Hello everyone. This is my first message, so, since I've been lurking around here for a few weeks now reading several threads which I've found very useful, I'd like to express a general "thank you". I began two or three months ago, (after discovering Buddhist Geeks and Kenneth Folk's sites and Daniel Ingram's book) practising vipassana while sitting (Mahasi style), mostly with noting.

That said, here goes a question (or idea) I've been pondering a lot lately (to the point of skipping meditation time even ) I've come to think that the solution to several of the problems I'm having or expecting to have would be to practice most of my meditation off-cushion, integrated in everyday life while doing activities that don't require intellectual work, but I'm not sure exactly how I should do this or if there's a reason why I shouldn't. To be more precise:

1. At the moment, I am able to spend several hours a day meditating, since I am unemployed and living alone. This situation will change, and I know that when I'm working it will be very difficult for me to find time for meditation with the same quantity and quality I enjoy now.

2. In fact, one of my main problems with meditation right now is sleepiness in the morning and after lunch (a general and long-time problem of mine, in spite that I sleep 8-9 hours a day), so I choose the moments in the day when I am most awake. So, having less free time will not only result in the obvious decrease of meditation time, but also in decreased "sharpness". I've read several threads about this lately and I intend to apply some of the recommendations, including walking meditation, but if I simply could do meditation while going about my daily life, for example while going out for shopping or riding the bus, this problem would just be irrelevant.

3. Also, my meditation time would multiply by a factor of three or four, and the increase in continuity (I hear this is very important) would also be great. Actually, this looks to me in some ways like being on a permanent retreat, so it probably would boost my practice a lot.

Well, given all the apparent advantages, I've tried to practice vipassana open-eyed in situations of daily life (let's say while taking a walk or riding the bus), and I've given up almost immediately. Following the "shooting aliens" metaphor in Ingram's book, I feel like a thousand alien squadrons are attacking me by sea, air and land. Just noting, or even noticing the individual visual perceptions seems overwhelming. I feel flooded by sensations, believe I'm missing most of them, get stressed out and nervous and finally give up. In the best of cases I get lost in thought because of some of the visual (or activity-related) distractions. OK, maybe that's the reason why beginners are recommended to practice in quiet environments and with eyes closed

So, finally the question is: Should I leave these "trials" for the future, when I have developed a better vipassana skill, or could anybody recommend some tips for practicing during "interval" moments in everyday life without being overwhelmed? I've tried to limit the range of perception to emotions or thoughts for example (so filtering the flood of sensations produced by visual and auditory input), with no noting (I find it too cumbersome off-cushion) and somewhat better results, but I don't know if willingly ignoring a great part of the perceptions makes for good vipassana, or even, supposing that I'm going to do that, which "flavor" would be the most skillful for advancing the progress of insight (ultimately I understand that any kind of sensation can be used if explored thoroughly for the three characteristics, however, I find difficult for example to investigate intention or have the occasion to feel certain emotions, for example self-consciousness, while sitting, and I wonder if this could be the occasion of studying them while doing some real-world activity).

Well, sorry for abusing your patience with so long and rambling a text, and thank you.

Jose.

Hey Jose, welcome to the DhO!

Here's what I'd suggest, and I'll make it clear at the start that I'm no expert so I can only offer an opinion.



Excellent, make the most of your time and get a solid foundation in samatha and vipassana. If you can get to a fairly solid first samatha jhana then it'll be so much easier to get into your vipassana groove while carrying out your daily activities. If you've got hours and hours to practice then more power to you, just don't overdo it and end up burnt out. Balance up concentration with insight, and living your normal daily life, of course, to avoid this and save yourself from feeling like you've been wired up to the mains



I spent quite a long time unemployed and can relate to your situation, but what I would recommend is making a point of getting up and doing something even it's only walking to the shop and back home. If you're creative in any way, musically, artistically or whatever then do something with it, just have a focus and don't let yourself slip into apathy. You may find that the sleepiness is reduced when you first hit A&P, which you almost certainly will if you practice consistently but otherwise note who is experiencing the sensation which make up "sleepiness"? Explore the sensations which make up "sleepiness" and see them as impermanent, unsatisfactory and not self. Failing that, drink a strong black coffee.

