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Why should we practice Vipassana and aim for enlightenment?
I always used to wonder why happiness does not exist forever.
Sometimes, I really have great time in life such as trips, celebrations, etc. I always wanted them to continue, I don't want them to stop. But, just in front of my notice, they disappeared. I asked myself "Why can't I be happy forever?".
Those rainy days always gave me lonely moments especially when my father went on a trip? I stared at the falling rain drops and asked "Why do I have to feel like this"?
I used to gain achievements consecutively. I tried very hard and things happened as expected. I used to think that I have a complete control of what is happening.
However, at one turn, things went in chaos despite my effort. When bad fate strikes, it never comes alone. It comes in a series of storms. Under these storms, I suffered badly. I asked myself "Why do I have to suffer?"
I didn't give up and tried again and again. Still, things didn't go the way I wanted. I slowly come to realize that I have no control over what is happening.
I looked for the answers for the questions I asked myself. I read books regarding Buddhism concepts and meditation techniques. I did Samatha meditation. It greatly calmed me down and put me in peace. But, still it didn't answer my questions.
Finally, I got into Vipassana. For me, the moment I found out about Vipassana is the most valuable one of my life because it exactly answered my questions.
I got more and more into it. I read books and listened to various speeches by Vipassana Monk teachers. With the knowledge I gained from them and the foundation of my Samatha practice, I did Vipassana Meditation.
Vipassana is nothing more complex than the nature. It is so simple that it is so difficult to understand such a simplicity. It perfectly reveals the genuine nature, which is being hidden from us by our greed, anger and lack of wisdom.
It cannot be understood via knowledge. No matter how many books you read, you will not get to know the underlying truth. Only by wisdom which is achieved via the correct way of practice, the truth will be revealed.
But, the most important thing of all,
in order to see the nature as it is,
One must not have the will to continue the cycle of infinite lives.
As we believe, in the past, we have passed infinite number of lives in hell, in heaven, on earth, as human, as animals, as gods, as devils.
How many lives have we enjoyed as Kings, Billionaires, Celebrities?
How many lives have we suffered as Beggars, Patients, Victims, Preys?
How many more lives are we going to enjoy? It's infinite.
How many more lives are we going to suffer? It's infinite.
Me, who used to love to enjoy the happy moments, come to loathe them since I know that at one time, they are going to disappear and suffering is going to visit at all cost.
We do not mind enjoying. The longer the better. For hours, for days, for months, for years, for centuries, we want to enjoy. While we are doing so, we think those moments are permanent. We think we are in heaven. We forgot suffering.
But, when the time comes, pain will surely arise. tragedies will appear. Despite we don't mind enjoying, we really do mind suffering.
Consider the moment of sex, for example. One will fully enjoy the moment.
But, consider the moment of your hands being dipped inside the boiling oil. It's just the hand, not even the body. We dare not even think about such moments. We just consoled our mind that they would not happen because they do not happen yet.
But, what if this happens? We can do nothing but feel the pain so badly and cry out for help? We may desperately pray for God hoping that the pain will be suddenly removed because it can no longer be tolerated.
When such things happen, nobody is able to help except oneself. Only the mindfulness of his wisdom can make him smile during such period, because he does not observe pain as pain. He has already or almost detached 'self' so whatever he is feeling is just the series of bubbles appearing and disappearing.
So, why are we clinging to life which has no guarantee? We don't know when we are going to suffer, for how long we are going to suffer, for how much more we are going to suffer.
As one gets mature in the practice of Vipassana, he will come to realize that not only pain is the suffering but also positive feelings such as happiness, pleasure are all sufferings.
There is no difference between a rich person who is enjoying life well
and a beggar with full of diseases who is suffering tremendously.
From the view of wisdom, both of them are same. One is responding to the positive feelings with greed (the will to have more and more) and another is repelling the negative feelings with anger (the will to not have anymore).
For the one who observe them with mindfulness, he does not feel positive nor negative because he is not responding with neither greed nor anger. So, the sensations, which are the series of consequences of one's actions in the past, just ended one after another without having a chance to be born again.
This is where the exit to the loop of life lies. If we do not create a new cause, which is our response (attraction or repulsion), new consequences will not occur.
Nivirna is not the place where one can enjoy happiness. It is the dimension where neither body nor mind exist, and thus, the place of absolute peace and freedom.
May this article helps you on your path to enlightenment.
May all be free from suffering.
Sometimes, I really have great time in life such as trips, celebrations, etc. I always wanted them to continue, I don't want them to stop. But, just in front of my notice, they disappeared. I asked myself "Why can't I be happy forever?".
