Jhanas
Non-returner
Third Jhana
Dhammakaya Anagami (Non-returner) and then a Refined Dhammakaya Anagami whose lap-width, height and sphere diameter measure up to thirty meters or more.
Basic Vijja Dhammakaya Meditation Practice:
It is not easy to attain the finer states of life, but it is also not so difficult as to be impossible. It requires peace of mind. Never become emotional or get agitated about anything. That is counter to good concentration of mind. You have to be cool and peaceful. Something good like Dhamma is high level. It always appears with the peaceful person, situation, and mind, never with an unpeaceful mind. The good things, the best things in life, will always come to the peaceful-minded person. If you cannot understand this, just let it pass for the moment. Listen to the rest of the instructions and do what you can.
The Meditation Posture.
Please sit in a regular meditation posture, cross-legged as seen in some images of the Buddha, with the right leg resting upon the left. The right hand rests on the left, palms turned upwards, right index finger just touching the left thumb. The body is upright and the mind fully alert. Take a deep breath and relax the body until you feel comfortable. Close your eyelids lightly, do not press them.
In basic samatha vipassana practice, two aids are used:
1. The repetitive word (parikamma-bhavana)
2. The object of visualization (parikamma-nimitta)
The repetitive words are Samma Arahang (for the correct pronunciation please open this sound file), and the object of visualization is a bright, clear, luminous sphere. Using these aids, we shall draw the mind inward along the path to the center of the body. Such concentration allows the mind components of vision, memory, thought and awareness to come together into oneness or ekaggataramana.
The Seven Positions of The Sphere On The Path To The Center of The Body
Position 1: The Nostril Aperture
Concentrate with your mind and visualize until there exists a vision of a bright and clear sphere. Let the sphere appear at your nostril, for ladies at the left nostril and for gentlemen at the right nostril. Fix your attention and rest your mind at the center of the sphere. This is a very bright and clear spot, the size of a grain of sand or needle point. Repeat the words “samma arahang” mentally three times to sustain the bright and clear sphere at the nostril. This is the first position at which your mind is focused.
Position 2: The Eye Socket
Next, mentally move the bright, clear sphere slowly up to rest at the eye socket - ladies to your left eye socket and gentlemen to your right eye socket. While you are slowly moving the sphere with your mind, fix your attention always at the small bright center of the sphere. As the sphere rests at your eye socket, repeat mentally the words “samma arahang” three times. This is the second position.
Position 3: The Center of the Head
Mentally shift the sphere slowly to rest at the center of your head in line with the eyes. Keep the mind constantly fixed at the bright center of the luminous sphere. Repeat to yourself the words “samma arahang” three times to keep the sphere as bright and clear as you can, so that it shines and remains in that position. This is the third position.
Position 4: The Palate Terminus
Roll your eye-balls upward without lifting your head, so that your vision will turn back and inside. Meanwhile, mentally move the luminous and transparent sphere slowly and directly downward toward the palate. Recite to yourself the words “samma arahang” three times, to make the sphere even brighter and clearer, and hold it there. This is the fourth position.
Position 5: The Throat Aperture
Mentally move the bright, clear sphere slowly and directly downward to rest at the throat aperture. Repeat the words “samma arahang” to yourself three times, to keep the sphere bright and clear and hold it steady. This is the fifth position.
Position 6: Center of the Body
Next, slowly move the clear, luminous sphere directly downward, while keeping your attention focused on the bright nucleus at its center. Bring the sphere to rest at the center of the body, where the breath ends, even with the navel. This is the sixth position. Mentally recite the words “samma arahang” three times to keep the transparent sphere bright and luminous, and to hold it steady.
Position 7: Position of Sphere
Now, shift the sphere directly upward about two finger-widths above the navel. This is the center of the body and the seventh position. This is the mind’s permanent resting place. Whenever a person or any other creature is born, dies, sleeps or wakens, the Dhamma Sphere which governs the body arises from this position. The Dhamma Sphere is composed of the Vision Sphere, the Memory Sphere, the Thought Sphere, and the Awareness Sphere. During meditation, the Dhamma Sphere appears to float from the sixth position up to the seventh position. The seventh position is also considered to be the center of the body.
Keep the bright, clear sphere resting at the center of the body in the seventh position. Mentally recite the words “samma arahang” continuously to keep the sphere still and make it become brighter and clearer. Concentrate so that the sphere shines continuously. Focus your mind at the bright center of the sphere, and at the bright center of each successive sphere that emerges. Pay no attention to any external sensation. Let your mind delve deeper and deeper into the successive centers as you recite “samma arahang”, the parikamma-bhavana. Even if ants are climbing all over you or mosquitoes are flying all around, pay no heed. Don’t even pay attention to following the breath.
