Manomayiddhi Power of Mind Meditation
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This article discusses Manomayiddhi meditation as taught and popularized by Phra Ratchaphromyan (Wira Thāvaro) (1916–1992), or Luang Pho Ruesi Lingdam, the abbot of Wat Tha Sung, Uthai Thani province, Thailand. The method employs mindfulness of breathing (ānāpānasati), various usages of the mantras “na ma ba dha” and “namo buddhāya,” other traditional techniques and rituals for the practitioner to gain manomayiddhi and project a mind-made body of him/herself to heaven, hell, and other cosmological realms. Mind-made body or what Luang Pho Ruesi Lingdam terms “adissamāna-kāya” (invisible body) is defined as the meditator’s “inner” and “overlapping” body that changes according to his/her mental state and corresponds to the realms (bhūmi) of Buddhist cosmology. The article establishes a connection between Manomayiddhi meditation and the borān kammaṭṭhāna tradition, especially, the meditation manual of Supreme Patriarch Don (1761–1842) of Wat Mahathat, Bangkok. It also incorporates the author’s interview with Phra Khru Phawana Thamnithet (Achin Dhammacitto) (1950–), the head of meditation at Wat Tha Sung and a direct pupil of Luang Pho Ruesi Lingdam.
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References
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