| This is a 5 minute piece in which Bhante Vimalaramsi reads a sutta that describes the highest meditation levels or "Jhanas" (referred to as "stations" in the Sutta").
The Majjhima Nikaya (Middle Length Sayings) teach that there are 8 Jhanas, otherwise known as levels of understanding. From the 4th Jhana upwards, there is only mind, which gets successively calmer as each level is passed. Finally at the 8th Jhana of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception there is only a small amount of vibration left.
The very last level, the cessation of perception and feeling ("9th Jhana in some texts"), before the experience of Nibbana , is where there is a cessation of any awareness or perception at all. When the mind comes back "on" from this experience, Dependent Origination is seen and Nibbana is experienced.
It is said that once a person experiences Nibbana they can, at will, experience this state (Nirodha Samapatti). Bhante Vimalaramsi spent some time studying with Dipa Ma in India and describes an experience that he witnessed while he was there.
Bhante Vimalaramsi has 30 years of experience and has studied with all the major teachers in the world. However, he found that most teachers were not educating students in the exact method in which the Suttas' teach. These teachers ignore a very important step, which makes your practice go extremely fast and deep. Please see the video Four Foundations of mindfulness for more information.
For more information also please check www.dhammasukha.org which is Bhante's site.
DVDs of Bhante Vimalaramsi's talks and other items including audio snippets/podcasts of his talks may be found at http://begintosee.googlepages.com |
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