The Illusion of Choice

In February 2009 I had a clear insight into no-self. This was after my September 2008 'blip'.

As was my practice at that time, Awareness was witnessing the sense of 'I Am'.

At that time I wasn't familiar with samatha jhanas or vipassana jhanas or the progress of insight.

My practice was basically an Advaita practice based on the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj. I was abiding in the sense of 'I Am', in the 4th samatha jhana, in a state of equanimity (or high indifference, as Franklin Merrell-Wolff called it).

Reconstructing from memory, I was re-playing the 'blip' from the previous September, examining 'reality' with my eyes open.

I remember being amazed at how quickly one samples 'reality', and how 'relatively easy' it is to notice that it's being sampled and assembled into a solid perception. That's when I 'realized' there was no 'me'. There were sensory samples and thought structures based on sensory samples, but there was no 'me'. 'Me' was clearly an after-effect '“ a meta-thought that occurred long (milliseconds) after 'action' occurred, and I was easily aware of that.

It was so obvious that there is no 'doer' and there is no thing 'done'.

There is only the 'doing' and that too is only a thought.

"My practice was basically an Advaita practice based on the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj. I was abiding in the sense of 'I Am', in the 4th samatha jhana, in a state of equanimity (or high indifference, as Franklin Merrell-Wolff called it)."-AugustLeo

Hi Michael,

It seems likely that the state you were practicing was not 4th jhana/equanimity, but rather what I call the "Witness" or the "no-dog," which is not a jhana per se, but rather a trans-jhanic state (even better than a jhana). See if you can dwell in this condition of "high indifference" while simultaneously watching the jhanic arc rise and fall in the background. If so, we'll know that you are dwelling as the Witness, aka 2nd Gear in my system. This Witness is a particularly powerful practice; it can serve as a bridge between vipassana/samatha, it can serve as a substitute for vipassana/samatha in terms of efficiently developing through the physio-energetic cycles, and it is also the "next-to-simplest thing." By that, I mean that the state of pure subjectivity that is the Witness is so simple that it's only a very small step to surrender fully into the Absolute perspective.

Dear Kenneth,

Thank you. I'm sure I was "Witnessing" - it was clear I had "no dog in that fight" Yes, I can watch the jhanic arc rise and fall while Witnessing. The Witness is aware of everything but is totally impersonal.

During this particular event I was in the 4th jhana.

How does this fit in with the samatha/vipassana model?

I was assuming that in order to be "no-dog" I must be in the 4th jhana - but now I can see that isn't the case, and that answers other questions I had about the vipassana jhanas.

Getting confused trying to map it all out.

Please tell me more about the "trans-jhanic" state.

Thank you.

Michael

I reinforce Michael's question. Thank you a lot for this thread.

I just add something: the most significant states in my experience closely resemble the Witness, I mapped them to A&P because of Mahasi Sayadaw descriptions (easy noticing, bliss, enthousiasm, big faith). But my kind of practice differed from Mahasi noting.

After reading Ken's writings about the 2nd gear I was doubty.
And I remember also a thread in the DhO site about the Witness/Watcher thing, the guys were saying that people accustomed to vipassana tend to map such experiences as A&P, "which are not".

In fact, reading the Jack Kornfield article about the 3 gears (thanks Jackson), I just feel at home with the instructions and the outcome of the second gear/middle field attention.

I felt a jhanic factor in that state, and I take Ken words in this thread as a precious key to resolve that matter.

But "my Witness thing" was personal. No dissolving self or non dual experience, but a new identity embracing the previous process of thought (alertness vs usual consciousness).

"and a misuse of ordinary awareness can create a false sense of "self" as a witness." J. Kornfield

Kenneth said that a good starting point for the Witness practice is 6/7 jhana, which was (and is) out of reach for me.

Do you see any A&P / The Witness connection / misunderstanding?

Umberto