constant noting

On the cultivation of insight/wisdom
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befriend
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constant noting

Post by befriend »

has anyone done this, in the mahasi method, noting your experiences all day long? will the mind get tired? is it only for advanced meditators? thank you, metta, befriend
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
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bodom
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Re: constant noting

Post by bodom »

Constant and continues noting from my understanding is only to be undertaken in intensive retreat type setting and not for use during fast paced modern daily life.. There are others here though that are far more experienced in the mahasi method such as mikez who could shed more light on this topic.

: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
daverupa
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Re: constant noting

Post by daverupa »

I am also not a practitioner of noting, but I had understood it to be a tool rather than a comprehensive practice. In other words, it can help to reign in the mind, but when it does that the noting is done and one proceeds mindfully with other tools.
  • "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.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
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mikenz66
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Re: constant noting

Post by mikenz66 »

Hi befriend,

As bodom says, it's possible, and extremely useful, to do noting continuously on a retreat. It can be usefully done through certain everyday tasks, those that are mostly physical. However, it's going to get in the way of tasks requiring conceptual work (reading, writing, studying, etc).

I made some comments about this here:
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.ph ... 40#p169548" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
One interesting observation came out when I asked [my teacher] about how to maintain mindfulness in "normal life". His reply I reword/summarise as:
  • The point is not so much to be trying to take techniques from those suitable for retreat training in continuity of mindfulness, etc, but to use the wisdom gained from retreat training.
i.e. on retreat one can carefully observe to determine what is skilful (or not). That's ideally what one should be doing at all times. Techniques such as doing everything slowly and deliberately are not so practical in normal circumstances, but its the quality of observation, rather than some particular technique, that needs to be carried over.
:anjali:
Mike
befriend
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Re: constant noting

Post by befriend »

thanks all.
Take care of mindfulness and mindfulness will take care of you.
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purple planet
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Re: constant noting

Post by purple planet »

Hi this makes me wonder -

when i walk for instance in daily life - is it better to just label -" touching " when hitting the floor - or just note everything ?

because i ue labeling when i meditate - i thought that using a bit labeling in daily life is better - if i can - so when i walk i dont label all moves but just 1 the touching so maybe its better not to label ?
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mikenz66
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Re: constant noting

Post by mikenz66 »

There is no unique answer to any technique question. Try some different options and see what works best for you.

:anjali:
Mike
Uilium
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Re: constant noting

Post by Uilium »

befriend wrote:has anyone done this, in the mahasi method, noting your experiences all day long? will the mind get tired? is it only for advanced meditators? thank you, metta, befriend
you just begin by noting what you can because in the beginning the mind wanders a lot and like anything you get better at it,more advanced so your mind will wonder less and this leads to insight. IF you are tired of noting then you should note the tiredness. We need to see what happens when we don't get what we want. So ITS have heard. So ITS have experienced...sorry if this post is a little shaky but Im a little under the weather.
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