Thought suppression by Samatha

The cultivation of calm or tranquility and the development of concentration
rowyourboat
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Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by rowyourboat »

I have this problem that when I do Samatha meditation my thoughts or memories tend to get suppressed temporarily. It can become a problem at work, yet I want to do my Samatha as I feel it is important. Any ideas? :thinking:

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LonesomeYogurt
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by LonesomeYogurt »

What exactly do you mean by suppressed?
Gain and loss, status and disgrace,
censure and praise, pleasure and pain:
these conditions among human beings are inconstant,
impermanent, subject to change.

Knowing this, the wise person, mindful,
ponders these changing conditions.
Desirable things don’t charm the mind,
undesirable ones bring no resistance.

His welcoming and rebelling are scattered,
gone to their end,
do not exist.
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Hanzze
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by Hanzze »

rowyourboat wrote:I have this problem that when I do Samatha meditation my thoughts or memories tend to get suppressed temporarily. It can become a problem at work, yet I want to do my Samatha as I feel it is important. Any ideas? :thinking:

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What are you doing with your thoughts or memories that they tend to get suppressed temporarily?
Just that! *smile*
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daverupa
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by daverupa »

In my experience, samatha results in more intentional thought-formation; thoughts aren't suppressed in a general way, they simply don't arise as randomly. It's like bullet-time in the mind, not vacuous like an infant's mind.
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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Ben
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by Ben »

Greetings Matheesha,

In your situation I would restrict the amount of time on samatha and spend more time on vipassana. I am not convinced that maintaining intense samatha is ideal outside of the seclusion of retreat.
kind regards,

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DAWN
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by DAWN »

rowyourboat wrote:I have this problem that when I do Samatha meditation my thoughts or memories tend to get suppressed temporarily. It can become a problem at work, yet I want to do my Samatha as I feel it is important. Any ideas? :thinking:

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Me too, i forgot very fastly the past and dont think about future, my boss dont like it, he want me to anticipate the future, but i have not yet developped that iddhi :? ... I dont know how i could explain that i'ts not easy to get this king of iddhi... :shrug:
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rowyourboat
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by rowyourboat »

LonesomeYogurt wrote:What exactly do you mean by suppressed?
I just tend to forget more, things which I should remember. I once forgot the words of a guided meditation which I knew very well. That was the most clear cut incident.
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by rowyourboat »

Hanzze wrote: What are you doing with your thoughts or memories that they tend to get suppressed temporarily?
Usually mindfulness of the breath. I'm not doing anything specific with thoughts. When the samadhi builds up my mind sometimes goes blank, even after meditation. I wonder if generally I'm a bit of a lazy thinker or aren't aware intelligently ie not enough mindfulness and clear comprehension.

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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by rowyourboat »

daverupa wrote:In my experience, samatha results in more intentional thought-formation; thoughts aren't suppressed in a general way, they simply don't arise as randomly. It's like bullet-time in the mind, not vacuous like an infant's mind.
Thanks Daverupa. I wonder if I am also overreacting to a few moments that this has happened vs the great benefit of having samadhi controll all my defilements.
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rowyourboat
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by rowyourboat »

Ben wrote:Greetings Matheesha,

In your situation I would restrict the amount of time on samatha and spend more time on vipassana. I am not convinced that maintaining intense samatha is ideal outside of the seclusion of retreat.
kind regards,

Ben
Thanks Ben. I have stopped doing Samatha actually and trying to find a way back in. You are right - too much samadhi is not conducive but it can be to a lesser intensity. So part of the solution might be to practice but with reduced frequency. Vipassana might be too intense for me right now. I hope you are keeping well,

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rowyourboat
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by rowyourboat »

DAWN wrote:
Me too, i forgot very fastly the past and dont think about future, my boss dont like it, he want me to anticipate the future, but i have not yet developped that iddhi :? ... I dont know how i could explain that i'ts not easy to get this king of iddhi... :shrug:
DAWN, I think it takes a lot of focusing- don't be SO happy in the present moment :smile:

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DAWN
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by DAWN »

rowyourboat wrote:
DAWN wrote:
Me too, i forgot very fastly the past and dont think about future, my boss dont like it, he want me to anticipate the future, but i have not yet developped that iddhi :? ... I dont know how i could explain that i'ts not easy to get this king of iddhi... :shrug:
DAWN, I think it takes a lot of focusing- don't be SO happy in the present moment :smile:

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:smile:
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Cittasanto
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by Cittasanto »

I think you maybe putting to much effort into the practice for this to happen. realistically you want to be able to function on the task at hand (which requires sati no matter what the task is).

without knowing exactly what you are doing I would suggest trying to be more fluid with your practice rather than using a hammer to drive in a screw. which is what I think maybe the case?
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DAWN
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by DAWN »

Actualy, this state of mind, when he dont captures nothink, when all that heppens lides down like a drop of rain on the lotus leaf, is very... is very free :roll:
When it's like this, the problem is not the mind, but a job that dont let you be released, be free , feel true happyness of calm.

Go forth is the solution. :roll:
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daverupa
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Re: Thought suppression by Samatha

Post by daverupa »

I think maybe the practice can use a tweak, since the sort of calm which builds up in such a way that the mind becomes unwieldy isn't really part of samadhi.
Last edited by daverupa on Sat Sep 22, 2012 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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