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The website that changed my life
patbb
Veteran
Getting enlighten doesn't need to be that complicated after all.
Here i found someone with a very, very similar life experience as me.
So i could relate very well to what he was saying.
http://alohadharma.wordpress.com/about/
this is the website of meditation teacher, and psychology phD Ron Crouch
finding this website changed my life radically!
made sense of everything.
today i know exactly what to do and how.
Walking the path to stream entry rapidly, there are very few questions and very few road blocks.
http://alohadharma.wordpress.com/the-map/
http://alohadharma.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/dr-ingram-and-hardcore-dharma-video/
I hope you will take a look and give it a good read (there are not many pages to read).
This connected 100% with me, i hope you read it and see if it fits with you.
good luck!
Here i found someone with a very, very similar life experience as me.
So i could relate very well to what he was saying.
http://alohadharma.wordpress.com/about/
this is the website of meditation teacher, and psychology phD Ron Crouch
finding this website changed my life radically!
made sense of everything.
today i know exactly what to do and how.
Walking the path to stream entry rapidly, there are very few questions and very few road blocks.
http://alohadharma.wordpress.com/the-map/
http://alohadharma.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/dr-ingram-and-hardcore-dharma-video/
I hope you will take a look and give it a good read (there are not many pages to read).
This connected 100% with me, i hope you read it and see if it fits with you.
good luck!
0
Comments
Basically these guys tried to find the best possible ways to get to enlightenment, people from all background, theravada, zen, theravada, etc,,, discussed it, try all the different methods and see what worked best.
no non-sense dogma; just getting it done as easily as it is possible.
It's great that we live in a era that could allow for something like this.
We can travel the world and meet in whatever city at will.
Without this modern era, without our modern knowledge, such thing would be impossible.
I knew of people like Ingram and his book, Kenneth Folk, and all the very useful and experience people on their forum, but this is the first time that i could completely relate to the explanations of things. Something about the words chosen, the way he explain things etc...
hope you enjoy!
Getting stream entry in a reasonable amount of time, with all of it's benefits (permanent changes in the outlook on life, easy access to all 8 jhanas) is no small feat.
in the end, thats the goal that the Buddha asked us to attempt to reach with the right effort (try our best).
People sometimes spend decades simply doing mindfulness meditation; of course there are plenty of benefits in just doing this, but thinking the path end there for them, never realizing it's only the beginning of the road; they have just stepped in the rabbit hole.
People also spend years and incredible efforts tryyyying to get to jhanas.
i think its fitting; i would describe it as the "do away without the dogma and traditions and understanding how things work technically" dharma movement.
just like Ajahn Chah did, but with better tools.
the ability to travel the world, talk with people from all over the world, all of our knowledge of psychology and neurobiology, which made the task that much easier to achieve.
just check it out, read it.
if anything, you'll think of concepts that you are already familiar with in different ways.
and doing so, we are using different parts of our brain which help us grasp concepts.
this is the same thing as trying to explain a concept with words but also with pictures.
Sometimes we can understand a concept more easily with words, sometimes the picture help, sometimes examples and stories help etc...
"If you met me at a party you wouldn’t think that I teach meditation at all. I’d be the guy eating nachos and drinking a beer."
"Mild-mannered grad student by day, mystical cosmonaut by night."
"Am I a Buddhist? Not really…I honestly do not believe a lot of what is taught in Buddhism as a religion."
and directly experiencing Nibbana is stream entry.
And thats the goal of many meditators, and i'd like to stress that it would be the goal of many more meditators were they to understand that it can be done in a reasonable amount of time. indeed difficult.
but what does this has to do with the website?
fantastic explanation of their position
and an explanation of the map
in videos
but the way i see it, and please let me know if you think it make sense, is that
The qualities of the heart are developed all life long.
morality and loving kindness etc...
so these are separated from the technical aspect of meditation (concentration states and insight.), just like Buddhism and the Buddha tells us to do.
But what would we prefer to do,
Get stream entry in a reasonable amount of time, getting "it" done even by lay people who never took retreats, and then keep meditating for whatever benefits it gives you.
Don't you think people would have a much easier time developing the qualities of the heart after experiencing nirvana directly?
After realizing the mechanism of the mind?
Working on the qualities of the heart without getting stuck on our own craving, being tormented by dark feelings, suffering from depression etc...
Don't you think that people could benefit much more from their meditation by accessing the 8 samadhi jhanas as opposed to struggling endlessly tryyying to stabilize their attention on the breath for decades?
