Did the Buddha talk about "out of body" experiences?
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According to DN 2, the Samaññaphala Sutta, it seems that OOBEs are possible:
"With his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, he directs and inclines it to creating a mind-made body. From this body he creates another body, endowed with form, made of the mind, complete in all its parts, not inferior in its faculties. Just as if a man were to draw a reed from its sheath. The thought would occur to him: 'This is the sheath, this is the reed. The sheath is one thing, the reed another, but the reed has been drawn out from the sheath.' Or as if a man were to draw a sword from its scabbard. The thought would occur to him: 'This is the sword, this is the scabbard. The sword is one thing, the scabbard another, but the sword has been drawn out from the scabbard.' Or as if a man were to pull a snake out from its slough. The thought would occur to him: 'This is the snake, this is the slough. The snake is one thing, the slough another, but the snake has been pulled out from the slough.' In the same way — with his mind thus concentrated, purified, and bright, unblemished, free from defects, pliant, malleable, steady, and attained to imperturbability, the monk directs and inclines it to creating a mind-made body. From this body he creates another body, endowed with form, made of the mind, complete in all its parts, not inferior in its faculties.This, too, great king, is a fruit of the contemplative life, visible here and now, more excellent than the previous ones and more sublime.
In the Translator's Introduction to the Potthapada Sutta, Thanissaro Bhikku identifies the mind-made body as the astral body:
The mind-made acquisition can result from an experience of the mind-made body — the "astral body" — that constitutes one of the powers that can be developed through concentration practice.
The mind-made body is a body that is made out of, composed of mind. Seems you can probably OOB with it.
Upvote:1
OBE implies that something has to be "out". it would contradict every Buddha's teaching about none-self or none permanent soul. First four jhannas focus on form from five skandhas . (BTW jannha litterally means focus, or single pointed attention).
the next four jhannas (which Buddha no longer attached word Jhanna to their names, IMO because it is longer single pointed attention); infinite space, infinite consciousness, neither perception nor non-perception. Meditatator is no longer direct his consciousness to a form (breathing in most cases) but to one of the other 3 names ( sensation, perception, and mental formation). Meditator would be released from "form". its the closest to OBE i can think off. However, almost all the time, when someone is having "OBE", his mental construct would build another body and cling to it, so it gives feeling of having another body looking at old one. thats how deities or being in lower realms got their form. Buddha said, they build their new form from a mental construction.
in short, when you are not clinging to your current body, you mental construct builds another one and cling to that new body is as yours.
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