The following Tibetan Buddhist (thangka) painting is a version of a visual representation of the 9 Stages (~11 stages) of Samatha meditation. Who is the *original* artist who painted it? It would have been painted about a millennium ago or so.

Can you tell me why Buddha used to go in different levels of absorption/ jhāna/musing even after nirvana for reference Mahā Parinibbāna Sutta (DN 16) and An 3.63 venaga sutta?

Is it during deep meditation when the mind is completely stilled that one experiences anatta? Is the conviction in anatta gradual or abrupt? This question would be connected to the 4 stages of enlightenment, too. Regards

I use the Tara mantra as my focus during Samatha meditation prior to beginning Vipassana but lately I am beginning to wonder...am I falling asleep? I can't tell, really. I don't get drowsy but my mantra becomes so quiet that it begins to merge with the thought-stream that it is resting on, and then I lose awareness of both until my consciousness returns to the fact that I am still chanting, but without any awareness of what, if anything, I was actually thinking about-the thoughts being too quiet to catch or to get caught in. But just as there is no going, there is no returning either (no waking up) with this experience, just very subtle ebb and flow. When I began a regular meditation practice about five months ago discursive thought would become loud enough to break my concentration. It still does, of course, more often than not, and I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of "getting caught up in the flow" only to return to the mantra. But lately it is like meditation has lost its urgency. It has become so much a part of my life. It has become like that ebb and flow and I just want to rest in the stillness of that. It is just so beautiful...but then I start to think that maybe it is an escape from being present and that my mind is playing with me. I would really like to know what is going on, and if there is somewhere I should be going with this, some way that I should be practice with it skillfully.

Where on Earth or online are future retreats or classes for an insight practitioner to get Dhamma guidance and/or guidance through some version of the stages of insight meditation? Are there teachers who might guide an insight practitioner on a one on one basis, given the right situation?