paia rauten:
I have some concrete questions for people who know about the equanimity stage:
-should focus be narrow or open?
the focus should be as open as possible without sacrificing the continuity of attention. should your continuity of attention start to falter, the focus should naturally narrow to the point that enables you to practise continuously again.
paia rauten:
-should i go to the objects or let the objects come to me?
whether you go to the objects or let the objects come to you, the fact is that there is contact with objects. so long as this contact is noted/noticed, the details of what goes where or comes to where do not matter, as these are merely all (made up of) sensations to be noted.
paia rauten:
-should i focus more in "being equanimous" rather than the two questions above?
whatever you happen to focus more or less on, if you are paying continuous attention to what presents in an open, inclusive, and refined way, then you will naturally be equanimous.
paia rauten:
-is equanimity a "state of being", meaning that the mind enters a frequency and a way of relating to the objects? is it something that is cultivated and i can train to turn into that mode ? (which also means that the sate is a "conditioned one")
yes.. and (for the purpose of insight practice) the way to cultivate that state, and tune into that mode, is by noting/noticing the general character of the sensations manifesting here and now.
paia rauten:
-should i focus as fast as possible searching for sensations or note just in a broad sense (because also specifying the word to note and realizing exactly what it is takes time so that occupies space of awareness and the stream of phenomena).
if you are capable of paying unfalteringly continuous precise attention while noting non-verbally - without using words - then do so.
if you are unable to do so, then default to noting with words, either continuously, or occasionally, however happens to work for you, with the immediate goal being to pay very alert attention to the sensations that present, continuously and without getting lost in the content.
near the top of the 'recent posts' page is a 'sticky' thread entitled,
'the hierarchy of vipassana practice'. its original post addresses the sorts of concerns you have and i recommend reading it.
paia rauten:
-if i try to not interfere with whats going on i tend to get distant from the phenomena and therefore they are less sharp, its more kind of a vague flow with some inputs from the senses.
the distance from the phenomena is made of sensations, what is 'less sharp' is made of sensations, a vague flow is made of sensations, inputs from the senses are made of sensations.
if you are noting/noticing the sensations which present in any of these experiences, you are doing insight practice. if you are not noting/noticing the sensations, you are getting lost in the content, and any questions you have about the right way to practice are essentially questions about what the right way to get lost in content is.
paia rauten:
-My sitting lately is focusing a lot on how the mind behaves and more kind of "psychological stuff" rather than phenomena: Example there is a lot of noting like: rejection, intention, searching, expectation, enthusiasm, approaching, distancing, fearing. should i go back to phenomena or is ok if i stay in this area of noting?
rejection is made of sensations, intention is made of sensations, searching is made of sensations, expectation is made of sensations, enthusiasm is made of sensations, approaching is made of sensations, distancing is made of sensations, fearing is made of sensations. notice it directly: all of this *is* phenomena.
paia rauten:
-If i go closer to the object there is a strong "sucking energy" into the object. it feels very much like something pulling the awareness to mix to be with the objects. this brings more sharpness of the quality of the phenomena but also i get more trapped in it and have less "space" not to react.
the 'sucking energy' is made of sensations, awareness mixing with objects is made of sensations, sharpness of the quality of phenomena is made of sensations. further, fascination with 'sucking energy' is made of sensations, fascination with the relationship between awareness and objects is made of sensations, fascination with the quality of phenomena is made of sensations. rolling in this phenomena ignorantly, rather than noticing it for what it is, is being trapped already.
paia rauten:
-Sometimes my practice tends to become very "energy-like", just general vibrations, vibrations, vibrations. the body is a little bit lost, but its not "cerebral" sitting, although almost all is occurring from the chest up. Sometimes there is nothing much going on, just a soft flow of vibrations. what should i do in these cases? just note "vibration" vibrations", drop the noting?
vibrations are generally a good object for practice, as perceiving them clearly requires concentration and paying continuous attention strengthens concentration even more. thus, when vibrations are predominant, and nothing much else is going on, it is fine to drop the noting and plunge into the vibrations, so long as the continuity of attention is maintained.
in other words, if attention is dropping out, or you're starting to get lost in content again, switch back to noting. in the final analysis, it is not the object that is of central importance (i.e. vibrations vs. anything else), nor even the style of practice (i.e. verbal noting vs. perceiving vibrations); rather, what is of central importance is that total attention is paid to the conditions that present here and now.
paia rauten:
-finally my practice is very varied right now. i tend not to want to "do" anything and just let whatever arises arise and just note or explore any state. that means that sometimes it may be more narrow and sometimes more broad focus, for example. sometimes very inward and sometimes very spacious. also, i have days where i cant concentrate at all, im completely spaced out. yesterday i sat for 5 hours and i was "there" maybe, with luck, only one. but then sometimes i get really into the practice...
if you sat for five hours but were only paying attention during one, then not only did you waste four hours, but you probably wasted the other hour as well, because whatever you were doing during the four hours you weren't paying attention, you were probably also losing the precious momentum gained during the other hour. rather than repeat this exercise in futility, i recommend that you 1- start noting the spacing out really, really hard - do not give spacing out even a second to set in, and 2- learn to switch up the sitting with walking. at a mahasi retreat centre, the protocol is to alternate between one hour walking and one hour sitting sessions, unless the teacher (abbot or whomever) instructs otherwise, and sticking strictly to this schedule prevents the sort of inattentive excess you describe. if you can't pay attention while sitting, then sitting is the biggest hindrance to your practice and you should get off your cushion and go somewhere where you can pay attention.
paia rauten:
comments? suggestions? questions? responses?
when you switch postures, be sure to note the (sensations that make up the) transition just as carefully as you would note anything you pay attention to while sitting or walking.
tarin