Interesting Q&A in Vimuttimagga

[Inedible]

This one time I was reading about a meditator who had the ability to fly. He took regular flights over a nearby forest and was seen by a King. Being impressed by a flying person, the King started sending food offerings on a regular basis. Everything went well. One day the King sent his pretty young daughter with the food and the flying meditator saw her. He was hurt in the resulting crash and he lost his ability to fly. He had to walk home where it took over a year to get his ability back. Lesson learned, however, about being seen.

[Dhammanando]

a Buddhist commentary could use more Buddhist terms.

this may show that the translator was a little distant from Buddhism.

The Visuddhimagga refers to the practitioner as a "yogāvacara" ("one who's at home in exertion") nearly as often as it refers to him as a "bhikkhu". The word first appears in the Patisambhidāmagga and by the mediaeval period it's virtually the default term for a meditator, especially in meditation manuals that stress jhāna. I suspect this was also the term used in the original Pali of the Vimuttimagga.

[frank k]

Here is online digitized version of chapter 9:
If you want to point out the passage, that would help. searching for 'flying' or 'levitation' didn't catch anything.
https://lucid24.org/sted/ebt/not/vimt/6ab/index.html

The question in the book is about if one is practising flying using 4th Jhana. Should he succeed in rising to considerable height and lose concentration, will he fell to his death?

The answer I saw did not really answer the question. Or maybe I did not understand the translation.

Doesn't really help if you don't give a link, page #, or quote the passage.

I bought a physical book from India. If u can find online version, look at its chapter on supernormal power. The information in this book supported my idea that being able to glide in air, walk on water, moving through solid barrier are about using mental power to transform molecular characteristics.

[form]

Here is online digitized version of chapter 9:
If you want to point out the passage, that would help. searching for 'flying' or 'levitation' didn't catch anything.
https://lucid24.org/sted/ebt/not/vimt/6ab/index.html

Doesn't really help if you don't give a link, page #, or quote the passage.

I bought a physical book from India. If u can find online version, look at its chapter on supernormal power. The information in this book supported my idea that being able to glide in air, walk on water, moving through solid barrier are about using mental power to transform molecular characteristics.

It is on page 214. The question and answer on the second paragraph.

[Lucas Oliveira]

a Buddhist commentary could use more Buddhist terms.

this may show that the translator was a little distant from Buddhism.

The Visuddhimagga refers to the practitioner as a "yogāvacara" ("one who's at home in exertion") nearly as often as it refers to him as a "bhikkhu". The word first appears in the Patisambhidāmagga and by the mediaeval period it's virtually the default term for a meditator, especially in meditation manuals that stress jhāna. I suspect this was also the term used in the original Pali of the Vimuttimagga.

didn't know that word ..

I went to search I found this manual.

Yogāvacara's manual
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yog%C4%81 ... 27s_manual

very interesting.

[frank k]

Ok, I see the passage now (on the digital version linked below, do browser search for '214').
First of all, Vimt. doesn't say anything new from the sutta that it is based, in iddhipada SN 51 (iron ball simile, light as cotton, etc...),
except to advise that one proceed gradually so as not to get hurt, and I don't think SN 51 mentions 4th jhana.
So to answer your original question in OP,
I think we should assume if one levitates high off the ground, loses samadhi temporarily and falls, one could injure and kill themself if they didn't regain samadhi and re-levitate or use some other supernormal power in 4th jhana to land safely (like diving into the earth as if its water).
Near the beginning section of Ajahn Mun biography, it mentions the story of one of his teacher meditating and a kuti, opening his eyes and suddenly startled realizing he's near the ceiling/roof.

Here is online digitized version of chapter 9:
If you want to point out the passage, that would help. searching for 'flying' or 'levitation' didn't catch anything.
https://lucid24.org/sted/ebt/not/vimt/6ab/index.html

I bought a physical book from India. If u can find online version, look at its chapter on supernormal power. The information in this book supported my idea that being able to glide in air, walk on water, moving through solid barrier are about using mental power to transform molecular characteristics.

It is on page 214. The question and answer on the second paragraph.