upekkha wrote:Hello fellows,
This is bound to be a thread which will "spice" things up.
I have stumbled upon the website of an MD from the US who claims to be an arahant, at first glance i dismissed it.
Some weeks later I stumbled upon it again googling "nirodha samapatti", and he seems to give detailed descriptions of how it is entered, exited, etc, from personal experience.
In any case, after reading the book written by this man, I became thoroughly convinced he is speaking from actual personal experience.
the book is available freely here:
http://www.interactivebuddha.com/mctb.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Though it is indeed very uncommon for meditators in our day and age to talk about attainments, he claims during the time of the Buddha himself there were no such taboos, obviously starting with Gotama himself, who named himself "The Awakened One", and in the texts themselves attainments are thoroughly discussed.
This man also breaks the taboo that enlightenment is extremely impossible, or that it is only attained by people who have renounced the house hold life.
He has practiced according to the teaching of the late Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw from Burma (noting practice).
I highly recommend reading his book, and/or listening to these 'podcasts' in which he was interviewed, which I found to be very, very, helpful.
Podcast 1 / 3 ("You can do it!"):
http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/2 ... 20-do/play" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Podcast 2 ("Enlightened teachers"):
http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/2 ... tened/play" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Podcast 3 ("Models of enlightenment"):
http://personallifemedia.com/podcasts/2 ... odels/play" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
'An essay about arahats' -
http://www.interactivebuddha.com/arahats.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I recommend that those wanting to listen to this podcast skip the first minute, which is basically some commercials by a sponsor of the 'radio'.
To those wanting to comment on this thread, you are certainly welcome to do so, but be aware that if you haven't read some of the book, or preferably listened to the 3 podcasts, you will be lacking much of the 'juice'.
be happy
I am an arahat with mastery of the formed jhanas, formless realms, Nirodha Samapatti, and a few other traditional attainments.
I am one of the few teachers I know of who will talk about high-level practice directly and unambiguously without relying on dogma, making things taboo or coating simple truths in mystery. I assume that most practitioners are mature enough to handle straight-forward and honest answers. My fundamental assumption is that many more people will be empowered to realize that they can master these things if they are out in the open.
I am interested in spiritual awakening, green building, medicine, dance, yoga, gardening, car repair, travel, music, poetry, and living a fun and useful life. Current projects include helping with the Dharma Overground, building a strawbale house, and learning about permaculture.
I draw primarily from the teachings of the Buddha as they have come down to us in the various traditions, particularly the Theravada, and have trained under teachers from all the major Buddhist traditions over the last 11 years. Within the Theravada, my primary influence is the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition of insight meditation from Burma, and I have been given permission to teach by Sayadaw U Pandita, Junior in that lineage.