Dear All,

I am currently still in my slow paced long term retreat in Sri Lanka, and have very limited access to the internet (only 20MB a day). Did a brief search but the universe prompted me to make this post to create that connection with the more well informed folks out here.

I recently found out from one of Ayya Khema's recordings (downloaded some time ago from Dhammaseed), if I recall correctly, that there are 17 kinds of Piti. One of them is that we feel like being stretched.

Would someone who knows the entire list please share it?

Much gratitude!

I don't know the list, but had a search and what I could find was discussions of 5 types


Piti has many intensities. The Visuddhimagga (IV, 94) and the Atthasalini II, Part IV, Chapter 1, 115, 116) explain that there are five kinds of piti. We read in the Visuddhimagga :

... But it is of five kinds as minor happiness, momentary happiness, showering happiness, uplifting happiness, and pervading (rapturous) happiness.
Herein, minor happiness is only able to raise the hairs on the body. (Abhidhamma in Daily Life, Chapter 11). If the function of patisandhi is performed by an ahetuka vipakacitta (santirana-citta accompanied by upekkha which can be kusala vipaka or akusala vipaka), piti does not accompany the citta. Momentary happiness is like flashes of lightning at different moments. Showering happiness breaks over the body again and again like waves an the sea shore.
Uplifting happiness can be powerful enough to levitate the body and make it spring into the air...
But when pervading (rapturous happiness) arises, the whole body is completely pervaded, like a filled bladder, like a rock cavern invaded by a huge inundation (lV, 98).

http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=6533