There is a duscussion now going on on the Yahoo group website which outlines tge issue. Thus far there seems to be no real response to the issue that was raised.
Here is the substance of the discussion. Any thoughts?
Metta,
Heaviside
Many thanks Sister Khema,
Well, the fault was mine in leading the original thread astray.
Let me recount my experience just a bit. Maybe that will focus things somewhat
better.
I started out by reading most of the "beginners" material on the DMS website,
watched and listened to quite a few of Bhante Vimalaramsi's discourses on
YouTube, and purchased and read his new book. I think it is the most logically
appealing approach I have become aware of.
But putting it into practice is another story!
I started out by trying to apply the 6R's more or less in its "pure state," but
found that my attention wandered too much. I would often realize that I had
gone off on a tangent for a long time (no inkling, of course, for how long). It
seemed to me that I should be more alert and try to sense when the "drift' began
to occur, so I tried to adopt a "watcher attitude". But I still drifted too
much.
At this point, I began to try to incorporate Bhante's advice from his talks. In
particular, I tried to follow the MN 10 sutta with its direction to "tranquilize
the bodily formations". Now, according to Bhanti this means the physical body
(from top to bottom) and not, as commentators have claimed, the "breath body".
But it occurred to me that the placement of these instructions in the sutta
imply that they are to be considered as a more or less warmup exercise for the
"main event", which I take to be the six R's.
Okay, that was a bit longwinded, I know. Now for a more succinct phrasing.
When I meditate, do I begin with the directions in MN10 and switch to a "6R
mode"? And when I am doing the 6R's, how do I recognize the "head tension"
Bhante talks about? He seems to be saying that it is a physical tension caused
by constriction of the meninges, rather than a mental tension.
I can't "Release" until I "Recognize," and I just don't know how to do that. I
can certainly recognize that my attention has wondered, but it is the
recognition of the head tension that confuses me. That seems to require an
active effort on my part, but this seems to me to create a tendency toward
one-pointedness.
All the best, with wishes that your coming retreat will be a productive on.
Art
--- In
[email protected], Sister Khema <sisterkhema@...> wrote:
>
> Dhamma Greetings Steve.
>
> You voiced the question about the original question for the thread called,
> "I am disappointed".
>
> Well, It got me confused too. I am happy to try to sort this out today.
> But then, I am going into the desert for 2 weeks time.
> And this means I might not be able to be online much while there.
> Never sure about this place. But this time, "I" am going on retreat more
heavily then in past years... SO I might be mute.
> I am telling all of you about this ahead of time.
> Will be back maybe for three days time March 31 before heading back to
Missouri by train over 4 days.
> That 4 days I will be incommunicado I think while moving......... most of the
way.
> I do writing each year while on that trip, preparing end-year reports and
updates and setting up yearly goals. Those will be open to scrutiny when
completed and posted.
>
> OK.
> About the question.
> Maybe Art could post it again as one question.
> I came to think that the main question was about "is the practice 'active or
passive' and whether I could tell him what part was active or passive."
>
> I "think" that was the original question. Art can steer me back to JUST the
original question and I will change the title to 'Answering the disappointed'
>
> On one of those replies I tried to answer that part.
> It was an unusual way of talking about the "practice", since
> practice is active to begin with .
> I tried to try to sort it out that way, ya know....
> Maybe we can do it under this heading now if anybody wants to go on further.
>
> Metta and smiles.
> CH. Khema
>