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Meditator's Atlas by Matthew Flickstein

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 4:20 pm
by alan
In what has so far been a futile effort to get a handle on the Visuddhimagga I purchased and read Meditator's Atlas. 3 timed through and it is sitting on the shelf with many question marks and scribbles written in the margins. I'd like to hear if anyone thinks I should take a deep breath and have another go at it later, or just put it aside.
Thanks.

Re: Meditator's Atlas by Matthew Flickstein

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 7:36 pm
by cooran
Hello alan,

While discussion here may give you some good help, I would also encourage you to take your questions to the folk at Dhammastudygroup.

In their Files section, in "Useful Posts" under 'V', they have selected posts and threads on this topic.

Rather than having a book with notes and scribbles in it, start from the beginning and see if their are threads already. You can add your queries to that thread or start another honing in on your questions.

Nina van Gorkom, Sarah, Rob Kirkpatrick and many others are well-qualified to answer any questions you may have.

Dhammastudygroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dhammastudygroup/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I was interested to see that the Dalai Lama also values the Visuddhimagga. :smile:

Posts listed in the Useful Posts section for members of Dhammastudygroup (you may have to join to have access):
Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification) - Understanding with Sub-comy extracts 23138, 23165, 23206, 23263, 23213, 23282, 23658, 23659, 23789, 23851, 24135, 24146, 24166, 24246, 24406, 24484, 24600, 25085, 25256, 25257, 25333, 25347, 25421, 25510, 25548, 25668, 25689, 25803, 25907, 25908, 25921, 25939, 25940, 26246, 26320, 26505, 26700, 26728, 26861, 26988, 27147, 27182, 27482, 27808, 27958, 27977, 28057, 28216, 28896, 28817
Visuddhimagga, ch X1V, Larry's index of text posts and Nina's summaries and translations of the commentary 55332
Visuddhimagga -Dalai Lama 35752
http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/sDpCS9lEE3 ... 2009.htm#V" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

metta
Chris

Re: Meditator's Atlas by Matthew Flickstein

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:12 pm
by bodom
I recommend these talks from Silananda.

http://www.sirimangalo.org/audio_index" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:

Re: Meditator's Atlas by Matthew Flickstein

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 8:55 pm
by tiltbillings
alan wrote:In what has so far been a futile effort to get a handle on the Visuddhimagga I purchased and read Meditator's Atlas. 3 timed through and it is sitting on the shelf with many question marks and scribbles written in the margins. I'd like to hear if anyone thinks I should take a deep breath and have another go at it later, or just put it aside.
Thanks.
That book is okay, and there is no reason in the world that you NEED to read the Visuddhimagga.

Re: Meditator's Atlas by Matthew Flickstein

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:16 pm
by mikenz66
Hi Alan,
alan wrote:In what has so far been a futile effort to get a handle on the Visuddhimagga I purchased and read Meditator's Atlas. 3 timed through and it is sitting on the shelf with many question marks and scribbles written in the margins. I'd like to hear if anyone thinks I should take a deep breath and have another go at it later, or just put it aside.
Thanks.
I had a quick look at what I can see using Amazon's preview, and to it looks like a very good introduction to the stages of purification in the Visuddhimagga. It's clearly a lot more manageable than the VM itself, and more approachable than other easy to find summaries of the map by Mahasi Sayadaw, for example:
http://aimwell.org/Books/Mahasi/Progress/progress.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It seems to have some good practical advice about how the stages might manifest in daily life.

My advice would be to stick with it and ask some questions here.

Metta
Mike

Re: Meditator's Atlas by Matthew Flickstein

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2010 10:21 pm
by retrofuturist
Greetings Alan,
alan wrote:In what has so far been a futile effort to get a handle on the Visuddhimagga I purchased and read Meditator's Atlas. 3 timed through and it is sitting on the shelf with many question marks and scribbles written in the margins. I'd like to hear if anyone thinks I should take a deep breath and have another go at it later, or just put it aside.
It's hard to comment because it's hard to know what you're trying to get out of it. When I read the Visuddhimagga first time around, I did so because I wanted to understand the Theravada commentarial perspectives - moreso doctrinally, than in terms of meditation. Others, however, approach it as a meditation manual of sorts. I'm sure too there are other angles to approach it from, particularly if you're a monastic. What you're attempting to get out of the exercise will determine how important it is for you to persist, and how to go about it.

Feel free to ask any questions you have about the Visuddhimagga here, or if you seek purely traditional perspectives on it, you can ask in the Classical Theravada section.

Metta,
Retro. :)

Re: Meditator's Atlas by Matthew Flickstein

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:16 am
by Nibbida
Depending on your purpose, you might want to try to read Vimuttimagga. It's not exactly the same, but it's shorter and more digestible.