Same life, same visits at the temple or whatever we are doing now... just instead of struggling to stabilize the attention on the breath even for a few seconds, the person can now access all of the 8 jhanas and all the glorious positive that this can bring in ones life. And a much better understanding of what the Buddha was talking about after experiencing nirvana directly...
I don't see any negative in this.
what do you think?
For the reasons I already mentioned, I don't think this particular fellow is THE answer. But that doesn't mean he doesn't have some little pieces of THE answer. Try it in your practice. Perhaps aspects of his teachings will work for you.
In a way, this is sort of like my overall spiritual life. I personally don't think Buddhism has ALL the answers, although it sure has a wonderful unified belief system. But, I take wisdom wherever I find it.
I have not read your material yet, but I too believe that enlightenment can be achieved in the manner described. I have been a long time fan of the teachings of Adyashanti, who also believes that awakening as he terms it is available to anyone without years of meditation. He studied Zen Buddhism and mediation for 15 years.
I will read the material you've provided, and give you some feedback based on my understanding and comparison with Adyashanti's teachings.
Also, what struck my mind, is that a good teacher would probably not teach powerful meditation techniques to anyone if they were unsure about the motivation of the student. If, for example, someone has no solid moral basis, an array of bad habits, and then you take away the solidity of their impression of reality by teaching them meditation techniques, it seems quite obvious that this would be unwise to do. Still, this teacher seems willing to teach techniques to anyone who is interested. And maybe he is right about this (help them achieve so-and-so), I cannot judge this, but I would put my faith in the kind of teacher that would be restrictive in teaching these techniques (BTW I'm not claiming that I see reality in any special way, but I like my reality to remain normal and solid for the moment, so I don't feel attracted to advanced meditation techniques).
Best regards,
Maarten
I am not sure if it is poor form to jump into a discussion where you are the topic, but I heard from a friend that there was an interesting conversation here about me, and thought "what the heck I may as well check it out." So far it looks like many folks are wondering who I am and what I think I'm doing.
For many the way that I teach can be very different from what they are used to, and I get that. So if there are any questions about who I am, what I teach, or why I teach, please feel free to ask me directly and I'd be happy to answer. I don't bite.
Sincerely,
Ron
BTW: patb - I'm so flattered!
I read your blog on this technique and I must say I was intrigued. I believe spontaneous awakening is absolutely possible, and I would be willing to try your methodology. OK, as you asked, I have a question. What if I live in an area where I have no access to a "teacher" to guide me if I hit a bad spot, as a previous poster has suggested. What are my options?
I suppose that depends on what is meant by "bad spot." Do you mean getting stuck? Or is it more like a full Dark Night experience?
I do everything via skype, email and phone, so obviously I can't be there in person to help. However, I find with weekly or biweekly video conferencing check-ins most people do just fine with the small problems like getting stuck, becoming doubtful, or confused about the practice. Most of what I do with folks is fine-tune their technique and help them understand what they are experiencing and why.
When something more serious like a Dark Night comes on, as it always does because it is part and parcel of the path, I ask a lot of my students for more frequent monitoring and check-ins via email. Especially if they have pre-existing mood disorders. As a psychologist, I take that stuff very seriously. If someone has a severe disorder that may impair functioning, I usually only teach metta and concentration, leaving insight practice until they have been stable for some time. If they cannot become stable, I do not teach insight practice to them.
As far as my methodology, I'm not really teaching anything new. In fact this is right up the middle vipassana as taught by Mahasi Sayadaw and laid out in his manual "The Progress of Insight". Noting practice is tried and true and works like a charm for most people. The only thing that is new is the online access to teaching, and even that isn't my idea. There are plenty of teachers doing that. Just check with Tricycle.
I hope that helps to clarify. Did you have a particular concern or "bad spot" in mind? I'd be more than happy to help clear it up more.
Ron
from my part: welcome to the forum! I think it will only be helpful to have you in the discussion. Maybe you can comment on what Pat said about developing compassion and morality on the one hand, and technique on the other hand. He sees them as paths that can be developed independently. Intuitively I would say that you need to have a solid moral basis and compassion before trying powerful meditation techniques. If you get confused or scared, it's reassuring to know that you are a loving person with good intentions, and that will be something to fall back on. Also, it will help you to see the techniques as a tool to develop insight, and not something that will make your life more interesting (in the latter case, I'd say that opening yourself to strange meditation experiences could be disruptive).
Best regards,
Maarten
Thanks for responding. I have not yet started, other than to look at what you posted on your blog, but having said that, I have been wanting to start Vipassana for a while now.