Those rainy days always gave me lonely moments especially when my father went on a trip? I stared at the falling rain drops and asked "Why do I have to feel like this"?
I used to gain achievements consecutively. I tried very hard and things happened as expected. I used to think that I have a complete control of what is happening.
However, at one turn, things went in chaos despite my effort. When bad fate strikes, it never comes alone. It comes in a series of storms. Under these storms, I suffered badly. I asked myself "Why do I have to suffer?"
I didn't give up and tried again and again. Still, things didn't go the way I wanted. I slowly come to realize that I have no control over what is happening.
I looked for the answers for the questions I asked myself. I read books regarding Buddhism concepts and meditation techniques. I did Samatha meditation. It greatly calmed me down and put me in peace. But, still it didn't answer my questions.
Finally, I got into Vipassana. For me, the moment I found out about Vipassana is the most valuable one of my life because it exactly answered my questions.
I got more and more into it. I read books and listened to various speeches by Vipassana Monk teachers. With the knowledge I gained from them and the foundation of my Samatha practice, I did Vipassana Meditation.
Vipassana is nothing more complex than the nature. It is so simple that it is so difficult to understand such a simplicity. It perfectly reveals the genuine nature, which is being hidden from us by our greed, anger and lack of wisdom.
It cannot be understood via knowledge. No matter how many books you read, you will not get to know the underlying truth. Only by wisdom which is achieved via the correct way of practice, the truth will be revealed.
But, the most important thing of all,
in order to see the nature as it is,
One must not have the will to continue the cycle of infinite lives.
As we believe, in the past, we have passed infinite number of lives in hell, in heaven, on earth, as human, as animals, as gods, as devils.
How many lives have we enjoyed as Kings, Billionaires, Celebrities?
How many lives have we suffered as Beggars, Patients, Victims, Preys?
How many more lives are we going to enjoy? It's infinite.
How many more lives are we going to suffer? It's infinite.
Me, who used to love to enjoy the happy moments, come to loathe them since I know that at one time, they are going to disappear and suffering is going to visit at all cost.
We do not mind enjoying. The longer the better. For hours, for days, for months, for years, for centuries, we want to enjoy. While we are doing so, we think those moments are permanent. We think we are in heaven. We forgot suffering.
But, when the time comes, pain will surely arise. tragedies will appear. Despite we don't mind enjoying, we really do mind suffering.
Consider the moment of sex, for example. One will fully enjoy the moment.
But, consider the moment of your hands being dipped inside the boiling oil. It's just the hand, not even the body. We dare not even think about such moments. We just consoled our mind that they would not happen because they do not happen yet.
But, what if this happens? We can do nothing but feel the pain so badly and cry out for help? We may desperately pray for God hoping that the pain will be suddenly removed because it can no longer be tolerated.
When such things happen, nobody is able to help except oneself. Only the mindfulness of his wisdom can make him smile during such period, because he does not observe pain as pain. He has already or almost detached 'self' so whatever he is feeling is just the series of bubbles appearing and disappearing.
So, why are we clinging to life which has no guarantee? We don't know when we are going to suffer, for how long we are going to suffer, for how much more we are going to suffer.
As one gets mature in the practice of Vipassana, he will come to realize that not only pain is the suffering but also positive feelings such as happiness, pleasure are all sufferings.
There is no difference between a rich person who is enjoying life well
and a beggar with full of diseases who is suffering tremendously.
From the view of wisdom, both of them are same. One is responding to the positive feelings with greed (the will to have more and more) and another is repelling the negative feelings with anger (the will to not have anymore).
For the one who observe them with mindfulness, he does not feel positive nor negative because he is not responding with neither greed nor anger. So, the sensations, which are the series of consequences of one's actions in the past, just ended one after another without having a chance to be born again.
This is where the exit to the loop of life lies. If we do not create a new cause, which is our response (attraction or repulsion), new consequences will not occur.
Nivirna is not the place where one can enjoy happiness. It is the dimension where neither body nor mind exist, and thus, the place of absolute peace and freedom.
May this article helps you on your path to enlightenment.
May all be free from suffering.
0
Comments
Wouldn't the experience of absolute peace and freedom be a happy one?
At least part of my own motivation is improved existence and awareness. I don't necessarily have to feel a certain way.
While I agree with the practice to an extent it seems like a bit of a lofty goal when I consider the number of people who have attained what is described in the passage.
All thanks go to 'Gautama Buddha'. If he had not shown us the path, I would not have known and practiced the most valuable path. If so, I can't imagine for how many infinite number of lives I will be in suffering.
