did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

On the cultivation of insight/wisdom
Individual
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by Individual »

jcsuperstar wrote:vipasanna is very popular, but is it a method taught by the buddha? is there a sutta where the buddha teaches vipasanna the way he teaches anapanasati
or is this a modern method?
I think that suttas aren't a sufficient source to describe traditional Theravadin meditation. Meditation is such a complex and personal thing that writing instructions about it would not be practical or useful. Even some of the suttas suggest that early monks were separated into jhana (meditation) monks and "dhamma-devotee" (scripture studying) monks. So, the oral traditions and practices of Theravadin meditation developed over time are just as important as scripture, in my opinion, and certainly legitimate.

Basic descriptions of the Buddha's meditation teachings are found in the Tipitaka, but more detailed descriptions are not, hence the need for a meditation teacher.
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by robertk »

Jechbi wrote:Hello Robert,

robertk wrote:Anyway the comment in my post above about the teacher who claims vipassana is a 'simple mental technique' comes from Goenka. Now if you agree with him please discuss or show evidence from the teachings.
Goenka is using this phrase "simple mental technique" in the context of using the term "vipassana" as it is used when talking about "Vipassana Meditation." Goenka is not describing Vipassana in its classical sense as "a simple mental technique," as you erroneously contend.



I:
I actually have no idea of the difference that you mention above. Vipasssana is insight leading to nibbana and it is thus the highest level of buddhist achievement. I contend that it is not a simple mention exercise and I cited the Buddha's
word that it is difficult and profound. If however I am wrong and vipassana is something other than insight and if it is indeed a mental technique - then this would be news to me.Please cite the evidence.

Now one further thing, I have conceded on several threads on esangha that this mediation may have many benefits. It may make all who practice it calm and loving and law abiding. Indeed even transcendental meditation has been proven by science to make its practioners into better beings all around. This I am not disputing. What I am suggesting is that my reading of the texts does not have people doing special techniques and then claiming vipassan insight. Now when people make special claims of high levels of achievement in Buddhism at times someone needs to call them out. This unpleasant task seems to have fallen my way but it has also been suggested by participants on this thread that I am 'obssesed' and carrying out a 'bizarre vendetta' and I was told to 'get a grip" .
'Please moderators do decide whether you want me to continue writing on this thread or not?
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by robertk »

tiltbillings wrote:
Robert: Without right view at the level of pariyatti - correct theroretical understanding- there can be no direct experience.
That does not say much about the efficacy of the practice.

?
Is this meant to disagree with what I said? In that case you disagree with the Theravada position .
Neither among a hundred bulls, nor among a thousand, will even a single bull ensure the continuance of his line in the absence of a cow. Even so, neither among a hundred bhikkhus intent on insight, nor among a thousand, will even a single bhikkhu penetrate the noble path in the absence of pariyatti.

Marks are engraved in rock to show the location of buried treasure; for as long as those marks endure, the treasure is not reckoned as lost. Even so, for as long as pariyatti endures, the Teacher’s Dispensation is not reckoned to have disappeared.
(Manorathapūraṇī i. 92-3, Translted by Dhammanando
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by Cittasanto »

Hi Robertk
have a read of Tilts Signature may give you an idea of what he meant
robertk wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:
Robert: Without right view at the level of pariyatti - correct theroretical understanding- there can be no direct experience.
That does not say much about the efficacy of the practice.

?
Is this meant to disagree with what I said? In that case you disagree with the Theravada position .
Neither among a hundred bulls, nor among a thousand, will even a single bull ensure the continuance of his line in the absence of a cow. Even so, neither among a hundred bhikkhus intent on insight, nor among a thousand, will even a single bhikkhu penetrate the noble path in the absence of pariyatti.

Marks are engraved in rock to show the location of buried treasure; for as long as those marks endure, the treasure is not reckoned as lost. Even so, for as long as pariyatti endures, the Teacher’s Dispensation is not reckoned to have disappeared.
(Manorathapūraṇī i. 92-3, Translted by Dhammanando
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by jcsuperstar »

retrofuturist wrote:Greetings,
tiltbillings wrote:
As a preface that I hope will not be off-topic: It is very difficult to have this discussion in this particular forum, because this is a specialized forum for Classical Theravada, but you are attempting to discuss one way in which some of that tradition is manifesting itself in the present day. If you wish to try to discredit Goenka, I would argue that this is not the correct forum in which to do so. But of course that is up to the moderators to decide.
Will probably need to separate this sub-discussion out, putting it into its own thread in the "free-for-all" section.
In the meantime, I'm going to move this to the Meditation Forum.

