Digest Number 2202

[Guest guest]

Hello Paresh,

My name is Jose and I am a Buddhist priest who is a new member of this list. I have spent over 20 years within the Zen tradition and 7 in the Tibetan Vajrayana along with my final ordination being within the faith-oriented, Pure Land tradition.

 

Regarding vipassana (insight) it should be noted that this was the unique contribution to meditative practices that the Buddha gave to the world. The various calming and concentrative practices, shamatha (calming/quieting) were known widely in India during his time. But use of the calmed mind in order to penetrate the process of becoming and in so doing, to "see-things-as-they-are" (yathambhutam) was the great discovery of his Enlightenment. This was not, however, to be considered union with God for the Buddha denied the substantial existence of such. What he taught instead is that there is an endless series of becomings, arising, momentarily abiding, then dying again in all aspects of phenomena, from the world outside to my physical body, the very thoughts I think, my concepts of "me" , etc. When practiced carefully, that is, without preconceptions, and instead one quietly observes the movements of consciousness, then one "sees" the way we

grasp after things (tanha) and clinging to them, we suffer, since they, like everything else, is going to be part of the same process of arising, momentarily abiding, ceasing, then arising again, ad infinitum. This was NOT a negative approach although it has often been incorrectly labelled as such. For the Buddha said:

yad aniccam tam dukkham--Whatever is impermanent, is Dukkha (suffering).

 

The usual course of meditation in most Buddhist traditions is the development of calming and then moving onto vipassana. Most people have little concentrative abilities and so the use of kasinas, or objects placed several meters away, like a colored circle, for example, were used at first. Then when one could concentrate, one turned one´s attention to the objects of mind and the very physical processes within the body, sensations, perceptions, etc. The regular practice of this gradually grants one "insight" into the nature of things which loosens attachments whereby one can rest in all circumstances within the beautiful fluz that is referred to as the luminosity of mind.

 

I hope this helps. There are a good number of books on Vipassana (or Vipashyana in Sanskrit) and S.N. Goenka is a major modern teacher. If there is anything else I may provide you, please do ask.

With palms pressed together,

jose