If you want to thank him, please save yourself by following the path. It may seem very difficult. But, how difficult can it be?
We have already got the most valuable chance to meet the era of Buddhism, to know his teachings, and even to be able to practice. What else do we need? We might not be billionaires, we might not be successful people. But, we are luckier than those.
Believe me. It's a very very very rare chance to know and practice Vipassana.
In this current era, if your background is very good and your mind is sharp, you can get enlightened within 6 days.
If not that good, you can get enlightened within 6 months.
If your mind is very dull (so much clinging in life) and background is very poor, you can get enlightened within 6 years. But, you will need to try very hard and follow the path exactly without giving up.
I am not saying that you must practice intensively like that. My point is that we can get enlightened within this life if our will is truthful and strong.
There are many in meditation centers who are practicing Vipassana. Some of them told that they have been practicing for so long but no improvement. They want to give up or they want to reduce their effort. They complained that they just don't have the fate to gain such a difficult and precious achievement. I would say No!
We all have equal chance. The level of effort and time each one has to devote may differ but the destination is the same and it is totally worth doing.
One big difference that I noticed between Samahta and Vipassana is that I practice Samahta meditation and if I stop for certain long moment, I lose all the concentration when I get back to the practice.
But, for Vipassana, each and every step I got improved, the wisdom remains inside me.
So, when I get back to the meditation, I don't need to start from zero again.
For me, I meditate daily when I am not busy. Sometimes, when I am so busy with assignments and exams, I stop doing for like months.
In my view, it doesn't matter the length of the period of meditation. But for each and every second passed over during meditation, one must be mindfully observing the inside with full of concentration.
According to my experience, there are certain important facts in order to improve in Vipassana.
- One must be truthful to his heart. Twisted mind will always block a person from seeing the truth. Truthful person will not have to try hard to hold 5 precepts, an important foundation for Vipassana.
- One needs to understand the technique and concept well (Four Noble Truths and EightFold Path). But, just understanding will not bring the wisdom.
- One needs a good teacher. There are many meditation schools for Vipassana. The way of doing may be slightly different, but the goal and the nature is the same. So, one needs to look for the type of practice which suits him best.
- One must have the strong will to exit the loop of life. One shall be able to cut all the clingings (family, pride, status, he himself), at least during the meditation period. I still cannot cut them. But, when I meditate, I forget all those and focus only on the present moment without any add-on.
I exactly have the same thought like you when I started practicing Vipassana.
But, as I get improved along the way and experience by myself. I come to understand what is the real truth and real peace. Normal happiness that human enjoy is nothing compared to the peace that one gain when body and mind exist no more.
This thread was the reason I started another thread asking about the different kinds of meditation, but examples of each as performed by you would be helpful.
Right now I am only counting breathes (called anapanasata I believe) but a link or a short guide on how to transition from this to Vipassana and / or Samatha if they are indeed different since in some places I see Vipassana-Samatha referenced as a single hyphenated word / concept.
Thank You
with Metta
I'm not sure about Vipassana-Samatha but I believe there is Samatha-Vipassana as a source in an E-book states
Samatha is a type of meditation that trains you to concentrate your mind.
When your mind is very concentrated, your will power increases.
So, people who excels in Samatha (high level of Samatha), got some kind of extraordinary power such as hearing or seeing beyond normal human level. They have finer senses than normal human beings, so whatever they do, they will perform better.
But Vipassana is different. The purpose is not to gain better performance or cure diseases. But they will be side outcomes. Vipassana focuses heavily on seeing the nature as it is. The true nature exists inside one's body and mind.
But in order to do Vipassana, you need two foundations:
- You shall not break 5 Precepts
- You need Samatha practice to concentrate your mind
What happens if you break one of the 5 Precepts?
- You had made a sin. You might not feel guilty of doing so but your unconscious mind do. You cannot lie yourself. If so, your conscious and unconscious are not a match anymore. So, when you try to get inside your unconscious mind to see the truth, it won't show you the truth, because you are twisted. That's why holding 5 Precepts is an important foundation for Vipassana.
Why one needs to practice Samatha before Vipassana?
For a normal human being, who engage in daily activities, he cannot focus his mind. His mind runs away like a monkey. He will try to catch and it will run away again. So, if your mind is not at one point of focus, you cannot observe clearly over what is happening at that point. So there will be no improvement in Vipassana.
At what point of Samatha, shall one stop and move on to Vipassana?
