Page 176 - The Buddha‘s Noble Eightfold Path

body weight: one may feel very, very heavy as though one could

not possibly get up, or one may feel very, very light, as though
one was going to float away like thistledown. There may be

experiences of intense heat and cold, and sometimes these
changes of temperature can be perceived by other people.

Then again, in the case of some people (though not all, because
this is a matter of temperament), if they keep up the practice of

concentration and meditation over a long period, not only do
their minds become highly sensitized but they may develop
various subtle senses. They may become aware that they are

understanding what other people are thinking, or they may
develop the faculties of what we in the West call clairvoyance

and clairaudience. According to Buddhist teaching — in fact,
according to Buddhist experience — these faculties develop as
the result of practising concentration and meditation, when the

whole being becomes more refined and subtle. But again, they
do not develop in the case of everybody. Some people,

apparently, can even go the whole way — even realize Nirvana
— without developing any of these faculties at all.

Other samapatti experiences include, perhaps more
importantly, the experience of intense joy, bliss, and ecstasy,

and of an ineffable peace descending upon you and enfolding
you. This occurs especially at the time of meditation but can
occur at other times also. Even more importantly — and here

samapatti begins to merge into samadhi — you may attain
flashes of insight. It is as though a veil had been suddenly rent

and, just for an instant, you see things as they are: and then the
veil closes. But you do get a glimpse, or a flash. You might
suddenly comprehend the truth of a teaching that you had

known

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