Hello D1W1, Sense desire is desire for sight, smell, taste, touch, sounds and what is the last one? Is craving over good feeling the same as longing after sensual desire? Usually it is just referred to as the five cords of sensual pleasure, but occasionally mind objects are added too, as in SN 1.30 ...

Hello Kaneki, I had to revisit this thread and in katavedi's reply I noticed the use of the word object. Is using a meditation object necessary? A meditation object is simply whatever you're deliberately directing your mind to. If you have no meditation object, then your mind is probably wandering a...

Hello Sarath, Question re fourth Jhana : If breathing ceases, the person will not have oxygen. How does a person live without oxygen? The breath is still there in the fourth jhana, but it has become so subtle, smooth, and shallow that it may not be detected in one's experience (unless one shifts one...

Hello Maarten, From Leigh Brasington's instructions : If your practice is anapana-sati, there are additional signs to indicate you have arrived at access concentration. You may discover that the breath becomes very subtle; instead of a normal breath, you notice you are breathing very shallow. It may...

Hello anthbrown84, I have just read it is better to not observe at all than to observe and then break the precepts. I think that's horrible advice. Precepts are training rules. You use them to train yourself, you do your best, and you learn from your slips so that you grow in the future. It can be e...

Yes, John is describing a method that heads more in the direction of insight development, and I was answering your question based on your desire to develop samadhi. But if the pain is disturbing enough that you can't use it as an object for samadhi, I would recommend using a method like John describ...

Hello Fool (that doesn't sound polite, does it?), Hi Friends, Is observing pain conductive to the development of Samatha? Pain can be used as an object for concentration, but 1) it would have to be a fairly steady sensation (i.e., not disappearing for stretches of time), and 2) you would have to be ...

Hello Dhamma_Bum,

Check out this thread.

Kind wishes,
katavedi

Hello N, ;) I cringe today when I read that username :roll: I registered some time ago, and I use that username in pretty much every other forum I registered, but here it seems a little out of place :) That's ok, we'll still take you seriously! However, right now I am even more preoccupied with find...

Hello Dhammabodhi, What exactly do you mean by long sits? In Goenka retreats I'm usually able to do 1-1:30 hr sits. Is that good enough? I have not personally practiced in the Pa Auk tradition, but I have a good friend who did a one-month and a four-month retreat with Pa Auk Sayadaw. Also, my wife h...

Hello ninjbyte, You might also consider Ayya Khema's books and retreat talks. She uses the graduated training (as outlined in the Samaññaphala Sutta (DN 2) and many other suttas) as a progressive framework for practice. Having been taught by Ven. Ñāṇārāma, her approach to practice utilizes both the ...

SamKR wrote:...

Very well put, SamKR.

Hello Dhammabodhi, There will be long sits, so hopefully you've been preparing for that at home. Expect ups and downs in emotions, energy, and abilities. Ride them out with as much equanimity as you can and watch them change and pass. Drop all expectations and practice wholeheartedly. Anumodana, my ...

Hello Tom, Does Theravada Buddhism say consciousness is not eternal? Yes. See MN 38: The Blessed One then asked him: “Sāti, is it true that the following pernicious view has arisen in you: ‘As I understand the Dhamma taught by the Blessed One, it is this same consciousness that runs and wanders thro...

I read on the internet that you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet.