mahasi sayadaw

On the cultivation of insight/wisdom
alan...
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mahasi sayadaw

Post by alan... »

does anyone practice the mahasi sayadaw methods?

could you give me some thoughts on them? answer some questions? progress, technique, and so on?

i have read "heart of buddhist meditation" by nyanaponika thera and am about to read "practical insight meditation" and "the progress of insight" by mahasi sayadaw.

i am trying to redouble my efforts in sattipatthana by refreshing my practical knowledge with these books and i would like some guidance and i have a lot of questions.

please and thank you.
befriend
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by befriend »

i practice that way, what are your questions.
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
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tiltbillings
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by tiltbillings »

alan... wrote:
i am trying to redouble my efforts in sattipatthana by refreshing my practical knowledge with these books and i would like some guidance and i have a lot of questions.
You might want to start listening to this series of talks, which are not a matter of theoretical knowledge; rather, they reflect a practical, experiential knowledge based upon years of practice and teaching.

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/96/?s ... tipatthana
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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James the Giant
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by James the Giant »

I recently did a month long Mahasi retreat, it was GREAT.
MikeNZ practises that style, he's quite knowledgeable about it.
Then,
saturated with joy,
you will put an end to suffering and stress.
SN 9.11
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mikenz66
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by mikenz66 »

Bhikkhu Pesala has a whole site:
http://www.aimwell.org/
I'd start with U Pandita's exposition: In this very life.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/pesala/Pandita/
I think Patrick Kearney's retreat talks are also a very good introduction:
http://www.dharmasalon.net/Audio/audio.html

:anjali:
Mike
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

Sayādaw U Pandita is one of the leading disciples of the Venerable Mahāsi Sayādaw.

His book (In this Very Life) is the product of a three month retreat at Barre, Mass. His interpreter at that retreat was Bhikkhu Aggacitta, who is the abbot of the Sāsanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary in Malaysia.

My own meditation teacher was Chanmyay Sayādaw who is another leading disciple of the Sayādaw. I practised for several years in Burma at both Chanmyay Yeikthā and Mahāsi Yeikthā.
BlogPāli FontsIn This Very LifeBuddhist ChroniclesSoftware (Upasampadā: 24th June, 1979)
Buckwheat
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by Buckwheat »

tiltbillings wrote:
alan... wrote:
i am trying to redouble my efforts in sattipatthana by refreshing my practical knowledge with these books and i would like some guidance and i have a lot of questions.
You might want to start listening to this series of talks, which are not a matter of theoretical knowledge; rather, they reflect a practical, experiential knowledge based upon years of practice and teaching.

http://www.dharmaseed.org/teacher/96/?s ... tipatthana
Thanks, Tilt.
Sotthī hontu nirantaraṃ - May you forever be well.
alan...
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by alan... »

mostly my questions involve practicing the satipatthana sutta itself. i haven't seen anywhere that really addresses each technique and how and when they are to be practiced. also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.
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tiltbillings
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by tiltbillings »

alan... wrote: also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.
It depends upon what you mean by jhana.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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mikenz66
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by mikenz66 »

alan... wrote:mostly my questions involve practicing the satipatthana sutta itself. i haven't seen anywhere that really addresses each technique and how and when they are to be practiced. also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.
The way I see it, the basic Mahasi approach, as explained in the links I gave above, is to use a "primary object" (abdominal or body motion when sitting or walking) as a basis to develop samadhi. In terms of the satipatthana sutta this is the first section. The "secondary objects" that should be noted as they arise cover the other three sections: feeling (pain or whatever), mind states (happy, sad, whatever), and dhammas (thoughts, and so on).

Of course, this is a huge simplification. Read U Pandita's "In this very life" or Bhate Sujiva's "Essentials of insight meditation" www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/essentials.pdf for many more details.

:anjali:
Mike
alan...
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by alan... »

tiltbillings wrote:
alan... wrote: also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.
It depends upon what you mean by jhana.
jhana as described in the suttas.
alan...
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by alan... »

mikenz66 wrote:
alan... wrote:mostly my questions involve practicing the satipatthana sutta itself. i haven't seen anywhere that really addresses each technique and how and when they are to be practiced. also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.
The way I see it, the basic Mahasi approach, as explained in the links I gave above, is to use a "primary object" (abdominal or body motion when sitting or walking) as a basis to develop samadhi. In terms of the satipatthana sutta this is the first section. The "secondary objects" that should be noted as they arise cover the other three sections: feeling (pain or whatever), mind states (happy, sad, whatever), and dhammas (thoughts, and so on).

Of course, this is a huge simplification. Read U Pandita's "In this very life" or Bhate Sujiva's "Essentials of insight meditation" http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/essentials.pdf for many more details.

:anjali:
Mike
yest that's what i do, i've already read nyanaponika thera and two mahasi sayadaw books on it. is there anything in u panditas work that is not already covered in the others i mentioned?
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tiltbillings
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by tiltbillings »

alan... wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:
alan... wrote: also i practice jhana meditation which is definitely listed in the maha satipatthana sutta and i wonder how to fit this in with the mahasi technique.
It depends upon what you mean by jhana.
jhana as described in the suttas.
And as has been pointed out more than once in various discussions of jhana, the "sutta jhanas" looks to be pretty much identical with the vipasssana jhanas, a way of looking at things that has come out of the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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Bhikkhu Pesala
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

alan... wrote:Us there anything in Sayādaw U Pandita's work that is not already covered in the others I mentioned?
Yes. There are many details in the book that are not found elsewhere. In This Very Life is the result of a series of lectures given by the Sayādaw during an intensive 3 month retreat at Barre, Mass. The talks were translated from Burmese to English during the retreat by U Aggacitta, and the tape recordings were meticulously transcribed and edited by several others.

Sayādaw U Paṇḍita is one of the leading disciples of the Mahāsi Sayādaw. During my stay at Mahāsi Yeikthā in 1979, he gave us a number of inspiring Dhamma talks (interpreted by Burmese doctors and others). I always looked forward to his talks — they were not like the talks given by the other meditation masters there, which to be honest were rather dull (just basic instructions and encouraging words to be more mindful). He always had something interesting to say.

In This Very Life is probably the best book available in English on the practical aspects of the Mahāsi Satipaṭṭhāna method (including the books available in English translated from the Mahāsi Sayādaw's own lectures), but it is not for the superficial or casual reader. One should not try to read it all at one sitting, but take at most one chapter at a time. Then do some more practice.
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tiltbillings
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Re: mahasi sayadaw

Post by tiltbillings »

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote:
alan... wrote:Us there anything in Sayādaw U Pandita's work that is not already covered in the others I mentioned?
Yes. There are many details in the book that are not found elsewhere. In This Very Life . . .
And when you have finished In This Very Life, you can study The State of Mind Called Beautiful.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?” HPatDH p.723
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