Cut from the jhananda thread to continue the flow of the theme:
James Hao Yen:
So I get kind of pissed of when people start quote the Buddha on Jhana. Whoah whoah whoah, Jhana was supposedly a very difficult thing to attain, requiring virture and even more than that pure intention, a delicate mental state. And when Virtue, pure intentions and other things are ignored by this site then that's kind of what I mean. I mean how can you ignore those things and yet use the Buddha's quote for jhana.
Hi James,
How do you know people here are not following a path of virtue and pure intentions? How do you know they are ignored? If they are not talked about does that really mean that people do not follow a moral code of some sort or try and live virtuous lives? Perhaps it is just something taken for granted. How do you know?
James Hao Yen:
So basically, if you have indeed found an experience so compelling that it must be enlightenment then by all means call it enlightenment. But it might not necessarily be suttical enlightenment, otherwise people just want to be called enlightened and are looking for suttical reasons to call themselves so.
I've already stated that what is called 4th path here and at KFD is not considered by myself and a few other yogis to be the arahat of the fetter model. It's half way in my experience. Others may disagree but I'd like to keep the bar higher. There is more left to work on, and this is my current experience. I kind of agree with you here. I think the term arahat was meant to describe soemthing much more than just what is called 4th path here.
Metta,
Nick
Edited to ask: What is your own practice like, James? I'd be interested to hear how your practice is including all of what you have mentioned is supposedly missing from this website. Maybe it would be good to start a thread on morality and virtue. This place is a website primarily focused on discussing practical meditative experience , states and stages. Yes it is heavy on that side. Sila isn't talked about much. But that doesnt mean it isnt practiced.