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True and Proper Buddhist teaching


madusa

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  • 8 months later...

Rocky pretty much summed it up.
We are all governed by filters and external influences and Thailand has its share as all countries do.
All this even confused The Buddha until he reached a point of seeing it. Doh, the lights went on. Our paradigms change from within ( our view) and they are cemented in stone until they change again even if inaccurate again. They are the only logic until they change again. I would describe enlightenment partly as the realization and admission that these temporary and evolutionary views are usually inaccurate, subjective and filtering the truth.
555 now the amigdula.... that’s another interesting story.


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  • 3 months later...

Hi
Good posts.
Actually Samatha is practiced by all sectors of Buddhist meditation practices.
Perhaps you meant Theravada?

As you said “be still” is the entry point where Samatha practice enables us to to see more clearly the intensity and power that our “monkey mind” imposes upon us.
That is meditative 101 and not easy to accomplish effectively.
With practice we see how while although seemingly powerful, they quickly fade and are replaced by yet another thought. In time most of these thoughts become paper tigers and their affects on us are diminished.




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Re vipassana

The Buddha was said to have practiced it and it was later brought back to us by Sri Goenka who is largely responsible for it thriving today.

Samatha is the 1st step to a successful vipassana experience.

 

I do believe the Tibetans focusing on Vajrayana practice have taken “practice” and “result of practice” to even higher levels.

 

Although Theravada remains the necessary root, vajrayana involves very different practices and the resulting “awareness”.

 

The Buddha tought about what he did and what he “realized”.

Perhaps some of the confusion stems from the fact that he varied his explanations based on the students’ capacity to understand. He did not teach what I would consider dogma.

 

 

 

 

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Re vipassana
The Buddha was said to have practiced it and it was later brought back to us by Sri Goenka who is largely responsible for it thriving today.
Samatha is the 1st step to a successful vipassana experience.
 
I do believe the Tibetans focusing on Vajrayana practice have taken “practice” and “result of practice” to even higher levels.
 
Although Theravada remains the necessary root, vajrayana involves very different practices and the resulting “awareness”.
 
The Buddha taught about what he did and what he “realized”.
Perhaps some of the confusion stems from the fact that he varied his explanations based on the students’ capacity to understand. He did not teach what I would consider dogma.
 
 
 
 
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Hi
Good posts.
Actually Samatha is practiced by all sectors of Buddhist meditation practices.
Perhaps you meant Theravada?

As you said “be still” is the entry point where Samatha practice enables us to to see more clearly the intensity and power that our “monkey mind” imposes upon us.
That is meditative 101 and not easy to accomplish effectively.
With practice we see how while although seemingly powerful, they quickly fade and are replaced by yet another thought. In time most of these thoughts become paper tigers and their affects on us are diminished.




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No I meant Samatha. Becoming still is not 101. It's 999. It's the most advanced practice possible. All the Jhanas unfold from that.
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Re vipassana
The Buddha was said to have practiced it and it was later brought back to us by Sri Goenka who is largely responsible for it thriving today.
Samatha is the 1st step to a successful vipassana experience.
 
I do believe the Tibetans focusing on Vajrayana practice have taken “practice” and “result of practice” to even higher levels.
 
Although Theravada remains the necessary root, vajrayana involves very different practices and the resulting “awareness”.
 
The Buddha tought about what he did and what he “realized”.
Perhaps some of the confusion stems from the fact that he varied his explanations based on the students’ capacity to understand. He did not teach what I would consider dogma.
 
 
 
 
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Buddhadasa Bhikkhu states in his book 'Handbook For Mankind' that the Buddha did not teach Vipasanna meditation, and that there is no mention of it in the Tipitaka.
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Vipassana has Hindu roots. Long before Buddha “awoke”. he was a Hindu after all and lived for many years as a Sadu.
I would venture that Vipassana ( I have only done Goenka 10 day) involves more “dogma” as it follows the precepts and their conduct rules. Samatha and insight meditation tend to discourage rules and “judgement” to tap deeper into our “Buddha nature” as a moral guide


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Vipassana has Hindu roots. Long before Buddha “awoke”. he was a Hindu after all and lived for many years as a Sadu.

I would venture that Vipassana ( I have only done Goenka 10 day) involves more “dogma” as it follows the precepts and their conduct rules. Samatha and insight meditation tend to discourage rules and “judgement” to tap deeper into our “Buddha nature” as a moral guide

 

 

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What I wanted to add is that you cannot actually practice vipassana in the same way that you cannot practice success. Vipassana is the result of connecting with and becoming established in awareness.

 

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Sorry I did not mean they should be separated but that Samatha was only a part of Vipassana teaching and practice.
Of course an important part.

The Buddha taught “this is what I did and this was the result” “try it and see how it works for you”.

Hehe he appears to be the only one to ever experience all this without a teacher.
Like playing piano, intellectual understanding can only get us so far. We have to do the practices for the paradigm shift and doing that without a valid lineage instruction regime seems futile to me. Perhaps this is where it parallels some dogma for support but that is a personal choice.
I tend to validate any progress I make with a science parallel.
Ie Richard Davidson or Daniel Goleman for example.


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Sorry I did not mean they should be separated but that Samatha was only a part of Vipassana teaching and practice.
Of course an important part.

The Buddha taught “this is what I did and this was the result” “try it and see how it works for you”.

