Friday, July 1, 2011

Comments/Advice on Sis.Libby's Experience

"In my busy life, I do all my activities very fast ...I tried not to look around as I know that if my eyes see things on account of that seeing, some thoughts will come......"
Even in daily life whenever there is no need to rush, it would be good to slow down a bit so we can be more mindful of our activities. It is good not to look around in a retreat, as it helps to cut down the distractions but in daily life one needs to learn also to be mindful of looking around when it happens. For monks they have to go for almsround daily so this is a very important skill. They cannot walk for alms without looking at all.
"I experienced the rising falling like a very big wave going up and down.. I could not handle it because that was very fast...."
The primary object you are watching becomes clearer/stronger as your mindfulness and concentration improves but because your mind is not yet calm enough it appears as if you cannot follow. Later on when calmness develops, your notings become more precise ie.noting mind lands accurately on the object so the object and penetrates it so it seems to have become more subtle and finally disappears. This is because your noting mind follows it even more closely such that you no longer see a starting and ending point. So to you, R and F is no longer discernible. This is a good experience as it is a sign of progress.
"Another clear experience was the momentary itchiness on my head. It came suddenly .. As soon as I noted it disappeared....This went on for a few times. The itchiness always disappear whenever i noted it and I felt like it was challenging me.I just know I noted it when it came and it disappeared promptly....."
If the objects disappear quickly the moment you direct your mind towards it to note it, and you know clearly that it has vanished it means your noting mind is very strong and swift. The object also disappears on the same spot it arose.
"I noted my lungs/chest going outward and inward, and my diaphragm moving up and down when I breathe in and breathe out.."
This is ok if you aware and the noticing of the movements happened automatically. Sometimes when we are very calm these movements seem to be very strong. After a few moments of noting it or just as you are aware, it disappears and other objects will come up in the mind.
"Lastly I had a very strange experience. I saw my head (float) .... Strangely I was aware all the time that I was still sitting there watching all this happening...."
This is a strong mental vision which can happen when the mind is calm and concentrated but mindfulness is weak. It came up and stayed for a while because of unwise attention (ayoniso manasikara). Some yogis have this vision of seeing a ‘double’ too or perceiving oneself as outside the body.
Did you notice that the mind is actually quite calm when this happened? There was no feeling of alarm/fear right? Was there some interest on seeing this vision? It seems to be strange to you as it is not logical and to others it may sound eerie or frightening. Some will think it is just your imagination running wild. It is not a result of the thinking process. Most of the visions that appear when we practise vipassana are creations/projections of the mind which could be stirred up by our latent defilements (anusaya).To put it simply, it is a product of our subconscious mind that means it was not created consciously.It is important not to identify with this vision or to try to figure out the significance of it. The correct attitude is to just to note it as “seeing” to establish mindfulness again and it will fade away. If it still persists then ignore it and resume noting the primary object.
I read somewhere about a monk who had a similar but even more bizarre experience. He saw his head roll off from his body and landed in front of him. He was still sitting there looking at it. He continued staring at it and it decomposed right in front of him until there was only the skull left with the teeth still intact.
However we cannot dismiss all visions as products of imagination. Some visions are signs of attainment of concentration as in Samatha Meditation. It can also be a real life scene for one who develops the psychic power (abhina) of clairvoyance. I will not deal with this here.
Yes, you are right. according to the Buddha, other things like our material possessions which we call our property can be taken away by the 5 enemies but merits/parami from our practice follow us all the time while we sojourn in Samsara. That is why we call it our real property.

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