Higher Mind Art – Abhidhamma Explorations
Keys to the Abhidhamma System
The earth the solid element,through weight and texture comprehend. While flowing, depth and clearness,show you water’s nearness. Heat, or radiance, or a light,shows you a fire is alight. And air, the subtlest elementhelps you change to comprehend From Greece, to Native America, from Egypt to India, the idea of four fundamental elements which form the… Continue reading Wisdom of the Elements
When 2, or 3, or more b’come oneWhen the sense of self is goneWhen separation broken downWhen of unity all thoughts come fromWhen lives, without, within,in unison begin to spinWhen synchronicity wonder worksAnd no thing there which an’one irksThen dear friend contemplate this wonderWhich common life does rend asunderSeek to feel what lofty godHas come… Continue reading Dance of Synchronicity
To be, or to be notSuch question is indeed a knotTo find an answer we must seek,What's on life's bottom, What's on life's peakBut not easy 'tis to go such placeFor in common life's spaceEverything is not deep, nor highCommon people just get byBut where to find then lofty heightsWhere to find what oceans depth… Continue reading Being or Being Not
It is in the mind's thought Where earths fate is wroughtIn the war between light and darkThere seek to understand each sides mark Where gods and demons seek become the lord There wisely you should choose towhere resort And from whom you seek to gain your due reward There are five gods or devas, who… Continue reading Of Gods and Demons
This is an idealised version of the arising of the Jhāna factors,...mainly for making clear the meaning of the terms. In actual practice, things might not progress as smoothly as depicted here. The light shown, in Buddhist terms is always a manifestation of the 5 spiritual faculties (Indriyas), that is, faith or inspiration, energy, mindfulness… Continue reading The Factors of Jhāna (with audio description)
Perhaps you might have heard from someone, that killing other living beings, is bad. Yet, your reason tells you, that if you catch yourself a chicken from the forest, chop off the head and roast it on a nice little fire,…this makes you free, this makes you independent. Only good seems to follow. But then,… Continue reading How to make Dhamma concepts real?
One essential thing for a meditator who starts out on the meditators path, is to keep (or create) a meditation diary. This website, but more so my book (can be found for here), may be seen as one example of a meditation diary. Thus it could serve as a general framework for the creation of… Continue reading Why creating a meditation diary is important for Meditation
With every mental impulse, your body throws off particles of energy. Strong mental impulses produce a larger quantity of these particles. And how far these spread is largely dependent on the together-play of your physical vitality, with the strength of the emotion or mind-state. Now, when you have trained to be sensitive towards finer matter,… Continue reading Developing Mettā Meditation by Understanding Emotions and Energy
Nowadays, what is now often termed ‘mindfulness meditation’ is becoming quite popular. Oftentimes people are advised to do things, like walking, very slowly, while paying attention to what they experience, in such case especially in the legs. Here I want to show how the process from attempting to become aware of sensations in legs and… Continue reading A Sequence of Meditation (and an insight into Kasina Meditation)
The Paṭṭhāna, in traditional Buddhist countries often thought of as the quintessence of the Buddha's wisdom, is on the other hand amongst Buddhists of the non-traditional type more often rather thought of as a bizarre curiosity of later human scholasticism. Be that as it may, in here I want to offer some food for thought,… Continue reading Practical Application of the Patthana Conditions
Inter-human relationships, although we derive pleasure from them, are very often the greatest sources of suffering for human beings. Antagonism, animosities and conflict situations play a smaller or larger part in pretty much everyone's life. And the growing realisation of this is certainly one of the major reasons for the growing interest in meditation in… Continue reading Overcoming emotional troubles and Learning the meaning of labelling in Meditation
Every person who through proficiency in some skill rises himself up above his fellow human beings, does so through having found some way of cultivating a dynamic interaction of these 5 spiritual faculties. That is through: Inspiration, Exertion or Vigour, Clarity, Inner Unity and Wisdom. But, although it might be easy enough to understand them… Continue reading Five Spiritual Faculties
This is just a small overview, to give some basic understanding about consciousness. For the purpose of easier study of the mind. Before the arising of the most rudimentary forms of mentation, primarily during deep dreamless sleep, there is the condition of utter unconsciousness. This is termed the stream of bhavanga, which being "all unconscious",… Continue reading A Small Outline of Consciousness
Here an example of the relevance of understanding the proper foundations upon which the mind may function. Besides, this example also illustrates the meaning of the Jhāna factors in actual meditation practice. As you focus on your in-breath and out-breath, gradually your brain becomes clear. Thus you begin to notice that inside your body some… Continue reading Jhana in Practice
