Astral Projection

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
form
Posts: 3471
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 3:23 am

Re: Astral Projection

Post by form »

un8- wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 8:26 am
Inedible wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:50 am This really is an unusual place for a thread about astral projection. I'd like to see it develop because so far all the stuff I've read has been sounding the same.
There is a community of astral projectors who meet eachother in the astral and then report what happened in the astral to try to see if it is actually objective and not just a hallucination, they're on reddit /r/astreality

There's also /r/gatewaytapes and /r/fived which are based on the father of astral projection Robert Monroe and the youtuber Astral Club who has studied under robert monroe.

A lot of what they say aligns with Buddhism without them being aware of it, like how they see hungry ghosts and stuff, how when they do bad stuff or have bad thoughts they're unable to reach higher planes, etc.. For example the Astral Club guy was stuck in the hungry ghost planes because he did bad speech against a deva, he has no idea about karma, so he doesn't know why he was stuck in the hungry ghost plane, I believe he talks about it here



Also I noticed a lot of similarities between astral projection techniques and Buddhist meditation, the main theme in astral projection is to keep the mind awake while the body sleeps, and that seems to be the same in deep jhanas, the body stops breathing but the mind is awake.
This is the divine eye u are talking about?
User avatar
Sam Vara
Site Admin
Posts: 13460
Joined: Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:42 pm
Location: Portsmouth, U.K.

Re: Astral Projection

Post by Sam Vara »

Moderator note: Moved to "Connections to Other Paths", where this seems to sit more comfortably. There are links to Theravada to be made, but it's hardly mainstream as it stands.
un8-
Posts: 747
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 6:49 am

Re: Astral Projection

Post by un8- »

form wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:15 pm

This is the divine eye u are talking about?
It could be. If you notice the 5 mundane higher knowledges (abhinna) the first one is always the mind made body, so if the mind made body is the astral body, then one doesn't actually walk through walls and touch the sun and such, it is the mind made body that does all that.

Although there is a sutta where the Buddha says he can "teleport" both with the flesh body and mind made body.
There is only one battle that could be won, and that is the battle against the 3 poisons. Any other battle is a guaranteed loss because you're going to die either way.
form
Posts: 3471
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 3:23 am

Re: Astral Projection

Post by form »

un8- wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:50 pm
form wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:15 pm

This is the divine eye u are talking about?
It could be. If you notice the 5 mundane higher knowledges (abhinna) the first one is always the mind made body, so if the mind made body is the astral body, then one doesn't actually walk through walls and touch the sun and such, it is the mind made body that does all that.

Although there is a sutta where the Buddha says he can "teleport" both with the flesh body and mind made body.
It could be. But these powers need fourth jhana. I do not think those that has astral projection experience have fourth jhana capability. Likely more like lucid dream.
un8-
Posts: 747
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2021 6:49 am

Re: Astral Projection

Post by un8- »

form wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 2:18 pm
un8- wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:50 pm
form wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:15 pm

This is the divine eye u are talking about?
It could be. If you notice the 5 mundane higher knowledges (abhinna) the first one is always the mind made body, so if the mind made body is the astral body, then one doesn't actually walk through walls and touch the sun and such, it is the mind made body that does all that.

Although there is a sutta where the Buddha says he can "teleport" both with the flesh body and mind made body.
It could be. But these powers need fourth jhana. I do not think those that has astral projection experience have fourth jhana capability. Likely more like lucid dream.
There's lots of different interpretations of what actually constitutes jhanas, there's also wrong jhanas that don't overcome the 5 hindrances, so who knows.

The fire ascetics had psychic powers but obviously didn't overcome the 5 hindrances, they didn't have samma samadhi.

So who knows, all you can do is see for yourself. I tried the gateway tapes but eventually lost interest, like everything else if you're not willing to put in the time, you won't get results. I personally don't care for it, and would rather spend my time progressing in the dhamma. I just thought I'd share what I know about the topic.
There is only one battle that could be won, and that is the battle against the 3 poisons. Any other battle is a guaranteed loss because you're going to die either way.
form
Posts: 3471
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2016 3:23 am

Re: Astral Projection

Post by form »

un8- wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 5:14 pm
form wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 2:18 pm
un8- wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 1:50 pm

It could be. If you notice the 5 mundane higher knowledges (abhinna) the first one is always the mind made body, so if the mind made body is the astral body, then one doesn't actually walk through walls and touch the sun and such, it is the mind made body that does all that.

Although there is a sutta where the Buddha says he can "teleport" both with the flesh body and mind made body.
It could be. But these powers need fourth jhana. I do not think those that has astral projection experience have fourth jhana capability. Likely more like lucid dream.
There's lots of different interpretations of what actually constitutes jhanas, there's also wrong jhanas that don't overcome the 5 hindrances, so who knows.

The fire ascetics had psychic powers but obviously didn't overcome the 5 hindrances, they didn't have samma samadhi.

So who knows, all you can do is see for yourself. I tried the gateway tapes but eventually lost interest, like everything else if you're not willing to put in the time, you won't get results. I personally don't care for it, and would rather spend my time progressing in the dhamma. I just thought I'd share what I know about the topic.
People are warned here not to try with these prematurely. In order to experience some of these, one need to be secluded and practice concentration for a period of time.
Post Reply