When you say "sharpness" are you referring to your ability to focus on individual sensation or are you using the word in another way? Just to clarify so that I can perhaps offer some suggestions.

With your overall practice time being reduced, try to focus on quality of practice over quantity. There's a bit in MCTB where Dan mentions how being able to stay with the breath consistently for 30 seconds is more beneficial than being with it on and off for ten minutes (or words to that effect).

I tend to spend quite a lot of spare moments during the day doing casual practice in work (either at my desk or while on break), whether it's noting or playing with samatha jhanas, but I've found that, for me at least, practising mindfulness or meditating on metta are very useful rather than trying to engage in vipassana and doing sloppy practice if my own mindfulness or concentration isn't high enough. Just a suggestion but do what works best for you.

If you're finding that you can't do vipassana while on a bus or whatever then try building a foundation with concentration to at least the first jhana before tring to note. When you do start, you don't need to go hell for leather and try noting 50 sensations per second. Go for accuracy over speed until you're more comfortable with doing it off the cushion. I often meditate on the bus, or when walking so here's a couple of the things I'd note in those situations:

On the bus: I usually stand while waiting on this bus and move through sensations of my own body, the sensations of "others", space, distance, the passage of time and the sensations that's made up from etc. While on the bus, I'll let people on before me and spread some metta with a smile, note the intent to step on the bus and the movements of the body, what's going on internally when making a transaction, calculation sensations when counting money, the act of sitting down, note where the body makes contact with the seat, become aware of movement and note it. The list is endless but that's a few examples.

Walking: While walking I'll note the "up" and "down", the "touch" of the feet on the ground, the movements and tension in the ankles, legs etc, the breath, rising and falling of the abdomen, sensation of momentum etc. These are just informal notes but hopefully you'll get the idea.



Continuity is important, yes, but so is accuracy. How would your meditation time multiply? If you're living alone, unemployed and have a lot of spare time on your hands then why not commit an hour, or even 15 minutes of your day to practice. What's stopping you? If you can't even begin noting while sitting on the bus without being overwhelmed then you're probably rarely just sitting down at home, in silence and meditating.

I'm going to say some things here which you may not agree with so feel free to correct me - I get the impression here that you're theoretically practicing and basically dabbling right now. Just sit your arse down on a cushion, on a seat or wherever and get access concentration. Once you can maintain mindfulness of the breath for a few minutes, start noting the sensations as they arise and pass. If you can't sit down on a cushion, sit on a chair. If you can't do that, stand up. If you can't do that, lie down. Basically there's no excuse. If you're serious about this then you'll make the time. Don't bullshit yourself, I can't make it any clearer. If you want to get enlightened, you need to practice so stop making excuses and just do it. Dan's written down a "how-to" of enlightenment with MCTB so you can't say you don't have enough information.

You appear to contradict yourself a few times in this posting with regards to your current practice, for example you say that you're able to spend several hours a day practicing and that employment, or a change in circumstances will result in a reduction of your available practice time. You then go on to say that your ability to practice vipassana will multiply if you learn to do it during daily life. Would you mind saying how much you're actually practicing? Have you had any experience with meditation in the past? I probably sound like an arsehole here but I really don't care, I'd rather be upfront and direct about this than make a new friend although I truly hope that you will apply these techniques and end suffering for yourself and the world around you.

I don't agree that practicing in daily life is anything like a retreat unless you're doing a formal home retreat. I've never been on a retreat before either so this is only my thoughts on the matter. The point of a retreat is that you can focus on practice constantly rather than doing it on and off throughout the day. If you resolve to practice daily and practice well then you'll improve anyway although a retreat, going by the words of those more experienced than me, would certainly give you a solid run at getting stream entry if you don't already have it.



