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What is your meditation experience?
hermitwin
Veteran
What is your meditation experience? i hope you can share your experiences.
especially your first experience of jhana. what would you do differently if you are just beginning
to practise meditation?
especially your first experience of jhana. what would you do differently if you are just beginning
to practise meditation?
0
Comments
Never quite made it to the jhanas, but I will feel much more gathered and and light after meditation, especially if I've been doing so consistently. A lot less mental chatter and compulsive behavior.
this is clear by the content of your posts on this forum for a long period of time and by your asking such a question in the beginners forum
cultivating genuine jhana requires weeks/months of constant cultivation, where, during that time, the mind never leaves the meditation object
the following post best sums up your experience
best wishes
with truth
DD:)
in real Buddhism, "jhana" is considered to be a supernormal attainment
for example, if a monk declares they have experienced jhana to a layperson, the monk commits an offense against his training rules and may be subject to a punishment (such as be given the status of a novice or junior monk)
the poster, in their own words, is deluding themself
they believe they have attained something they have not and, worse, seek to just boast about it and imagine themself as somekind of spiritual authority
this thread is laughable at best and inappropriate at worst
best wishes
People should share their experience and others would learn and follow...
i stare at the wall with my eyes half closed.
i check my body if there is tension and relax if there is.
whatever arises i watch it come and go.
if there is nothing i just watch the watcher.
just being. watching the presence expand to where there is only space.
just allowing everything to be as it is.
then i get up and go on with my day.
I would personally be hesitant of describing my more profound experiences in meditation, as there is so much that can't be communicated, especially in a forum, and talking about certain things can take away from the experience.
for example, when a good monk is asked such a question in public, they will reply: "i cannot answer because if i say 'yes' people may think i am lying or boasting but if i say 'no' people may lose their faith in me"
double bind :-/
so, returning to the topic, the scriptures say one attains jhana by making "letting go" or "relinquishment" the sole object (vossaggarammana karitva)
this is consistent with the 3rd Noble Truth, which describes the cessation of suffering as the relinquishment (vossaga) of craving
following the theory (MN 117), in order to attain the noble right concentration, right mindfulness performs the role of keeping the mind free from craving & attachment
right mindfulness employs the right view of the noble truths to keep the mind in the state of letting go
so the scriptures seem to say, instead of meditating with strong will, by forcing or placing the mind upon the object of meditation, instead, one makes 'letting go' the object of meditation
kind regards
Buddhist or 'supramundane' jhana is jhana free from 'self-views'
Anyway, I think YOU might be a little too quick to jump on what PEOPLE are saying. Conventional language is what WE use when WE speak conventionally.
as for conventional language, sure, we use it to speak conventionally about convention things
real jhana is not really a conventional thing
the "I" does not attain jhana
it is the letting go of the "I" that attains jhana
both conventionally & ultimately, to believe "I" have attained jhana is non-sequitur
it is the stream of dhamma-nibbana (spiritual forces of nature) that manifests jhana
it is the 'hand' or 'power of god' that manifests jhana
for example, when you letting go of a pebble held in your hand, it is gravity that drops it to the ground
the mind experiences
the suttas often say "it" (the mind) is liberated
i have already made a number of posts about the reality of jhana but you wish to dismiss them, such as when i said jhana comes from letting go and jhana comes from the stream of nibbana
beginners come here to discuss their personal lives...that is fine to speak in the language of 'self'
but not jhana...it is inappropriate and an indicator of non-attainment of jhana and mere attachment to states of momentary rapture
jhana is and lends itself to utter silence
Discussing your meditation experience.
Monks are not allowed to discuss their attainments.
As laypeople, we can.
So, please share your experience.