So in the Buddhist texts known as Suites, the sublime is often put very abstractly in language that's not very helpful.

When the Buddha doesn't use various words like Piti Suka, which means rapture, enjoyable, somaty concentration, passati, passati, peaceful, but when he actually tries to describe the sublime, he kind of gets really abstract.

I'll give you some examples.

One notable sua, he says, the sublime is where there's no coming nor going, no standing still, nor moving, without

support.

Thanks, Buddha.

Another in the Udana is the sublime is neither here nor there nor anywhere in between.

That's no more helpful really. I can actually parse that for you

because I know the background for all of that languaging but I'd like to make it

far more discernible for you what the spiritual is like, what we're going for.

I must note that if I'm too explicit or concrete, then I'll kill off the idea of the experience of spiritual practice.

It's a little bit like riding a bike or swimming.

I can describe those states, but unless you do it for yourself,

you'll never really know, will you?

I mean, you could read as many books as you want on riding a bike, but the actual

experience of riding a bike is kind of something that you have to do for yourself.

Words can only point you in general direction. So all I'm going to be doing is pointing you in the general

direction and hopefully you'll do the work and experience the sublime yourself.

So I'm going to first tell you what it's most definitely not and then

we'll move towards what it is. That's in the Buddhist tradition as well, but it does use

a lot of negatives

to define positive state.

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