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Re: Focus on body - quote.From: Soda
Subject: General
Date/Time 2005-05-11 14:21:03
Remote IP: 80.40.18.40
MessageMax:
Please don't be too sure that yours is the only way, or even the best.
You will waste time trying to convince others who should only be convinced by their own experience. Go meditate!
The passage below I have anonymised slighly, but have changed nothing imporatant. It may help you with the idea that empty mind is not the only way up the mountain.
The three fundamental techniques taught in this practice:
1.Mindfulness of breathing (Anapana sati),
2.Awareness of the four elements in the breath and body (mindfulness of material states)
3. Mindfulness of the various body parts (Kayagatasati).
The third of these techniques is then expanded considerably from sutta teachings as the yogi is guided in developing mindfulness of the detailed cellular anatomy and the subtle systems of the body.
Why develop such a complete system of meditation on the body?
The reasons are twofold:
1.It enables us to dig out and heal all the dysfunctional energy stored and blocked within the body at its many levels. Thus we heal and make healthy the body as a support to higher and more rigorous meditation in the future. To develop high states of concentration & mindfulness requires tremendous energy, and we have to properly prepare the body to sustain such effort. It has become apparent from interviewing numerous practitioners of Vipassana meditation, that so many yogis make great initial progress and then get stuck, sometimes for years, without making much further headway. The reason for this is that the base of mind is not yet strong enough to overcome the deeper defilement, and the physical body cannot provide the energetic support that is required to break through. For this reason we must develop and build into our system stronger energetic pathways as a basis from which to progress.
2. The second reason for such a detailed investigation of the materiality of the body is simply explained by the words of the Buddha himself –
“He who has meditated upon and clearly comprehended the entire sphere of materiality will begin to understand and clearly comprehend mentality. If one tries to meditate on mentality before he has come to comprehend the entire sphere of materiality the meditator will fall from his practice as a mountain cow falls from the path on taking an unfamiliar route.”
The knowledge of mind and matter and their producing causes is the first level of insight knowledge. It represents Samma Ditti (or right view). This is the first stage of the Buddha’s eightfold noble path. Only once we have successfully established this view from our own investigation, can we consider ourselves ready to successfully practice Vipassana meditation.
Only then can we expect to meet with real success in our endeavour. As the nature of materiality becomes known to us, the nature of the mind reveals itself gradually. It is not enough simply to make the reflection that the materiality inside the body is impermanent and void of an inherent self. We have to diligently investigate all the various types of materiality, right down to the ultimate level (the four elements which make up every particle of matter). We have to observe the producing causes of this materiality (temperature, nutriment, consciousness and karma) and see that it is all conditioned. Only then can we finally come to know that it is all, without exception, impermanent and selfless. This then forms the first stage of right view - the other being the similarly exhaustive investigation of mental states.
Cheers
S
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