As to the correct development of wisdom, the Vsm, first talsk about the "soil" of wisdom. This involves hearing about, learning about, and understanding certain teachings on dhamma. The first one listed is the aggregates one has to learn definitions of them to know what they consist of conceptually. It breaks down different models for this. For the first aggregate, form, you can learn the abhidhamma breakdown of the great elements and all the derived rupa. Then you learn about the feeling aggregatre etc. Then you are implored to regard them all in a specific different way. For example, the form aggregate is always thought of and regarded as "foam that is squeezed" because it cannot withstand pressure and always changes. For each aggregate there is a certain ways to look at it (Consciousness as a magic trick and so on). The other elements in the "soil" of understanding are the sense bases and elements, the faculties and truths, and then Dependent Origination.tiltbillings wrote:Yes. That is a nice summary of the U Ba Khin and Mahasi Sayadaw type practices.robertk wrote:How then to develop that type of right concentartion that is particular to the sasana of the Buddha..
MAJJHIMA NIKAAYA III
(5.7) Mahaasa.laayatanikasutta.m.
149. The Longer Discourse on the six spheres
http://www.vipassana.info/149-mahasalayatanika-e.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;To someone who learns and realizes, eye, forms, eye-consciousness,
eye contact and whatever feelings pleasant or unpleasant or neither
unpleasant nor pleasant born of eye contact, as they really are.
Attachment does not arise for eye, forms, eye-consciousness, eye
contact and whatever feelings pleasant or unpleasant or neither
unpleasant nor pleasant born of that eye contact. This one not
attached, unyoked and not deluded, abiding seeing the danger does
not accumulate in the five holding masses for the future. His
craving, interest and greed, to be here and there in the future,
cease. His bodily and mental troubles, anxiety and laments cease.
Further he experiences bodily and mental pleasantness. Whatever his
view, it becomes right view. Whatever his thoughts, they become
right thoughts. Whatever his speech it becomes right speech.
Whatever his actions, they become right actions. Whatever his
effort, it becomes right effort. Whatever his mindfulness, it
becomes right mindfulness. Whatever his concentration, it becomes
RIGHT CONCENTRATION.
Only after there is "soil" can there grow the roots and trunk. So the roots and trunk of wisdom come next after one has learned about the soil and are described very specifically. First of all, one who has mastery of jhana emerges from jhana and reviews consciousness and it's conditions very carefully using the power gained from jhana. One who has less than mastery of jhana, ie. has reached jhana but cannot gain the five masteries, or has access concentration or less, reviews in a different specific way. First he must define mentallity and materliallity and become very clear about it (these are different than the vipassana stages). Vsm says: "But one whose vehicle is pure insight, or that same aforesaid one whose vehicle is serenity, discerns the four elements in brief or in detail in one of the various ways given in the chapter on the definition of the four elements (Ch. XI, §27ff.)". The Vsm makes it clear that there are specific ways to go about this and that one must first become very clear about materiallity before moving on to mentallity. One person does it by way of the Four Elements, another by way of the the Eighteen Elements, one by way of the Twelve Sense Bases, another by way of the Defiinition of the Aggregates, another through a Brief Definition on the Four Primaries. Those are the only ways listed and they are all derived from Suttas and texts. One has to review again and again untill the distinction of materiallity and mentallity becomes extremely, abundantly clear to one by way of one of these specific contemplations derived from Suttas. They are intellectuall contemplations. First one does materiallity and only then mentallity. This is caled "Purification of View". Only once Purification of View is stable can one move on to Purification by Removing Doubt, where one discerns the conditions for the materiallity and the mentallity that one know understand through various ways, ie. by Dependent Originination in Reverse Order, or by other ways listed in the text. After one becomes very, very clear of the conditions causing the nama and rupa, one goes onto other contemplations in the text called "purifications" because they purify ones view and help to conditions strong wisdom. They are very, very specific in nature and are derived from suttas and the Canon. There are Five Purifications listed in the section of Wisdom that wise people should go through.
You can see how much easier it is for one who can gain mastery of jhanas: they can remain in their blissful abiding of jhana, exit it and review in brief the way told for those people (the instructions on it only take up a couple of paragraphs in the Vsm!). Then they can re-enter jhana, exit and review again at their will, and so on. This takes mastery of jhana.
For all the other people it is much more complicated. Now does this sound like the Mahasi way, or the way of other modern vipassana teachers? No, it doesn't.
Kevin