Venerable Phra Dhamma Theerarach Mahamuni - Sixteen Stages of Insight

~C4Chaos mentioned this link someplace, and I enjoyed it so I am passing it on.

There are a variety of maps of the enlightenment process, so this is only one, but it seems to me a good one, from what little I know of the process. Others who are more advanced on the path can let me know how accurate this map is.

This article is the work of the late Venerable Phra Dhamma Theerarach Mahamuni, one of the most renowned vipassana teachers of his time. The original booklet was produced in 1961 by the Division of Vipassana Dhura at Mahadhatu Monastery, Bangkok, and translated by Helen and Vorasak Jandamit. A revised English version was reprinted in 1988. It is also presented, with commentary, in the book, Insight Meditation: Practical Steps to Ultimate Truth, by Achan Sobin S. Namto (Sopako Bodhi Bhikkhu). In a few places the text has been edited and augmented by the Vipassana Dhura staff.

Contents

Note To The Reader
The Sixteen Stages of Insight
1 - Namarupa Pariccheda Nana
2 - Paccaya Pariggaha Nana
3 - Sammasana Nana
4 - Udayabbaya Nana
5 - Bhanga Nana
6 - Bhaya Nana
7 - Adinava Nana
8 - Nibbida Nana
9 - Muncitukamayata Nana
10 - Patisankha Nana
11 - Sankharupekha Nana
12 - Anuloma Nana
13 - Gotrabhu Nana
14 - Magga Nana
15 - Phala Nana
16 - Paccavekkhana Nana

Note to the reader: Some meditation teachers feel that the following information should not be made available to the general public. That isn't because these teachings are for members of a select group, must be specially transmitted, or are in any sense esoteric; but because, due to the tricky nature of the mind, learning about these insights before acquiring personal meditation experience might cause you to anticipate results, thereby slowing your progress. That's why Mahási Sayádaw wrote, "It is not good for a pupil who meditates under the guidance of a teacher to get acquainted with these stages before meditation begins" (Practical Insight Meditation, p. 35).

Nevertheless, the Sayadaw agreed to the publication of his own book, The Progress of Insight, that deals with these stages. He acknowledged that the information may be helpful for many students who practice in isolation. So we decided to follow a middle path by publishing the present essay, but including a cautionary note as the Sayadaw did.

Generally speaking, we do not recommend that beginners read this article. We offer the following descriptions for those students who have no access to an instructor and are trying to make sense of a meditation experience they have had, or for those who have already reached a fairly advanced stage of insight.

Although it is natural to want to know what level you have reached and what will happen next in meditation, it is quite difficult to evaluate your own experience, even with a written guideline. You should always be aware that, no matter what you come to believe as a result of reading this article, your self-assessment may be incorrect. Besides, the mind likes to play tricks. If you cling to something you've read about, wanting it to happen, the mind may subconsciously try to mimic the experience. Without a teacher you may not be able to tell the difference between the illusion and the real thing. In order to avoid the trap of self-deception it is important to use the information given here intelligently, with continuous self-examination and scrupulous honesty.

If you are reading this because you are wondering if you have reached enlightenment, please realize that you probably haven't, although you may have reached an earlier stage of insight-knowledge. Achan Sopako Bodhi explains that when the first level of enlightenment is reached there can be no doubt about it. You would not need to ask if you'd attained it. In the words of another bhikkhu, "It cannot be missed."

The Sixteen Stages of Insight: A Manual for Checking Vipassana Progress

This manual is intended for advanced students or vipassana teachers rather than beginners. It is not meant to substitute for the personal guidance of a meditation teacher.

There are sixteen levels of vipassana-knowledge or nana ("nana," pronounced "yah-nuh," is a Pali word for "knowledge.") In each level the student realizes a more advanced insight. This knowledge is a direct vision, not a matter of thinking. The meditator who undergoes an intensive meditation retreat will usually progress through the stages more or less in order, sometimes falling back to an earlier stage, or going back and forth between several levels before passing on to the next. A student may sometimes get stuck at a certain stage, at which time the help of a competent teacher is invaluable.

The meditator does not stay at each level for an equal period of time. Some stages may last days, weeks, months or longer, others mere hours. Some of the higher stages take only a few mind-moments, or even one moment, to pass – less than one second of time. Not every student will undergo all the experiences described here, nor in the exact order presented.

As you read these pages remember that, without exception, no matter what stage has been reached or what new phenomenon has been experienced, this tenet of insight meditation applies across the board: just go on with the work of noticing mental and material phenomena as they appear, without evaluating or naming those things; then let them go. Don't cling to any experience. Whatever happens, don't be swayed or impressed by it, no matter how blissful or terrible. This advice is pertinent even to those who have reached the first level of enlightenment. If you honestly follow this rule and don't let the mind talk you into making exceptions, you can be assured your practice will be correct and you will reach the end of the path as soon as possible.

The Sixteen Stages of Vipassana Knowledge

1. Knowledge to distinguish mental and physical states (namarupa pariccheda nana).
2. Knowledge of the cause-and-effect relationship between mental and physical states (paccaya pariggaha nana).
3. Knowledge of mental and physical processes as impermanent, unsatisfactory and nonself (sammasana nana).
4. Knowledge of arising and passing away (udayabbaya nana).
5. Knowledge of the dissolution of formations (bhanga nana).
6. Knowledge of the fearful nature of mental and physical states (bhaya nana).
7. Knowledge of mental and physical states as unsatisfactory (adinava nana).
8. Knowledge of disenchantment (nibbida nana).
9. Knowledge of the desire to abandon the worldly state (muncitukamayata nana).
10. Knowledge which investigates the path to deliverance and instills a decision to practice further (patisankha nana).
11. Knowledge which regards mental and physical states with equanimity (sankharupekha nana).
12. Knowledge which conforms to the Four Noble Truths (anuloma nana).
13. Knowledge of deliverance from the worldly condition (gotrabhu nana).
14. Knowledge by which defilements are abandoned and are overcome by destruction (magga nana).
15. Knowledge which realizes the fruit of the path and has nibbana as object (phala nana).
16. Knowledge which reviews the defilements still remaining (paccavekkhana nana).

Read the whole article.

Tags: Buddhism, meditation, insight, Venerable Phra Dhamma Theerarach Mahamuni, Theravada, Vipassana, Sixteen Stages of Vipassana Knowledge