General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
Mr Man wrote:"experience and reflex" does that equal Vedana and Tanha?
I think it is Vedana and Sanna in terms of five aggregate.
I think it is Vedana and Phasa etc. interms of dependent origination
It can be viewed in terms of seventeen thought moments as well. Please see the link, para (Mind in its active and pasive form):
They all interdependent process. No first cause.
According to Buddhism only time you do not have thought is when an Arahant is in Nirodha Samapatti state.
Mr Man wrote:"experience and reflex" does that equal Vedana and Tanha?
I think it is Vedana and Sanna in terms of five aggregate.
I think it is Vedana and Phasa etc. interms of dependent origination
It can be viewed in terms of seventeen thought moments as well. Please see the link, para (Mind in its active and pasive form):
They all interdependent process. No first cause.
According to Buddhism only time you do not have thought is when an Arahant is in Nirodha Samapatti state.
Thanks for the links SarathW. Overly theoretical for me I'm afraid. I would be interested in hearing what your definition/understanding of "thought" is? Is it "ideas formulated into language within the brain"?
I know this teaching is soy profound. It took me years of reading and practice to get my head around this.
Only suggestion I can make to you is please read and practice (Satipattana) so you will find the answer yourself.
Sorry I can’t give you a direct answer.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
SarathW, here's somthing from Ajahn Sumedho: "As soon as we think about ourselves, we become a person - somebody - but when we are not thinking, the mind is quite empty and there is no sense of person. There is still consciousness, sensitivity, but it's not seen in terms of being a person, of being a man or a woman; there is just awareness of what is happening - what the feeling is, the mood, the atmosphere that one is experiencing in this moment. We can call this intuitive awareness. It is not programmed and conditioned by thought or memory or perception. " Is he talking about "Nirodha Samapatti" or the "Dhayna infinity of space"? http://www.fsnewsletter.amaravati.org/html/38/38.htm
Mr Man wrote:SarathW, here's somthing from Ajahn Sumedho: "As soon as we think about ourselves, we become a person - somebody - but when we are not thinking, the mind is quite empty and there is no sense of person. There is still consciousness, sensitivity, but it's not seen in terms of being a person, of being a man or a woman; there is just awareness of what is happening - what the feeling is, the mood, the atmosphere that one is experiencing in this moment. We can call this intuitive awareness. It is not programmed and conditioned by thought or memory or perception. " Is he talking about "Nirodha Samapatti" or the "Dhayna infinity of space"? http://www.fsnewsletter.amaravati.org/html/38/38.htm
I think he's just talking about ordinary awareness but when, through developing a reasonably stable degree of wakefulness and concentration, the mental blather quiets down and imaginings fade away...
"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
kirk5a wrote:
I think he's just talking about ordinary awareness but when, through developing a reasonably stable degree of wakefulness and concentration, the mental blather quiets down and imaginings fade away...
Exactly. And that is the beauty of the practice. It is here and now, It is not complicated, we don't need special states or conditions. Just a bit of a framework and some diligence.
I think animal or a newly born children do not have self-awareness (ego). They just live day by day. I do not think they can become arahants because their rebirth consciousness is conditioned by attachment, aversion and ignorance. I am glad to see that Ajhan Sumedho seems to think that attaining arhantship is child play. I wish I can think the same!
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”