Shashank Dixit:
I am seriously confused about certain things - more specifically about the path to take. My intention is to simply end my suffering, which means I do not want to experience anger , fear , sorrow , anxiety etc
The way some things have been explained in the past can certainly be confusing. It is up to experienced contemporary practitioners to update the methodology or at least to explain in contemporary terms what the original intended to say, and, if possible, to reinforce it with quotes from the original.
I would only ask that you stop for a moment and review the issues involved here. If you have been a serious student of the Dhamma and have done your homework with regard to discovering its true intent, you will have come to the conclusion that what Gotama taught was a way which allows a person to
train their mind in such a way that
dukkha (literally "suffering" or "unsatisfactoriness," yet in its essence "mental anguish," in all its different shades and colors, such as those you mentioned) was either attenuated (as one was walking the Path) or subdued (as one completed the Path) altogether. In order to accomplish this, one needs to be made aware of the
true nature of the information entering the mind and whether or not it is being discerned correctly. In other words: Is what I'm seeing true, or is it a delusion? Because often what one perceives and imagines is the case is not the same as what the phenomenon being observed
actually is.
In many instances, greed and hatred are caused by delusion and ignorance. If you cure the cause, you cure the disease, Gotama taught. The cause here being ignorance and delusion, and the cure being insight and wisdom, which comes from direct knowledge of the truth. Ignorance and delusion about what, you ask? Well, chiefly about what makes up (or what constitutes) "a person" and how the mind has become conditioned toward viewing this circumstance, as one among many other circumstances where a flaw in personality view (or some other "wrong view") causes friction in human relationships, leading to anger, fear, sorrow, anxiety etcetera.
The point being: If you wish to end suffering, you need to begin observing the origin of said suffering, and seeing it as it actually is. That is, observing how it actually arises and subsides (most often in the mind). With this stance as a foundational basis, you stand an actual chance of being able to end
dukkha within your own life.
Review the Four Noble Truths and get to know them.
Really get to know them, and why the Buddha thought them so important to be brought to people's attention.
More often than not,
dukkha has its origin within the individual mind, as the result of wrong view or ignorance/delusion. If you are able to observe its arising within the mind as it is occurring, you are able to locate its source. Having found the source of its arising, observe how it subsides, knowing all the while that it
will subside. Then become clear about the path which leads to the cessation of
dukkha (i.e. the noble eightfold path). Practice that path with diligence and patience and it will take you to the end of suffering.
Always recognize that
you (and you alone) are in control of the suffering that you experience. No one else. You must find your way out using the path that Gotama taught, if that is the vehicle you have chosen.
If you don't have confidence that Daniel, Tarin, Trent, Jeff, myself or any of the others here have been able to achieve this goal, then find different teachers. Speaking to monks isn't necessarily going to help. Many monks are in the same boat you're in, searching for a way out. But I understand what you are saying. You're saying: "...then I can learn
I might be missing in
my Insight practice." It all comes back to
you and what you are doing or not doing to make progress.
Shashank Dixit:
2. How many Insight practitioners here have done Mindfulness of Body in the 18(?) ways ( for example seeing the body in cremation ground , seeing the body as a sack of grains etc ) ?
If you can see and understand what is being pointed at through the practice of Mindfulness of the Body, there's little reason to spend much time on its practice, once the realization has hit home. Personally, I understood what he was pointing at, the points he was endeavoring to make with regard to existential life. Consequently, I didn't feel the need to focus or spend much time on this practice. This practice was suggested only for those having difficulty comprehending what the Buddha meant about his statements regarding the inherent dissatisfaction of physical life. If one is unable to recognize the inherent dissatisfactory nature of existential life, then perhaps this practice will help bring that realization home.