My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

On the cultivation of insight/wisdom
Post Reply
User avatar
purple planet
Posts: 728
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:07 am

My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by purple planet »

I am very confused right now about my practice so this is what i do (except from keeping the precepts) :

my back hurts so i do mainly walking meditation and noting in daily life

I think i follow ven.yuttadhammo way of meditating by labeling everything - and because i dont understand how to label when doing some actions like listening i will focus on what i do at the time with no labeling

Now I am trying to figure out a way to be more confident i am doing this "correctly" - that im doing things right

If i will label and allways try to note more and more steps than i cant go wrong ? like if i will try to note more and more "moments" of life and not them - "label" them then i am moving in the right way ?
User avatar
bodom
Posts: 7216
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2009 6:18 pm
Location: San Antonio, Texas

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by bodom »

Whether practicing under the guidance of a teacher or not, practicing this technique/method or that, there is only one sure fire way to know whether or not you are practicing the Dhamma correctly: there is the lessening and or complete removal of all suffering and stress from your life.

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
User avatar
Cittasanto
Posts: 6646
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 10:31 pm
Location: Ellan Vannin
Contact:

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by Cittasanto »

Apart from Bodoms excelent advise!
if you are trying to follow Ven Yuttadhammos Teachings it would be ideal to try to speak with him.
he is quite active online, and am sure easily contactable.
if you are not sure how to contact him he is giving a live broadcast tomorrow which I believe is a Q&A session so you could ask a question then.

but this is a path of mistakes, and if we were perfect straight away we would not need guidance.
Blog, Suttas, Aj Chah, Facebook.

He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. His reasons may be good, and no one may have been able to refute them.
But if he is equally unable to refute the reasons on the opposite side, if he does not so much as know what they are, he has no ground for preferring either opinion …
...
He must be able to hear them from persons who actually believe them … he must know them in their most plausible and persuasive form.
John Stuart Mill
User avatar
Alobha
Posts: 565
Joined: Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:27 pm
Location: Germany

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by Alobha »

purple planet wrote: my back hurts so i do mainly walking meditation and noting in daily life
Did you try sitting meditation with a chair or a meditation bench yet? I suggest you give it a try.
purple planet wrote:Now I am trying to figure out a way to be more confident i am doing this "correctly" - that im doing things right
It is as bodom says. Give the method you use some time to unfold its results (say, at least a month of earnest practice) and see what it leads to. If the method you use leads to calming down the mind, to peace and to more mindfulness, you're on a good way! Ultimatively, the confidence needs to come from your own experience, from seeing the results for yourself. Of course, if you don't know whether you understood the method correctly in the first place, it's best to ask the teacher for clarification.
purple planet wrote:If i will label and allways try to note more and more steps than i cant go wrong ? like if i will try to note more and more "moments" of life and not[sic!] them - "label" them then i am moving in the right way ?
As far as I can tell, there is nothing wrong with this method itself, but it may not be suitable for everbody. Give it some time and see whether this method works for you. Are there any specific difficulties with the method that make you doubt that you are doing it right?
User avatar
purple planet
Posts: 728
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:07 am

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by purple planet »

Did you try sitting meditation with a chair or a meditation bench yet? I suggest you give it a try.
yes a chair hurts but exactly today i was reading this :

http://dharma.ncf.ca/introduction/instr ... tions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

and so in the end theres an image of a meditation bench (i think thats what you ment- "stool" ) i would like to try
Are there any specific difficulties with the method that make you doubt that you are doing it right?
Yes what i asked here : http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=14356" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; i just would like to know how it sits with the "labeling" technique and i couldnt understand from what i read from yuttadhammo way on how to listen in his way -

so if i should be all day like this as i want to do - i can be mindful when i do chors,walk ect ... but on some stuff like listening i dont not what to do while using labeling so thats the problem - and if whenever i reach this moments i need to stop labeling and to switch to just noting then it makes me dobut that maybe i should change the method - but i do think its a good way im using it for quite a while now and it would be a shame to change it - so i hope i can understand it

but if not then i wanted to find a new way and that why i have asked this question
User avatar
reflection
Posts: 1116
Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:27 pm

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by reflection »

When you listen, you listen. If you label things while listening, you aren't listening anymore. It's the same with all other labeling, not to say it's not useful, but it's another thing from being fully mindful. I personally don't see the use of labelling everything all day. It can be a tool probably for those who have a hard time concentrating or getting the mind empty, but certainly it is not the goal to be able to label everything.

So if you can label more and more doesn't mean you are moving in the right direction. You are going in the right direction if you are more peaceful, happy and harmless in general. Labeling can be a tool useful for some, but it's just a technique. Use it wisely, so determine if it works for you. But again, you shouldn't have to do it all the time. When meditating you can get to very easeful places where there is nothing to label anyway; and as soon as you do you disturb the peace. For that reason I personally don't note at all - I don't find it useful.

