Jack Ford:
Hi Mike,
Yeah the longest I've done is 60 minutes at the S.N. Goenka retreats. I haven't done longer myself I'd just heard from some other practitioners that they'd done these longer periods of time with their own teachers. One of them who also does internal martial arts would stand in postures for up to 6 hours sometimes but from his explanation this had different goals from Buddhist meditation.
From the Goenka retreats the sits without moving I figure are about getting the mind to let go of attachment to the pain but I'm curious about what other ideas on this would be.
hi jack,
i tried being an endurance yogi (rationale: 'maybe it will help me, through some mysterious process that is not just wishful thinking, get enlightened') for a while and got pretty good at it: the longest i ever went in one go was 6.5 hours (i stopped because my mind had become too fatigued to continue with good attention - either samatha or vipassana) and i have to say that all that stuff took me through a variety of really interesting territory, slowing my blood to a sludge and making my senses really heightened.. though i can't also say i learnt anything from it that helped me get stream entry, for which gunning directly was a better use of meditation time.
physical pain often triggers feeling-felt aversion, yes, and putting yourself in situations where you are forced to encounter those feelings. everyday life, however, is pretty good at providing such situations already and if the intent to make the most of those is there, then the technique of coercing yourself (or empowering others to coerce you) to sit through a lot of physical pain for that purpose is superfluous.
there is another point to be made though, and that is the point that sitting still, alert and sensitive, with high-powered attention, can induce some pretty useful changes in the body, and can cause bodily re-alignment, often causing long-term (chronic) injuries and illnesses to go away (i speak first-hand, of the experiences of several others i personally know, and from what i have read and heard others speak about). that re-alignment, as its happening, can be physically painful.
another good thing about sitting long (though not epic long) periods: learning to develop relaxation, tranquility and bliss: meditator incentives that can develop into equanimity and sensate clarity (very useful things).
tarin