tom moylan:
interestingly, your quote of Nick's 2009 post is something i read today too and have promised myself to integrate into my practice as it seems a more practical, less conceptual way to see the created "I".
Blast from the past!
Here is an interesting quote from
Mahasi's Progress of Insight:
12. Insight Leading to Emergence
So, through knowledge of equanimity about formations, which is endowed with many virtues, blessings, and powers, he notices the formations as they occur. When this knowledge is mature, having become keen, strong, and lucid, on reaching its culmination point, it will understand any of the formations as being impermanent or painful or without self, just by seeing their dissolution. Now that act of noticing any one characteristic out of the three, which is still more lucid in its perfect understanding, manifests itself two or three times or more in rapid succession. This is called "insight leading to emergence."[40]
Thereupon, immediately after the last consciousness in the series of acts of noticing belonging to this insight leading to emergence, the meditator's consciousness leaps forth into Nibbana, which is the cessation of all formations, taking it as its object. Then there appears to him the stilling (subsidence) of all formations called cessation.
This mode of realization of Nibbana has been mentioned in many discourses of the Master, for example: "The vision of truth arose: whatsoever has the nature of arising is bound to cease." Herein the words "bound to cease" indicate the aspect of realizing the stilling and ceasing of all formations which have the nature of arising.
Also in the Questions of King Milinda it is said: "His consciousness, while carrying on the practice of bringing to mind (i.e., noticing), passes beyond the continuous occurrence of phenomena and alights upon non-occurrence. One who, having practiced in the correct manner, has alighted upon non-occurrence, O king, is said to have realized Nibbana."
The meaning is this: the meditator who wishes to realize Nibbana should repeatedly bring to mind, through the practice of noticing, every bodily and mental process that appears at any of the six sense doors. When he brings them to mind thus, his consciousness engaged in noticing — here called "bringing to mind" — will, until adaptation knowledge is reached, fall at every moment upon the (conditioned) bodily and mental formations called here "continuous occurrence,"because they go on occurring over and over again in an unbroken flow, like a river's current.
But in the last phase, instead of falling upon that continuous occurrence, consciousness passes beyond it and alights upon "non-occurrence," which is the very opposite of the bodily and mental formations called here "occurrence." In other words, it arrives at non-occurrence, that is to say, it reaches, as if it "alights upon," cessation, which is the stilling of the formations (or conditioned phenomena). When the meditator, having already before practiced correctly and without deviation by way of the knowledge of arising and passing away and the other knowledges (or by way of the purification of conduct, of mind, of view, etc.), has in this manner arrived at non-occurrence (by the consciousness alighting upon it), he is said to have "realized Nibbana." He is called one who has made Nibbana a direct experience and has actually seen it.
The following is my own take and subject to change. I want to bring attention to this notion of "continuous occurence" and "an unbroken flow, like a river's current". This flow is the arising and passing of formation after formation after formation after... and so on and on and on. It is occuring
right now for you (unless you are nibbanaising at the moment) and depending on your current baseline or current mind state, it may be obvious or it may be a like being caught up struggling to swim in the river with your foot snagged under a rock trying not to drown and at the same time trying to observe the flow of the river. Not really possible in this situation. You first have to free your foot and learn to swim first.
A way to gather data on 'formations' is to pay close attention to whatever seems like a "continuous occurence", "like an unbroken flow", "like a river's current". It may be hard to do when floundering in its strong currents trying to swim and keep one's head above the water (i.e trying to develop equanimity). But that is what the 11th stage of insight and the 4th jhana is for. That "continuous occurence", which includes the whole gamut of what seems to constitute an experience of 'you', is easily seen to arise and pass nonstop at this stage, like a river's current. When a yogi's knowledge (nana) matures and equanimity/specific neutrality establishes itself, dispassion for this flow develops triggering a movement away from it. With consciousness not landing on it like it usually does continuously an "infamous blip" occurs (or non-occurs) and with it the stilling of all formations for a period whether brief or long depending on certain factors. This is an insightful period, right when the formations are stilled i.e the pre-ish reboot period. The rebooting sees the "continuous occurence" eventually return and 're-initiate' to continue the computer terminology. Allow awareness to catch what eventually re-arises to end this period.
If you have experienced the infamous 'blip' and have the ability to be very aware of the 'exit' experience from it, then you may become aware of the absence of this "continuous occurence" for perhaps a brief moment, or perhaps a few moments , a minute or two or even longer depending on your current baseline. This absence will then see the arising again of this "continuous occurence" until another cessation occurs. The absence sheds light on what and how this "continuous occurence" manifest and feels. It is easily recognised when juxtaposed with its absence. If you train the mind to pay close attention to the exit experience of a cessation (infamous blip), then you will learn much about formations, what they are and aren't, how they arise and pass, how their cessation comes about.
If you have ever had the expericne of perception suddenly flipping to "the back of the eyelids", "sounds" and absolutely no mental overlay, this is what I would call a 'stilling of formations'. In fact they are stilling all the time, it's just that the gaps between one arising and passing and the next arising and passing is too quick to catch. Perhaps inclining the mind to those gaps will lengthen them and cause an infamous blip. Perhaps this could be the
Buddha's instruction to "incline/direct the mind to the deathless i.e. the stilling of formations i.e. the non-occurence of that which is bound to 'death' i.e. the deathless.
Here is an interesting quote from Mahasi on the exit/reboot period, post "infamous blip":
It has already been stated that phalasamapatti (fruition attainment) first begins to occur when arising from nirodhasamapatti. This phalasamapatti being free from raga (passion), etc., it is also called suññata(the Void). As it is free of ræga-nimitta (one of the attributes of sentient existence), it is also known as animitta. Moreover, as it is free from passionate desire such as raga, etc., it is also called appanihita. As such, phassa which is also included in this samapatti is also known as suññata, animitta and appanihita. As phassa (contact) takes place by dwelling upon Nibbana, which is known as suññata (the Void), animitta (the Unconditioned), and appanithta (freedom from longing or desire), with attentive consciousness of mind, it is called suññata, etc. The answer, therefore, is that the three kinds of phassa, viz: suññataphassa, animittaphassa and appanihitaphassa first begin to take place.
For better understanding, it may be stated that when arising from nirodhasamapatti, contact takes place with suññata-nibbana, a condition devoid of kilesa-sankhara to which the mind has been directed as its sense-object. Contact is also made with animitta-nibbana which is devoid of or free from any sign of nimitta. Then comes mere awareness of contact with appanihita-nibbana, a condition free from vehement desire, which is the sense object that has been contemplated.
Mahasi seems to be pointing to the post-cessation reboot/exit period as being free from kilesa-sankhara (sankhara being pali for 'formation'). I would have to agree. Much to learn from.
and
another interesting quoteWhen a monk has emerged from the cessation of perception & feeling, lady, how many contacts make contact?"
"When a monk has emerged from the cessation of perception & feeling, friend Visakha, three contacts make contact: contact with emptiness, contact with the signless, & contact with the undirected."[2]
FOOTNOTE:
[2]Emptiness, the signless, & the undirected are names for a state of concentration that lies on the threshold of Unbinding. They differ only in how they are approached. According to the commentary, they color one's first apprehension of Unbinding: a meditator who has been focusing on the theme of inconstancy will first apprehend Unbinding as signless; one who has been focusing on the theme of stress will first apprehend it as undirected; one who has been focusing on the theme of not-self will first apprehend it as emptiness.
My 2 cents
Nick
Edited 6 x times for extra info as is the habitual inclination of this mind.