As soon as one can concentrate his mind very well (Once the mind does not flee away), you shall stop Samatha. You can test your concentration by playing the music (any kind of music to distract you) and practice Samatha. If you mind does not go to the music and just stays on the breathing, your concentration is very good and you are ready to move on to Vipassana.
There is one very important point. People who plan to practice Vipassana, do Samatha first. But, as they get improvements in Samatha, they got pleasure in it. So, they don't move on to Vipassana but keep practicing Samatha. It's a big loss for them.
In Vipassana, there are three ways regarding the kind of object to be observed over.
It is difficult for me to explain them in English terms here, because I know them in my local language terms.
In general, we observe the sensation or the mind. The main point is that we observe those sensation as they are. We do not modify the situation. We don't respond to those sensations. For example, if you have a very hot feeling over your body, you don't respond by opening a fan. If you feel very painful in your legs, you don't change your sitting posture. (Exception: If you cannot stand the pain any more, you can change because Vipassana is not the extreme path. It is the middle path. But it will be beneficial on the practice if you can just observe over the pain and see its disappearance. This is possible as your mind becomes sharper and your wisdom improves).
Try to focus more on the happening of each sensation. At first, when you feel pain, you will observe that pain is consecutively happening. For example, your leg cramps for 5 minutes. Only after 5 minutes, you will be able to see its disappearance. Actually, it is not the true disappearance.
The true cease of the pain occurs each and every split second within 5 minutes. It is just that your mind is not sharp enough and only able to see the pain.
So when such pain happens, observe with full concentration over the pain. Don't take the pain as the pain. Don't take it as hot, cold, soft or hard. Only analyze over its continuous events. For example, in your mind, observe it as happens, happens, happens, ... . Don't take it as pain, pain, pain, ... or hot, hot, hot, ... .
So, as you get more and more practice, at one point, you will suddenly see its disappearance in a split second. Then, you will see in chains like happen, cease, happen, cease, happen cease, ... . If you get into that stage, you will no longer feel pain no matter how big the pain is, because only two things you observe: happen and cease.
As you practice more and more, those events will become more detailed. At a split second, you will be able to see millions of happen and cease at a microscopic level. They don't have any color, any feeling. At such time, you will not be observing the existence of your body nor the external noise. Just the bubbles happen and cease so fast. Once you notice they happen, they cease.
There comes the real understanding on the nature of impermanence.
You will come to understand the cycle of life. Each bubble appearing is the very detailed consequence of your previous Karma. You might have done good or bad things in the past. These Karma turned into actions. But, as you are observing mindfully, you don't see them as a pleasure or pain, Just the bubbles appearing and vanishing. So, there is no more karmic action at the present. Because if you feel pain, you will respond with anger, which is a new seed of karma. Since you are only observing over the very present without positive or negative response, those karma vanish one after another without getting a chance to be reborn. This is basically where the cycle of life ends.
You will also come to understand that there actually exists no 'self'. As you are observing, there is no you, your family, your leg, you hand, your thought. There is only happening and ceasing in alternative cycle. At such time, you will understand that you actually does not exist. Only the energy of happen and cease. This is where you are able to start detaching 'self'.
As you continue, there is nothing you will see except those bubbles recurring infinitely. Then, you will feel sick of the recurrence of those bubbles. Only at such time, you will feel the real 'suffering' and what suffering actually means. Infinitely, from lives to lives, we are spending our time with those bubbles happen and cease. That's all. You will become to loathe them and really wants to exit those recurrence.
Then, at one point, all of a sudden, your mind will get into the dimension where there is neither happening nor cease. Nothing exists there. This is a period where you see Nirvana. Nothing can be compared to such period because it is in absolute peace.
However, this is not the end of practice. Despite the 'body' ceased, the 'mind' still exist. You still have the awareness to see such a dimension. Now, you focus on your mind (Your mind is not your thought. Thoughts are 'body' which happens and ceases like sensations.) Mind is your present consciousness. It's very complicated to explain. The slightly more present consciousness of yours is focusing on the happening and ceasing of the present consciousness.
So far, this is my experience and the path that I have practiced. Now, during meditation, I am concentrating on happening and cease of the present consciousness.
The experience may not be the same as what you may experience. Some people improve by focusing on the sensation, Some improve by focusing on the 'thoughts of mind'. You have to find out yourself.
Before and while practicing Vipassana, you will need to understand more detailed concepts about Four Noble Truths and EightFold Path.
Please find out about Goenka and Mogok Sayadaw. http://www.dhamma.org/en/vipassana.shtml
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/thtutmg.htm
They are two teachers. I read their books and listened to their speeches. But, I have never practiced in their meditation courses. I practice Vipassana at home while studying.
