Hello Bagpuss,
What I'm about to explain is a bit advanced for your current level of insight realization, yet maybe some of it will help shed some light on what is occurring, now and in future sits.
The short answer to your original question is: Yes, intense
piti is a dead end. Very insightful of you to arrive at that conclusion!
To my way of viewing things in meditation practice, it's best if one can obtain the mature view of what is occurring in order to better understand those circumstances as they are happening, and thus be able to naturally adapt oneself to them and not be tempted to go off on some wild tangent. If someone had been able to explain to me what this practice was all about from a mature standpoint of some of the things to expect as the practice and insight matured, it may not have taken me two or three or four years to realize what was important about my perception of the sensations and processes that I was experiencing.
Piti is only one factor in what people have come to conceptualize as the practice of "jhana." Once you have verified that
vitakka and
vicara are present, then
piti and
sukha are able to arise naturally on their own. You should realize that this is only ONE method for entering into what has been termed an "absorption state." The amount of the absorption depends upon how focused one
is on
the object (like the breath, for example) that one has taken.
So, once you begin to experience
piti, you can be assured that you have entered what is called "the first jhana."
In order to proceed to the second, third, and fourth levels of "jhana" the mind needs to become more and more calm, meaning less and less agitated. This is accomplished through the gradual elimination of the "jhana" factors, ending in mindfulness (
sati) and equanimity (
upekkha) in the fourth level. Sometimes people can perceive this process happening as it is occurring, and other times (especially when mindfulness is low) it is difficult for them to perceive these transitions. Don't be too concerned if you are not able to verify these transitions in the beginning (meaning as you are beginning to learn about entering "jhana"). Just focus on following whatever object of meditation you have chosen (like the breath) in order to deepen the calm and lose the agitation of
piti and
sukha.
Bagpuss The Gnome:
This piti (akin to the feeling of joy in the body, like a force that pervades the entire body-mind) will if taken as the object grow in intensity, then level off, then grow again. It can continue like this for quite some time.
So, rather than focusing on intensifying
piti, what you
should be doing is focusing
on the object you have chosen for meditation (like the breath). Let
piti and
sukha take care of themselves. You don't need to focus on them at all. Only to the extent that you can recognize them occurring, and
even that isn't all that necessary when you are first beginning to learn. Your intent should be on calming
all mental processes down so that you can reach fourth "jhana." It is from fourth "jhana" that all good things can begin to happen in terms of insight arising. See? This truth hasn't sunk in yet. But further on, you acknowledge that you
have accomplished this
without realizing it! Bagpuss The Gnome:
Here's some additional notes of interest:
- As per Buddhadasa's suggestions in his book "Mindfulness of Breathing" I have tried to see both the charm and the unsatisfactoriness in piti. This has resulted in it fading away to be replaced by a cooler, more peaceful experience of pleasant contentment that I believe to be sukkha. At this non absorbed kind of level this is not thought-free, but it is very peaceful and sustainable and far less agitated.
This is precisely what I have just explained above. Also, your perception is wrong! Rather than being a "non absorbed kind of level," this is
in fact an
absorbed level. You have to be in the first jhana in order to be able to perceive
piti, which is one of the four factors present in the first jhana, the other factors being
vitakka,
vicara, and
sukha.
Vitakka and
vicara drop out in the second jhana.
Piti drops out in the third jhana, leaving
sukha. Then
sukha drops out as you attain the fourth level, where you should be cultivating mindfulness and equanimity.
Bagpuss The Gnome:
- On one occasion a week or so back I did manage to take piti to it's (for me) highest level. What happened did not finish happening but seemed to be a kind of absorption as the body mostly faded away and the entire experience seemed to become the anapana spot. It's an incomplete experience.
No! That
was the complete experience. You just didn't realize it. That
is what you should have been aiming at achieving!
Bagpuss The Gnome:
- I practiced "all sense doors" on retreat recently during walking in the grounds. First watching the breath, then adding hearing, seeing, touching etc. At it's height it was an very pleasant experience that led to some small insights as I walked.
This is, again, what I was referring to above when I said that you
hadn't realized what you had actually achieved! You're THERE. The next question you should be asking yourself is: Now that I'm here, what am I going to do with it? And the answer to that is: practice
satipatthana.
I hope you're not too confused by all this by now. Given time, you will eventually realize what I'm talking about.
In peace,
Ian