Hi Brian,
I'll go through your questions one at a time, but the first thing I'd like to point out is in this section:
So, given these circumstances, lets speak optimistically...[snipped for space]...and really have no idea how well ill be able to practice there, and i dont want to be like stuck in the dark night for a stupid long time when i have things i need to do, and basically fuck myself.
Your intent and determination are exemplary, if you're this focused and certain about where you want to go with your practice then you'll make progress without a doubt.
But don't waste your time and energy setting deadlines or timescales for yourself, this process doesn't really work that way and it'll likely lead to unnecessary hassle for you in the long run. Instead of doing that, use that energy to fuel your practice
right now and make it your intent to land stream entry as soon as possible, whatever it takes for that to come about. It may even be useful to formulate a statement or affirmation along those lines, just to keep you focused and remind you what you need to be doing to get to where you want to be.
Also, there's a balance involved here: you're aiming for stream entry, but without desiring it because the desire itself creates more tension. Focus on what's happening right here and now, this is where all the interesting stuff is going on and it's the only place it can happen.
So, practice tips...
My first goal is to enter the first jhana, maybe some ppl could offer some experience with this. First off, should my primary shamatha practice be breathing? Or have other people found different techniques to be helpful and maybe refreshing or whatever?
It's a matter of finding what works for you; the basics are the breath, the rising and falling of the abdomen, or what's known as a kasina object.
1. Breath: The breath is the easiest and readily available object for concentration. Start out by counting the breath from 1-10 - one count is one whole cycle of the breath, the entire inhale and exhale. Stay with the entire breath as it happens and try to maintain a whole 10 count at first if you're not already able to. From there, start paying attention to how long the breath is, if it's longer or shorter than the last one, where it seems to begin and end in the body. All this is doing is giving the 'mind' more things to pay attention to and preventing it from wandering. I'll post a link to a blog post I wrote about "access concentration", which is what happens when you're focused on your object steadily enough to begin moving towards 1st jhana, a few people have said they found it useful so hopefully it'll help. The good thing with the breath, and with the abdomen, is that you can practice your concentration while you're walking, or on the train, bus, car, in work, or wherever!
Down To Earth Dharma - Access Concentration2. Rise & fall of the abdomen: You might find this easier at first because there's a larger area to focus on. The process is just the same as above, try breath counting whole cycles and see how long you can keep doing that for. Easy!
3. Kasina: A kasina, if you don't already know, is basically just an external object on which you can focus the attention. Even something as simple as a plain-coloured bowl, or a candle flame, whatever works for you. All you're doing with these is trying to stay concentrated on the object for long enough to get into jhana, for me I always found getting into "hard" jhana easier with a kasina before I could do it using the breath. The object will shift, change, move, change colour, vanish and all sorts of funny stuff but you're just staying focused on it, nothing more.
I aim to practice about 1 - 2 hours a day to start with, hopefully building up to 3 hours as my comfortability increases. How long can i expect it to take to reach the first jhana?
Excellent. Start off with one hour before and see how you get on, if you're not familiar with a regular meditation routine you may find two hours to be excessive. Aim for
at least 45 minutes as a bare minimum and see how long you can stay with the breath for, or how constantly you can note with accuracy and clarity.
The timescale isn't important, strong and committed practice will allow it to happen as quickly as it'll happen. Take your time, practice well.
I plan on taking a retreat sometime in the fall, hopefully for about 2 months. Does anyone know of any retreat centers around new jersey or anything like that that might not be too costly? I took a visit for 3 days to a retreat center in NY, and am thinking about going there. However, there are a few things i'm worried about. The cost would be something i can definitely manage, which i like, and the environment seems to be very suitable to my needs on a retreat (i'm a musician and need to be able to practice, 1 -2 hours a day so i dont SUCK, as im going to school for it in spring 2013). However, the tradition is Kadampa Buddhism, which is not really for me. Too dogmatic for my tastes and not in line with the practice i want to do. So, were i to go, i would be practicing probably following the Theravada model, so will that be a big problem that i wont be around other meditators who are necessarily practicing the same as me? The teacher there however seems to be very accomplished, been practicing for 30 or so years and even did a solitary retreat for 3 years, which impresses me with his meditation abilities. I'm sure he has knowledge of what i wish to accomplish and could probably help guide me in the right direction.
A retreat is a fantastic idea and will help your practice immensely, I've only even done a three-day solo retreat so this isn't an area I know a whole lot about. I also have no idea about Kadampa Buddhism or their techniques but hopefully another participant here can help you out.
Either way: Retreat = Profit.
this is only relevant because i'll be going off to a 4 year school in january 2013, and really have no idea how well ill be able to practice there, and i dont want to be like stuck in the dark night for a stupid long time when i have things i need to do, and basically fuck myself.
You can practice regardless of circumstances if you're serious about it, look at Daniel, he became a fully-trained doctor while working through the Paths so there's no reason why you won't be able to practice one way or another.
When it comes to Dark Night, it's not always as horrific and painful as what you've probably heard so far. It's also something you'll cycle through continually, even after 4th path, so don't look at it as something to fear or avoid, it'll happen whether you want it to or not but it's absolutely necessary to the process of development. Embrace it, investigate it, learn what it's all about and get to know it inside out, it can be surprisingly pleasant phase sometimes if you know how to navigate it skilfully. If you get it in your head that it'll be a total nightmare and that it'll fuck up your entire life then it's more likely to happen in that way, yes it can lead to problems and it's not predictable in terms of how it will affect each meditator but knowing about it is half the battle. The big problems happen when you don't know what the fuck's happening to you, which is what happens to a lot of people who hit the A&P without the conceptual framework of Buddhism or whatever.
The best thing to do is to just get down to serious practice, as I've already said, it can only happen
now so you're as well to do whatever it takes to make that more likely to happen. It's entirely possible and it sounds like you've got the right attitude to make progress and deal with whatever arises, this site and the people on it are beyond helpful at all levels of practice so ask questions and read up on whatever you're not sure about. Chances are, someone's already asked the same questions you've got but you're always welcome to ask away.
Good luck with everything and let us know how you're getting on.
T