Luang Por Liem: The Ways of the Peaceful - Wat Pah Nanachat

It doesn’t matter whether we have our eyes closed or open, or
what our particular posture is – we always have the feeling that
we are a refuge unto ourselves. Still, an experience like this may
not always be good – it still has its negative sides. In my case, I
took it as an experience that comes entirely by itself. I hadn’t tried
to force it to arise. It all came by itself. The experience that arose
was similar to what is called obhasa, a bright light or clear
radiance, which is considered to be one of the vipassanupakilesas
43 . What arose was a bright radiance and happiness in
myself. But it wasn’t the case at all that I got deluded or carried
away with it. This happiness was simply there by itself, even
when resting or sleeping. What it is, and when it comes, one
doesn’t know. There is simply the experience of it, an experience
of uninterrupted wakefulness that sustains itself all through the
day and night. Even when the body sleeps, it rests in this
happiness. All this comes by itself.
An experience of bliss like this can last for a period of one or
two days, and then it may change again. There is nothing unusual
about this. Things simply change. The happiness in this
experience isn’t the usual happiness based on liking and disliking.
It is the rapture and gladness that the Buddha calls piti, an ongoing
joy throughout the day and night, whether sleeping or
awake. There is nothing to compare with this happiness. If we
have such an experience of piti, we need to establish the
awareness in ourselves that, having arisen, an experience like this
will also be subject to change, and we need to uphold mindfulness
and stay with this awareness of change.
43 vipassanupakilesa (Pali): ten defilements or corruptions that hinder true
insight, such as abundant feelings of energy, bliss etc.
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