General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
With regards to the Third Tetrad, I have always struggled interpreting this. Does it imply...
I wouldn't try to understand satipatthana through Tibetan/Chinese/Japanese sources at first; even when there is good material it's often in bed with bodhisattva practices & any number of other developments, and there is some methodological bleed that I find confusing & baroque.
Without trying to parse the third tetrad of anapanasati right away, try to explore what cittanupassana looks like in daily living. Walking-around satipatthana has a broader, daily/hourly applicability that helps frame up how it is that anapanasati fulfills satipatthana.
"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.
Thanks again, but in terms of the process when in the meditation session how woould you advise I proceed?
Its tricky as I am concious that I develop an attachment to certain practices that over emphasise a sense of self - lit. "... 'I' am now a practicing Theravada Buddhist....." Then I may feel that my practice errs towards the Silent Illumination/Shikantaza practice and I am aware of my self perception changing into; "...'I' am now a practicing Zen Buddhist...". Its odd a this process almost automatically excludes all other attributes and accoutriments that accompany either tradition. Chanting for example, it seems somehow inapproipriate to chant in Pali if I am practicing Shikantaza...does that make sense?
Myotai wrote:Chanting for example, it seems somehow inapproipriate to chant in Pali if I am practicing Shikantaza...does that make sense?
Nope!
The quote I provided earlier was from a Theravadin teacher. There is more breadth to Theravada practices than you think. Here is another example, from Upasika Kee Nanayon.
You have to be observant when the mind has firmly established mindfulness and your awareness gathers so that you're aware of the property of consciousness, pure and simple, without any fabrication at all — an awareness pure and simple right at itself. Take that as your foundation.
Practicing with "the property of consciousness" is in the suttas, by the way, in MN140.
"When one thing is practiced & pursued, ignorance is abandoned, clear knowing arises, the conceit 'I am' is abandoned, latent tendencies are uprooted, fetters are abandoned. Which one thing? Mindfulness immersed in the body." -AN 1.230
Myotai wrote:Thanks again, but in terms of the process when in the meditation session how woould you advise I proceed?
I'd play a little bit more in the first and second tetrads, coming to terms with what it means to calm kaya-sankhara and citta-sankhara. Calming & releasing citta - third-tetrad instructions - resolve into a subtler shade of these earlier instructions, i.e. they are all methods of 'backing up' from habitual/sensual/unwholesome engagement in order that calm observation can occur.
Fundamentally, the awakening factors and the hindrances guide any meditation session. These are the guideposts.
"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.