What IS Right Effort...?
bookworm
U.S.A. Veteran
For me when I establish mindfulness on the breath when sitting in meditation on a few occasions I feel part of the world but its like i'm not part of it, there is a peaceful feeling of seclusion, a feeling of being in harmony that arises quickly, always right at the start of closing my eyes and watching my breath, like within seconds, I don't always find it though, sometimes I feel I have to find the right type of mindfulness, in some of my meditation sessions I feel drowsy and many thoughts will arise when I don't put in enough effort, or if my heart isn't into meditating, it helps to have confidence in myself, if I feel my mindfulness isn't right then I open my eyes again and start over, I sometimes restart several times if feel that my mindfulness isn't right, its kind of like tuning a guitar, it can be frustrating sometimes, that feeling of harmony is hard to get, I've only felt it a handful of times, not many, its not always there, but I think I know how to get it, but I usually continue anyway even when that feeling is not there, that is when I feel that my mindfulness is at least sharp enough for me to stay with the breath without controlling it, thoughts do arise but not many times, but it doesn't weaken my mindfulness for me to notice breathing happening on its own after a little while, but I prefer to have that harmonious feeling at the start of my meditation though.
What do you consider to be good mindfulness/Right Effort in your meditation?
Comments
Having the intention of renunciation in my meditation would help.
Engaging brain before putting mouth in gear....
I don't know if you mean only when meditating or just generally being mindful - it appears you mean only when meditating, but that's all wrong. Mindfulness 'should' go on most or all of the time and it's a flow sort of thing. I mean hey, once you're born into this world it's flow all of the time -- like the white feather in the movie, Forest Gump. It has its stops but it floats. We're in the river -- that's how I think of it. I don't know where you get your notions from, but it's not helping to think in terms of having to stop and restart!
Sometimes I am more mindful than others, but mindfulness is always good.
What do you mean?
@bookworm
What do you consider to be good mindfulness in your meditation?
Just being attentive to what ever is there.
Just as renunciation better illuminates the Buddha's path than acquisition,
(I think) allowing it to just remain within the experience of the nano moment can better allow it to unfold unmolested by our own conceptive limitations.
Perhaps its not my mindfulness that needs to be in tune, but it is myself.
Think good, long and hard before you utter a single syllable.
The two are separate, are they......?
http://www.budsas.org/ebud/ebsut001.htm
I don't understand what you mean?
There's the pot calling the kettle black....!
As I said. Pot, kettle.
Did I say something inappropriate?
Pot, kettle?
I'm not understanding what you are saying.
"What do you consider to be good mindfulness?"
Shaken but not stirred [up]
I'm past it and have moved on....
I'm not sure about "good" mindfulness.
But plain mindfulness is being present here and now, aware of our body, our mind, our feelings and our perception of the world, without getting carried away by either, and without assigning any emotional gradation to the experience.
It's usually a non-verbal experience.
Your description, @bookworm, sounds to me as if you had overintellectualized the experience.
Of course, probably just my impression.
Continuity is good!
As usual I feel @how has described it well.
Mindfulness is attentiveness. For me it is not about:
etc.
no sir
'Attention, attention, attention' as a zenith once said ...
This attentive awareness, cognitive minding, mindfulness is present before, during and after formal sitting.
So all of the above may occur in or out of formal sitting, they may occur during yoga, prostrations, contemplating the dharma, walking on the beach etc.
So too do thoughts, sensations, not-being, oneness etc arise.
Nothing of any import. All is Mind.
Bliss?! Sheer luxury!
Since it leads to increase in wholesome states and to the decline of unwholesome ones, then it is worth pursuing.
This is helpful.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-vayamo/
shamata is hard work. but remember it isn't the goal but only a tool.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Right_Exertions
The Four Right Exertions (cattārimāni sammappadhānāni) are defined with the following traditional phrase:
These may be summarized as:
In other words:
"to be diligent amounts to keeping up one's concentration with balanced but dedicated continuity, returning to the object of meditation as soon as it is lost" -- Analayo
Or finally, simply:
"just keep coming back" -- Pema Chodron
Namaste
There was a monk in Tang Dynasty China who was practising sitting mediation very hard, day and night. He thought he was practising harder than anyone else, and was proud of this. He sat like a rock day and night, but his suffering was not transformed. One day a teacher asked him "Why are you sitting so hard?" and the monk replied "To become a Buddha!". The teacher picked up a tile and began polishing it, and the monk asked "Teacher, what are you doing?". His master replied "I am making a mirror". The monk asked, "How can you make a tile into a mirror?" and his teacher replied "How can you become a BUddha by sitting?".
-- Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of Buddha's Teaching pp 99-100
Mindfulness is certainly the key.
The middle way is the key.
^^^ good thing there are 84000 Dharma doors ...
so do we take door 42,000 or 42,001?
Suddenly an episode of "Lets Make A Deal" breaks out. No wait, only 3 doors there. I'll take door number 2.
Short and sweet, I like it. Man, some sits it's just over and over and over again. Hindrance number 4 is my biggest problem.
Either go from absorption to being mindful of objects(feelings/mental activities) or from being mindful into absorption. No matter.
It is not about feeling right. It is about doing right. Going from breath to being mindful of feelings and mental activity.
According to Miyamoto Musashi. Make the everyday stance the fighting stance and the fighting stance the everyday stance.
It should be the same thing.
Practically, this helps me.
Drowsiness can be due to too much focus, too narrow focus. Remember lots of things are there in absorption no need to tighten it too much, if the focus becomes too tight you loose track of the path and goal and drowsiness ensues. Widen the object of focus. Find the inspiration for the cultivation.
When the drowsiness is persistent: Go to bed. Or sleep sitting for a while. Just stop fighting and let it go.
Being too agitated is best cured with calming breath meditation and tightening the focus, making it narrower.
Dont restart(you cant actually, mind has moved on already). Frustration is a mental activity. Study it. Where it arises, How long it lasts. When it disappears. Learn how not to let frustration arise again.
Right effort is (as you well know) Encourage good inclinations arising, remove distractions, keep good factors and prevent hindrances from arising.
Hope some of it helps.
/Victor
Jhana born from the noble eightfold path is the best.
That was interesting. Can you expand? Have you tried Kasina too...or?
I never found the inspiration to endure. But when culivating the path focus comes naturally.
/Victor
I'm not sure if I know how to, I haven't attained jhana from right concentration. And no I haven't tried kasina, I might If I go on a retreat.
If I had to list the Noble Eightfold Path, I'd probably struggle to do so, but I like the way they can fall into three headings:
I generally don't break stuff down into the individual parts and think, "I will now practise 'right effort'". I'll just try to be ethical, kind, and get some meditation in and I think that covers the 8fold path.
I dont like words like jhana and sotapanna. I have no idea what they mean or rather what other people would like them to mean.
. They are much like the word "Feminism".