Matt Jon Rousseau
It seems like a lot of people on here are reaching path after only a few months meditation. I know most on this sight lean toward mahasi style noting. I however do concentration meditation mostly. Would it be more useful for me to just sit and start mahasi style insight. Do people advance quicker that way.?
Noting is fine, but I don't recommend you do it as your only practice.
https://accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/onetool.htmlBut if you look directly at the Pali discourses — the earliest extant sources for our knowledge of the Buddha's teachings — you'll find that although they do use the word samatha to mean tranquility, and vipassana to mean clear-seeing, they otherwise confirm none of the received wisdom about these terms. Only rarely do they make use of the word vipassana — a sharp contrast to their frequent use of the word jhana. When they depict the Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they never quote him as saying "go do vipassana," but always "go do jhana." And they never equate the word vipassana with any mindfulness techniques. In the few instances where they do mention vipassana, they almost always pair it with samatha — not as two alternative methods, but as two qualities of mind that a person may "gain" or "be endowed with," and that should be developed together.
My advice is not to look at it as an "either or" choice but as how to get both tranquility and insight from your meditation technique.
And I think the correct meaning is tranquility not concentration. The point, in my opinion, is not to concentrate so hard that you drive away all thoughts and emotions, but to quiet the mind so that it can be controlled consciously - used to observe and understand the the origin of dukkha and the cessation of dukkha
Insight means, in my opinion, observing the activity of the mind: thoughts, emotions, impulses, sensations, the sense of self.Tranquility practice (such as breathing in a relaxing way and noticing the pleasant feeling of relaxation, or
metta, or producing
sukha (tranquil bliss), or jhana) helps to quiet the mind and helps ease (counterbalance) the unpleasant effects of seeing what is really there
deep in your mind and then letting go. Without tranquility you will too easily become distracted, lost in thought and carried away by emotions.
[UPDATE: I don't know exactly the right way to say this, what I wrote below isn't exactly right but it isn't exactly wrong either so I have it crossed out but you can still read it. It can take courage to acknowledge your attachments and aversions, but letting go removes (evaporates) the mental difficulties which is different from the analogy I used.]
My opinion is that meditation can bring you to the precipice of letting go but letting go is something you have to do that is outside meditation.
It is like climbing out of the trench and running at the enemy machine gunner. It takes courage. The pain of letting go is similar to the pain of actual loss. You have to be willing to give up all those thing you like and face all those things you don't like in order to be non attached. That courage comes from understanding that normal consciousness is worse. Being attached is worse than than letting go. The way you see that is by observing the mind with a tranquil mind.
I use several different techniques in my practice. I start with techniques that are usually considered relaxation exercises but in reality can also be considered types of meditation / mindfulness practices. Then I do sitting meditation. Then I practice in daily life. During each phase I am trying to relax and observe the activity of my mind.
https://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2020/08/preparing-for-meditation-with.htmlhttps://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2020/10/easy-meditation.htmlhttps://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2020/09/when-you-cant-find-tranquility.htmlhttps://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-quick-guide-to-producing-bliss-with.htmlhttps://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2020/10/metta-meditation.htmlhttp://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2019/09/aspects-of-meditation.html#asp_med_surrenderWhen you judge a style of practice because people say it helped them awaken, you have understand what they mean by awaken.
My opinions about awakening are explained here: notice the measurement of awakening is based on
behavior in daily life, not by something you
experience in meditation (or anywhere else).
http://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2019/09/gradual-enlightenment.htmlhttp://ncu9nc.blogspot.com/2020/04/my-views-on-gradual-awakening.htmlWhen you don't use behavior as a means of measuring enlightenment you get phenomenon such as these:
https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/scandals-buddhist/https://tricycle.org/magazine/sex-sangha-again/https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/sex-sangha-apparently-we-still-havent-had-enough/https://www.dharmaoverground.org/discussion/-/message_boards/message/21393142 (see several of my posts in this thread)
https://www.dharmaoverground.org/discussion/-/message_boards/message/9570391How is it possible for arahants to exhibit bad behavior? It happens when their attainments are judged by what happens to them in meditation and not by what they do in daily life. In my opinion, it's because they have had all the required experiences in meditation to earn them the titles, but they have not really let go of attachments and aversions.
