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Working with formations
formations
Answer
8/23/11 12:24 PM
The last several months, my daily vipassana practice has remained steady in equanimity. When I practice more intensely, I shift into perceptions of formations, when I practice less intensely, such perceptions are relatively brief. For a couple of months, I was fine with that level, as it was a relief from the prior 14 months of A&P/Dark Night cycling.

In recent weeks, I've found a renewed intention to realize fruition on this path (second, I think -- stream entry realization occurred a couple of years ago).

A question arises about how to move beyond equanimity this time through. The first time through, equanimity was a very brief process -- as I first became aware of formations, the aspect of attachment/clinging associated with them was immediately apparent, and almost automatically released as soon as it was perceived. This process proceeded through three or four levels of ever deeper formations/attachment perceptions, and then the nothingness of stream entry.

In recent meditation periods, I've reached what seems like approximately the same kind of formation-perception stage that I flitted through on first path. But the results seem different this time.

From this morning's meditation journal entry: "Quiet start; open awareness, shikantaza style. Then vipassana practice. Soon reached formations arising. Then shifted back and forth between subject/object formation and momentary subjectless seeing, accompanied by a familiar but uncommon eye motion that seems associated with the shifts. In the brief subjectless seeing moments, seeing connected with objects and would re-form subject/object mind structure. Sense of time and most of body-space awareness disappeared for duration. [From external referents, this period apparently lasted about a half hour.] Once the formations mode subsided, a sensation of full-body, very fine vibration arose, kundalini-like, but much much finer-grained, more permeating, and thorough. Then the bell."

When this mode first arose a week or two ago, I wondered if the back-and-forth shifts with the unexpected tiny "blips" were actually fruitions, but I tentatively concluded that they weren't, as none of the unstructured nonduality events I experienced with first path arose following them.

Today, I'm hoping to get some practice ideas for how to work with this -- apparently -- recurring stage of practice.

Questions or recommendations?

RE: Working with formations
Answer
8/23/11 1:42 PM as a reply to Sean Lindsay.
from my experience, the equanimity nyana is all about samatha. and i've noticed that, when getting to this stage, be it with candle kasina or not, i just need to put a lot of effortless effort into it, concentrate as much as i can (though not forcefully, but effortlessly), and at some point it snaps into a fruition. it's like a little hump that has to be gone through (note this is my experience for review fruitions, not for new paths)

so try this - just really really concentrate as much as you can, try to observe every tiny detail of every part (though all at once) of the vibrations/formations currently occurring.. by doing this at this stage you will automatically be doing vipassana as well (seeing each tiny part of each vibration = impermanence.. seeing it all happen effortlessly = selflessness.. seeing that putting any effort into it (the 'self' putting any effort into it, vs. letting the mind do it itself) causes disturbances = suffering).

also try reading this post about equanimity, specially going from low to high and into the fruition, before a sit: http://alohadharma.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/equanimity/. its eloquent wording inspired me to do a really nice review cycle

RE: Working with formations
Answer
8/24/11 9:08 AM as a reply to Beoman Claudiu Dragon Emu Fire Golem.
Thank you. Your suggestions and those in the alohadharma piece about the field of awareness help me see the attachments embedded in the mind-stance I've been using. I can work with that. (sort of; ironic, right?)

s