Bring your mind to rest at the center of the center, by envisioning a bright sphere. Your mind should rest steadily and continuously at the center of the sphere. Do not force the mind too strongly. Over exerting the mind will cause a shift in your meditation and the mind will not be able to see.
Do not use your physical eyes to focus on the vision. The practice is only for your mind. Gently train your mind to see a bright, clear, steady sphere. Mentally observe and focus on the bright clear center. Concentrate on the center of each consecutive sphere that emerges from the preceding one. Do not wander to the left, right, front, rear, top or bottom. Always focus on the center of each new sphere which emerges from the bright shining center. Rest the mind there.
As the mind components of vision, memory, thought and awareness are drawn into oneness, they come to rest at the same center of the body. The meditator will notice a gradual decrease in response to external sensations. With proper concentration, the mind will then fall back to the sixth position.
Then, a bright, clear sphere will emerge at the seventh position. The sphere may be the size of an egg yolk. Smaller ones may look like a star in the sky. Large spheres may be as big as the sun or the moon. This is the sphere of pathama-magga, the preliminary sign of concentration. It is the first step towards the path (magga), fruit (phala), and nibbana. This is also known as the Dhamma Sphere, which makes the human body possible.
When this luminous and clear sphere appears, do not be overjoyed or over-react. If you do, the concentration (samadhi) could loosen and the sphere might disappear. Keep your mind evenly calm in equanimity (upekkha). Hold the mind still, without repeating the parikamma-bhavana (”samma arahang”). Once the sphere of pathama-magga is perceived, there is no need to continue this mental recitation.
Concentrate the mind at the small, luminous, clear center of the pathama-magga sphere. Five smaller spheres will appear within this sphere. One is concentric at the center. The others are in front, at the right, left, and behind, respectively.
These small spheres are the refined centers of the basic elements. In front is the water element, controlling fluids in bodily functions. To the right is the earth element, controlling solid parts. To the back lies the fire element dealing with the body’s temperature and heat. To the left is the wind element, controlling internal movements of gases. At the center is the space element, controlling the various gaps within the body. In the center of the space element is the cognitive element or vinnanadhatu which controls consciousness. Four thin bright, clear lines connect each of the circumferential spheres to the central sphere.
The pathama-magga sphere will appear as reflecting the physical, verbal and mental purification of the meditator. When the mind is at rest, concentrated at the seventh position, it allows all six refined elements to come into unison at this seventh position, the center, where the original dhatu-dhamma was generated.
Once this pathama-magga sphere can be observed, concentrate further at the center of the clear, luminous sphere. When the mind is still and in the right mode, the center will expand, giving rise in its place to a new, more luminous, clear and refined sphere of moral conduct (sila). Through this sphere, we can refine physical, verbal and mental deeds more efficiently and on a deeper level than through common morality. This is the pure sila of kammahana and can be regarded as adhisila or higher (purer) morality. When the mind can remain permanently in the center of this Sila Sphere, the physical, verbal and mental activities and their intentions will always be clean and pure. Higher morality (adhisila) goes together with higher mind (adhicitta), higher wisdom (adhipanya), emancipation (vimutti), and insight (vimutti-nanadassana) or the vision of truth from emancipation.
As the mind stays at rest, still and concentrated further into the center of the sphere of sila, and in the right mode, the center of the sphere will keep on expanding and in its place will appear a new, more luminous, clear and refined sphere of samadhi. This further refines physical, verbal and mental activities. When the mind rests still and deep in samadhi at this stage, it will destroy the Five Hindrances to the attainment of goodness: lust, malice, anxiety, sloth and doubt about practice. This is the commencement of the first state of absorption (pathama-jhana). The mind is now gentle enough for insight practice (vipassana) to develop the wisdom (panya) to know correctly and clearly the Truth of Dhamma. Hence, it is called the adhicitta or higher mind.
Concentrate further and rest still at the center of the center of the Sphere of Samadhi. With the mind at rest, still, and in the right mode, the previous center will expand and a new, more luminous, clear Sphere of Panya will appear in its place.
Similarly, with the mind resting still, concentrated at the center of the Panya Sphere, the Sphere of Vimutti (emancipation) emerges. Let the mind adhere to the center of the Vimutti Sphere, keeping it always luminous and clear. This will destroy the crude desires belonging to human beings such as greed, vengeance and wrong point-of-view.
Hold your mind at rest in the center of the center of the Vimutti Sphere. When the mind is in the right mode, the Sphere of Vimutti-Nanadassana will appear. Concentrate the mind further, resting still at the center of the center of the Vimutti-Nanadassana Sphere.
With the right mode of mind, the center will expand and a Refined Human Form or Panita-Manussakaya will emerge from this center. The Refined Human Form appears identical to the meditator, but is finer than the ordinary form. It sits in the regular meditation posture, facing the same direction as the meditator.
