| | martin,
while assessment can be difficult, and the tone on the dh.o. at the moment is to be wary of claims of attainment and their assessments, i'm gonna go ahead and say that your description of the path leading up to and the moments after what you thought to be stream-entry, while vague and possibly indicative of other states and stages and stage shifts as well, so far sits well for me. not noticing fruitions regularly, at least in that beginning period, though, doesn't sit as well, but imo, that needn't be as strong a criterion for discernment as MCTB suggests. i know someone who thinks he actually >missed< his first path fruition, and only caught on after he noticed his first review one. i also know other people acknowledged by still others i know to be path-winners who just don't notice this stuff as much as dan. and tbh, i rarely do too - after it was clear to me it was happening on its own 1-2 times a day (took several weeks before i was satisfied), i just stopped taking notice. i've been considering starting a thread on this topic.
on another note, the silvery light no-sides and the broad pleasantness > sukkha afterward sounds like a strong a&p to me.
also, i want to add that i agree with what ed said about availability upon reflection being one way to determine if what you got that you thought was a path really is one - the understanding, confidence, and undeniability (or comical deniability) that a path confers is, as best i can tell, permanent. of course, there are other stages, like the a&p the first time through, or some of the early formless realms maybe, that could be described in similar terms, so that as the sole diagnostic criterion would be inadequate.
ultimately though, the point of path-winning is to improve your life. you are detecting clear changes? let's see if they're relevant tomorrow! onward! rarrr |