Stefan F:
hey Nikolai,
thanks a lot for ur advice of doing things 100%. sounds very true, but its a hard choice for me at the moment. I think i will need some time to really make this 100%choice.
For me the AF Method is more fun, more supportive in daily life, and it seems that i can do it more easyly.
I was struggeling a lot with vipassana stuff in the past, but at the same time im afraid that i will miss how it is to get Stream entry, Jahnas and the other Stuff the guys in robes or in the DhO are talking about.
I would like to get Stream Entry first, but have a lot of concerns that it will take years (or centuries) of struggeling, where i could have a nice and pleasent time with AF stuff.
which Technique would be ur advice to someone who is seeking a life free from suffering and some nice amount of happiness
?!
You have 4 choices as I see it. The first three entail giving 100% preference and dominance within the mind to one conceptual overlay (mental objective) so that there is continuous movement in the desired direction.
1/ drop the desire for and conceptually dominating overlays of 'getting AF' and related stuff and simply focus all efforts and directed mind 100% on the route to SE as talked of at the DhO with the advertised and proven techniques. The technique of choice is purely noting as talked of
here. I would also investigate the belief that you have in place, locked in a loop within the mind, that SE is far away, years or whatnot. This does not seem the case for those who pull their fingers out of their arses and simply do the practice leaving behind the confusion and doubt. When in doubt, note it. when confused, note it. Note it all as it takes centre stage in the field of experience.
2/ drop the desire for and conceptually dominating overlays of 'getting SE' and related stuff and simply focus all efforts and directed mind 100% on the route to actual freedom as talked of at the AFT website with the advertised and proven technques. The technique of choice for this route is
here. Stick to it. Don't mix. Don't get caught up in the trying to compare or trying to disprove or prove conceptually to everyone. Simply do the practice at all times of being alive.
3/ If the above two are not possible because one's mind, due to the unfortunate confusion generated by the past few years of 'the clash of the paradigms/conceptual overlays/approaches/objectives' of the DhO, then I would seriously consider melding the approaches to suit or rather put to rest this apparent unmoving confusion and frustration with it. This means taking the conceptual overlays of actual freedom and SE and beyond and conceptualising them as the same direction, one being further along the same path that one is taking. This would be a hybrid approach. It has been seen to bring results, whether others believe them to be the same as other paths and paradigm shifts it doesn't matter as we are working to get around the apparent unmoving confusion and frustration you feel (due to desiring two things, SE and AF related stuff and the division between them held in one's mind).
If you can do 1/ or 2/, I recommend doing either over 3/. 3/ entails truly dedicating 100% to the singular melded conceptual overlay. This is to get the mind onboard a practice 100% so as to make the desire for multiple things actually doesn't become a hindrance and source of confusion. Make an effort to conceptualize and start believing in the melding and joining of conceptual objectives and then simply forget that there was ever a division and go for it 100% with all your energy, effort and practice.
Go for SE first and then keep going onto to AF. According to pali suttas, a factor of awakening is 'joy'. It allows for the cultivation of a pliant, malleable and luminous mind, coupled with the other 6 factors of awakening, it leads one to the end of suffering. The joy or sense of wellbeing that comes about via actualist practices can be seen as developing this factor of 'joy'. See it like so. Here we are melding the practice associated with an actualist path via seeing it as conducive for the path that is calling us to walk it i.e. to SE. Where possible, see the division between the paths drop away, regardless of what others say about such a division. This is primarily so you put all effort into 'one direction' as opposed to multiple directions due to multiple conceptual overlays/objectives/ideas/notions/beliefs competing for attention within the mind, which only seems to result in confusion and frustration.
The technique of choice for route 3/ is simply combining what one is doing now into a conceptual and practical meld, where the objective, the end of all mental suffering, is something in common. One simply drops any concepts that divide and create separation/division of practices, and one intends with all mental effort that whatever one is practicing in combination (i.e. actualist practices during the day, noting practice at other times), is pointing in the one direction i.e SE and beyond nd the end of suffering.
Later on you can always switch to 2/ exclusively. Option 3/ is only if you experience continuous confusion and doing 1/ or 2/ is impossible for your mind to consider, unable to drop the division.
4/ Your other option: Continue to create the conceptual confusion within your own mind over and over and over thus influencing how you practice, as that is the point. The views and conceptual overlays that we hold onto within our mind mold and condition our practices, progress, results, happiness, suffering etc. etc. It is how you practice that leads to progress. This entails momentum and other factors, which can be hindered by a mind full of doubt and confusion. Deal with the conceptual doubt and confusion first, then knowing that the mind is 100% onboard with the direction it wishes to go, move continuously in that direction unhindered by doubt about such a direction. That only impedes progress.
Don't delay. Make your choice. Pure MCTB SE path OR Pure actualist path OR a conceptual and practical hybrid mix.
nick
Edit: I second what Tommy said above.
Edit: Most people I have talked with or read about got SE as talked of here via purely a noting practice. There are other examples of other practices being successful, but the majority have been pure noting perhaps coupled with some concentration practice like kasina.