I never said anything about being born form lust, hate, or delusion, I said I still have these fetters.
http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books11/Ajah ... ers1-5.pdf
[/quote]
Peter Harvey in "Signless" Meditations in Pali Buddhism gives a good overview on the variety of meanings of "nimitta":
[/quote]Peter Harvey wrote:V. The Meaning of Nimitta
Having mapped out the range of states known as "animitta,"
we can now investigate the nature and range of "nimittas" before
going on to examine the method of practice that leads beyond
them, and the nature of the animitta states to which such practices
lead.
While nimitta has been translated as "sign" so far, we can
see its range of meaning, in general usage, as being:
i) A deliberately made sign, or "hint," as when the Buddha
made a broad nimitta about the possibility of his living on for
the rest of the aeon.27
ii) A natural sign or indication, not deliberately made as a sign.
At S. V. 150, for example, in not noting what his master says
he likes, and reaches out for, etc., an inexperienced cook is
said not to take proper note of his master's nimitta. One who
reads the mind of another, without going off what anyone
says, and without using the power of meditation for direct
thought-reading, is said to do so by means of a nimitta, i.e., a
behavioural sign.28 Earthquakes are said to be the nimittas,
or signs, of the four main events in a buddha's life,29 while
ageing, sickness, death, and an ascetic are the four nimittas,
or "indications" of the nature of life, leading to a bodhisatta's
SO
renunciation,
iii) A specific type of natural sign—a sign of what is to come, a
portent. Thus, "diviners of nimittas" examined the 32 marks
on the body of the newborn bodhisatta*1 taking three of
them as the nimitta, or "sign" of longevity.32 Similarly, we
read that "that is a prior sign (pubbe nimittam) of the manifestation
of Brahma, when the light arises, and the glory
shines."33
iv) A marker, as when hillsides and rocks, etc. are taken as nimittas
showing the boundaries of a monastic residence.34
v) A (male or female) sexual organ (Vin.III.28, and 21) or sexual
characteristic (Dhs.§633,644).
vi) Characteristic, as in bdlanimittdni, "the characteristics of a
fool" (M.III. 163), and as implied in "But you, householder,
have all the characteristic marks and signs (dkdrd te lingd te
nimitta) of a householder,"3""1 and in the phrase "face-ra'raitta"
which is what is said to be seen to be seen and pondered
in a mirror (M.I. 100).
vii) General appearance, or gestalt, as in the common passage,
"Having seen a visible shape with the eye, he does not seize
on the general appearance (nimittaggdhi), he does not seize
on the detail (anubyanjanaggdhi) . . . ."36
viii) Ground, reason or cause, as when the Buddha says that he
does not behold the nimitta on which anyone could reprove
him for having dsavas not yet destroyed.37 Similarly, at
M.III. 157, a monk says that he does not know nimitta, the
reason, why, in his attempts to see gods, their light and visible
form come to disappear.38
ix) Aim, as when an archer "takes a straight aim {nimittam ujum
Aflroft')w(Miln.418).
x) The object of concentration in samatha meditation: this is
well attested in the commentarial literature, e.g., at
Vism. 125—6: in concentrating on an external device, such as
a clay disc, the device itself is the "preliminary" nimitta', by
concentrating on it, the meditator comes to see a mental
image of it, even with closed eyes—this is the "learning"
nimitta: by his concentrating on this, it appears in a purified,
abstracted form, the "counterpart" nimitta. In the latter two
cases, the nimitta can be seen as a "reflex image," which is
both a "sign" that the meditation is proceeding well and the
"target" of concentration (cf. sense ix, above). Such
samddhi-nimittas are also alluded to in the suttas. The "pre
liminary" sign is alluded to at Ps.II.38, which says, "Here,
someone gives attention to the nimitta of blue-black, internally
in himself," the commentary explaining this to mean a
person's hair. A reflex-image nimitta is referred to, e.g., at
A.IV.418, on a monk who is unskilled at entering on and
dwelling in the firstjhdna:" he does not pursue, nor develop,
nor cultivate that nimitta."39
We see then that, in general usage, nimitta means a sign or
indication, which may be a hint, or an indication of contemporary
or future thoughts, desires, events or features of life, or a
(boundary) marker, sexual or other characteristic, general appearance,
ground or reason, aim, or a meditation object that is
either physical or a mental reflex image. It is a delimited object
of attention, that may, or should be taken as indicating something
beyond itself or the general features of that to which it
belongs.
I'm not sure about all this I'm afraid, I'm not a practicing Buddhist or indepth with Buddhism or terms, I'm sorry.
