Understanding the Pathama Magga Sphere : หน้า 135/263

the other virtues. For as long as a meditator cultivates the Noble Eightfold Path purely, completely and according to the principles of the Middle Way (i.e. with the mind entering continuously upon the pathway at the centre of the body), the mind will be liberated from mood influences in the outside world. Once the mind has adjusted itself, the meditator will see the dia- mond clear Pathama Magga Sphere (Dhammaṇupassanā- satipaṭṭhāna Sphere) at the centre of his or her body. At its smallest it will be the size of a star. Medium-sized, it will be the size of the full moon. At its largest it will be the size of the midday sun. The Pathama Magga Sphere arises when all eight components of the Noble Eightfold Path are present and fuse into unity [maggasamaṅgī]. This is thetrailhead of the pathway to Nirvana. Having attained the Pathama Magga Sphere, if the medi- tator were just to place their mind there in quietude, it might revert to be influenced by external influences again and even- tually the state of meditation would be lost. Thus it is taught that instead of just resting the mind in quietude, one should allow one's mind to go deeper through the centre of that sphere — the Pathama Magga Sphere will enlarge in size allowing the mind to go through the centre to the spheres of self-discipline, concentration, wisdom, liberation, know­ing- and-seeing of liberation in that order. These spheres are in nested layers. Going deeper, the inner bodies will be attained (in keeping with the ‘mindfulness of the body in the body’ principle of the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta). The Buddha taught us to be mindful of the body in the body, by seeing and consid- ering the inner bodies the whole of the time. If those bodies are still subject to the Three Signs (impermanence, suffering and not-self), He taught us to let go of our attachment to