail which has continued in the oral tradition for the sake of seeing things as they truly are, becoming detached, and thereby attaining liberation. They are not philosophical speculations as many treat them.
For instance, there are 50 formations (sankharas). But for simplicity this heap of factors is simply called "volition" (merely a representative member of the group). Moreover, sensation and perception (two of the three preceding heaps) are also mental formations. But they are so important as to merit special treatment when revealed by a supremely enlightened buddha. (An ordinary enlightened individual would not be able to discern them without instruction). This is one of the special characteristics that distinguishes an enlightened being from a samma-sam-buddha, or "supremely enlightened discoverer and teacher of liberating truth."
So fine are the distinctions that to make them known, the Buddha spent seven weeks meditating and reviewing the psychological and material data -- name and form (nama-rupa) -- rediscovered under the Bodhi tree to systematically organize it for teaching. He had to find a comprehensible way of conveying what he found.
Anyone is capable of becoming a buddha. But to do so is such a herculean endeavor as to be almost impossible. It is enough to make the best use of the Buddha's Teachings. That is to say, if we all wished for it, vowed to complete it, and strove diligently from this day forward, it would be aeons before even one of us were able to accomplish that kind of supreme teachable enlightenment. We would have to wait until this dispensation ended, then rediscover the ultimate truth, and revealing it by establishing a new dispensation of the Dharma in the world, which would have long since forgotten the Teachings of the historical Buddha.
"Consciousness" (viññana or vijnana) in a very technical sense is defined pragmatically as being of six kinds. Consciousness is awareness through the six sense. "Mind" is not a thing but rather a dynamic process. If form or materiality is only the interplay of the Four Great Elements (the major qualities and their derivatives) then mind or mentality is only the interplay of these four formless constituents of being. Together they comprise the Five Aggregates of Clinging.
This is a fancy way of saying that mental processes are interdependent: They interact with one another, arising based on a material (kama) and, more importantly, a fine-material (rupa) base.
With impingement on a physical and/or a fine-material base (which means impingement is not limited to the gross flesh we touch and are well aware of but rather to more subtle conceptions of form), there arises sensation (pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral). The brain, which is not the contents of the skull, is also a sense organ: It receives mental impressions not available to five ordinary senses.
Interestingly the development of "higher" faculties, what we commonly refer to as "psychic" abilities, depends in part on the physical base. The physical eye-base is responsible, when activated and developed, for clairvoyance, the ear clairaudience, and so on.
Of course, subtle sights and subtle sounds are not perceived through the eyes and ears. But they share a base of derived-materiality such that their subtle forms are discerned by the mind, a faculty capable of perception with a physical basis not in the cranium. But it is a matter of degree, for they are received in the same way, as impulses that eventually get processed in the brain like ordinary sights and sounds.
The base of consciousness is not in the head. The "mind door" is very specifically located in another part of the body, which cultures throughout the world have long known, but which we are led away from by modern neuroscience that increasingly focuses us to search above the neck.
But rather than thinking about, speculating on, or merely contemplating these things and whether they are true or not, it is far more useful to develop (bhavana) direct-knowledge (jnana). The Dharma is here for realization not for wholesome discussion, and especially not for unwholesome discussion. The Truth will not do a person good who does not put that Truth into practice as truth. To talk about it without practicing for realization is like reading a menu without ever eating.
This depth of Buddhist teaching is alive and well in Burma, which more than any other country, more so since it was blocked off from the world by a police state dictatorship, preserved, practiced, and developed the Abhidharma.
See in particular the freely available teachings of the modern enlightened Buddhist master Pa Auk Sayadaw, paauk.org. We cannot say nearly as much for the dominant Burmese dry-insight tradition advocated by Mahasi Sayadaw, which ignores the Buddha's emphasis on "right concentration," (samma-samadhi) defined by the Buddha as the development of the first four absorptions (dhyana) as the basis for successful insight (vipassana).
Zen Yogini Stephanie Churchill (totallyzen.com) What is "Zen"? Zen is a Japanese word derived from the Chinese word Chán, which itself is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which means jhana (absorption), "meditation," or "deep meditative state."
Meditation is the next layer to add to a yoga practice once one has become established in yoga postures and breathing.
Building a yoga practice bit by bit takes work, just like anything one really wants to succeed at in life. Indeed, yoga is a life skill. And in the hectic world we live in, meditation is as essential as yoga -- nurturing mind and body. They compliment each other. But in yoga the real work does not begin until one learns how to meditate.
Zen emphasizes experiential wisdom to attain enlightenment, de-emphasizing theoretical knowledge for direct realization through meditation and Dharma practice.
For then one can tap into internal as well as external energy. If everyone meditated there would be a lot less hostility in the world. This is how powerful, transformational, and crucial meditation can be to health and happiness for everyone. Just as there are many meditation methods, there are many yoga styles, with something to suit everyone.
Moments of time connected by nothing but breath and clear presence [or mindfulness of breathing and clear comprehension, as described in the Satipatthana Sutra] are the crux of meditation.
Finding things one might have lost along the way, meditation is engaged in to reconnect to source energy. Deep relaxation can be achieved by regular practice of meditation. Awareness of oneself [body, feelings, intentions, and mental states] and others can be cultivated by means of [fourfold mindfulness] meditation.
When we were babies we had no constant ticker tape of thoughts trailing our every move. We can return to that pure, innocent awareness. More>>
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