Subtle Body Simple, Straightforward Definition

Subtle body simple, straightforward definition to the "subtle body" would probably need to relate to the unseen, the different components of the psyche, to the," mental and spiritual consciousness," as it appears below the obvious and visible physical component of a human being. Further more, the complexity of these inner bodies that exist inside each of us have received different explanations in Islamic, Indic and Chinese traditions.

Referring to Indic traditions, the inner body or consciousness was formed of several layers and levels. In this sense, Samkhya-Yoga, Advaita Vedanta, and Buddhist traditions believed that consciousness, what is found inside, was "a complex and multifaceted phenomenon," "consisting of multiple levels of consciousness." These were generally represented as a series of concentric circles, ranging from the least subtle (generally the physical body) to the most subtle.

The Taittiriya Upanishad gives us one of the best reflections of the subtle body as it appears in the Indic tradition. According to it, the individual is divided into five selves: each selves are made up of food, vital breath, mind, consciousness intellect and bliss, respectively. This self structure, as it appears in the Taittiriya Upanishad, greatly resembles Neo-Platonism in its view of the most subtle self as the ideal condition a human can reach. May it be the Buddhist Nirvana or the Indic Bliss, "where one attains to Brahman," or even the Christian Resurrection of one's soul, the death and decay of the physical is often seen as a natural way by which the inner self can rise to a condition of spiritual perfection. Only the spirit is left immortal in one's being, upon the successive unfolding of the other circles.

Chinese traditions of self and the subtle body are greatly influenced by Mahayana Buddhism, which spread into China from India in the 1st century AD. One of the most important particularities of Mahayana tradition refers to the elevation of Buddha to "the position of a Divine figure and source of Grace." Now, Buddha, or rather the Enlightened Figure of Buddha, possesses three levels of being, without counting the physical body (in my opinion, despite its omission in the texts, the physical body of the Enlightened Figure of Buddha should be regarded, similar to the Indic tradition, as the initial, most unsubtle body. If we look at historical tradition, Buddha is supposed to have lived on one piece of rice a day with the sole purpose of "removing" his physical body). These three subtle bodies are truth/reality body, complete enjoyment body and the transformation body.

Chinese Buddhist tradition gives birth from the reality body to the primordial deities referred to as the five Tathagata Buddhas. Further more, we have several other series of emanating deities, among them the eight Bodhisattvas, as well as the sixteen Bodhisattvas- Dakinis.

Referring to this brief description of the subtle body levels, as seen in the Chinese Buddhist tradition, and especially with the intrinsic connection between the deities and the subtle body, we may reckon that, in many ways, deities are a central concern for many believers. In my opinion, they tend to be seen, exactly because of their relationship with the subtle body, as the most direct way of reaching inner consciousness and of getting in touch with one's inner self and subtle body. Meditation is clearly a way not necessarily to get in touch directly with the subtle body, but to level up with spirits that can give you access to it.

G. Seeman, quoting Henry Corbin, refers to "three worlds of experience in the teaching of Shiite philosophers Qadi Sa'id": the phenomenal world, the suprasensible world 9 unperceptive to senses) and the cognitive imagination world. From a bodily perspective, these correspond to the physical, subtle and absolutely physical levels. A visit to the Temple of the Ka'bah is essential in order to coordinate the three subtle body levels in one's existence. Again Corbin explains that "for the mystical pilgrim, the pilgrimage and the rites of pilgrimage performed at the Temple of the Ka'bah have a direct configurative action on the formation of his body of light, on his body's malakut."