Author: Ant_808
Forum: Dharma Overground Discussion Forum

Any advice on my practice in relation to observing what is holding the mediation "field" ?

These last few sittings have gone as follows. I get to the stage of observing alot of diffierent senses rise and fall very quickly then after a while things start to slow down a bit and the mind calms. I can see rise and fall on, more or less, one thing at a time always mindful of three charcateristics whatever it is.

At this stage i try to observe what is it thats holding my mediation field. As I explore this, there seems to be some kind of tension there. It can be more or less intense during different sittings. Less being its just there in the background other times its more like a deep feeling of suffering.

Also I have been noticing latley that it is possible during this satge to go into a concentration sate. Which is strange because i thinking my mediation field is quite broad to be able to contemplate the above question (what is holding the meditation field?).

Some history to my practice i've been meditating mostly everday for about four years including yearly retreats. However i stopped meditating after my last retreat for about 5months bc i am basically stuck in dark night stage and didn't realise it until I found out about this forum and Daniels book. Now I'm back on the cushion for about 3 months and waiting to go on my next retreat in April. This year has not been easy .

all the best
Anthony

Hi Anthony,
When you say "meditation field", are you referring to wide, panoramic, all-around qualities?

Observing the "suffering" characteristic, I found the advice given to me in another thread ("meditating on dukkha") very useful: Use questions like "resisting?" or "avoiding?" or "is that so?" "is this permanent?" "is this self?".

Out of curiosity, those concentration states you slip into, is the body discernible in them? Anyway, when doing insight practice, I try to note the characteristics of concentration states arising, instead of solidifying them. These "concentration bubbles" are just more phenomena with beginning, duration, end; not self, and not permanently satisfying, at least for the purposes of insight practice.

I hope this is helpful in some way to you.

Cheers,
Florian

Author: Ant_808

Hey Florian,

Yes, the meditation field is like the all round qualties of the meditation.

I went back to your thread you mentioned and all of it is quite useful and interesting. Thanks for your response, I'm sure a lot of questions can be answered just by going back through the old threads on this website however its also good to be active and ask questions.

"Is the body discernible?" Not really. During vipassana I'm taking the perspective that all i experience is phenomena of concepts (nama) and form (rupa) arsing and passsing away on there own. In this case body I have difficulty distinguishing the body from other things.Then in the concentration state a definable body doesn't seem to come back into the meditation, however the meditation starts to become much more pleasurable.

thanks again
Anthony

Hi Anthony,

That reference to the earlier thread was not meant to stop you from asking practice-related questions!

Regarding the "difficulty distinguishing body from other things" - what other things? external forms? Mental images of both body and external forms?

Cheers,
Florian