thank you again,
I read your blog at the link you provided and I want to encourage you to continue to work with the GWV forum and give advice to people like myself, because I find it to be very helpful and encouraging when help and proper guidance seems nowhere to be found.
Hello again, nkrivosh, and welcome. Yes, even though the New Age movement has made many meditation teachers rich and famous, I too found so little skilled guidance as a seeker of enlightenment in this very lifetime. It seems to few are interested in enlightenment in this very lifetime, even though there are many who claim to meditate.
I do practice meditation daily and try hard to apply what I learn and change my lifestyle to one which will yield highest realization. Your forum is very large and the GWV site has so much info that I hope you are not answering questions which have been answered many times on your site. For now, I think you have answered most of what I really needed, but I want to ask you a few more questions.
You are asking some questions that have been asked before. I do not get tired of answering same questions over and over gain to sincere contemplatives and seekers of enlightenment in this very lifetime, because that is my job, and I like it.
What is boring for me is to have developed a website, and launched several forums for people to discuss their meditation experiences and have almost no one ask the questions that need to be asked. I think the fact that there are so few sincere contemplatives and seekers of enlightenment in this very lifetime engaged in dialog on this forum, is because there are so few sincere contemplatives and seekers of enlightenment in this very lifetime. Most people are content with pretending to be seekers. That pretense of seeking is what typifies organized religion and the New Age movement.
Throughout your posts in different places you call yourself "sotapana Jhanananda" or "anagami" and latest "arahatta". So now assuming that you are an Arahant, do you understand these stages experiencially?
Yes, I understand these stages as they are described in the suttas, and from personal experience. I went through the stages of using those terms for myself, because just coming out and calling myself an Arahant/arahatta, when I was demonized by the priests of the 3 vehicles of Buddhism for just reporting my meditation experiences to them in private, would have just given them more reasons to demonize me. So, I started the announcement of my level of attainment at the lowest stage to see how it went, and to bring back the use of terms that had fallen out of use in the 3 vehicles of Buddhism, along with the term 'jhana.'
When I announced myself as a stream winner (sotapana) I was horribly demonized. Now, it is common for people to call themselves sotapana, or Sakadágámi, or anagami or even arahatta, when they clearly have no idea what jhana is.
The suttas do not seem to link levels of samadhi with the 4 stages of attainment; however, I have found there is a definite link. For good reasons the suttas define the levels of attainment with a reduction in the hindrances and fetters, which I believe is a good practice; however, I have found that reduction in the hindrances and fetters is directly related to levels of mastery over the 4 stages of jhana.
The first stage of noble attainment is "stream winner" (sotapana). The attainment of the stream winner is essentially finding the first jhana consistently. The "stream" being the religious experience (jhana/samadhi).
Attaining the first jhana is based upon the basic behavioral changes required to become a contemplative, which is leading a disciplined life, which is essentially avoiding unwholesome thoughts and behaviors, while also engaging in the practice of meditation.
Eventually one who leads a contemplative life finds some fulfillment in it, which is faith, bliss, and joy, while also finding a reduction in the 1st 3 fetters: Narcissism & clan identification (sakkaya-ditthi), Skeptical doubt (vicikiccha), and Clinging to rules, rights and rituals (silabbata-paramasa).
The second stage of noble (Arya) attainment is "once returner" (Sakadágámi). This person will have moved beyond meditating only once a week to daily meditation practice, and beyond meditation techniques, to the stilling of the mind; therefore this contemplative will have eradicated the 1st 3 fetters and weakened the 4th and 5th fetters: erotic craving (kama-raga) & Ill-will or aversion (vyapada).
The third stage of noble (Arya) attainment is "Non-return" (Anágámi). This person will have moved beyond meditating only once a day to meditating 2 or 3 times a day, and from 20 minute meditation sits to hour-long meditation sits, and beyond meditation techniques, and beyond the stilling of the mind, to deep equanimity during meditation; therefore this contemplative has eradicated the first five fetters.
The fourth stage of noble (Arya) attainment is "enlightened mystic" (Arahatta). This person will have moved beyond meditating only twice a day to meditating as often as possible, which would be 6 or more times a day, and from 1-hour meditation sits to 2 hour-long meditation sits, and beyond meditation techniques, and beyond the stilling of the mind, and deep equanimity during meditation, to feeling as thought they could meditate for ever; therefore this contemplative has has eradicated all 10 fetters, plus: Craving for material existence (rupa-raga), Craving for immaterial existence (arupa-raga), Conceit (mana), Restlessness (uddhacca), & Ignorance (avija).
Beyond these noble (araya) attainments, are those who meditate all night long instead of losing consciousness during the sleep cycle. This person will most likely have realized that the entire fabric of all civilizations that have ever existed is totally and completely corrupt. They will have nothing to do with the corruption and would just as soon head off into the wilderness to be eaten by wild animals, than spend another minute with the completely insane, deludes, addicted, morons that make up civilization. However, these people are compelled to rescue as many people from this insanity as they can, so they will happily dance to the gallows if it would save just one more person. Every religions has a concept of such people. Some of the terms they are call are: Buddha, Messiah, Christ, Prophet, Avatar, etc.
I ask in order to understand how I can know what stage I am at. I think I am at least a Sotapana, maybe higher, but I wouldn't want to believe falsely, having convinced myself due to wishful thinking. Do you, as an Arahat, have the ability to determine other peoples levels of attainment? I realize that knowing ones level of attainment may not actually matter, because only at the last stage is the path complete, and I must work until I attain it.
Yes, I can help people understand what level of attainment they are on. I see this as an important part of my work, because to make progress we need validation so that we can move on. Just because one maybe an Sotapana now does not mean such a person could not become an Arahat, or Buddha later.
And one more question, - many mystics/yogis/hermits according to the stories I have read or heard, have died seemingly at will. They entered Samadhi and never returned. One Indian Yogi who I havent met but listened to through youtube videos Jaggi Vasudev, claims to know the technique of dying at the time of ones choosing, through Samadhi, resulting in Moksha. In your blog, you speak of your physical problems and difficulties, and consider being eaten by a mountain lion. Wouldn't death through Samadhi be preferable? what are your thoughts on Maha-Samadhi – death through meditation…
Well, I too have heard that people can just enter samadhi and never come back. In fact one of the terms for death in Sanskrit is 'samadhi'. It is often called the :"final religious experience" or "maha-samadhi."
However, if this were true, then there would have been no reason for arahats to have committed suicide in the suttas. And, there are references in the suttas to hundreds of the Buddhas disciples committed suicide and some of them were recognized by him as arahats.
We could also look at the cause of Siddhartha Gautama's death and show that his death was suicide, not just lying down and dying, when he knowingly ate food that was tainted, then he went on a last round of visiting villages, while not dranking any water, when he was 80 years old.
When I found that I was demonized for my attainments by my meditation teachers, and fellow contemplatives, and there were so few interested in deep meditation, and no community where deep contemplatives were welcome to live and meditate, then I decided that there was no reason for me to remain in this body. So, I started meditating at night to death.
I would lay my head down, and meditate all night long into the immaterial domains with no intention of coming back. I found meditating with this level of complete abandonment produced the deepest meditation experiences; however, every morning I found I would return to this body. So, my conclusion is, as long as this body lives, I will have to return to it.
