4th wheel, 4th wheel buddhism, absorption, articles on ecstatic meditation, bliss, catutthayana, di.t.thadhammasukhavihaaraa, ecstatic buddhism, ecstasy, ecstatic, ecstatic case histories, ecstatic contemplative, ecstatic meditation, ecstatic poetry, field meditation, fragrance of enlightenment, fruits of the contemplative life, fourth wheel, great western vehicle, gwv, gwv pali dictionary project, jeff brooks, jeffrey s. brooks, jhana, jhana archive, jhana resource guide, jhana support group, jhanananda, jhanananda's journal, jhananda, jhana-nimitta, joy, joy of meditation, joyful home of the way, jsg, kriya, kriyas, kundalini, kundaliniheat, language of ecstasy, language of gnosis, mahaparacakkayana, mahasatipatthana, maha-satipatthana, manomaya, meet the needs of the people, meditation, meditation case histories, meditation induced neurosis, meditation induced physical ailment, meditation induced psychosis, meditation induced tinnitus, meditative absorption, meditation teacher, mind-made body, mystic, mysticism, nikayan buddhism, nimitta, oob, oobe, ordination program, out-of-body experience, pali, pali & buddhist studies, pali canon, pali dictionary project, pali language resource guide, past life, past lifetimes, patanjali, peer-level support, personal case histories, personal case histories with meditative absorption, phala, phala nikaya, phenomena of absorption, piiti, pleasure not of the senses, psychology of buddhism, psychology of ecstasy, psychology of kundalini, psychology of yoga, recognizing the absorption states, e'letter, remaining conscious during sleep, retreat, retreats, right livelihood, right meditation, saint vitus' dance, samadhi, sama-samadhi, satipatthana, shaman, shamanic, shamanism, solo wilderness retreat, sotapanna, southwest insight e'letter, spiritual awakening, spontaneous movement, stone worn to sand, stream winner, succor, sukha, three year retreat, tinnitus, tipitaka, translator bias, understanding meditation states, understanding meditative absorption, unifying theory of gnosis, western buddhism, western buddhist teachers, western vehicle, wholesome states, wilderness, wilderness retreat, yoga psychology, yoga sutras of patanjali, advaita, advaita vedanta, anagami, anapanasati, arahant, arahanta, arahat, astral projection, aura, bodhichitta, boundless states, brahma viharas, buddha, buddhism, buddhism as a religion, buddhist, buddhist criticism, buddhist philosophy, buddhist psychology, buddhist tradition, burying the shaman, chakra, characteristic manifestations of absorption, characteristics of absorption, charism, charisma, charismatic, charismatic movement, charismatic buddhism, christian contemplative, christian meditation, christian mystic, christian mysticism, clairaudience, clairvoyance, compassion, concentration, contemplation, contemplative, contemplative arts, contemplative poetry, cultivating wholesome states, dark night of the soul, dependent origination, descent into hell, dhamma, dhamma teacher, dharma, dhyana, discourses of the buddha, divine abodes, divine ear, dzikr, dzogchen, ecumenical, ecumenical buddhism, eighth fold path, engaged, enlightened, enlightenment, enlightenment in this lifetime, equanimity, ethics, ethics in buddhism, fana, former lives, forms of buddhism, four noble truths, gnosis, gnostic, hollow reed, houses of god, insight, kabbalah, karuna, kasina, kayagata-sati, loving kindness, lucid, lucid dreaming, mahamudra, meditation object, meditative, metta, mind of buddha, monastic, mudita, nama-rupa, nibbana, nirvana, non-returner, once returner, psycho-soma, rapture, reincarnation, revelation, rigpa, sakadagami, salmon-boy, sanskrit, sanskrit & vedic studies, seven factors of enlightenment, shunyata, siddhartha gotama, siddhi, signless, signlessness, sufi, sufism, supernatural powers, supranormal powers, sutra, sutra pitaka, sutta, sutta pitaka, sympathetic joy, trance, tranquility, tripitaka, tucson dharma news, two-worlds, upekkha, vedanta, vertigo, vipassana, yoga, yoga sutras,

[Great Western Vehicle] [Events] [Supporting the GWV]

[Pali & Buddhist Studies] [Tipitaka Index]  [Buddhist Timeline] [Pali-English Dictionary] [Sanskrit & Vedic Studies] [Ecstatic Meditation Archive]

Rapture in Buddhism,

Manomaya, the "mind-made body."

