Poor Vision and the Fire Kasina

Steven E Barnes, modified 5 Years ago at 4/16/18 12:11 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 4/16/18 12:11 AM

Poor Vision and the Fire Kasina

Posts: 33 Join Date: 4/15/18 Recent Posts
I've tried the fire kasina a couple times, using instructions from the book. I don't remember exactly what colors / shapes were involved, but I had no problems getting to the red grain. It would generally be there for several seconds, then fade away. However, I could usually "bring it back" for several more seconds, then it would be gone. I stopped after an hour, with nothing especially profound having happened.

The second time trying fire kasina, I remembered that my left eye is pretty useless. It cannot be corrected using glasses, due to a deformed cornea (my vision can be largely corrected with contact lenses, but I hate wearing them; my contacts are probabably dried out and useless at this point). So normally, my vision is right-eye dominated, and I tune out the blurry left eye images. I did play with this for a while, and found that I can become aware of the blurry left-eye images (I see blurry images super-imposed over the clear images from my right-eye). My left-eye does not see the candle flame clearly, instead there is a glowing blob.

So, will I be able to practice the fire kasina correctly, with my weak left-eye? Should I try and be aware of the actual images from my left-eye?
Yilun Ong, modified 5 Years ago at 4/16/18 11:53 PM
Created 5 Years ago at 4/16/18 11:49 PM

RE: Poor Vision and the Fire Kasina

Posts: 623 Join Date: 8/7/17 Recent Posts
Dear Steven,

Compassion for the issue you have there... I am not sure if I can be of any help but here's trying!

Kasina only requires the eyes' focus to create an after-image (retina) initially. When a mental image or nimitta is present - you can know this by opening and closing your eyes (helps immensely in a near-pitch-dark environment) and seeing what remains the same. That is what you need to work on with mental focus.

I am pretty certain a blind person can practice kasina if he has mental imagery present. IME, it is the act of patiently attending to these images, balancing effort and concentration that is the practice. My experience during the murky phase is that the centre/left or right blurs or becomes a blindspot. This blinspot can be shifted OR the focus can be shfited from left to right or anywhere. I suggest you keep your focus on your right eye and ignore the after-images created by your left, and shift the focus zone back to right when it goes off to the left gently. See how that works for you? The reason for this is that if you have 2 different looking nimittas (I would find out if it actually does creates 2!! If it doesn't - perfect, just go along as it doesn't make a difference!) to work on, that will make things more difficult but it is possible as well. Remember that concentration comes from the skilful attendance, not the actual visuals. Read Anna L's kasina practice log and the recent 'blurry vision' thread.

Take this with a pinch of salt - I am no expert. Find out for yourself patiently. Good luck! emoticon
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Illuminatus, modified 5 Years ago at 7/5/18 9:34 AM
Created 5 Years ago at 7/5/18 9:34 AM

RE: Poor Vision and the Fire Kasina

Posts: 101 Join Date: 7/16/14 Recent Posts
My right-eye vision is very poor, similar to a reversal of your situation.

However, kasina afterimage is not see by the eyes, but by the mind. My mind combines the two afterimages into a single point relatively quickly. Practise with the assumption that your mind will combine the images, too, and it will.

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