While meditating,
I experienced brightness in my visual field and sensation in my face as if air is hitting the skin.
Were they just sensations?
Yes,
That's right.
If we can make the analogy,
Hearing and seeing in real time is like live video.
So when we think of something,
It's basically we're turning on a video.
So basically,
When you close your eyes,
It's like turn off the video,
But there are remnants of the lights that are still on the screen.
It's the same thing.
So for example,
Look into the sun,
Then close your eyes.
Even your eyes closed,
You still have remnants of the sunlight inside your eyes.
Some people think this is a real thing.
So they kind of mistakenly say that light has come down upon them from the heavens.
The same thing happens with sounds.
And some people mistake these sounds for voices from God or from Buddha.
Same thing with our sense of touch upon our skin.
Some people claim that somebody is printing hot coals on their skin.
They actually measure the temperature.
It's normal skin temperature.
But what that person feels is literally hot coals on his skin.
So when you experience this type of hallucinations or these sensations,
It's bound to create differences in opinion.
So it turns into a debate of,
I saw a ghost,
But that person didn't see one.
Same thing with voices.
I heard a voice,
That person didn't hear a voice.
But it's not that I'm lying.
It's that I feel this,
I hear this,
And I see this.
So this issue is not a matter of approach.
It's not a matter of thinking that this is a lie or truth.
It's a matter of accepting that person feels that way.
It's almost like you're tearing up when you see your favorite character in a TV show get killed or die.
If we are really focused and we empathize with the character,
We actually have these emotions,
Emotional reactions to something happening on the screen.
But when you turn off the TV,
There's nothing there.
That's why these phenomena,
You feel it visually,
Auditorily,
And also tactilely.
You feel something's happening,
But it's not real thing that's happening.
It's not anything special.
So during meditation,
When you focus on the breath,
You should not imbue anything else,
Any other experiences,
Phenomena,
With any meaning.
Even if Buddha himself were to appear,
Kind of tap you and touch you on your head,
That's just a hallucination,
And you should not imbue that with any meaning.
