Avi Craimer:
I am currently working on seeing clearly the sensations involved in space, volume, place, time, and so on, following the instructions for late 3rd path. I’ve gotten momentary dissolving of these sensations into impermanence. As yet I still haven’t seen with great clarity how the illusion of space is generated, but it seems like I’m making solid progress on this.
I have several questions about what happens when the final “knot” is untied.
-Is the knot untying a one time event that is strictly irreversible, or is it something that one experiences in a more partial and temporary way before it stabilizes?
-After the knot unties, is there disorientation? a strong afterglow? an adjustment period? If it were to happen in the midst of everyday life, would there be a temporary disruption of the ability to function normally? If so, how intense a disruption could there be and how long would in generally last? Are there any strategies for coping with the disruption/disorientation that it might cause?
I ask this because I like to be prepared ahead of time for possible disruptive side-effects of insight. I’ve had enough of them to know that not being prepared usually makes any challenging side-effects much worse. Also, if somewhere in the back of my mind I’m worried about/anticipating the unknown possible effects of such a radical and permanent shift in how I perceive reality, this alone might be hold me back from taking the final step.
Thanks,
Avi
Hi Avi,
I haven't attained 4th path, but here's my take:
MCTB refers to the 'wisdom eye' opening at the attainment of 4th path, meaning the field of experience is totally unified without any division between self/other or perceiver/perceived. This so-called "wisdom eye" isn't experienced in a partial way, but it can be temporary, meaning some fragmentary self-delusion comes back for short periods of time before disappearing again. I don't remember where, but I believe Vincent Horn also referenced his 4th path awareness coming and going (I think for a few days, but I'm not certain) before finally stabilizing.
In pragmatic dharma circles, I've never heard an account of this attainment in which it's said to be destabilizing. In
The End of Your World, Adyashanti does mention that enlightenment experiences can cause adjustment problems for some people, but I haven't encountered this anywhere else, and I'm not sure whether Adyashanti was referring to the final enlightenment experience or the first (i.e. stream-entry).
If you've had time to play around with entering nirodha-samapatti, you'll have noticed the following characteristics of the emergence:
"'When a monk has emerged from the cessation of perception & feeling, lady, how many contacts make contact?'
'When a monk has emerged from the cessation of perception & feeling, friend Visakha, three contacts make contact: contact with emptiness, contact with the signless, & contact with the undirected.'[2]
'When a monk has emerged from the cessation of perception & feeling, lady, to what does his mind lean, to what does it tend, to what does it incline?'
'When a monk has emerged from the cessation of perception & feeling, friend Visakha, his mind leans to seclusion, tends to seclusion, inclines to seclusion...'[3]
...
2. Emptiness, the signless, & the undirected are names for a state of concentration that lies on the threshold of Unbinding. They differ only in how they are approached. According to the commentary, they color one's first apprehension of Unbinding: a meditator who has been focusing on the theme of inconstancy will first apprehend Unbinding as signless; one who has been focusing on the theme of stress will first apprehend it as undirected; one who has been focusing on the theme of not-self will first apprehend it as emptiness.
3. According to the commentary, "seclusion" here stands for Unbinding. On emerging from the cessation of perception & feeling, and having had contact with emptiness/the signless/the undirected, the mind inclines naturally to a direct experience of Unbinding." (
Culavedalla Sutta)
I believe this extremely clear and unsullied perception of the three characteristics is a close approximation of moment-to-moment experience after 4th path, with the so-called 'wisdom eye' fully open. Playing around with nirodha-samapatti might give you a taste of what you'll experience at 4th path, so you can see whether you find it disorienting or not. Instructions for entering nirodha-samapatti can be found in
this MCTB appendix chapter.
I only partially agree with footnote 3 above. NS leads to a desire for physical seclusion or solitude as well as an inclination toward fruition(s). And after 4th path I expect you'll desire seclusion to examine & reflect on the new mode of experience, and enjoy the fruits of ongoing mindfulness, but that doesn't mean you'll be too disoriented to work or drive a car.
I don't recommend making special plans for the 4th path attainment unless you expect to be on retreat for a year-plus knowing you'll make progress and that you're likely to hit 4th path. As a side note, Daniel told me that 3rd-to-4th took at least 28 full insight cycles for him. The number of cycles from 3rd-to-4th will vary from person to person, just like 2nd-to-3rd can be one cycle or multiple cycles depending on the individual. That number isn't in MCTB and it's been useful for me planning my 3rd-to-4th practice schedule, so it seemed worth mentioning.