Expert: Alex Wilding - 2/17/2009

Question
I experienced nirvanic enlightenment when Iwas 25 & living in Tokyo.One year prior,in Australia, metaphysically transported into outer space to witness two circular hex matrixes(same size as the earth one either side of planet)one red one blue merge lock & initailise around the plannet.my quest-ion is how mana people are there known

Answer
Hi David,
I find it hard to be sure what you are saying. In Buddhism, "nirvana" is the end of all ignorance, craving and aversion. "Enlightenment" is a bit trickier, but generally refers to full Buddhahood. I presume that you are not saying that you have reached those stages - are you?

What you have described, on the other hand, sounds more like what we call "nyam", which roughly means "experience". If you practice meditation seriously (or it can happen spontaneously, depending on the condition of your nervous system) various experiences arise - insights into the nature of things, bliss, spaciousness, visions of Buddha-lands or other places. Mostly they are pleasant, but they can be nasty too, like the "bad trip" that people sometimes report from acid. The teachings are very clear that these "nyams" are encouraging, but temporary. They are a sign that something is happening, but in themselves they don't usually mean very much.

I'm also not very clear about what your question actually is - can you put it into slightly different words?

All the best
Alex W