Gedanken:
Since stumbling on MCTB and this forum in the past few weeks I have contemplated taking up the path of the dharma. In short I have mentally committed to this path and am going to begin working towards this on my first 10 day Vipassana (Goenka) retreat on the 24th.
I don't believe I have experienced any A&P experiences, the only things which come close to this are perhaps drug induced states. Just a brief background of where I'm coming from, I have been doing concentration practice on and off for the past 3-4 years. Only recently have I taken my practice more seriously (daily with multiple sits) and believe I can attain access concentration and in the past soft first jhana.
Enjoy the Goenka retreat! I'd recommend doing a lot of noting, as well as the practice they teach (body scanning).
My experience of getting stream entry at retreat.Recommended reading for retreat (Hamilton Project)Also recommended (slacker's guide)Drug-induced states are how a lot of us got our A&P experiences and got into this stuff - they count! Odds are you're past the A&P if you're into this stuff.
These are some things I thought it would be good to address and thought it could perhaps serve others in the future that are considering going down this path.
- Is it 'better' to focus on worldly achievments (i.e. finishing school/uni) first before going down this path (i.e. past A&P or stream entry)?
The context I am coming from is that I have recently started my first full time job and realised this is definitely not what I want and I have great ambitions and drive to work towards generating passive income through online businesses (self publishing kindle books etc) so that I can be financially free and not rely on a job.
Hard to say what's "better." Daniel earned his MD while doing all this stuff and he had a rougher time with it than many people. If you're into this I'd suggest not waiting - you're going on retreat in two days anyway, right? It is possible to take care of the rest of your life while working on this stuff also.
Slightly off topic - but the whole "passive income" theory is marketing BS - no way to have an online business that generates income without actively spending time working on it, promoting it, and maintaining it. Not to say you shouldn't develop an online book business, just don't expect that it'll all be passive!
In this scenario would it be 'easier' to focus on shamatha practice (hard jhanas - I have heard they can really help in mental activities and focus) and putting in all one's effort to achieving financial freedom and then from there working on the path. This leans more into a yogic approach (the focus of shamatha), is anyone aware of forums such as this or a 'MCTB' on yogic practices (i.e. raja yoga)?
Again, achieving financial freedom is harder than you think - not trying to be negative, but the odds are against you there - most new businesses fail. I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't try to start a business and become financially free, just don't expect it to be something you can finish up in a year or two necessarily. And the dharma marches on - my gut here is that you're on the ride and it's something that you'll be working on a little at a time whatever you do.
You may have gotten an idea that vipassana is very unstable and samatha is very calming - in my experience the two are not as different as you might think. My approach is that getting to arahat is really important and not to put it on hold!
On the flip side I have read once one has attained stream entry it is much easier to master the jhanas as they are more accesible and not only that resolutions have a strong power shortly after attaining path. So technically one could attain stream entry then work on concentration practices, which supposedly lessens the pull of the path (for a little while) and work on the worldly goals before advancing. One issue I see with this though (personally) and from what others have said, the pull is really strong after stream entry to continue on the path. Knowing myself to be a highly obsessive and driven person, especially when something intrigues me I may just throw away my worldly goals at this point and put all my effort into going for the home stretch. Yes, balance has been something I am constantly working on.
Well, after I got SE I didn't really meditate or do much along the path. I focused on work and girls mostly for a while, and the meditation sorta happens by itself, and then a few months later I got back into it.
Cycles of insight and how they work
What is meant by people suffering cycles of insight post stream entry etc, is this in terms of the stages of insight they are on during the other paths i.e. 3rd path, knowledge of three characteristics. If so, how is it that someone who has attained arhatship still experiences this? Does this only occur during moments of low mindfulness? Also is it only in the review phase that people may bring up past cycles of insight and go through to fruition or may they do this even as they have started progressing on the next path?
To me this seems like a disadvantage of the dharma path compared to other practices, it's much like picking a certain race in mmorpg games that come with certain racial characteristics that are advantagous or disadvantageous. I have not read extensively into how often cycles of insight arise in other practices of enlightenment. I have only read a comment from KF I believe saying how others undertaking different practices still experience these cycles but have not practiced towards noticing them. Could ignorance be bliss?
What take do others have on this cycling concept and other enlightenment practices? Are there other practices of enlightenment out there that do not experience these cycles of insight once all is done? As I understand it, the cycles are always there, no matter what practice you take or what you do, whether you're in review or on a path. They're just in the background. There isn't really an option where you don't experience them. My guess is that you're past the A&P anyway, meaning that you'll always experience them, no matter what. They're not as huge of a deal as you might think... your day-to-day mood swings are governed by the cycles already.
I don't see how ignorance could possibly be blissful or a good thing, or how paying attention to the cycles could be a bad thing, but that's just my personal view of life.
