Zen and Noting

Currently I am in a semi retreat environment for three months, and have less daily mental clutter. I am recording my meditation experience here.

I have practiced zen meditation for a long time. I had severe dark night episodes which thankfully lasted only a few days. My current goal is to learn noting technique and deepen my concentration.

Last night I had a typical sit. I started by following my breath combined with being aware of heart beat near the hip area. I note the mind state as it rises thru the dukkha nanas. It then stop rising, this usually means I don't relax enough.

I note the experience and relax my body more and note my mind state. Then my head snapped back to the left. I always have this reaction. I am facing left for a few seconds as I feel the energy flow upward thru a blockage point on the spine near my neck.

I feel more relaxed but no further rise until a second head snap to the left. Now I feel totally relaxed. My mind rises to access concentration and enter into first jhanna. After a few minutes I lie down and go to bed.

wilkin.

"Now I feel totally relaxed. My mind rises to access concentration and enter into first jhanna. After a few minutes I lie down and go to bed."


Theres something poetic about this line.

Indeed 'less daily mental clutter'.

I have to say this is the report style I aspire to!

When did you start semi-retreat jin..lin? How frequently do you intend to post?

sparqi, i am lucky that I can attend a three months course this summer, the new environment allow me to change my old habits.

My Zen teacher always emphasis there are two sides of practice. One is to realize emptiness, the other side is to manifest oneness with everything

Yesterday I found an opportunity to practice oneness. In serving tea during meal time, just manifest pouring tea without the idea of self and others.

"there are two sides of practice. One is to realize emptiness, the other side is to manifest oneness with everything"

Woke up early this morning an hour before class. The birds already started singing at 4:30. I managed to attain hard jhanna this morning.

It usually take at least half an hour before my mind settle down and enter access concentration or 1st jhanna. I sat in a relaxed posture. Just aware of keeping my spine straight. For me entering 1st jhanna is always a sudden change. I can not will it to happen. I am cruising in equanimity and suddenly the mind focus get smaller and it is in first jhanna. After awhile it softened to second. I missed the transition to the third but spent some time in the forth where it is really quite, no feeling tone.

It continue to rise higher to formless jhanna, where the consciousness start to widen and the feeling of the body start to lessen. I started hearing other students going out to class from their rooms so i decided to stop.

wilkin.

It's been several months since I talked with Kenneth on Skype. His instruction on fourfold mindfulness has helped me a lot in mastering this practice. I'd like to stress the importance of closer interaction with a teacher for learning this technique. To see Kenneth doing it, as suppose to just reading about it make a big difference.

One insight I have about mindfulness, is that it is related to the five skandha. The first four mindfulness reveal how the mind progress from meeting a sense object, getting a feeling, forming a perception, and making a volition skandha. I am not sure about how the consciousness skandha fit, but I think the fifth skandha is just an overall space of the mind at that time.

So by doing mindfulness practice, my mind is clearer on seeing how this progression arises, and the key for me is the feeling skandha. Master Nan Huai Chin gave me a pointer when he said "our daily lives are dominated by unpleasant feelings". (check google link to see the context of his talk from meditationexpert.com) www.google.ca/search?our+daily+lives+are...+unpleasant+feelings

I was discussing this with a friend, and she said her daily life are generally pleasant, misunderstanding the term feeling as some kind of emotion.

Feeling in mindfulness practice has to be the feeling skandha. It is what arises automatically when sensing the six sense object: a thought, a body sensation. During meditation it is clear that the reason my mind wander is because of unpleasant feeling. Having the tool to detect this has helped me progress further in my practice.

Wow, I like the sparse precision and elegance of your posts Jin Lin! So clear, very helpful. Thanks for posting!
--Jake