Greetings Jhana Friends

[trjones]

Stopping by to say hello to you all, fellow mystics and jhana friends. I am happy to have found a place to touch bases with others who have endeavored to walk the 8fold path. People call me Trevor. My life has been a perpetual spiritual quest, first beginning with many charismatic experiences with Christianity, and then discovering the teachings of the Buddha a few years ago. I joined a Zen center but had to leave after they told me jhana was the devil's cave, the Abbot kept teaching against "Hinayana" and his wife the Abbess told me I was a glutton for reading the original suttas.

When I first attained Jhana it was absolutely rapturous, blissful, and joyful with sensations all over my body. Since then all of those experiences have become more subtle and refined, with my body completely disappearing from awareness every time I sit.

I am currently working as a Buddhist chaplain for a hospice organization, helping people die with peace and ease. I have a Master's degree in Theology and I quit a PhD program to settle for a second Master's degree in Philosophy and Religion. It was during this latter degree that I read the teachings of the Buddha and converted instantly. He is the spiritual teacher I have spent my entire life looking for.

I am only here to share and learn and I feel so radically privileged to have been blessed with Jhana and to find a forum to chat with others that have too. The spiritual quest can be overwhelmingly isolating as it is difficult to share these experiences with those whom the Buddha called "run-of-the-mill" people. Happy to be here with you all and look forward to more interaction.

Full peace my friends.

[Jhanananda]

Stopping by to say hello to you all, fellow mystics and jhana friends. I am happy to have found a place to touch bases with others who have endeavored to walk the 8fold path. People call me Trevor. My life has been a perpetual spiritual quest, first beginning with many charismatic experiences with Christianity, and then discovering the teachings of the Buddha a few years ago.

Welcome Trevor.  We all come from different sources.  Many of us passed through Christianity to Buddhism and beyond in jhana.

I joined a Zen center but had to leave after they told me jhana was the devil's cave, the Abbot kept teaching against "Hinayana" and his wife the Abbess told me I was a glutton for reading the original suttas.

Classic symptoms of a corrupt religion.

When I first attained Jhana it was absolutely rapturous, blissful, and joyful with sensations all over my body. Since then all of those experiences have become more subtle and refined, with my body completely disappearing from awareness every time I sit.

It sounds like you are consistently getting to the 4th jhana or beyond.

I am currently working as a Buddhist chaplain for a hospice organization, helping people die with peace and ease. I have a Master's degree in Theology and I quit a PhD program to settle for a second Master's degree in Philosophy and Religion. It was during this latter degree that I read the teachings of the Buddha and converted instantly. He is the spiritual teacher I have spent my entire life looking for.

Yes, the suttas are a dramatic departure from most mainstream forms of Buddhism.

I am only here to share and learn and I feel so radically privileged to have been blessed with Jhana and to find a forum to chat with others that have too. The spiritual quest can be overwhelmingly isolating as it is difficult to share these experiences with those whom the Buddha called "run-of-the-mill" people. Happy to be here with you all and look forward to more interaction.

Full peace my friends.

Thanks for joining the forum and sharing.  Becoming a mystic can be very isolating, so that is why I started this forum.  I look forward to reading your contributions here.

[trjones]

Thank you for the warm welcome and starting this forum, Jhananda. it is appreciated.

I am not sure I am getting beyond the 4th Jhana quite yet, but I know I have tasted some formless state (possibly Nibbana) at least once. It was the single most amazing experience of my life and I know why the Buddha refers to Nibbana in the Suttas as "the Amazing and the Wonderful"(SN 43). It only lasted for a few brief moments, but I was sitting in Jhana and it felt like my mind moved out and up into an indescribable dimension that was simultaneously nothing and everything I have ever wanted to the 100th power. I remember my mind saying unconsciously "This is everything I have ever wanted." It was absolutely incredible beyond words; perfection. But as soon as my mind realized I had stopped breathing I immediately came back down into Jhana. Since then I have been meditating multiple times daily with essentially the sole intention of getting back to that place/plane/realm. I will say that my life feels almost completely at peace since then, only agitated here and there by whatever lingering fetters I still have (feels like the last 5 are still functional).

Jhananda I would welcome any feedback/insight you may have about this. I am finding it increasingly difficult to function in society. All of my responsibilities are stressful.

[Jhanananda]

Jhananda I would welcome any feedback/insight you may have about this. I am finding it increasingly difficult to function in society. All of my responsibilities are stressful.

In my experience I found going back to the bliss, joy and ecstasy of deep meditation (samadhi) leads to profound fulfillment; however, one still have the problem of subsistence, which has the nature of dukkha (suffering, stress, anxiety, and struggle) surrounding it.  By simplifying our lifestyle we can reduce the suffering, stress, anxiety, and struggle of subsistence, while maximizing our time in deep meditation (samadhi).