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Is meditating dangerous while in a hospital bed?
Namaste folks,
My brother-in-law Josef is stuck in the hospital now for some weeks, and I am thinking I should give him Ajahn Brahm's book, "Meditation, Bliss, and Beyond," because it seems like he finally has time to meditate.
But I suppose he should steer clear of the jhana state, since that would probably lead to him "coding" and (perhaps?) even being pronounced dead, which Brahm relates nearly happened to a lay disciple that he knew (luckily he woke up right before the death pronouncement).
I just wonder if it is always easy to be so "mindful" during meditation. The lay disciple Brahm mentions apparently had no intention to enter jhana (first time), and yet he did. And even if it is possible to consciously avoid jhana, does this maybe diminish the benefits of meditation if you are worried about what might happen while meditating? I suppose it just depends on the attitude of the meditator...
Personally I have not ever been skillful enough to get to jhana. Well, I've only recently started meditating... but I did get to the beautiful breath one time, and boy, was that the experience of a lifetime! I would love for my brother in law to feel that infinite beauty of his own mind. And who knows, maybe it would even be physically healing for him.
My brother-in-law Josef is stuck in the hospital now for some weeks, and I am thinking I should give him Ajahn Brahm's book, "Meditation, Bliss, and Beyond," because it seems like he finally has time to meditate.
But I suppose he should steer clear of the jhana state, since that would probably lead to him "coding" and (perhaps?) even being pronounced dead, which Brahm relates nearly happened to a lay disciple that he knew (luckily he woke up right before the death pronouncement).
I just wonder if it is always easy to be so "mindful" during meditation. The lay disciple Brahm mentions apparently had no intention to enter jhana (first time), and yet he did. And even if it is possible to consciously avoid jhana, does this maybe diminish the benefits of meditation if you are worried about what might happen while meditating? I suppose it just depends on the attitude of the meditator...
Personally I have not ever been skillful enough to get to jhana. Well, I've only recently started meditating... but I did get to the beautiful breath one time, and boy, was that the experience of a lifetime! I would love for my brother in law to feel that infinite beauty of his own mind. And who knows, maybe it would even be physically healing for him.
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Comments
Of course in ancient times it might have seemed like someone was dead who was in a deep state of meditation; a modern hospital would be another story!
To answer your jhana fear. Such a fruition is likely as an asteroid hitting your brother in laws hospital room.
If the only thing that is keeping one alive is ones' will to live, there are jhanic states that may precipitate the end of that life, but only for the most accomplished of meditaters.
"Code, hospital: While there is no formal definition for a "Code," doctors often use the term as slang to refer to a patient in cardiopulmonary arrest , requiring a team of providers (sometimes called a "code team") to rush to the specific location and begin immediate resuscitative efforts."
It's when they bring in the crash cart, when someone's going to die otherwise.
The heart may beat once per minute as well (or less).
All brain activity as measured on EEG stops.
All this is what I have read in Brahm's book. Perhaps he is lying, or the guy who told him what happened to him was lying, but if neither of them were lying, he was taken to a hospital and nearly pronounced dead before waking up. No effort at resuscitation was successful. When his master, Ajahn Brahm, was nearing death, the monks had to tell the nurse not to declare him dead until measuring blood oxygen levels, since all other signs were useless. Yogananda and many others also speak of this state of death-like hibernation in which all body processes stop. In his book, Yogananda even said, "You can tell if one is a saint by putting a bag over their head for an hour. If they are still alive afterward, they are a saint." Of course, I'm not sure that being able to go into jhana defines one as a saint, but, whatever.
Of course, one would hope that doctors would not put the body in the morgue until more definite signs of death appear (such as deoxygenated blood), but, I'm not so sure that doctors are all aware of the inability to measure life signs with common techniques.
But anyway, I hear what you are saying, and I guess you are right. I just would feel horrible if something like that did happen. But he can make up his own mind.. the info is all in the book. It's not secret.
I'm guessing that if you're about to give him a book on the subject, perhaps not.
it takes a great deal of time for one who has practised meditation, to reach such a level. It is not normally something can achieve in a few days, let alone simply learn form a book.
Secondly a note on personal experience. Following a heart attack last October Guided meditation was a salient feature of the rehabilitation programme. Since that time I have incorporated meditation into daily life and practice regularly. Meditation has strongly aided a rapid recovery in my case.
I meditated whilst in the hospital and that also helped with stabilizing blood pssure and pulse rate. Its interesting that the National Health Service in the UK is taking a strong interest in the usefullness of meditative techniques in both pventive and remedial medicine.
Namaste