J Adam G:
What are the big pitfalls that I need to watch out here, either because they are common at wherever you believe I'm at, or especially because I've demonstrated that I'm falling victim to those pitfalls? Can it be skillful to use some shamatha to "lube up" the dark night so it's less painful? (Sorry to those people who always have mental images of things people say. I didn't have a better metaphor.)
it sounds to me like you're stumbling around in the dark night, which would mean some things worth looking out for are, off the top of my head:
- indulging in psychological content, particularly that which is heavily conditioned by feeling crappy. (the 'blah blah this sucks' pitfall)
- indulging in a resentful attitude which engenders apathy toward progress; the relative peace of feeling that there is no point in practice is only desirable when it is up against the despair that practice will not lead to betterment. (the 'what's the point' pitfall)
- indulging in laziness by deeming that what progress is possible now can happen just as readily later so there's no point in making it immediately (the procrastination pitfall)
- not attending to the sensations which are actually occuring, and instead wishing for more pleasant ones. (the 'avoiding pain' pitfall)
- assuming that your experience of the dark night is worse than it really is. (the pitfall pitfall)
J Adam G:
It seems like noticing the equanimity aspect of the third jhana gives my mind something to shoot for in vipassana practice. I'm aware that to use shamatha states for insight, the blips that make them up have to be watched closely, and this is what I do to un-solidify the shamatha sates. But am I fooling myself to think that the fourth shamatha jhana characteristics can help me find the fourth vipassana jhana?
going through the transition from 3rd to 4th vipassana jhana again and again is how i learnt to 'find' the latter; from a certain point on, i was able to 'find' it simply by inclining my mind that way. i wouldn't say that you're necessarily fooling yourself in thinking that tuning into the 4th samatha jhana characteristics will help you get into equanimity regarding formations, no. why not give solidifying the late dark night a try, see if you are able to get into a pretty solid 4th samatha jhana from it, and if so, then start investigating again from there? pehaps you could start a new thread to tell the rest of us what happens.
tarin