I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2nd p

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Cedric , modified 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 12:11 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 12:11 PM

I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2nd p

Posts: 89 Join Date: 12/25/12 Recent Posts
I think I am close to SE.
I expect that with my level of practice SE will happen within the month.
With that said, I understand that it is best that after SE to stay with it for a while, familiarize yourself with it, with the SE level fruitions, and also work on the Samatha Jhanas which I have not yet mastered at all.
So, with that said. How do I go about staying with and working with that first path attainment and avoid prematurely powering on up to 2nd path work?
In the Cheetah house interview, Daniel said that it was a mistake for him to have pushed on past 1st and on to 2nd path so quickly after initial SE.
Thank you.
Cedric
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Cedric , modified 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 12:36 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 12:36 PM

RE: I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2

Posts: 89 Join Date: 12/25/12 Recent Posts
I guess what I am saying is: How can I stay in Review instead of powering up to the second path cycles.
Thanks
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Fitter Stoke, modified 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 12:48 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 12:48 PM

RE: I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2

Posts: 487 Join Date: 1/23/12 Recent Posts
Cedric in Miami, FL.:
I guess what I am saying is: How can I stay in Review instead of powering up to the second path cycles.
Thanks


Don't meditate. Or if you do, don't do anything. Just enjoy being.
A Dietrich Ringle, modified 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 1:22 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 1:22 PM

RE: I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2

Posts: 881 Join Date: 12/4/11 Recent Posts
How review phases and subsequent paths play out, from my experience, is hard to predict. I wouldn't worry or think about this too much if I were you.
B B, modified 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 2:22 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 2:22 PM

RE: I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2

Posts: 69 Join Date: 9/14/12 Recent Posts
Damn, I wish I could be so confident in my abilities... are you getting formations? Personally, I feel like I'm getting to EQ, even high EQ, but the signs of progress are, and always have been, quite subtle for me, vipassana-wise. This despite the fact that my samatha abilities seem to be pretty strong - I suddenly found myself entering the 1st, then the first 4, then all 8 samatha jhanas over a 3 day period a few weeks ago, and now I can enter them in seconds. Would highly recommend developing btw, really has improved my life a great deal, even before I was getting jhana.
Russell , modified 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 2:49 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 2:49 PM

RE: I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2

Posts: 92 Join Date: 10/19/11 Recent Posts
Cedric in Miami, FL.:

I expect that with my level of practice SE will happen within the month.


Expectations...drop em and you will get there faster.
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Cedric , modified 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 3:56 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 3:56 PM

RE: I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2

Posts: 89 Join Date: 12/25/12 Recent Posts
At BB, yeah, I feel confident because everyone says to be confident and I have some faith in the people on this forum, I also enjoy the challenge of practice. Moreover, because knowing I can take refuge in just noting what arises and just noting it and observing the 3C's of it is sufficient, all that puts me at ease. Like no matter what happens just note and you can't go wrong. Like if I notice attachment to SE, which there is some, I just say ok, that's attachment. It's understandable. It arises,passes, it's not personal, and can't satisfy. And when all that fails I just follow the breath and try to calm down. haha!
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Daniel M Ingram, modified 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 9:51 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 9:51 PM

RE: I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2

Posts: 3268 Join Date: 4/20/09 Recent Posts
hey, assuming your assessment is correct, and even if it is not, hopefully this advice will come in handy some day...

1) Just because it was a bad idea for me to power really hard with strong resolutions to make further progress to 2nd shortly after Stream Entry doesn't mean it necessarily would be a bad idea for anyone else, but it is true that I don't recommend it

2) Resolutions not to progress do have power: you just make them like you would make a New Year's Resolution, let it go, and it does its work in some strange way, like willing yourself to wake up at 6am just before your alarm goes off: how it happens, don't know, but it does...

3) Just chill...

4) New territory will begin to show up soon enough anyway whether you want it to or not, and if you pay a lot of attention to it things will progress faster, and if you practice more things will progress faster, and if you try to ignore them things will hopefully slow down

5) Are you on retreat? I was on retreat powering it really hard about 16 hours/day: this can cause trouble when done in an imbalanced way as I was doing: so long as you don't do this, you will probably be alright, and perhaps you might just do it better than I did and land second quickly: no way to tell unless you try it one way or the other and see.

6) Playing around with jhanas is not guarantee of slowing things down: in fact, strong concentration in a stream-enterer will make things progress faster.

7) Review is a good idea, but some might get it really well in weeks or less...

My thoughts,

D
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Cedric , modified 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 11:29 PM
Created 11 Years ago at 2/17/13 11:29 PM

RE: I think I am close to SE - a question about not yet moving on to 2

Posts: 89 Join Date: 12/25/12 Recent Posts
Hey Dan,
Thanks for the response. I would like to say thank you for this forum and for MCTB. I am not on retreat, right now. With that said, What I am taking from the responses is to take it easy and not to over think it which I can accept.
Cedric

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