Hi all,

New to the boards.  This question has been vexing me for a bit:

Im wondering about the "point" of concentration meditation.  Are we training to get to Samadhi (or any Jhana) or is the point to be in Samadhi?  Because so many teachers stress not controlling the breath but just observing it.  IMO it would be a lot easier to get to a strong focus by doing deep breathing or controlling the length of inhalation/exhalations, at least for a while.  On the other hand, I could see the argument for the practice really being about bringing awareness back to the breath after it's wandered and Samadhi is just an indication that you've been doing that successfully for a while.  What do you think?

howdy Mike,
i just saw your lonely post and thought i'd take a stab.

samadhi in and of itself is great fun and can allow you to feel very fine and to experience things in a very unusual way.  depending on how you take these things it can lead to deep states and otherworldly experiences.

in buddhism dogma, these are not permanent states in and of themselves. 

it is generally understood though that they are important in that they are deep states of concentration and this muscle of concentration can be applied to investigating your experience in a specific way to bring about increasing levels of insight into how this whole thing we call life is stitched together. 

these insights, which tend to come up in a linear if irregular pattern are considered permanent changes in your understanding of how everything works by eliminating misconceptions and illusions we take for granted as being 'reality'.

seeing through this stuff is called wisdom or panna, in buddhism and the investigative techniques, called vipassana, or 'seeing clearly' is the toolbox which is used.  these are differentiated techniques from the calm meditation or shamatha practices which lead to jhanas.

if you haven't read 'mastering the core teachings of the buddha' yet, you should. its the best guide to this stuff out there IMO.

There are two types of meditation.  Concentration/Samadhi meditaiton and Insight/Mindfulness meditation:


Any meditation which continually observes reality is Insight meditation. It may observe the breathe (Anapana), it may observe the body (Goenka Vipassana) or it may just take note of everything that is occuring (Mahasi Noting).  The point of these meditations is to continually be with reality.  By doing this your mind will learn in a visceral way what the truths of reality are.   After the mind digs for some time it discovers that everything is impermenant and no "I" can be found.  When these things are learned the mind will naturally detach itself from things and this pushes you along the path to enlightenment.  

Concentration/Samadhi meditations are to develop Jhana. While the jhanas are pleasurably in and of themselves, they are not the final goal.
These meditations are used to make your mind sharper so your Insight meditation is more effective.  It is like sharpening a blade before you use it. 

Some practice Concentration and then move on to Inisght meditation.  Some simply start on insight meditation.  I suggest the latter.

You bring up the idea of controlling vs not controlling the breathe.  When you are doing insight meditation you need to be observing reality as it is and thus you do not want to control anything.

and even when you are practicing concentration meditation.... I suggest not controlling the breathe.  It turns out the most effective way to make the mind calm and subtle is to simply watch it and let it be.  It will eventually sway right into spot.