Here some example of how sense-perceptions, coupled with some knowledge of the Abhidhamma may be used to initiate the development of higher faculties. For example you observe some animal, for instance a cat. And trying to sharpen your faculties, you see if you can get to understand something of the inner side of the cat.… Continue reading Development of Faculties
Nowadays it is perhaps more important than ever, that we learn to better look after ourselves and gain greater control over the workings of our body. Thus increasing our potential for warding off disease and for developing greater resilience. For accomplishing that more effectively, I want to offer this small pictorial description of the basics… Continue reading Healthy Mindfulness
An Example of developing the Spiritual Faculties There are uncountable ways in which we could use the Abhidhamma system to develop our faculties. And a true meditator will ever be on the lookout for some opportunity for doing that. For example, you hear music somewhere played, and being accustomed to meditate on the four elements,… Continue reading The Life of Music
Here an example of how some understanding of the physiological processes and mental sequences described throughout this website, may be used to describe a meditative process of overcoming some personal problem. The benefit of which should be compared to the benefit of being able to describe music using notes. For example, you find that you… Continue reading Attraction and Unity
A nimitta is a sign, that indicates, that the meditator has gained some amount of concentration. Principally is any sign of concentration a nimitta. Thus there may be just a feeling of stability or calm or lightness, or certain mental factors such as happiness or equanimity, or there may arise some visual perception such as… Continue reading Nimittas – Signs of Samadhi
Should a person desire to practice Four Elements meditation as a subject for establishing mindfulness, he should frequently recite to himself the names of the primary elements and further on, extend the recitation to include the main characteristics of the elements. Thus he might first recite earth, water, fire, wind,… earth, water, fire, wind… earth,… Continue reading Meditation on The Four Elements
Here I want to show, higher meditation experiences usually will only occur, when at least part of some higher Dhamma knowledge has become intuitive. Below I give one example of a successful meditation; and in regards to it, I want to invite the reader to look if he can not find proves of an intuitive… Continue reading Physiology of the Pathway to Heaven
This is a small animation, showing how meditation may progress from the primary stages to those further onwards. The Arising of Light The light shown, in Buddhist terms is always a manifestation of the 5 spiritual faculties (Indriyas), that is, faith or confidence, energy, mindfulness, a capacity to unify the mind and wisdom. the-arising-of-light.movDownload
Kamma Niyāma - The Law of Kamma Kamma Niyāma is the law of will or intention. Whenever the mind based on previous investigation and classification (of some sense-sphere phenomena) is thinking a thought, that thought will incline in one direction or another (usually dependent on how something was classified). When that direction of thought, becomes… Continue reading Kamma Niyāma – The Law of Kamma
A condition of meditation, is a condition wherein the mind seeks an escape from matter. Meditation is about finding the middle path. And this applies also to our familiar consideration of the four elements. Each of the four elements has its own distinctive qualities, some of which are seeked to be overcome through meditation, while… Continue reading Jhāna Paccaya – Condition of Meditation
In life, all things build up on some foundation. Everything somewhat stands on something. And this is what defines this condition. In matters of the four elements, this condition is symbolically represented by the element of earth. But in more concrete terms, at least three of the elements may be seen to act as a… Continue reading Nissaya Paccaya – Condition of Foundations
Our Body transforms food into energy,... that energy travels through the body along certain channels (the bloodvessels for the most part). Apart from that, there are certain centres in the body where many nerve-ends come together. These nerve-ends are in direct contact with what is now called the sub-conscious mind...which is in turn in contact… Continue reading Connected Understanding
If we want to learn how to transcend unwholesome states of mind, we need to make a start in understanding those little understood inner forces that we experience as undesirable emotions. It is only through true understanding, that we may transcend the ignorance which is at the root of all unwholesome emotions. Here only two… Continue reading Unwholesome Emotion
A small animation depicting the process of meditation. It is pretty self-explaning. Pleasure, Pliancy, Flow and Brightness pleasure-pliancy-flow-and-brightness.movDownload
For a Buddhist practitioner, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the law of kamma, is one of the essential things to aim at. So, here a small elucidation of this very fundamental law along the line of Abhidhamma. Some Explanations on the Workings of Kamma Suppose, for example a good meditator, attains samadhi, and picks up… Continue reading Kamma, Meditation and Rebirth
Meditation as a Path out of Suffering Note: This video builds up on the information of the main blog Keys to the Abhidhamma system the-path-out-of-suffering.movDownload
Nature is cyclical and moody, …sometimes she gives, sometimes she takes Mans inner nature too is cyclical and moody Yet, to some degree man has proven a capacity to move beyond certain cycles.. towards a direction not indicated by nature Although, this has brought with it various definite complications, it has yet allowed man to… Continue reading Improving Nature to transcend Suffering-Cycles
