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Doubts about anapanasati

NamelessRiverNamelessRiver Veteran
edited November 2009 in Meditation
I am stressed out of trying to understand these things so I might as well ask if you guys agree with what I understood so far :p (all feedback is more than welcome)
" [7] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to mental fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to mental fabrication.' [8] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in calming mental fabrication.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out calming mental fabrication.'

How are you supposed to calm mental fabrication (here it is understood as feeling and perception)? What does calming here mean, as in how far you need to take this? (mental fabrications here are apparently feeling and perception). I would understand this calming mental fabrications, ultimately, as being one-pointedness. The previous steps are breathing sensitive to rapture and bliss, which are also pleasant feelings, so to calm mental fabrications you would have to drop them eventually, which leaves you in the fourth jhana (or you could go on to understand this as going until transcending the "dimention of nothingness" but it would be too much, maybe?). Do you guys agree with this interpretation?
"[9] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in sensitive to the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out sensitive to the mind.' [10] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in satisfying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out satisfying the mind.' [11] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in steadying the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out steadying the mind.' [12] He trains himself, 'I will breathe in releasing the mind.' He trains himself, 'I will breathe out releasing the mind.'

Here I don't know if this is supposed to be a continuation of the previous steps or a change in subject, because taking out feeling and perception you are left with consciousness and volition, right? So mind here, in my interpretation, would be only these two.

Sensitive to the mind would be perceiving volition and consciousness (how do you even perceive consciousness, is it possible? :confused:), so satisfying, steadying and releasing the mind would have to do with volition (and maybe consciousness :confused:).

I think the abandoning of volition is described in the Anusaya Sutta, such as follows:
"Monks, with the abandoning & destruction of the seven obsessions, the holy life is fulfilled. Which seven? The obsession of sensual passion, the obsession of resistance, the obsession of views, the obsession of uncertainty, the obsession of conceit, the obsession of passion for becoming, the obsession of ignorance. With the abandoning & destruction of these seven obsessions, the holy life is fulfilled.

As for conciousness I got this from Maha-Nidana Sutta:
"Ananda, when knowing — as they actually are — the origination, passing away, allure, drawbacks of — and escape from — these seven stations of consciousness and two spheres, a monk is released through lack of clinging, he is said to be a monk released through discernment."

I wont get into the fourth tetrad as of yet, too much to think about in these two :skeptical

How do you guys understand these 2 tetrads?

Comments

  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited November 2009
    If you are reading Thanissaro's translations, it is a journey into the bizzaro sphere. :crazy:

    The term is 'mind conditioner' or 'mind fabricator'. Rapture & happiness are the mind conditioner (i.e. feeling).

    This is because rapture & happiness condition or fabricate craving & attachment in the mind.

    Calming means to calm rapture & happiness until they are gone.

    Rapture & happiness arise from one-pointedness. One-pointedness arises from calming the breath (bodily fabricator) in step 4.

    Completing the 3rd tetrad leaves you in the fourth jhana or its neighbourhood concentration equivalent.

    Kind regards

    :)
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited November 2009
    Sensitive to the mind would be perceiving volition and consciousness
    No. Experiencing the mind (citta) is as follows:
    "And how does a monk remain focused on the mind in & of itself? There is the case where a monk, when the mind has passion, discerns that the mind has passion. When the mind is without passion, he discerns that the mind is without passion. When the mind has aversion, he discerns that the mind has aversion. When the mind is without aversion, he discerns that the mind is without aversion. When the mind has delusion, he discerns that the mind has delusion. When the mind is without delusion, he discerns that the mind is without delusion.

    "When the mind is constricted, he discerns that the mind is constricted. When the mind is scattered, he discerns that the mind is scattered. When the mind is enlarged, he discerns that the mind is enlarged. When the mind is not enlarged, he discerns that the mind is not enlarged. When the mind is surpassed, he discerns that the mind is surpassed. When the mind is unsurpassed, he discerns that the mind is unsurpassed. When the mind is concentrated, he discerns that the mind is concentrated. When the mind is not concentrated, he discerns that the mind is not concentrated. When the mind is released, he discerns that the mind is released. When the mind is not released, he discerns that the mind is not released.

