jwstone wrote: ↑Wed Jul 12, 2023 4:35 pm
I am so confused because of all the different books, schools and methods out there on meditation. I want to follow whatever the Buddha taught, not whatever some guru is teaching. What suttas point to Theravada methods only? Also, which books up above are more in line with the traditional Theravada methods? I feel like if I don't learn correctly, I am just wasting my time. I don't have access to teachers, so I need to learn on my own.
The rest of us are confused too. Even within Theravada there is a huge range of disagreements, all producing different schools, methods, and meditation techniques. And they all think they're the "right way." Although they all use the Sutta Pitika to justify themselves, and often focus on the same set of suttas (Anapanasati, Sattipathana, etc), they often disagree on which commentaries should be used and whether Abhidhamma was taught by the Buddha or not.
I'm sure painting this picture is disappointing, as you're hoping to get "the right way." I've seen folks say, "It's our kamma to be born in a time of degradation of the Dhamma. We don't get to get it straight from the Buddha's mouth." I consider myself to be fortunate enough to have even been born in an age of split, degraded Dhamma myself.
Basically, anyone attempting to complete your request as you've made it is just going to be directing you toward their own sectarian preferences. You'll just have to dive in and learn from a variety of sources and decide what makes sense to you.
One thing the Buddha taught for sure was taking a good look at your suffering and then letting go. So, you can do that in this instance. Is your desire to find the "one true way" worth holding on to? To me it seems rather stressful and anxiety producing: if you believe there's a "one true way," it seems you would be obligated to find it. Idk, maybe investigate that impulse.