Hi all,

Hope you are doing well

I've recently begun practicing the 'noting' method of Vipassana and came across a few questions that perhaps someone could answer. I've mostly been practicing off cushion because I usually don't have much time to do a sit down and meditate session. This involves just being mindful of sensations when walking, or getting up, or sitting down. The only time I don't do so is when I'm listening to a lecture, studying or driving since it's kind of distracting and unhelpful during those kinds of activities.

Now I'm trying to follow the instructions in the book "Practical Insight Meditation", and I try to note for example during walking "lift up" "push forward" "place" (not exact words). These are for each step taken with each leg during walking, and so I alternate between the two. If something catches my eye, I note 'sight', or if I hear I note"sound". Initially this was difficult to alternate awareness from one leg to the other and notice the beginning middle and end of each step since almost always my attention drifts off to something, but now it's become easier. After noticing that it was getting easier, I felt bliss and it's like that when I really get into it. Something else I've noticed though is that when I'm noting my awareness moves to the noting itself, and so when I'm noting, my awareness is not on the sensation itself. So isn't this kind of counterproductive since you are trying to be aware of sensation but you are adding in noting? In my experience, during any noticed sensation there is either an inclination towards the sensation or an aversion against it. So is it alright if I just kind of be aware of the sensations themselves instead of noting? Is there any advantage or benefit of noting instead? Is there any advantage or benefit of getting very specific with your noting instead of general noting like 'sight'. Also I've noticed that you can note in terms of many things, for example, there can be noting in terms of jhana factors or hindrances. I could say I'm performing an verbal, mental, or bodily act based on one of these factors(e.g. There is a thought of ill will or aversion if I feel anger towards someone). Does it matter what you note in terms of?

Also I hear lots of talk about "vibrations" when doing vipassana. What exactly are these vibrations? Do you "see" them? There's also talk of noticing some amount of sensations per second. It seems really hard to note 40 sensations per second. How would you even count and note at the same time?

These are some questions that come to mind at the moment.

Hope to hear any comment or feedback.

Thanks

Greetings.
I'm very new to the noting practice myself, so keep that fact in mind. When people count breaths, there's sometimes a tendency for the counting itself to become the object, along the lines of a mantra. You just have to shift your focus back to the object, and let the counting be very light/gentle/faint. This is the kind of routine adjustment that all of us have to make in practicing meditation, and isn't a big deal at all. The same thing seems to apply to the noting practice. Rather than be concerned that the noting is becoming the focus, just make the adjustment as soon as you notice what has happened--and note what you're doing!

"Initially this was difficult to alternate awareness from one leg to the other and notice the beginning middle and end of each step since almost always my attention drifts off to something, but now it's become easier."

That sounds like progress to me! Great! When you notice some sense of satisfaction with this progress, you might consider just going right back to the practice, "approving, approving" or "pleasant, pleasant"--however you want to note it--and get right back to it.

"In my experience, during any noticed sensation there is either an inclination towards the sensation or an aversion against it."
Yes. And so here, you note the feeling-tone: "pleasant, pleasant" or "unpleasant, unpleasant"--and just keep on noting, uninterruptedly.

"Is it alright if I just kind of be aware of the sensations themselves instead of noting? Is there any advantage or benefit of noting instead?"

You will often hear practitioners describing a situation where their concentration is strong and their ability to notice sensations seems to surpass their ability to note those sensations. Again, I'm a beginner. However, my guess is that it's better to stick to the noting for as long as you can. You are making progress in this very powerful practice. As it was explained to me, you don't have to try too hard to note faster. At a certain point, your mind will speed up and the fast noting will happen in a natural and relaxed way. At that point, you can note "dit" or something very short.

As it was explained to me, there is in fact a very powerful reason to note: it enables you to take a step back from phenomena with which you have identified and to see and experience those phenomena as objects that are marked by the Three Characteristics. When you've noted something, you've stepped back from it and made it into an object of awareness rather than something experienced as being part of the subject.

I hate to be so opinionated here, but it sounds to me like you're doing great and I'd hate for you to change what you're doing prematurely. Regarding vibrations, there's a thread here all about that, but you might want to just put that issue aside and--keep on noting!

Best of luck,
Joel

Hi J Groove,

Thanks for your suggestions and encouragement . I will keep on practicing and see where it goes from here. It's just that I want to know if I'm doing everything right and if I'm following the instructions correctly as well so I can make progress.

Would anyone say a retreat is a requirement to make progress to attain path and fruitition? Is it possible to get anywhere with just practicing maybe 30 minutes - 1 hour every day formally and practice off cushion whenever you can?

Hi there. I have personally demonstrated that it is not necessary to retreat at all to get done what one desires regarding insight meditation goals, having never taken one and having attained arhatship in less than a year while having a demanding companion and a demanding 9-5 job, among other things. So yes, that is sufficient time, but if you drop below 30 minutes a day, or break that daily routine, you might have difficulty making progress. I found that 30 minutes, roughly, was the minimum I needed to engage in every day, plus thinking about it as often as possible throughout the rest of the day.

This discussion might be of interest to you in some parts:

http://dharmaoverground.org/web/guest/discussion/-/message_boards/message/433944

Enjoy,
Trent

Hi Trent!

Have you described your way to path (path to path? :-) ) somewhere?
Would be very interesting!

Regards,
Mike

Hi Mike, a lot of my old posts talk about the various methods I used, things I emphasized, and the like. Perhaps try digging through those old discussions. I still emphasize the same things when I talk to people about insight (such as the thread linked above), so those newer posts may be useful too.

Enjoy,
Trent

Ok I'll stick to that routine then. Perhaps occasionally intensifying my practice whenever I can. I don't have time to go on long retreats so I'll try this for a few months and see where it goes. Thanks for the information Trent

One comment I would make here: Each of us walks this path alone and must determine for ourself how much practice, and what types of practice, are appropriate. My grandma smoked cigarettes all her life and lived until she was 82 or 83. By the principles of critical thinking, that does not mean that you or I should follow her example under the assumption that smoking will be OK for us as well. So Trent might be able to get away with a minimum of practice while you or I might need much more to make progress. Follow your instincts. You might feel that, in fact, you would benefit from some long retreats and super-intensive immersion. Or not. Who knows?
Best of luck!

I agree completely (and said so myself several times in the thread linked above).

There's a reason why I stated that roughly 30 minutes is a necessary minimum: it would be very difficult to cultivate the concentration strength necessary for insight progress (via meditation) if you don't do at least that much daily; and that's presupposing favorable practice conditions for that 30 minutes such as the use of bineural beats, a quiet room, etc.

Enjoy,
Trent

I was actually thinking about this, maybe Trent was just one of those lucky people able to attain it so fast due to whatever conditions and it's true everyone's different. I'm going to try this 'schedule' out and see how I progress (that's why I said I'd try it out for a few months first), and change anything that might need to be accordingly. Good advice Thanks!