    Satipatthana Sutta
    Consciousness is vinnana and volition is cetana. It is not the citta.

    :)
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited November 2009
    Here I don't know if this is supposed to be a continuation of the previous steps or a change in subject, because taking out feeling and perception you are left with consciousness and volition, right?
    When we look at a beautiful sunset, our mind is engrossed in the pleasant feeling of rapture & happiness, to the point we are not aware of the underlying craving keeping the mind absorbed in that experience.

    Similarly, when rapture & happiness occur, there are various underlying defilements due to the rapture and happiness. When the rapture & happiness are calmed, craving will be revealed. When the craving is calmed, anger will be revealed. When the anger is calmed, confusion will be revealed. When confusion is calmed, delight will arise. When delight is calmed, the mind will concentrate one more time before it liberates itself from that concentration. This open, clear mind is ready for the vipassana of the fourth tetrad.

    :)
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited November 2009
    I think the abandoning of volition is described in the Anusaya Sutta, such as follows:
    Anusaya = underlying tendencies. It is not volition. Volition arises after feeling with craving in the dependent origination.

    It requires vipassana (step 13) to end the anusaya. Anusaya are the deepest tendencies of the mind included within ignorance in the dependent origination.
    "Eye-contact... Ear-contact... Nose-contact... Tongue-contact... Body-contact... Intellect-contact...

    "Feeling born of eye-contact... Feeling born of ear-contact... Feeling born of nose-contact... Feeling born of tongue-contact... Feeling born of body-contact... Feeling born of intellect-contact...

    "Perception of forms... Perception of sounds... Perception of smells... Perception of tastes... Perception of tactile sensations... Perception of ideas...

    "Intention for forms... Intention for sounds... Intention for smells... Intention for tastes... Intention for tactile sensations... Intention for ideas...

    "Craving for forms... Craving for sounds... Craving for smells... Craving for tastes... Craving for tactile sensations... Craving for ideas...

    http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.22.0.than.html#mental5

    :smilec:
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited November 2009
    (how do you even perceive consciousness, is it possible? :confused:)...
    Consciousness is sense awareness via the eye, ears, nose, tongue, body & mind. For example, eye consciousness is easy to perceive. Just look at the light & awareness coming out of your eyes. It is the mirror reflecting sights, the awareness of sense objects.

    :)
  • NamelessRiverNamelessRiver Veteran
    edited November 2009
    Anusaya = underlying tendencies. It is not volition. Volition arises after feeling with craving in the dependent origination.

    It requires vipassana (step 13) to end the anusaya. Anusaya are the deepest tendencies of the mind included within ignorance in the dependent origination
    .

    Thanks for the answers DD, they were very thorough. Just one last thing, to which aggregate would Anusaya correspond?
  • edited November 2009
    How are you supposed to calm mental fabrication (here it is understood as feeling and perception)? What does calming here mean, as in how far you need to take this? (mental fabrications here are apparently feeling and perception).
    Concentration is a mental factor. When it's weak thoughts can arise and disturb you off your meditation object. With practice concentration increases (so do a number of other wholesome mental factors) which prevents thoughts from disturbing you, and then later even from arising (temporarily).

    Also I don't know what tradition you follow but generally you are not supposed to be using words or thoughts to notice the changes. Instead it should be a discrimination of the tactile sensation itself, the mind itself, etc. Obviously as this gets better and better single-pointedness increases, which in turn increases your ability of discrimination, and like that all the way until full absorption.
    Do you guys agree with this interpretation?
    The jhana mental factors of rapture etc are generally things you only need to start worrying about when single-pointed concentration is already very good. Forget about the other jhanas, pretend like they don't exist, if you are just trying to build concentration for now.
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited November 2009
    Just one last thing, to which aggregate would Anusaya correspond?
    You're welcome.

    Anusaya are part of sankhara khanda.

    Regards

    DDhatu :)
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