Insight Meditation

Bekenze

I hear talk of something called insight meditation. What is it and how do you do it?

ajnast4r

http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma4/mpe.html


"It is an ever-ongoing investigation of reality, a microscopic examination of the very process of perception. Its intention is to pick apart the screen of lies and delusions through which we normally view the world, and thus to reveal the face of ultimate reality. Vipassana meditation is an ancient and elegant technique for doing just that."


"Vipassana is the oldest of Buddhist meditation practices. The method comes directly from the Sitipatthana Sutta, a discourse attributed to Buddha himself. Vipassana is a direct and gradual cultivation of mindfulness or awareness. It proceeds piece by piece over a period of years. The student's attention is carefully directed to an intense examination of certain aspects of his own existence. The meditator is trained to notice more and more of his own flowing life experience. Vipassana is a gentle technique. But it also is very , very thorough. It is an ancient and codified system of sensitivity training, a set of exercises dedicated to becoming more and more receptive to your own life experience. It is attentive listening, total seeing and careful testing. We learn to smell acutely, to touch fully and really pay attention to what we feel. We learn to listen to our own thoughts without being caught up in them.
"

jll

Insight is not a meditation method.
Insight is the result of meditation.
A more accurate term is mindfulness meditation.

Bekenze

Thanks @ajnast4r! Very helpful.

patbb

goenka vipassana
http://www.dhamma.org/en/bycountry/na/

http://www.jackkornfield.com/links/
links to vipassana centers in the us where you can go to learn and do retreats.

much valuable information about Vipassana in those links as well.

Jeffrey

Insight is what frees the heart.

BonsaiDoug

Insight is not a meditation method.
Insight is the result of meditation.
A more accurate term is mindfulness meditation.

Good distinction. I do vipassana meditation almost exclusively. However, I'm still waiting for my insight. :rolleyes:

newtech

Academically vipassana is insight, and thats the way the Buddha used the word.
Insight means basically seeing very very clear of cognition/experience works.
A consequence of doing the practice in a good way.

In the suttas meditation was often described as a mix between tranquility (samatha), and vipassana (insight), so you where getting samatha-vipassana practice.

Nowdays it also has another meaning. Some practitioners call themselves "vipassanas" when they do dry vipassana (without samatha and jhanas), when they take special appreciation to the Satipatthana Sutta (MN-10)-foundations of mindfulness, mental noting, burmese vipassana tradition, etc. So u will also face the concept as a technique/particular approach to the practice.

With metta.

ajnast4r

dry vipassana (without samatha and jhanas),

@newtech I've heard of that before but it doesn't make sense how that could be possible within what I understand Vipassana to be. Do you practice that way?

patbb

dry vipassana (without samatha and jhanas),

@newtech I've heard of that before but it doesn't make sense how that could be possible within what I understand Vipassana to be. Do you practice that way?

you can do it that way but from what i've seen, people don't do it like this that much.

more like a occasional thing like while doing the dishes or before falling asleep in the bed...

usually people advise to get to the first jhana first or access concentration first.

Iktomi

I hear talk of something called insight meditation. What is it and how do you do it?

Simply looking inward, in[ward] sight. Just that simple.

patbb

I hear talk of something called insight meditation. What is it and how do you do it?

Simply looking inward, in[ward] sight. Just that simple.

yeah but a little more precisely , you can read Mahasi instructions here:
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/mahasit1.pdf

here is a very short summary in case you don't want to read this little book
Practical Sitting Instructions

Set aside a defined period of time for practice, say 20 minutes to an hour. Find a place that is relatively quiet and free from distractions. Chose a sitting posture that you can sustain for the practice period, is not damaging to your body, is stable, allows your back to be relatively straight, and allows you to breathe easily.
You may wish to sit on a cushion (zafu) in one of the following positions: cross-legged, in the Burmese or friendly position (like cross-legged except that both legs are on the floor with one foot in front of the other), or in half-lotus or full-lotus. You may also sit on a meditation bench or even a chair.
Set a timing device to activate when your sit is done. Close your eyes. Dedicate your practice to the wisdom and benefit of yourself and all beings.
Note carefully and consistently for the duration of the meditation period, focusing on the breath but noting other things when these catch your attention. Be sure to carefully note “wandering” when the mind wanders and “thinking” when thoughts distract your attention from the sensations of breathing. Return your attention gently but firmly to the sensations of breathing.
Try to practice every day. Make time for retreats: see www.interactivebuddha.com for a list of retreat centers.

ps: this is Mahasi style vipassana practice, there are other styles out there. Goenka style, which is practiced by many, differs in many way.
you should investigate the different styles and try them out perhaps, once you got the hang of one of them..

newtech

dry vipassana (without samatha and jhanas),

@newtech I've heard of that before but it doesn't make sense how that could be possible within what I understand Vipassana to be. Do you practice that way?

Hello:

No, i dont practice that way.

But in the suttas we see reports of people getting to the first levels of enlightment just by hearing the dhamma (like Sariputta). So pure deep understanding or dry insight might be a choice, but who knows what they previously did. Later he did go throw every meditation level using samatha-vipassana (mn-111) and became an arahant. We might assume dry vipassana could work to a certain level and certainly it wasnt the norm?...dont know, the truth is that i have no idea .

With metta.

driedleaf

I hear talk of something called insight meditation. What is it and how do you do it?

Vipassana and insight meditation are the same thing.

vipassanā:
Clear intuitive insight into physical and mental phenomena as they arise and disappear, seeing them for what they actually are — in and of themselves — in terms of the three characteristics (see ti-lakkhaṇa) and in terms of stress, its origin, its disbanding, and the way leading to its disbanding (see ariya-sacca).

Focus on a single preoccupation, whatever that may be, then expand unending awareness to it. Notice its rise, its becoming, and its fall.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/glossary.html#v