that is highly unlikely. It may be compared to a deep, dreamless
sleep. During that time, the sleeper is completely unaware of body
and mind. No matter how long he remains in deep, dreamless
sleep, that condition stays the same. Only after waking up does
one become aware of normal physical and mental sensations.
Deep states of samãdhi, including nirodhasamãpatti, all exist
within the realm of relative, conventional reality, however. Only
the vimutticitta has gone completely beyond it. And if the citta
entering into these samãdhi states is already liberated from every
aspect of relative, conventional reality, then that pure visuddhi-citta
is in no way affected by such conventional levels of attainment. It
remains vimutticitta, free from all constraints of time and space –
akãliko. It’s absolutely impossible to conceptualize the nature of
vimutti-citta, so any attempt to speculate about its qualities is only
a waste of time and effort. The citta that enters into a state of total
quiescence, free from all conceptual reality, simply ceases to func-
tion, as those conditioned phenomena – that would ordinarily be
involved with the citta – temporarily disappear. Later when the
citta has withdrawn from deep samãdhi into upacãra samãdhi, or
back into the normal state of visuddhi-citta, it functions normally,
receiving and processing sense data as it sees fit.^6
Whether in upacãra samãdhi, or in its normal waking state,
Ãcariya Mun’s citta was always receptive to a multitude of phe-
nomena. The difference was in the depth, scope, and quality of
the experience. If wishing to investigate something thoroughly,
he would enter into upacãra samãdhi to get a more extensive view.
Clairvoyance and clairaudience, for example, require a state of
upacãra samãdhi. In this calm state one can perceive whatever
one wishes to know about the forms and sounds of people and
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
#1