Stream Entry Poll

There is an apparent disconnect between this thread and 'the "best" state' thread. A lot of people here are saying they got SE on intensive retreat while a lot of really advanced people here have never gone on retreat.

Is the commonality the adoption of a "lifestyle approach" of punching the mindfulness clock many hours per day whether it is at home or on retreat?

Has anyone here gotten stream entry with just regularly scheduled at-home cushion time and no "lifestyle approach"?

"I think that the slippery slope comes from some people thinking they can "kill" the self by actively doing this practice.

It seems like people who are successful in this approach use a much more gentle touch, more like an open curiousity toward how self is manifesting in the moment, as opposed to a seek and destroy mentality."

Yes, it seems to me that one is the Don't Know mind just observing with curiousity, which might lead to insight, and the other is actually the self posing as the agent that will exterminate self, which is of course a waste of time.

"There is an apparent disconnect between this thread and 'the "best" state' thread. A lot of people here are saying they got SE on intensive retreat while a lot of really advanced people here have never gone on retreat.

Is the commonality the adoption of a "lifestyle approach" of punching the mindfulness clock many hours per day whether it is at home or on retreat?

Has anyone here gotten stream entry with just regularly scheduled at-home cushion time and no "lifestyle approach"?"

I'm going to hazard a guess that it is not a completely mechanistic process, or if it is, it is dependent on a wide variety of factors, including a person's personality, tendencies, traumas, life experiences, past spiritual experiences or religious upbringing, attitude, fears, and so on and cannot be reduced to a recipe. Many people I know tend to transition to a sort of 24/7 practice (applying practice throughout the day, off the cushion) sometime after their first intense experiences (such as A&P), simply because they can't do otherwise - practice becomes the most important thing in their lives, and they try to apply it in every situation (work, family, commuting, errands, leisure). Personally it was after A&P/first intense mystical experience that I started sitting multiple times a day, and soon after found myself constantly meditating/mindful during every gap in my work, even while walking down the street. It sort of took over that way. Dedication and intention seem to be key, but so does good guidance and quality practice (being as attentive to the experience of the present moment as possible, using whatever method resonates most). Does that help?

"I'm going to hazard a guess that it is not a completely mechanistic process, or if it is, it is dependent on a wide variety of factors, including a person's personality, tendencies, traumas, life experiences, past spiritual experiences or religious upbringing, attitude, fears, and so on and cannot be reduced to a recipe. Many people I know tend to transition to a sort of 24/7 practice (applying practice throughout the day, off the cushion) sometime after their first intense experiences (such as A&P), simply because they can't do otherwise - practice becomes the most important thing in their lives, and they try to apply it in every situation (work, family, commuting, errands, leisure). Personally it was after A&P/first intense mystical experience that I started sitting multiple times a day, and soon after found myself constantly meditating/mindful during every gap in my work, even while walking down the street. It sort of took over that way. Dedication and intention seem to be key, but so does good guidance and quality practice (being as attentive to the experience of the present moment as possible, using whatever method resonates most). Does that help?"

I completely agree with this. There are so many factors one needs to take into account in order to figure out what is the best way to make progress.

Looking back, I used to have a strong addictive personality (maybe I still do in subtler ways), so taming the mind through renunciation, right effort and Sila was, in the beginning, way better than 3rd gear. I am convinced that right conduct and morality (along with mindfulness) took me to A&P almost by accident. After that, I was hooked (a new addiction, haha). I haven't stopped practicing ever since (2008).