Seeing light. A&P or Jhana

Onono Onono Onono, modified 4 Years ago at 7/27/20 7:26 PM
Created 4 Years ago at 7/27/20 7:26 PM

Seeing light. A&P or Jhana

Posts: 2 Join Date: 2/5/20 Recent Posts
I went to Goenka rethreat half a year ago.  When I was scanning my body, I see white cloth moving throughout my body whereever I focus on attentiont o feel vedana.  I can move the white cloth at my free will along with feeling vedana where that white cloth is reached.  I interpret that white cloth as uggaha-nimitta.  After I move that white cloth for a while and that white cloth start to reach my forehead.  Very very very bright light break out of the end of that white cloth and the background turn orange.  It was nothing I have seen in my daily life.  I interpret this is patibhaga-nimitta.  It was followed by heart-bounding and fear.  So should I classified it as an A&P episode.  But I talked about this with Thai dhammar community.  They say it might be access concentration with allow one to enter Jhana.  However some Jhana factors are missing.

There are five Jhana factors right. 

  • Initial application (vitakka)
  • Sustained application (vicara)
  • Joy (píti)
  • Happiness (sukha)
  • One-pointedness (ekaggata)
I only feel vitakka vicara and ekkagata, but no piti and sukha  I was intensely focused on that very very bright light.  After half a year, I still feel some tightness on my forehead where that light appeared.  It is annoying as it often appeared intensely when I am in stressful event.  Also when I saw the light all of my five senses are shutted off.  I don't feel pain in my body and I only feel pain when I am out of the meditation.

But there was no piti and sukha.  Instead I felt fear.

Is this an A&P event or a Jhana?

Uggaha nimitta and patibhaga-nimitta
'Mental (reflex-) image', obtained in meditation. In full clarity, it will appear in the mind by successful practice of certain concentration-exercises and will then appear as vividly as if seen by the eye. The object perceived at the very beginning of concentration is called the preparatory image (parikamma-nimitta). The still unsteady and unclear image, which arises when the mind has reached a weak degree of concentration, is called the acquired image (uggaha-nimitta). An entirely clear and immovable image arising at a higher degree of concentration is the counter-image (patibhāga-nimitta). As soon as this image arises, the stage of neighbourhood (or access) concentration (upacāra-samādhi) is reached.
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Bagpuss The Gnome, modified 4 Years ago at 7/27/20 11:39 PM
Created 4 Years ago at 7/27/20 11:38 PM

RE: Seeing light. A&P or Jhana

Posts: 704 Join Date: 11/2/11 Recent Posts
Hi Ono, 
try not to worry too much about any of that stuff. Your thinking mind has clearly been having quite the party. emoticon

It sounds like regular Goenka stuff to me. You might just be a bit visually inclined.

Hard to say if it's A&P or not, but I'd be careful with that head tension. Mine started a couple of retreats into my Goenka style practice and it's still causing me trouble 10yrs later. One teacher there told me to ignore the head and just scan the body, but only downwards. This does seem to be useful advice. 

hope that helps, 

~BTG