Paweł K:
my personal understanding is that such ideas are result of 3rd fetter
weak understanding of it is equating it with religious things
stronger is understanding it in regard to any practice
fetter is eradicated (and thus Stream Entry attained) when one does not cling to result of any action, ever
ofcourse it is not simply not caring. SE can assess results of actions because actions do have purpose. Both acting without purpose and clinging to results of action are forms of being not mindful.
tehnically having any quality of mind will make it more likely to appear in future which include everything about it, its arising and things which came after it. Best quality of eg. metta (whatever this is (when you do it)) is when it is most pure, which mean it fill mind totally so that nothing else is in it. If you succeed in having any quality like that you are pretty much guaranteed to have more of it without need for any additional conditions. But you can not have it when you 'practice it' or worry about having it in future or its effects. 'Quality' here is anything really, especially mind/emotional states.
I find your reply, Paweł K, very interesting, I would love to hear more from other people on this too.
Do you not think, however, that since our days are full of so many other things, of which meditation forms a significant but small part (unless we are on retreat, which will probably be impossible in my case), rejecting them because of the fact that we do not consider them to be meditation would be somewhat wasteful, if not careless?
My understanding is that there are many other disciplines, as well as activities that might be performed in a monastery, retreat etc., that consciously develop the same attributes as different forms of meditation, and therefore I see no reason to suppose that this would be impossible even when tying my shoelaces, scratching my arse, or whatever else I might do at any moment in my life.
Is this not ultimately about life itself? My feeling is that after the bell rings at the end of meditation, there should be no difference in our intentions.