FRUITION – 15th Stage of Insights
Fruition ( phala in Pali ) is the fruit of all the meditator’s hard work,
the first attainment of ultimate reality, emptiness, nirvana, nibbana,
ultimate potential, or whatever extrapolative and relatively inaccurate name
you wish to call something utterly non – sensate.
In this non – state, there is absolutely no time, no space, no reference point,
no experience, no mind, no consciousness, no awareness, no background,
no foreground, no nothingness, no somethingness, no body, no this, no that,
no unity, no duality, and no anything else.
“ Reality ” stops cold and then reappears.
Thus,
this is impossible to comprehend,
as it goes completely and utterly beyond the rational mind and the universe.
~~~
In “ external time ” ( if we were observing the meditator )
this stage typically lasts only an instant
( though the question of “ duration ” will be addressed below ).
It is like an utter discontinuity of the space – time continuum
with nothing in the unfindable gap, exactly like what happens when
someone edits out a frame or sequence of frames of a movie.
It is not that you see a blank screen for a while where they edited the frames out,
instead that part of the movie is just not there.
The initial aftershocks following the first time this happens at stream entry
( or the first time it happens at the beginning of a higher level of awakening ),
however, can go on for days,
and may be mild or spectacular, fun or unsettling,
or some mixture of these.
There are times when it is fun to show off, and this is one of those times.
Aftershocks I have noticed after paths include but are not limited to:
the brief visceral feeling that sensory reality is so intense that
the nerves in the forehead and upper neck may not be able to handle the strain;
the feeling that new brain pathways are now being infused with vibrant life
they lacked before, as if new nerve channels are tingling into life;
the feeling that we have become diffused into the atmosphere
without a center, purpose, function, sense of direction, or even will;
a feeling of joy and gratitude bursting through our being
beyond our usual sense of appreciation;
the sense of having at long last discovered what we most needed;
the profound sense of coming home, a quiet awe like
the stillness after a great storm;
rapturous transcendent highs that make anything that happened after the A & P
seem like dry toast; the profound feeling that
something pressed a reset button on reality, causing it to reboot as new, clean,
clear, bright, pristine, and fresh.
On subsequent passes through Fruition of that path,
the mind tends to be refreshed, bright , quiet, and clear for a while,
and milder forms of the above – listed phenomena may occur.
~~~
This song is performed in the ‘Dark Side’ of Hawaiian slack key of D Wahine.
View on YouTube with inspiring Hawaiian Sailing Photos
From my
SeaPasana
The Progress of Insight
Inspired by Daniel Ingram’s book Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha,
With this section “The progress of Insight”
Inspired by Mahasi Sayadaw