So in short, how effective a particular method is and how well you are applying it can be seen from the resulting peace. If you want to know what to do, that's the thing to check.
ignobleone
Posts: 150
Joined: Fri Feb 03, 2012 7:15 pm

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by ignobleone »

purple planet wrote:I am very confused right now about my practice so this is what i do (except from keeping the precepts) :

my back hurts so i do mainly walking meditation and noting in daily life
The practice is not limited to sitting posture. You're right to practice it in all daily activities.
I think i follow ven.yuttadhammo way of meditating by labeling everything - and because i dont understand how to label when doing some actions like listening i will focus on what i do at the time with no labeling

Now I am trying to figure out a way to be more confident i am doing this "correctly" - that im doing things right

If i will label and allways try to note more and more steps than i cant go wrong ? like if i will try to note more and more "moments" of life and not them - "label" them then i am moving in the right way ?
The actual instruction is to know the arising and passing away of all phenomena pertaining to body, feeling, mind(citta), mental quality/object(dhamma). Simply instructing to label things is a vague, not quite clear instruction.
User avatar
mikenz66
Posts: 19941
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2009 7:37 am
Location: Aotearoa, New Zealand

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi Purple Planet,
purple planet wrote: I think i follow ven.yuttadhammo way of meditating by labeling everything - and because i dont understand how to label when doing some actions like listening i will focus on what i do at the time with no labeling
Are you using the instructions on his videos and this book?
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3772" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://yuttadhammo.sirimangalo.org/arti ... -meditate/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As Cittasanto says, if you are using his instructions you would find it useful to contact him. As well as the above web site he is on Google+ here:
https://plus.google.com/118014954414967440482/posts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
And this seems to be a place to ask questions:
http://ask.sirimangalo.org/questions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


:anjali:
Mike
User avatar
retrofuturist
Posts: 27848
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 9:52 pm
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings Purple Planet,
purple planet wrote:I am very confused right now about my practice so this is what i do (except from keeping the precepts)
In addition to the precepts, which are negative formulations... i.e. do not do this

... also try to adhere to the Noble Eightfold Path.... i.e. do this.

That answers your question about what to do.

Whether you follow the "ven.yuttadhammo way of meditating" or follow someone else's guidance, it should all just be different flavours of the Noble Eightfold Path. It is the doing of the Noble Eightfold Path that leads to release.

Metta,
Retro. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
pegembara
Posts: 3465
Joined: Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:39 am

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by pegembara »

I find this instruction very helpful: I am inclined to title it Watching The Passing Show
As you meditate, pleasant and unpleasant emotions will arise. How should you observe anger, happiness, anxiety and other emotions? By looking at them as if they were actors. But don't become an actor. Don't get involved with them. Don't get onstage. Just watch the play. Sometimes the actors show excitement or happiness. Sometimes they show anger, frustration, fear or sadness.

Say to yourself, "They're not me," and only watch them to see how long they last. If you don't get involved with them, if you don't cling to them, if you don't think that they belong to you, you won't suffer at all. Only know them, see them, watch them, like watching actors on T.V. When they finish their duty to show this or that thing they leave. Then another actor comes, another feeling or another object. But they aren't real. In the ultimate sense, what they show isn't true - it's just an appearance. And these actors - these feelings and emotions - change all the time.
And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, from divisive speech, from abusive speech, & from idle chatter: This is called right speech.
Patr
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 7:23 am

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by Patr »

There are maore than one meditation method, just as there are many temperaments within the human race. If this doesnt suit you, then try a different one. I myself have tried a few before accepting a method that feels right.

On the other hand, remember the story about the guitar strings, drawn too tight or too lose will not give a good result.

Take the middle path, let go if it doesnt feel right, think you're trying too hard. Just be mindfull, without noting/labelling everything. If your mind wanders, just observe, pull it back. This will happen many many times, eventually it will settle for extended periods. Even experienced meditators sometimes have difficulty settling their mind, we all have our off days, then just pack up and do it another time.

Seriously, take it easy, thats the middle path, not too tight, not too slack.

Hope this helps.
User avatar
purple planet
Posts: 728
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2012 6:07 am

Re: My practice - please correct me on how you think is better

Post by purple planet »

ok now what i do at the moment is live at my parents - so i try to live like in a monastry so i take the 8 precepts - no food after lunch and stoped killing mosquitoes -

as far as i understand until this point - is the goal is to get rid of the kilesas ? - and everything comes from this - all the practice is aimed at this ? being mindful is just a tool to get rid of the kilesas ? -
Post Reply