Shit or Get Off the Pot

thumbnail
Brato Ganibe, modified 3 Years ago at 8/29/20 8:29 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/29/20 8:29 PM

Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 66 Join Date: 8/30/16 Recent Posts
Does anyone know a teacher they would recommend specifically for guiding students to Stream Entry?

I have been practicing steadily for about 7 years. I've been on two 7-10 day retreats each year, up and down the insight stages. For the last year, I've bobbed up and down, into Equanimity and back down into the earlier stages multiple times. I know the A&P is considered the point of no return, but I'm ready to cut my loses and move on unless I can find someone who is adept at helping others navigate this territory.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
thumbnail
Linda ”Polly Ester” Ö, modified 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 1:03 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 1:03 AM

RE: Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 7134 Join Date: 12/8/18 Recent Posts
Michael Taft took me there with six lessons. He's good at assessing what is missing in the practice. He's very expensive, though. I wouldn't have been able to afford paying for it (thanks to some anonymous donator there was a scholarship available). I have seen people recommend Dhammarato who doesn't charge anything. 
thumbnail
Oatmilk, modified 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 2:50 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 2:50 AM

RE: Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 141 Join Date: 7/30/20 Recent Posts
Hey Linda, 

how longe have you been in the DN before SE? 
Would you mind sharing what kind of advice he gave you? 

All the best, 

thumbnail
Linda ”Polly Ester” Ö, modified 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 7:43 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 7:42 AM

RE: Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 7134 Join Date: 12/8/18 Recent Posts
I had been going through the dukkha nanas, without practicing formally, for at least about a decade, possibly much longer. I had been practicing regularly for six months when I had stream entry. He asked questions to assess what kind of insight practice I had been doing and what was not sufficiently explored. I had mainly been focusing on tactile sensations so he had me focus on mental talk and mental images for a while. It turned out that what spiked my curiosity there was a tactile thing after all, though, because I ended up investigating the tactile sensations of trying to observe mental images and mental talk. Then he had me look closely at the impermanence of that and follow it to its dissolving. 
thumbnail
Brato Ganibe, modified 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 9:52 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 9:52 AM

RE: Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 66 Join Date: 8/30/16 Recent Posts
Thanks for sharing. It's encouraging to hear that there's a possibility of finding someone who can fine tune the instructions and guide people through this terrain. I was starting to feel like the only instructions I could get were vague and cryptic...or worse, 'you're on your own'...

Thanks again!
thumbnail
Oatmilk, modified 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 10:44 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 10:44 AM

RE: Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 141 Join Date: 7/30/20 Recent Posts
Thank you for sharing, Linda! I really admire your determination, I could not imagine a decade of not knowing whats's going on! 
How long did you pracrice every day before SE? I heared that Michael isn't into maps, was the commuication a problem, or did he knew the teritorry and was comfortable with using map terminology? 

-O
thumbnail
Linda ”Polly Ester” Ö, modified 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 10:45 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 10:45 AM

RE: Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 7134 Join Date: 12/8/18 Recent Posts
Oh, you're very welcome. 

Do you have a practice log here at DhO? I have received some great advice here based on honest log reports. I have also learned a lot from reading other practicioners' practice logs. Talking openly about one's practice in a detailed way still seems to be rather uncommon outside forums like this, perhaps especially when it comes to the details of methodology and phenomenology. I have found this methodologically pragmatic approach and the open conversations about it very fruitful, as it frames the whole thing as a craftmanship that can be learned and that allows many different styles as long as it works. 

Best wishes for your wellbeing and practice!
thumbnail
Pepe ·, modified 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 11:13 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 11:13 AM

RE: Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 713 Join Date: 9/26/18 Recent Posts
Brato Ganibe:
Does anyone know a teacher they would recommend specifically for guiding students to Stream Entry?

You should definetively check Shargrol, a seasoned meditator who posts regularly here helping pre SE meditators. 

Check his posts here: Shargrol's Posts Compilation
thumbnail
Brato Ganibe, modified 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 11:51 AM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 11:51 AM

RE: Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 66 Join Date: 8/30/16 Recent Posts
Thanks for the link. I have definitely seen tons of helpful posts from Shargrol over the years. Do you know if Shargrol does any one-on-one?
thumbnail
Pepe ·, modified 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 1:06 PM
Created 3 Years ago at 8/30/20 1:06 PM

RE: Shit or Get Off the Pot

Posts: 713 Join Date: 9/26/18 Recent Posts
Don't know his current availability. Just PM him, I'm sure you'll find some way to work together.