How to know the Truth? If your only sphere of knowledge is the sensory world,...It does not make much sense to concern yourself with as to whether something is ultimately true, rather your best judgment can only be as to whether something makes sense or not. If it does not make much sense, leave it… Continue reading Ways of Knowing the Truth
Based on knowledge, there may arise a certain faculty, that can perceive a myriad things at one singular glance. This faculty may be termed intuition. It is, when a mind possessed of knowledge, becomes aware of a certain thing, that there becomes possible a synchronising (a-tuning) of the mind with its object of perception. This… Continue reading Intuition
Overcoming Physical Suffering Through Meditation
Karma of Meditation
Boredom seems to be one issue of a great many people…so here some analysis as to what boredom is made up of and how to counterbalance it. Mental Factors:Desire for change Aversion to what is present Mental Life faculty being weakRestlessness Feeling: neutral to slightly unpleasant Perception: dull awareness of lackThought directed at change of… Continue reading A Small Analysis of Boredom
Whenever you say something, and later, whenever you think something,...you have to feel into the body, as to whether it is true or not...the body is closely connected with the past bhavanga and vibrating bhavanga ...your first measuring stick might be only as to whether your energy body is straight or whether it contains many… Continue reading Kamma-born Matter
The bhavanga is one key concept of Buddhist thought. Usually translated as life-continuum, it is more literally ‘that wherein one’s life is rooted’. It is in fact referring to the same phenomenon that in modern times is called the subconscious mind. In other places I sometimes used the word "life-stuff" (especially in relation to the… Continue reading Bhavanga to Samadhi
Growing the tree of Knowledge.movDownload
A small video sketching the process of drawing the mind inwards. https://videopress.com/v/AeFaRV1y?autoPlay=true Drawing the Mind inwards
A meditators consciousness draws around itself mental and material conditions of an appropriate type (secluded empty place... if people, perhaps only meditators and spiritual people...thoughts of renounciation, in peace with the world...spiritual thoughts...) Another consciousness (f.ex. teacher consciousness) equally draws around itself the appropriate conditions...students,...people to teach...,mentality of a teacher Thus a person aspiring to… Continue reading Meditators Consciousness
Bhavanga (that wherein one's existence is rooted), includes, so we believe, also blind (unconscious) emotions...wandering thoughts and dreams. All those we take to be the vibrating bhavanga ...which have to be arrested in order that any active mental process can happen. (the model might not contain anything exactly corresponding to the modern idea of an… Continue reading Ever Mind – Abhidhamma Considerations regarding the Mind
In normal conditions regarding good ideas,... a good idea arises at your mind-door, and then the mind immediately lapses into the life-continuum, which afterwards vibrates, stirring you to action. Even worse than that, is, when a good idea arises at your mind-door and than a frustrating/obstructing kamma (viz. thought) arises, thinking it as not important… Continue reading Acting from a higher Plane
All external events count as objects, first of the 5 sense‐bases, than of the mind, therefore without mastering the environment first (for a bhikkhu, the bhikkhus training and way of life, etc.), self‐knowledge can never become complete (yet, perception of the environment, depends in turn again on the perceiving faculty) ¹ Mind-element ² Mind-consciousness-element ...being… Continue reading Mind dependent on Body
Thoughts are short and unconnected...the mind taking the objects from the 5 senses...and considers them according to their apparent characteristics... If things, out of faith or due to prior seeing are contemplated as impermanent, suffering and non‐self...the mind can be made to turn away from that world Energy body (Uggahanimitta‐stage, Chi, Life‐energy, Astral‐body, etc.)....4 elements… Continue reading Stages of Meditative Development in regards to Body and Mind
Will is conditioned by introspection and knowledge of higher than ordinary things (self-knowledge and Dhamma-knowledge)
If while observing yourself and remembering your dhamma practice, you of and on formulate a desire, such as 'may I realize, what I have not yet realized', or more concretely 'may I see the light of wisdom in my meditation' or 'may I experience meditative ecstasy' ...('accompanied by an effort of will ')...you are practicing… Continue reading Notes on Iddhi Padas (Roads to success)
The Mental Body is one key concept of some of the esoteric tradition brought to the west*, which will prove very valuable an idea for anyone who wants to study the mind. Here I just want to give a few considerations of my own understanding, to give this valuable knowledge out to the reader of… Continue reading Consciousness and Conscious Experience
The Physical Basis of the Path to Heaven When food gets eaten, it enters the stomach, where it gets further broken down into a semiliquid pulp. Moving downwards, it collects in the upper small intestine, where there are many nerve-ends coming together...this is called the solar plexus...Now this semiliquid food pulp usually contains many nutriments,… Continue reading Chakras and Planes of Existence
Higher Mind Art - Abhidhamma Explorations 