Do you know of any Buddhist maps of absorption and insight stages?
Asked by
orlando (
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April 4th, 2013
I’m looking for books that would be able to explain (map out) Buddhist states of consciousness evoked through meditation or after death.
I know there are two broad areas—Realms of Absorption and Realms of existence these texts describe, but I can’t find much more material on this. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
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5 Answers
The foundational texts on states of consciousness are known as the Abhidharma. They’re among the least readable of the suttras; the state of consciousness they induce in me can best be described as “huh?”.
But if you really want to wade into this swamp, I’d suggest this book . Bikkhu Bodhi, the author, is a generally reliable guide through arcane Buddhist texts.
Good luck!
@thorninmud Can you speak about Bardo? I had a friend who was enamored of this whole idea but I don’t really understand much about it. It seems to be relate to this question though I cannot begin to pretend I understand it at all.
@Earthgirl You probably know more about it than I do, I’m afraid. It’s the Tibetans who’ve plotted out all of the post-mortem stuff. There’s an anecdote circulating in the Zen crowd about a guy who asked a Zen master, “What happens when we die?”.
The master said, “I don’t know”
“What do you mean you don’t know? You’re Zen master, aren’t you?”
“Yes, but not a dead one”
@thorninmud great answer—thank you very much! I did not expect to get this answer on Fluther, so this is a pleasant surprise.
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