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When a meditator achieves e.g. the 5th jhana of infinite space, is he or she still in this world?

Obviously the body is, but what about the mind?

I ask this question for a broader one: can sentient beings perceive the world of form as something formless? i.e. can we imagine a termination of form as something which can happen to this mind?

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    The first two questions seem clear, but I am struggling with your last sentence... Any way you can clarify what you are asking? "termination of form as something which can happen to this mind" - meaning, can I imagine that I will cease to exist? Like, REALLY imagine it? I think I have read that an Ego cannot really posit that thought, that it is simply impossible for an ego to hold it. The Nondual perspective is that form cannot terminate, having not properly been. Then there is the Heart Sutra: "Form is Emptiness, Emptiness is Form." Am I getting warm?
    – user2341
    Aug 18, 2015 at 21:04
  • yes i was asking about the "ego" in the (broadly) cartesian sense. i've looked into more secular philosophies which make the claim you can't "posit that thought" but the results were sparse. what about buddhism?
    – user2512
    Aug 18, 2015 at 21:08
  • I always thought that "I think therefore I am" was fishy, or outright nonsense. It appears that the one Answer does not touch on this aspect of your Question. I am not sure if Buddhism addresses it. My guess would be that it is regarded as Vexing.
    – user2341
    Aug 18, 2015 at 21:14
  • however it's stated and whatever metaphysics you have, i think that sentience is a tangible quality which overlaps both in buddhist and european philosophy
    – user2512
    Aug 18, 2015 at 21:22

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When a meditator achieves e.g. the 5th jhana of infinite space, is he or she still in this world?

Yes, he doesn't disappear. When you sleep, you are not aware of what's happening around you. But that doesn't mean the world is gone.

Obviously the body is, but what about the mind?

Yes, the mind is still associated with the body. Just that it's focusing on the space element.

can sentient beings perceive the world of form as something formless?

Atoms are 99.9999999999999 percent empty space. They say If you remove all the space in the atoms, the entire human race could fit in the volume of a sugar cube. That gives you an idea of how much our senses fool us. It's mostly empty space.

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    i'm almost sure this answers the question. thanks you
    – user2512
    Jul 6, 2015 at 11:21
  • is the answer the same for mind only schools of buddhism?
    – user2512
    Apr 24, 2017 at 19:08
  • " mind only schools of buddhism"? That's not Buddhism!
    – Sankha Kulathantille
    Apr 25, 2017 at 4:05

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