Panita Manussakaya { Refined Human Body }
In some cases, a clear crystal Buddha appears with a crown of budding lotus. The Buddha is beautiful, pure, and perfect. This is Dhammakaya.
Dibbakaya
Crude Celestial Body
Rupabrahmakaya
Crude Form Brahman Body
Anita Rupabrahmakaya
Refined Form Brahman Body
Arupabrahmakaya
Crude Formless Brahman Body
Panita Arupabrahmakaya
Refined Formless Brahman Body
(panita-kaya) is observed, concentrate with all your mind to assume or become such a form (kaya). As the centers of all kayas are concentric, the mind is now right at the center of the new kaya. Concentrate until both the sphere and the kaya are bright and clear. The mind now rests still at the center of the nucleus of the new sphere, so that it is all bright and clear. As new spheres are observed, proceed in the same manner as before through the new spheres of sila, samadhi, panya, vimutti, and vimutti-nanadassana.
The mind now rests still at the center of the small bright nucleus of the sphere of vimutti-nanadassana. Then the nucleus will expand and a new refined form (panita-kaya) will be observed. Dibbakaya arises. When the refined body, panita-dibbakaya arises, detach all your feeling from the present body to assume or become the newly refined one. Concentrate all your attention at the center until the spheres of dhamma, sila, samadhi, panya, vimutti, and vimutti-nanadassana are observed successively.
Dhammakaya-Gotrabhu
Continue to repeat the same procedure for further mental purification through subsequent spheres and kaya. Whenever there rises a more refined body, detach your feeling from the present body and assume or become the new refined one. Concentrate your attention at the center until the spheres of dhamma, sila, samadhi, panya, vimutti, and vimutti-nanadassana are observed.
The rupabrahmakaya appears next, then panita-rupabrahmakaya. Next comes arupabrahmakaya, followed by panita-arupabrahmakaya. Finally, Dhammakaya-Gotrabhu (i.e., wisdom through which a Noble State is developed) is attained and seen. The lapwidth, height and sphere diameter are each nine meters (10 yards). Dhammakaya appear like diamond Buddha statues, crowned with a budding lotus. They are luminous, radiant and as clear as a pure, perfect, first-rate diamond. As you continue to concentrate at the center of the center, more and more refined, purer and purer, larger and larger Dhammakaya will be observed. Follow the same procedure described for previous kaya, concentrating through successive spheres until the next body appears..
he following Dhammakaya will be attained:
Dhammakaya Gotrabhu (Noble-state Wisdom) and then a Refined Dhammakaya Gotrabhu whose lap-width, height and sphere diameter are all nine meters or more.
Dhammakaya Sota (Stream-winner) and then a Refined Dhammakaya Sota whose lap-width, height and sphere diameter are ten meters or more.
Dhammakaya Sakadagami (Once-returner) and then a Refined Dhammakaya Sakadagami whose lap-width, height and sphere diameter are twenty meters or more.
Dhammakaya Anagami (Non-returner) and then a Refined Dhammakaya Anagami whose lap-width, height and sphere diameter measure up to thirty meters or more.
Dhammakaya Arahatta (Perfect One) and then a Refined Dhammakaya Arahatta whose lap-width, height and sphere diameter extend up to forty meters or more.
With all of your mind, become the more and more refined Dhammakaya Arahatta. Rest your mind and keep it still, right at the center of the sphere of the most refined Dhammakaya Arahatta that you can attain. Hold steady until you reach ayatana nibbana, the place or sphere where the most refined Dhammakaya Arahatta can exist in the highest perfection. This is where the arahantas and Lord Buddhas whose Five Aggregates or khandhas have passed away exist forever. It is also called anupadisesa-nibbana or nibbana without residue.
One who has attained Dhammakaya has developed mindful contemplation of physical body, feelings, mental functions and phenomena (dhamma). He or she can cut at least three fetters (sa yojana): the wrong view of perceiving a “self” in the Five Khandhas (sakkayaditthi), uncertainty (vicikiccha), and useless or wrong ritual practices and vows (silabbata paramasa). This meditator can then become a Noble One.
Stages of Sainthood in Theravada Buddhism
| STAGE | FETTERS TO BE ABANDONED |
| Stream-Enterer
(Sotopana) |
(1) Realisation that there is no essence in the 5 heaps of body and mind (body, emotion & mind).
(2) To be convinced that rites and rituals do not lead to enlightenment. (3) To believe in the Buddha and His teaching.
|
| Once-Returner
(Sagadagami) |
(4) Partial Eradication of Craving and Hatred. |
| Non-Returner
(Anagami)
|
(5) Complete Eradication of Craving and Hatred. |
| Sainthood
(Arahant) |
(6) Eradicate attachment to the realms of subtle forms.
(7) Eradicate attachments to the formless realms. (8) Subdue restlessness of the mind. (9) Annihilate ego-conceit. (10)Destruction of ignorance.
|