Go easy on yourself, be sure to be gentle with yourself and don't beat yourself up if you're not able to note dozens of sensations per second. All of this stuff comes with practice as you've already seen by yourself so take it a day at a time. Another thing to try is some wonderful advice given to me by tarin greco: Instead of focussing on the visual side of things, which is exactly what I used to do, try paying more attention to bodily sensation and awareness flitting to various areas of the body. It's also VERY useful to ensure mindfulness is there before even sitting down on the cushion. By following this advice you'll find meditation becoming much deeper and more precise.



Vipassana isn't about ignoring any sensation, you can only be aware of one sensation at a time so don't try to ignore anything. Just allow sensation to arise and pass, that's what they do so don't try to stop anything and just note it as it happens. You might choose to note some types of sensation more than others at first e.g. sounds instead of touch, but you'll begin to be able to include more and more as you practice but you're not "ignoring" anything since it doesn't exist, for the purpose of vipassana, until you're aware of it.

Start with the breath when you're sitting on the bus, follow the "rising" and "falling" sensations in your abdominal area and just let awareness rest there. Be with the breath as you inhale and exhale, don't try to control it, if your mind wanders from the sensations of rising and falling, note "distracted" (or something similar, whatever works for you) and go back to the breath. You can expand the sensations as you go but don't rush, practice well, accurately and honestly.

Thoughts and emotions are difficult to work with at first so start with bodily sensations as they're more tangible and easier to follow. It sounds like you're trying to do too much too soon, so slow it down and just start with what you can already be aware of without trying to dissect "anger" when someone stands on your toe in the elevator. This all comes soon enough with practice so pace yourself and post some practice notes, it helps to get another view on what's going on in your practice and there are some genuinely enlightened people on here who can help with advice and suggestions. Just be present, notice where you are now and go from there.

Good luck with whatever you do,
Tommy

Thank you for your fine advice.


Yes, I'm trying to build up a bit my concentration, since it isn't very strong at the time. Also, sorry if I gave the impression that I spend half the day meditating. My willpower isn't that strong, at least at the moment It's just that with the free time I have now I can afford to pick around three times in the day when I am most awake and fresh and meditate around an hour, sometimes more, sometimes less. That would be much more difficult for me in other circumstances.


I meant having a clear mind and being able to concentrate without getting sleepy or lost in thought.


This and all the rest sound like very useful advice.


I won't be able to go online for two or three days, but I'll try to elaborate a bit more the next time.

Thank you very much for your response.

Hey Jose, didn't realise you'd left a reply. I've corrected my posting and, although it may sound harsh at times, I hope that you find some use in it and commit to practice as regularly as you can.

Think about doing a retreat, such as with Goenka, a Mahasi place (if you can get to one/afford to do it), etc.

The momentum you get from that is hard to beat and having accessed things that you may not have had access to with lower concentration levels will show you much of value and can be inspiring.

D

On the contrary, thank you for being so straightforward. You're probably right: the fact that I am looking for a solution to a problem that doesn't exist for me right now (lack of time for meditation) may be a symptom of a lack of commitment on my part (it crossed my mind while I was rereading my message that it may look like I'm looking for a short cut, and, on further thought, it may be that it's not only that it looks like it, but that in fact I may be trying to circumvent the hard work that meditation implies). I started with quite a lot of energy (around an hour three times a day) but I'm probably getting too relaxed or making excuses for spending less time on the cushion. I'll concentrate on the problem of doing correct vipassana while sitting and dedicating enough time to it while I have it, and be as mindful as possible the rest of the time. If I actually see a great reduction in my available time, your advice for meditation off the cushion sounds very useful.

Thanks for your advice, Daniel. Despite my DIY bias, I understand there's nothing like a retreat to really get started. Your book was very inspiring and is one of the main reasons for my interest in this, so thank you also for that.

Jose