The Rainbow Body's Inner Cinema: Phosphenes, Ultrasubjective Hyperspace, and a Neurophenomenological Framework for Tibetan Mystical Experience

The rainbow body (Jalü in Tibetan Buddhism) represents a profound spiritual attainment, and it is said that the physical form dissolves into light at the time of death. This paper proposes a novel hypothesis: the visual component of the rainbow body experience, as vividly perceived in personal meditative encounters, can be understood as a complex, dynamic phosphene-movie, a vivid internal visual phenomenon arising from neural activity. Furthermore, we integrate the often-overlooked haptic dimension which might rise during deep meditation states, specifically the sensation of floating upward, arguing that it is not merely an accompanying sensation but an integral, co-creative element shaping the visual phosphenes. Drawing upon historical Tibetan Buddhist textual accounts, particularly from the Dzogchen tradition, and a six-phase taxonomy of inner luminous experience, we demonstrate a striking convergence between traditional descriptions and modern neurophysiological understanding of phosphenes. We contend that Thankas, traditional Tibetan Buddhist scroll paintings, serve as ancient visual records of these intricate internal phosphene-movies and the associated haptic sensations. Moreover, the integration of these visual and haptic experiences, where the 'viewer' spontaneously embodies the ascending light-form, is presented as a passive yet profound manifestation of Guru Yoga or Deity Yoga. This work re-interprets the Dzogchen tradition as perhaps the most elaborate system for collectively entering and mapping an Ultrasubjective Hyperspace (USH), where phosphene-meditations form the backbone of a systematic exploration of consciousness leading to the perception of the primary clear light, the "structure-function unity" of awareness. This paper contributes to comparative mysticism, neurophenomenology, and consciousness studies, while offering a tangible framework for understanding profound spiritual experiences. Moreover, it emphasizes the Tibetan culture, and especially the Dzogchen tradition, as the fundament of the most profound creation of collective transpersonal experiences. From this collectively experienced USH the foundations of all archetypes rise.