Hehe he appears to be the only one to ever experience all this without a teacher.
Like playing piano, intellectual understanding can only get us so far. We have to do the practices for the paradigm shift and doing that without a valid lineage instruction regime seems futile to me. Perhaps this is where it parallels some dogma for support but that is a personal choice.
I tend to validate any progress I make with a science parallel.
Ie Richard Davidson or Daniel Goleman for example.


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There have been many who have experienced this without a teacher but that's another subject.

I assume you are familiar with the Satipatthana Sutta, the basis of vipassana or mindfulness or whatever you want to call it.
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Hehe perhaps Jesus among them. But he had teachers. Bhuddasatva?

That sutta is of course well discussed among Theravadans.
Way beyond my capability.
Vajrayana practice addresses those triggers both negative and positive, by using them as fodder for the insight practice and reducing their effect accordingly. That is probably one of the differences of that practice.
Hehe great news since as a non enlightened one I will never run out of fodder.
Are you near Udon?


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Hehe perhaps Jesus among them. But he had teachers. Bhuddasatva?

That sutta is of course well discussed among Theravadans.
Way beyond my capability.
Vajrayana practice addresses those triggers both negative and positive, by using them as fodder for the insight practice and reducing their effect accordingly. That is probably one of the differences of that practice.
Hehe great news since as a non enlightened one I will never run out of fodder.
Are you near Udon?


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Don't be an end of path denier. Nirvana is more common than you might think.

I'm based in Phuket.
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Kabat Zin was inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Mahayana teacher.
I don’t think he would have found a home for his programs if it were not for the previous hard work of Francisco Varela with funding from Dalai Lama.
Hopefully he is reaching a populous that Dharma could not.


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Hehe perhaps Enlightenment is the realization that Nirvana May be just a figment of our imagination.
I just try to combine my practice with my daily stride and see where I end up.
There’s always next life if I don’t make it this time. [emoji120]


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Nirvana will always just be a figment of your imagination until you know what it is. It cannot be anything else but a concept. However meditation practice can yield temporary glimpses of it, even though there is still ego attachment and identification. If you are able to experience from time to time deep objectless awareness, no matter how brief, then you will intuitively know that this is your natural state which is peace of mind. Just continue with the practice and don't become too attached to dogma.

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Actually other than some valued relationships with a few monastics, the closest I come to any dogma is walking barefoot often because my feet tend to sweat in warm weather. In my early teens I gave up on my Protestant upbringing because it left too many questions unanswered.

Since my first India trip in the late 70s ( business related) I I’ve watched the beads and sandals crowd follow their gurus and wondered why one must dress like a guru to better think like one. I’m not anti dharma, it just has limits that do no go beyond my curiosity. For some it may be comforting to conform to a particular credo.

 

By glimpses are you referring to “gaps”?

Even non practitioners have memorable moments when “everything just feels right” and there is a clarity that we recognize. Usually when we are away on vacation or at least away from our usual madness. It doesn’t last long.

This awareness I would call “ meditation. For me it is a taste of what can be without my dominant “monkey mind”.

The Tibetan word for meditation is “gom ” “ to become more familiar with”

I do recognize that state and I try to exercise it in my daily life. Not as a dogma but more a just let it happen.

It is an amazing journey and much fun every time I catch my monkey flexing his/her muscles.

Just takes practice for the paradigm shift that turns the lights on.

 

BTW beautiful sunrise this morning

 

 

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By dogma I mean being attached to words, concepts, ideas and the mythology surrounding this historical person called Buddha. There are volumes and volumes of words of Buddhist teachings and many attach themselves to these ideas and even argue with others over interpretations etc. The practice of going within to experience pure awareness is primary. Scripture is secondary.

By glimpses I mean realizing that you are unbounded in these moments when you are just experiencing awareness without phenomena. It's true that during activity sometimes things feel just right and that is also an indication that you are in touch with the ground state of Being.

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Cool chatting with you.
You obviously have a deep history and understanding.
I’m a Canuck. We hosted secular meditation groups for many years under the guidance of Mingyur Rinpoche.


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Cool chatting with you.
You obviously have a deep history and understanding.
I’m a Canuck. We hosted secular meditation groups for many years under the guidance of Mingyur Rinpoche.


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I've taught about 30 people to meditate in Phuket. I used to have a Facebook group for that but gave it up because there wasn't that much interest. Let's face it. Most people want to do "Wellness". And as for yoga asanas, well we know that's not really yoga right? There aren't that many serious seekers.
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555
I spent some chill time with Mingyur Rinpoche kayaking, sailing eating etc and we chatted about that. I said it was both a blessing and a curse. After years of tonglin we begin to feel the “suffering in others” and why so we want to help but nobody’s listening. 555 he laughed and said “ don’t worry it’s not permanent.


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  • 3 weeks later...

What I find rather troubling is that the major countries that claim to be staunch Theravada Buddhist, such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, are basically a mess, with lots of practices and political events that are clearly and obviously totally 'non-Buddhist' in nature.

 

Perhaps one could claim that without the influence of Buddhism, such countries would in an even worse mess. I don't know.

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I guess Buddhism is only a path like any other that one can choose to follow or not.
Hiding behind any theology does not excuse inhumane action.
We do live in a relative world where others may or may not share our sense of right or wrong. In fact under certain circumstances we all can stray, hence the term regret.
Unfortunately it is hard to fight guns with only prayer.

Coincidently I am writing this at Bodhgaya and one hour ago I was sitting under the Bodhi tree at the
Mahabodhi Temple.
Was crowded but peaceful.



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