Dear Frank & Lars,

I think that the "mummy wrap", esp being pure white and bright represents
the "pure bright mind" mentioned in the Anguttara, where it is said:

The mind is (by nature) bright, but is soiled by external defilements.

Sukhi.

Piya

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lars Siebold" <khandha5@...>
To: <Pali@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, 31 March, 2003 1:33 AM
Subject: Re: [Pali] Re: similes for 4 jhanas


> > [fk:] manomaya-kaaya = mind-illusion-body?
>
> mind-made-body. Maybe he also refers to the dibba-kaaya - the "heavenly
> body" (he just uses the word "mental body").
>
> >
> > I don't completely disagree with Hecker, but my
> > opinion is that [coarser] sense-desires have to be let
> > go of before one can even begin to feel or hope to
> > achieve the [more refined and subtle] mental and
> > physical happiness that suffuses the entire volume of
> > the body in the first jhana, because otherwise the
> > mental agitation that accompanies craving for coarser
> > sense pleasures would preclude the deep relaxation
> > that seems necessary for the pleasant side effects of
> > jhanic absorption to arise . It's not only buddhist
> > meditation, but from doing taiji, qigong, yoga, when
> > the mind and body become completely relaxed, breathing
> > becomes slow, subtle, deep, relaxed, it feels like the
> > breath itself is suffusing the entire volume of the
> > body, unimpeded, and sometimes accompanied with
> > pleasant physical body happiness.
> >
>
> I think he refers to driving sense-desire out for good. Certainly the
first
> jhana already is "secluded from sense-pleasures" but they can return
> afterwards. (There are some similes about this somewhere, but I don't
know where.)
>
> > That's why the details of the first two jhana similes
> > seem to correspond to physical experience of the
> > jhana, and this is why I'm puzzled by the lack of
> > detail of the 4th jhana simile. For one thing, a mummy
> > would feel the white cloth only on the surface of the
> > body, unlike the complete suffusion through the entire
> > volume of the body as with the first 3 jhanas.
> >
>
> The text continues: "...even so, the monk sits, permeating his body with a
> pure, bright awareness. There is nothing of his entire body unpervaded by
> pure, bright awareness." (pure bright awareness = parisuddhena cetasaa
> pariyodaatena)
> I would take this to mean that the "pure, bright awareness" completely
> suffuses the body, so that one can only percieve that awarness, as if the
body
> would be wraped in it (like everything filled with light, so bright that
it
> outshines everything).
> Maybe somebody else has some thoughts on this?
>
> Lars
>
> --
> +++ GMX - Mail, Messaging & more http://www.gmx.net +++
> Bitte lächeln! Fotogalerie online mit GMX ohne eigene Homepage!
>
>
>
> Paaliga.na - a community for Pali students
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
> Yahoo! Groups members can set their delivery options to daily digest or
web only.
> [Homepage] http://www.tipitaka.net
> [Send Message] pali@yahoogroups.com
> [Mailing List] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pali
> [Discussion] http://tipitaka.suddenlaunch.com
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
>