Letting go of the eyes

There seems to be a slight difference between kind of looking through the eyelids as opposed to "letting go" of the eyes. The letting go seems to be a somewhat more unknown space than the looking through. Wondering if this is of any use as a distinction.

In my opinion, this is precisely what one should do, but not only with the eyes, but also with the rest of the senses. It feels like the eyes are limbs, ears are limbs, touch is a limb, etc.

Of course, mind is another limb.

These are all limbs of an unfindable body, being, etc.

Would you mind explaining this a bit clearer? I get what you mean here but it's be useful to have a bit more information about what differences, phenomenologically, you notice when "looking through" and "letting go".

"Looking through", if I'm understanding you correctly, is just what happens when you allow you eyelids to close over, but seeing still continues?
"Letting go", again if I'm understanding you correctly, is just what happens when you allow everything to be just as it is?

I'd say "letting go" is more insightful, whereas looking "through" implies that there's a focus involved (i.e. samatha). It depends what you're trying to achieve here so, again, some more info would be useful.

Heh. Trying to achieve stream entry.

But yeah, I'd say you have it about right. Both seem to me to be letting it be as it is, they're just different. "Letting go of the eyes" is a bit more mysterious place, a bit more unknown, which makes some sense to me in my conception of stream entry in the sense of grokking everything at once. If that even makes any sense.

Cool, thanks for clarifying. I had to go look up "grok" as I didn't know what it meant but now I see what a good choice of word it is.

Well, if you're going for SE then you should be noting constantly whether you're "looking through" (which is really just a function of "seeing") or "letting go" (which is just consciously relinquishing the illusion of control). They both happen naturally; as you note sensation you're simultaneously looking through it, seeing it's true nature, and letting it go after acknowledging that it, like every other sensation, is subject to the 3C's. Personally, I don't think that there's any real practical benefit in making a distinction before you get 1st path, mainly because the journey to stream entry is all about straight-up noting and paying attention to the 3C's as they happen in real-time.

It may be worth looking at the sensations which make up this perceived difference as I always found that such 'knots' usually led to something pretty interesting. The "letting go" part is really useful when it comes to going through Dark Night and into Equanimity as clinging at this point will inevitably prevent progress. In fact, Re-Observation can be passed through really quickly by just staying at sensate level and letting all the crap arise and pass away, if you find yourself getting pulled into a thought loop then noting this bring you right back to the moment where there is nothing which needs to be held onto.

I don't know if that's of much use to you 'cause I know you've been practicing well for quite a while now, but just let me know if I've gone off-topic here or just confused the matter more. Ha!