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Out of body experiences
Okay, I'm sure everyone here has heard of "astral projection". I'm here to ask anyone if they have had any experience on this topic or if this can be done through meditation. Responses appreciated!
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sorry, this is a re-post from another thread....but this Sutta, Buddhist scripture, speaks to the point of Buddhism.
It is worth working with the old fashioned language here...
All psychic phenomena.... are simply things.... to let-go-of. No matter how fascinating they may be... or seem to be. Just stuff.
Yeah, I wouldn't have believed it either, except these sources are so credible.
btw, @BeyondPrair, you posted this in Buddhism For Beginners. Astral projection, since it has no relation to Buddhism, or very little, would go under "General Banter", unless this specific OP would go under "Meditation". Before you start a thread, first select the category, by clicking on a category in the menu at above right of each page. Once you're in a category, then click on "Start New Discussion".
You may be interested to know that the Dalai Lama says that OBE's are the "very subtle mind" (that which survives death and continues on to another rebirth) leaving the body, and returning. So according to Tibetan Buddhism, OBE's are possible for advanced meditators.
The more I search the stranger OBE's seem to be
Free! @maarten thank you again.
I read books and tried techniques with not much to show for it. I would end up falling asleep, or dreaming, then forgetting what happened. But it wasn't till I got a hold of this book, that I had my first actual out of body experience.
http://obe4u.com/
It's a free e-book on that website. It's a very simple, and short book. Often it's the most simple techniques that are the most powerful. When I first managed to separate my spirit from my body, I knew, it's very distinct. It is like being a ghost. I saw some unbelievable things, and interacted with both this physical realm and the astral realm.
I'm by no means a master at it. I've only still done it a handful of times. It's not that easy for me unfortunately, but in the few times that I did do it I was convinced that it's a real and possible phenomenon that is even testable at times. (You can sometimes see objects that are above you or through walls and then go to confirm they were actually there once you wake up). I understand it's hard to believe. The main thing I can say about that, is just try it a bit, if it doesn't work then just don't do it anymore.
Sacred Texts Buddhism Index Previous Next
MIRACLES FORBIDDEN
JOTIKKHA, the son of Subhadda, was a householder living in Rajagaha. Having received a precious bowl of sandalwood decorated with jewels, he erected a long pole before his house and put the bowl on its top with this legend: "Should a samana take this bowl down without using a ladder or a stick with a hook, or without climbing the pole, but by magic power, he shall receive as reward whatever he desires."
The people came to the Blessed One, full of wonder and their mouths overflowing with praise, saying: "Great is the Tathagata. His disciples perform miracles. Kassapa, the disciple of the Buddha, saw the bowl on Jotikkha's pole, and, stretching out his hand, he took it down, carrying it away in triumph to the vihara."
When the Blessed One heard what had happened, he went to Kassapa, and, breaking the bowl to pieces, forbade his disciples to perform miracles of any kind.
Soon after this it happened that in one of the rainy seasons many bhikkhus were staying in the Vajji territory during a famine. And one of the bhikkhus proposed to his brethren that they should praise one another to the householders of the village, saying: "This bhikkhu is a saint; he has seen celestial visions; and that bhikkhu possesses supernatural gifts; he can work miracles." And the villagers said: "It is lucky, very lucky for us, that such saints are spending the rainy season with us." And they gave willingly and abundantly, and the bhikkhus prospered and did not suffer from the famine.
When the Blessed One heard it, he told Ananda to call the bhikkhus together, and he asked them: "Tell me, O bhikkhus, when does a bhikkhu cease to be a bhikkhu?"
And Sariputta replied: "An ordained disciple must not commit any unchaste act. The disciple who commits an unchaste act is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni. Again, an ordained disciple must not take except what has been given him. disciple who takes, be it so little as a penny's worth, is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni. And lastly, an ordained disciple must not knowingly and malignantly deprive any harmless creature of life, not even an earthworm or an ant. The disciple who knowingly and malignantly deprives any harmless creature of its life is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni. These are the three great prohibitions."
And the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus and said: "There is another great prohibition which I declare to you: An ordained disciple must not boast of any superhuman perfection. The disciple who with evil intent and from covetousness boasts of a superhuman perfection, be it celestial visions or miracles, is no longer a disciple of the Sakyamuni. I forbid you, O bhikkhus, to employ any spells or supplications, for they are useless, since the law of karma governs all things. He who attempts to perform miracles has not understood the doctrine of the Tathagata."
Next: The Vanity Of Worldliness
Is there anything I should know specifically about the experience?
I would say just to try it and that you will know the difference between dreaming, imagining and astral projecting. If it feels like you're dreaming or imagining it, you probably didn't do it yet. I know it sounds typical, but when I first started seeing my spirit form I looked like a ghost. There was a white aura about it, it was different than dreams for sure.
There are a few reality checks you can do to see if you're in control. You can pull your finger and see it drag like you were pulling a piece of chewing gum. You should look in the mirror to see your spirit form, it will most likely look different than a dream, the vision is different. Then when you jump you tend to float or fly. You can also look for objects above your building, or above a shelf and see if they were there later. Though the objects can tend to change. Sometimes you will see objects that actually weren't there in the physical realm, when you see objects like that try to remember them, as they usually have some sort of relevance.
Also don't expect it to last a long time. Because it actually takes a lot of focus to make astral projecting last. Usually I end up blacking out and falling asleep, or just waking up after a few minutes. It's not easy for some people. If you aren't getting it down, don't force it to happen. I'd say maybe two attempts every other day. If you try to force yourself for it to happen too much, you will end up just imagining it, and that's not what you want. You want the actual physical out of body experience that actually involves you entering another realm. Let me know if it ever works for you
But one thing I've always wanted to know... are my eyes open or closed when I'm paralyzed? I have no way of knowing since I've never had anyone I could ask, lol. I always assumed my eyes were open until I did more research on this and found that a lot of people's eyes are in fact closed when this happens to them.
So, I figure it's either that: 1. My eyes are open and I can see everything as it is. 2. My eyes are closed and I have a vivid memory of my surroundings. 3. There is another option that possibly involves some sort of OBE.
Wow! I went to that site, didn't even read the book, I just watched the video and I tried doing it on Saturday morning when right after I woke up ....and it worked (At least I think it did).
I started by wiggling my finger and then trying to crawl out of my body (because I was sleeping on my stomach). The first time I tried it I kind of got excited and "woke" myself out of it too early, but I tried right after that and completely crawled out of my body and was able to stand up and look around (everything seemed to be a little hazy and in a panoramic type of view). I saw my wife coming in to wake me up and tried to hide because I wasn't sure if she'd be able to see me like some sort of ghost.?, but I kind of panicked and "woke" myself up right before she came to put her hand on my sleeping body. Everything happened literally within a few seconds, so it was a very short experience.
I agree with the people who say this is not beneficial to enlightenment. I think I have a lot more questions than answers from the experience, but I was definitely surprised to see it work, since I've tried before visiting that site without any success.
I'm not sure if it was a fluke or beginners luck, but it was definitely interesting in a weird type of way.