Page 174 - The Buddha‘s Noble Eightfold Path

concentration and become identified with it.

I have taken concentration on an image or picture of the Buddha

as an example of the practice of Samatha, because here the
difference between the degrees can be seen more clearly. But in
every type of concentration exercise we start by taking a gross

object, work our way up to the subtle object and then become
absorbed in the subtle object, thus experiencing the three

degrees, levels or grades of Samatha or tranquillity.

(b) Samapatti

Samapatti literally means attainments, or experiences gained as
a result of practising concentration. All those who practise

concentration• and meditation eventually get experiences of
one kind or another. The type and also the degree of the
experience depends very much on your personal temperament

and is not necessarily related to your degree of spiritual
development. Sometimes people assume that if you have a lot of

experiences of this sort you are more advanced than if you have
only one or two or none at all, but it is not quite so simple as
that.

The commonest sort of experience of an elementary nature is

probably the experience of light. As the mind becomes more
concentrated, you may see lights of various kinds — usually a
white or yellowish light, sometimes a bluish one, occasionally red

or green light, though these are comparatively rare. Experiences
of this sort are an indication that the mind has become

concentrated, that the level of awareness has been raised
slightly, and that one has begun to contact something which is
just a little bit beyond the ordinary conscious mind. Some

people, instead of seeing lights, hear sounds. They may hear a
very deep, sustained musical note, rather like a mantra,

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