Achan Chah dharma diagnosis

Any Dharma Doctors in the House?

Have a look at this video of a monk describing an experience of Achan Chah. How would you diagnose the experience. I would call it a clear cut case of crossing the AP. Any thoughts?

hi Nik
Is there supposed to be a link or something? Or am I being tech un-savvy and missing something, as is likely the case?
--Jake

Hahahah! I totally missed that! No wonder noone replied. Hahahaha!

Thanks jake.

www.ajahnchah.org/video/video22.php

I was wondering that as well actually. Ha! Gonna check that out right now.

Sounds like he got into solid jhana first, then it sounds like he's describing the first few ñana with emphasis on Mind & Body. The whole description, especially when he refers to Ajahn Chah's "difficulties experienced afterwards", just sounds like the definition of the Arising & Passing Event and then on into Dark Night in the way that many of us have experienced.

Explosions, joy, experience of "other realms" or modes of perception, different relationship with the world and those in it who haven't crossed the 4th ñana, it's like a checklist for diagnosing the A&P Event. I don't get any indication of cessation being mentioned, the guy definitely experienced this as a conscious event with no "blink out", so to speak, so I think it'd be unlikely, based on my my own experience and knowledge of this ñana, which is always subject to correction, that Nik's diagnosis could be incorrect.

That was fun! That would be a good laugh to start up a game called: "Name That ñana" - Actually, that could be quite a useful tool to see how well someone understands the ñanas.

I think Tommy has the right idea. This life changing energy blast or "explosion" meets the basic criteria for an A&P event, particularly in light of the fact that it followed an insight into mind and body (nama-rupa). I would agree that he must have been in a strong jhanic state prior to his mind and body insight, being that he could choose whether or not to hear sounds. That's some solid absorption.

And of course, difficult times tend to follow these power-surge-explosion experiences.

I'm actually wondering if anyone sees something different happening here. I hope I'm not understanding this to be a certain way simply because I have my "progress of insight" goggles on

Jackson

sounds like the monk narrating the story in the video would agree with the consensus here, even if he might use different lingo to talk about it He seemed pretty clear about his own assessment of the experience as NOT being stream entry, or whatever his lineage calls it, but rather a "deep samadhi".

Anyone seen video 29? The narrator shares a story which in his "personal opinion" relates Ajahn Chah's first enlightenment experience. sounds very much like Mahayana style emptiness, but perhaps others would see it in terms of the Progress of Insight? And what of it as SE-- particularly in light of what Chuck Kasimir has written here lately about the different approaches of "Chah" and "Mahasi" style practice? Anyone here see this as possible SE?

www.ajahnchah.org/video/video29.php

I was thinking the same thing Jackson, perhaps our familiarity with the "progress on insight" map causes us to expect certain criteria without acknowledging that we've got that particular set of goggles on? (noting "goggles, goggles"....Ha!)

This does sound very KFD/DhO, as when Ajahn Jayasaro says, 'What was that!?' and 'Ajahn Chah would often talk about his experiences.'
Given that two of the main influences in Western vipassana--the Thai forest tradition and Mahasi Sayadaw's lineage--are so anti-mushroom, you have to wonder sometimes how the mushroom culture came to be...