My question was spawned primarily out of the issues raised by @Maarten but because I have no teachers in my area, it is obviously very relevant. I have no mood disorders or other issues, so I don't think this practice would be problematic.
Because I have no Buddhist community or teachers in my area, I have always studied and practiced by myself, and also because of that I have found that I have studied many teaching from many traditions, so I have tended to drop much of the "cultural" stuff from the various traditions and zone in on the areas of commonality. I consider myself an Unaffiliated Buddhist. Online training would not be problematic for me I don't think.
Thanks for wading into the pool here, your input is appreciated. Welcome to the forum.
@Maarten: The compassion question is actually a little trickier than it might first appear. There have been solidly awakened teachers out there who have been described as "jerks", "grumpy old men" and "aloof" (U Pandita comes to mind), and squaring that with compassion is hard to do. When U Pandita was confronted about this he explained that he didn't have time to be nice because so many people are suffering (I'm paraphrasing). So it really isn't that clear. In other words, there doesn't seem to be a strict one to one relationship between compassion and wisdom. They do go together, but just how they get expressed in practice is not clear, even to masters of this stuff. (And I would be worried about folks who say they know for sure).
This is where sila comes in to save the day. Even if you are lousy in the compassion department, you can at least have your act together enough to make sure you never hurt anyone, including yourself, and that is a good balance to a practice where you are deconstructing the self.
That being said, I'm a BIG proponent of using metta practice and always recommend it to people doing insight practice. It has a way of smoothing out the rough edges in people and making them more patient with themselves, which is really important when doing insight practice. I wrote a lot on how to do metta at this link: http://alohadharma.wordpress.com/loving-kindness-meditation/
@Les: If you have dropped a lot of the cultural stuff, then I think you'll find a lot of value in what folks are calling "pragmatic dharma." Check out the links on my site to see more prag views and teaching, particularly Vince Horn's site, which I think lays out the idea of prag dharma beautifully.
In my experience the vast majority of people (in the US at least) are out there doing the practice on their own, primarily relying on books and web material to guide them. And frankly, a lot of the material is very vague and does not go into the nuts and bolts of what the path is and how to do it. People can practice their whole lives on this stuff and barely make progress. Some have been convinced that even wanting to become enlightened is wrong! What if the Buddha had thought this?
I'm going to digress for a moment: What is weird about this whole situation is that it is strictly a modern phenomenon. When you read meditation manuals from monks and yogis over the centuries they either explain the path from start to finish or assume you already know it (most do the latter). The problem for us is that the writing is cryptic and top heavy with cultural and religious information that makes it difficult to use unless you are an academic or a monastic. For many, the lack of cultural congruence makes that information out of reach.
That is part of the inspiration for the site. It was built with those folks in mind, the ones who are working this out on their own, who occasionally go on a retreat, see a dharma talk now and then, but just don't have access to a teacher or a community of practitioners.
As I say up front in the site many times, if you do insight practice everything is fine until you get to the Dark Night (Dukkha Nanas). then it is time to check in with a teacher if you haven't yet. Usually, if you have gone through the A&P you have already sought out a teacher. The DN is challenging because it is emotionally rough. This is where the mood disorders aspect comes in, and I get cautious. However, if that isn't you, then the DN likely won't be a big problem. For the majority of people with no preexisting problems, the DN is like having a bad cold. You can function just fine, but it is still good to take care of yourself, and that means at least checking in with a teacher and getting their advice a few times. Skype will work fine for this (for most people).
I hope that helps.
Ron
Yes it did help - thank you.
So people join the course, do their 10 days intensive retreat and go home.
Often these people live far away from the center and have no access to a teacher unless they go to another retreat.
Most seem to do just fine, but it would appear that many get stuck somewhere on the path and could use directions and advices from qualified experts.
This is where the pragmatic community comes in handy it would seem.
Many experts delighted at the opportunity to help students.
Often in ways that are very practical; basically all you have to do is go online, describe your situation and have experts helping you out, using clear language and none of the cryptic language.
Thank you RonC for joining the conversation and clarify a bunch of points; i didn't expect that!
I have gotten discouraged with my practice of late, which consists of daily 20 minute periods of unsuccessfully counting the breath. Seriously, I have been trying this technique now for 18 months and I can barely count to ten more than 3 times in a row without getting lost in my thoughts...something's wrong.
That's why I'm excited to try Vipassana and read more about the approaches laid out on Ron's blog!