I have read MCTB almost three times, studied the nana & jhana mind maps, read lots of theory, and intellectual information, but a lack of actual practice has left me missing out on direct fundamental insight (although understanding the ups and downs of the maps helps me feel much more prepared to start my journey).

So, to get down to brass tacks here is my question: When I try to sit down and do insight practice I can hardly feel vibrating sensations at all, and most of the sensations have a more 'solid' feeling to them. Will the vibrations become more obvious if I keep practicing, or should I work on my concentration skills in order to penetrate the illusion of solidity of sensations?

Also, how do I go about focusing on intention to notice the 3C's? When I try to meditate I do have fairly decent focus, but when I remind myself to look out for the 3C's it seems to interrupt my focus, and I become scattered.

Thanks so much guys! I'm looking forward to your replies.

hey Mitchell!

first thing to remember is this simply takes time.

yes, vibrations will become more obvious if you keep practicing. if the sensations appear solid, you're not doing anything wrong.



working on your concentration skills always helps. there's been an ongoing discussion for hundreds of years as to what ratio of concentration vs insight we should practice, which you can read up on here on the boards or anywhere. it's worth thinking about but not worth worrying about.




as for 3Cs, one option is to choose one, and practice that one exclusively for some time until you start to start to get it. for example, on Goenka retreats, although theoretically he talks about the 3Cs, we mainly practice seeing impermanence.

in my personal opinion, i think it's good to choose the one which seems most interesting to you, or that you think is more in line with how you see the world, or that you think you might understand better. you'll do best if you are actually very motivated and genuinely curious and really want to know about the C that you're looking for (ie. someone who is in agony and is looking to understand suffering as if their life depended on it is quite likely to get at it; or someone who thinks they had an experience of no-self and is fascinated by that idea can use that intense interest in order to look at the C of no-self)

i hope this helps!

Thanks for your help, Andrew. I am going to try meditating regularly with Mahasi noting style vipassana techniques for SE.