Hope my explanations will help you on your way to enlightenment.
May all be free from suffering.
I may easily be wrong, but I think no Buddhist of any stripe have a concept called sin.
After all, if everything is conditioned, all we can say about a Buddhist who behaves badly is that they're following their conditioning.
Yeah. You are right. Sin is not the proper word. It should be bad action. Thanks for correcting me.
When I sit and meditate (Vipassana), it feels really peaceful and calm. However, in real life, when those surges of anger or greed arise, I find myself loosing control. What do I do? Should I increase my time of daily meditation, or can any one give me tips on what to do in that moment? Coz, when anger arises, or when greed arises, to be angry seems to be the right thing to do. I find it so hard to stop and not react and focus on the breath. However, later, when that emotion has passed away, I regret being reactive. Also, should one never react to anything? it just seems so hard. What is the right way to react to a stressful situation in real life. <!-- / message -->
I would suggest that you continue the current way. As long as we are engaging in daily matters of life, greed and anger will still exist. What I want to say is that do not suppress the emotions. Let them go in their own way. Controlling them by stressing yourself will not terminate them. It will just stack them up and one day, when you cannot bear, they will burst out.
I am not encouraging you to follow your greed or anger wherever they lead. If you really want to reduce or terminate them, improve your wisdom of Vipassana. Give more time to your meditation practice (It doesn't mean that you have to live in monkhood). Once you come to understand the happening and ceasing of your emotions by your own wisdom, the greed and anger will naturally subside.
Instead of regretting for following the greed or anger, you can observe characteristics of your emotions.
1. They are not permanent. So, what's the point for getting weary for them?
2. While they are in action, they are very difficult to control. Things happen in their own way. We can't do anything but just observe.
Saying is easy. I, myself, cannot get rid of anger and greed. Again, I want to emphasize that try to observe your emotions while they are in actions. But, don't stress yourself by controlling them. Let the inner of yourself actually understand them. Get more into Vipassana by means of learning and meditation.
This is my opinion regarding your post. Hope this will help you.
I find that most descriptions of Samatha are pretty clear, but not so much Vipassana, I'm afraid. What confuses me is how Vipassana arrives at insight without becoming conceptual. Samatha seems to me about emptying the mind--i.e., getting past the ideas and stories that we tell ourselves. But Vipassana seems to invite thinking, no?
And the object of concentration: I understand beginning with the body, but are there other objects of concentration? Can I choose anything? An old shoe? A lollipop? Do you have any guidance about what sort of objects would be appropriate to concentrate on during Vipassana?
Also, might Vipassana be used to spur creativity? I remember reading a book about creativity by John Daido Loori that advocated a period or meditative concentration on, say, a landscape prior to photographing it. Might I choose an object to contentrate on with the idea of producing a poem from the experience. Is this Vipassana?
Through Vipassana the workings of the mind/body become more and more clear, as our observations sharpen through practice. Insights, some small and others larger, begin to fill the gaps where ignorance once made a home. For instance a "pain", taken to be pain and initially assumed to be of a length (beginning and ending) may show itself to be many momentary sensations in succession, and eventually no longer pain but "sensation" only. The mind, observing itself, re-evaluates its assumptions based on observation. There is no need to "think"; this is experiential in nature. Direct experience is what it's all about.
At one point, some day down the road, the mind becomes acutely aware of the exacting truth of the Four Noble Truths and the suffering that is bound to the arising of desire. Not belief, not faith, not conviction; self-knowledge, undeniable, which allows any doubt to fall away and full freedom to pursue correction without hesitation (much as putting your hand in a fire has immediate results, and you won't do it again!).
There are those who deny such meditation is necessary, but then again we're here because we have some amount of confidence that the Buddha wasn't full of it...
Can someone recommend a good resource for Vipassana practice? Would this perhaps be someone in the insight meditation camp--say, Jack Kornfield? I find that Samatha is much more fully explained in the material I've been reading than Vipassana.
Then Tonglen (an ethical meditation that involves taking on pain of others) would be a third form of meditation?
I would recommend Jack Kornfield's "Inner Art of Meditation" class if you're in the market: http://www.audiobooksonline.com/Inner-Art-of-Meditation-Jack-Kornfield-unabridged-compact-discs-Sounds-True-audiobooks.html
Of course there are plenty of Vipassana texts and audio schtuffs online too, just Google it.
Specifically all Dhammas being equal and the mindfullness and discernment we must keep. I find his looking at experiences, “Hmm. This isn’t for sure.” very useful.
With Metta,
Todd