>
>So these first 3 similes are really cool, but then we
>get to the 4th jhana: ... just as if a man were
>sitting wrapped from head to foot with a white cloth
>so that there would be no part of his body to which
>the white cloth did not extend.
>
>=========================
>
>Does anyone else find that simile kind of
>disappointing? From the simile, all I can picture for
>the 4th jhana is a cartoon mummy,

I guess the point is that the experience is subtler, so rather than
experiencing a pervading pleasurable sensation, now there is an
absence of sensation. It's neither pleasurable nor painful. The point
of the simile would have to do with being in this clean soft casing
that stops both pleasant and unpleasant sensations. Perhaps this is
the angle from which to view the simile (from the inside of the
cloth) rather than from outside looking at the 'mummy'.

But I'm just guessing.