Agony and Ecstasy
A comparative study of the five hindrances, together with the five states of concentration or mental absorption.
A comparative study of the five hindrances, together with the five states of concentration or mental absorption.
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the look-out for the light, expecting it day by day, till in their reverie<br />
they have created what they wished.<br />
The transformed after-image (paṭibhāga-nimitta) may be having<br />
the appearance, or rather giving the impression of light. But,<br />
Buddhaghosa in his Visuddhi Magga fully stresses the point that<br />
the after-image “has neither colour nor shape”. It is a conceptualised<br />
image. And, if illustrations are used of a full moon, of a<br />
mirror, of white cranes, etc., these objects are not seen, not even<br />
in imagination. But the mental impression of peace <strong>and</strong> tranquillity<br />
one gets, when beholding the full moon appearing from behind<br />
some clouds, has similarity with the peace <strong>and</strong> tranquillity impressed<br />
on the mind when the state of absorption is approached (upacārasamādhi).<br />
Then this after-image may be equivalent to a fleecy<br />
woollen blanket, illustrating the sense of mental ease <strong>and</strong> comfort at<br />
the disappearance of all disturbances; or to a c<strong>and</strong>le-extinguisher,<br />
exemplifying the feeling of safety in being completely out of from all<br />
intrusion; or to anything which might give an impression equivalent<br />
to the mental state at the threshold of ecstatic concentration. The<br />
great warning to be given here then is: not to expect anything! Any<br />
expectation is bound to bring about a mental agitation (uddhacca),<br />
<strong>and</strong> that is the strongest obstacle <strong>and</strong> hindrance (nīvaraṇa) to the<br />
tranquillisation of the mental process. Hence the conceptualised or<br />
transformed after-image as a mark equivalent (paṭibhāga nimitta)<br />
has nothing of an appearance, which can be sensed in any way by<br />
anyone of the five bodily senses. If, therefore, in the course of mental<br />
culture (bhāvanā) such ‘appearances’ would occur, they are a<br />
sure sign of a wrong track, which, if followed, will cause much delay<br />
<strong>and</strong> even ultimately may lead to disaster, but certainly never to attainment.<br />
A cool head is never so necessary as in the culture of the<br />
mind.<br />
The path which leads to the different states of mental absorption<br />
(jhāna) <strong>and</strong> the inhibition of the hindrances (nīvaraṇa), is called the<br />
path of calm or tranquillity (samatha), because it lulls the passions.
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