The Buddha’s Discourses on the Astral Body and

Out-of-Body (OOB) experiences

November 09, 2004

By the contemplative recluse monk Arahatta Jhanananda(Jeffrey S, Brooks)

(copyright 2004 all rights reserved)

It seems my little biography spurred a great deal of thought and discussion among some Buddhist listservs.  Some people say the Out-of-Body (OOB) experience is a distraction, which I know anything can be if there is attachment to it, but I have found OOBs can be a great inspiration, and at times they were all I had.  But, I also know they are a natural manifestation in some people's journey to nibbana.

I know also those who say OOBs are dream-like have never had one, because this contemplative’s experience with OOBs indicates that lucidity is the defining quality of the Out-of-Body experience.  In fact for this one they are most often far more lucid than the waking state.  This is in part why one who has OOBs will often question the validity of all perceptual phenomena, because the yogi who has given rise to OOBs knows one can not depend on the seamlessness of one's perceived reality.

I have recently been reading through the Tipitaka, or the Three Baskets, as it is translated into English.  They of course are the foundational literature of Buddhism.  And, as many of you probably know the Tipitaka (Pali canon) is the earliest know document that claims to be the spoken word of the Buddha.

While reading the Digha Nikaya (Long Discourse) and the Majjhima Nikaya (Middle Length Discourse) I have found references to the Pali term 'manomaya' which is typically translated as the "mind-made body."  In the Buddha's description of the mind-made body it is clear to me he was talking about the astral body.  The Buddha even instructed his students in its formation in the Mahasakuludayi Sutta, MN 77

Astral Body, "mind-made body," 'manomaya' (Pali).

Digha Nikaya:  DN 1.2.2, n.49, 1.3.12, n76, 24.2.15, 27.10

Majjhima Nikaya MN 77.30

Lohicca Sutta (DN 12)
 (The Mind-made Body)
"With his mind thus concentrated, purified, & bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, he directs & inclines it to creating a mind-made body (manomaya). From this body he creates another body, endowed with form, made of the mind, complete in all its parts, not inferior in its faculties. Just as if a man were to draw a reed from its sheath. The thought would occur to him: 'This is the sheath, this is the reed. The sheath is one thing, the reed another, but the reed has been drawn out from the sheath.' Or as if a man were to draw a sword from its scabbard. The thought would occur to him: 'This is the sword, this is the scabbard. The sword is one thing, the scabbard another, but the sword has been drawn out from the scabbard.' Or as if a man were to pull a snake out from its slough. The thought would occur to him: 'This is the snake, this is the slough. The snake is one thing, the slough another, but the snake has been pulled out from the slough.' In the same way -- with his mind thus concentrated, purified, & bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, the monk directs & inclines it to creating a mind-made body. From this body he creates another body, endowed with form, made of the mind, complete in all its parts, not inferior in its faculties. When a disciple of a teacher attains this sort of grand distinction, Lohicca, that is a teacher not worthy of criticism in the world, and if anyone were to criticize this sort of teacher, the criticism would be false, unfactual, unrighteous, & blameworthy.

Agganna Sutta (DN 27.10)

translated by M. Walshe, Wisdom Publishing
"At a time of contraction, beings are mostly born in the Abhassara Brahma world.  And there they dwell, mind made (manomaya), feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air (space), glorious -- and they stay like that for a very long time."
Mahasakuludayi Sutta (MN 77.30)
translated by Bhikkhus Nanamoli and Bodhi, Wisdom Publishing
"Again, Udayin, I have proclaimed to my disciples the way to create from this body another body having form, mind-made (manomaya) ...And, thereby many disciples of mine abide having reached to consummation and perfection of direct knowledge."

May you become enlightened in this very lifetime,

Jhanananda (Jeffrey S. Brooks)

This article may be retrieved at this URL

http://www.greatwesternvehicle.org/manomaya.htm

[Great Western Vehicle] [Events] [Supporting the GWV]

[Pali & Buddhist Studies] [Tipitaka Index]  [Buddhist Timeline] [Pali-English Dictionary] [Sanskrit & Vedic Studies] [Ecstatic Meditation Archive]