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choiceless awareness and concentration jhanas
- richardweeden
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15 years 10 months ago #56292
by richardweeden
choiceless awareness and concentration jhanas was created by richardweeden
Hello,
I am new to the site after finding MTCTB and Dharma Overground. I gained first path about two and a half years ago after seven years of a very wide range of concentration and insight practices (and lots of suffering and madness). My practice these days is in the first two gears of Kenneth's models. Though I find David Ingram's book very inspiring and (very true I'm afraid about western buddhist culture) it's very technical and a bit hard to get into, particularly as I am doing a choiceless practice. I am really into letting go of any division between the observer and that which is observed - naming and categorizing seems to reinstate that duality.
However, the last few days while sitting I have gone into the second concentration jhana (and then in and out of it) - this is while sitting in choiceless awareness and not trying to concentrate on any particular object.
I am not sure what to do about this - most of the time my practice is open and still and has a strong insight feel to it - ie; it can freak me out a bit -however when stronger concentrated states are present it seems to lose the cutting edge somewhat and thoughts arise that it is obscuring the potential for insight.
One of my teachers in the past said concentration is OK as long as you can still hear and feel objects, for example the sound of a river running past the meditation hall. Another told me if he begins to become too absorbed it suggests to him he is unconsciously fixating on an object and he deliberately disrupts the solidity of the state by moving, thinking, or looking round the room.
At lot the emphasis in practice since first path has been on simply surrendering to what is - logically this should include surrendering to any concentrated states even if they lead you away from insight, and I also sometimes wonder if they might come out the other end somewhere combine with insight, and lead to a much deeper revelation.
Any thoughts? Rx
I am new to the site after finding MTCTB and Dharma Overground. I gained first path about two and a half years ago after seven years of a very wide range of concentration and insight practices (and lots of suffering and madness). My practice these days is in the first two gears of Kenneth's models. Though I find David Ingram's book very inspiring and (very true I'm afraid about western buddhist culture) it's very technical and a bit hard to get into, particularly as I am doing a choiceless practice. I am really into letting go of any division between the observer and that which is observed - naming and categorizing seems to reinstate that duality.
However, the last few days while sitting I have gone into the second concentration jhana (and then in and out of it) - this is while sitting in choiceless awareness and not trying to concentrate on any particular object.
I am not sure what to do about this - most of the time my practice is open and still and has a strong insight feel to it - ie; it can freak me out a bit -however when stronger concentrated states are present it seems to lose the cutting edge somewhat and thoughts arise that it is obscuring the potential for insight.
One of my teachers in the past said concentration is OK as long as you can still hear and feel objects, for example the sound of a river running past the meditation hall. Another told me if he begins to become too absorbed it suggests to him he is unconsciously fixating on an object and he deliberately disrupts the solidity of the state by moving, thinking, or looking round the room.
At lot the emphasis in practice since first path has been on simply surrendering to what is - logically this should include surrendering to any concentrated states even if they lead you away from insight, and I also sometimes wonder if they might come out the other end somewhere combine with insight, and lead to a much deeper revelation.
Any thoughts? Rx