Visuddhimagga and Meditation

**dreaming90** · 29th July 2012, 02:14 PM

Free pdf version of an English translation of the Visuddhimagga here:

Click me

Page 139 is the start of Section II on samadhi (concentration). Full of excellent meditation advice and the eight jhanas. OBEs and other psychic powers come about in the fourth jhana.

Have fun!

**SoulSail** · 29th July 2012, 03:11 PM

Nice. Now if only I could get past the second jhana, not that I'm complaining...it's a wonderful state.

Thanks for sharing!

Soul

**CFTraveler** · 29th July 2012, 06:33 PM

Thanks. It's on my list.

**dreaming90** · 30th July 2012, 01:41 AM

Originally Posted by SoulSail

Nice. Now if only I could get past the second jhana, not that I'm complaining...it's a wonderful state.

Thanks for sharing!

Soul

According to Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, the higher concentration states are a downhill battle after obtaining the first jhana. Here's a juicy tidbit on the third jhana:

If the meditator decides to go on to the third jhana, then just cultivating the second state more deeply and noticing that the rapture or emotional “wow factor” of that state eventually becomes annoying can cause the mind to eventually abandon this state and shift into the third jhana.

In this state, the rapture drops away, and what is left is more cool “bodily” bliss and equanimity with a lot of mindfulness of what is going on. (It must be noted that it is possible to be so deeply into any jhana, even the first jhana, that the sense of the body is quite vague, distorted or even entirely absent, so this must be kept in mind when reading these descriptions.)

This book is free in wiki form, it's a great read:

http://www.dharmaoverground.org/web/...411_title=MCTB

Perhaps I'm not one to talk, as I've barely begun getting grips with access concentration...

**SoulSail** · 30th July 2012, 02:25 AM

Originally Posted by dreaming90

Perhaps I'm not one to talk, as I've barely begun getting grips with access concentration...

I'm with you. No matter how much progress I make, the mind is so tricky and powerful that if I'm not vigilant, I slip right back to step one: just working to carve out a few minutes of thought-free awareness.

These are great links. Thanks for sharing!

Soul