From Park, Ju Suk's Meditation Journal

Park, Ju Suk has been meditating with me since January 2024.

“On the morning of August 30, 2024, at approximately 05:40 a.m., I embarked on a profound journey that led me to the threshold of death.

As usual, I sat down, and energy began circulating throughout my body, advancing to the fourth Jhana.

My body kept falling forward, so I leaned against the wall and regressed to the third Jhana. I thought staying comfortably in the third Jhana was not beneficial, so I straightened my body and sat upright.

I noticed a subtle shift as I attempted to reenter the 4th Jhana. I was enveloped in a serene calm, yet a profound sense of sublime bliss permeated my body.

My breath, once coarse, became increasingly refined, and I could feel my bodily sensations gently separating from my breath, leaving only the calm rhythm of my breathing.

My breath guided my mind. As my breathing became finer, my mind became more subtle. As my body leaned forward, my breathing became finer, and my mind became fainter; I felt sublime bliss. I thought I was dying, but suddenly, a thought arose, "Why is death so happy and not painful?" my body gradually leaned, and my mind was suddenly sucked somewhere. I thought I was sucked into death, but I was still alive with my head on the floor.

As I sat up, relief and joy washed over me, manifesting in deep sighs and tears of happiness.

I repeated deep sighs a couple of times.

When my body straightened upright, joy rose, and I experienced a few deep breaths.

Joy came with every review. After a while, I leaned forward again, but unlike before, it was ordinary.

Then, when I sat up straight, my mind began to practice Vipassana. When I started Vipassana, joy came, but when I thought, “Is this impermanence and suffering?” the corners of my mouth went up, and a smile appeared. After a while, my whole body trembled, and my body turned into flowers—small, pink flowers.”