Jcsuperstar ~ let us know if you object to this and would like it moved back. What is your preference? Are you specifically and exclusively interested in the Classical Mahavihara perspective, as embodied within the commentarial tradition?

Metta,
Retro. :)
i'm cool with it, i had put the question here to make sure that any answers came from before the modern movement, and i think i got that.. lets see where this goes, might be productive.
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by Jechbi »

Dear Robert,
robertk wrote:I actually have no idea of the difference that you mention above. Vipasssana is insight leading to nibbana and it is thus the highest level of buddhist achievement. I contend that it is not a simple mention exercise and I cited the Buddha's
word that it is difficult and profound. If however I am wrong and vipassana is something other than insight and if it is indeed a mental technique - then this would be news to me.Please cite the evidence.
If you have no idea of the difference that I mention above, it is because you have chosen to ignore posts in this very thread that point you to places where this difference is described, such as here. It's very difficult for me to understand how you could not be aware that the term "Vipassana Meditation" is commonly used to refer to a technique. I also don't understand how you could not be aware that the term "vipsassana" itself has broader and more varied usages than as a noun synonymous with insight. The evidence is all over the place, and it has been presented to you many times.
robertk wrote:Now one further thing, I have conceded on several threads on esangha that this mediation may have many benefits. It may make all who practice it calm and loving and law abiding. Indeed even transcendental meditation has been proven by science to make its practioners into better beings all around. This I am not disputing. What I am suggesting is that my reading of the texts does not have people doing special techniques and then claiming vipassan insight. Now when people make special claims of high levels of achievement in Buddhism at times someone needs to call them out. This unpleasant task seems to have fallen my way but it has also been suggested by participants on this thread that I am 'obssesed' and carrying out a 'bizarre vendetta' and I was told to 'get a grip" .
'Please moderators do decide whether you want me to continue writing on this thread or not?
Nobody is making special claims of high levels of achivement in Buddhism as a result of practicing what is commonly referred to as Vipassana Meditation. Can you please point to an instance where a Vipassana meditator has done so? I will join you in speaking with that person out of compassion to help them come to grips with any misunderstanding.

With regard to the discussion over at E-Sangha, Robert, I was the one who told you to "get a grip" because you began making bizarre statements such as this one:
robertk2,Apr 18 2009, 11:11 AM wrote:I can't recommend to my daughter not to join the moonies because I was never a moonie, I shouldn't say the Heaven's gate cult were wrong when they killed themselves to get on board Halleys comet. I reject this sort of advice as being idiotic_ one is then open to cults who say "try us out see for yourself", all teh while indoctrinating using cult techniques into their belief system and way of practice. Very very dangerous.
To which my response was:
Jechbi wrote:Comparing Goenka-style meditation retreats with "moonies" and Heaven's Gate cultists is outlandish and uncalled for.

I have been respectful of you and your contributions to discussions related to Abhidhamma, but really, Robert, your behavior now is going overboard. It's obvious that you have some sort of deep personal aversion to Goenka's approach. That's fine, you can have whatever strange opinions you choose. But this bizarre vendetta you are pursuing cannot be regarded as rational.

Get a grip please.
Yes, I spoke harshly to you. Certainly I was hoping that you would not take it personally, and that you would not hold a grudge. If my words were hurtful, then I apologize for my role in bringing that unpleasant experience to fruition in your life. But my underlying intention also was to try to rein in what I saw as irrational criticism out of control.

In that same thread over at E-Sangha, you presented other inaccurate information about the Goenka-taught technique. It appeared to me that your words had caused people to have needless doubts. After all, you are a university instructor with an Abhidhamma Web sight, so you have some authority.

But this is not even the first time you have sought to discredit Goenka. Your bid to discredit him also pops up in completely unrelated threads, such as this one, where you and I had this exchange (emphasis mine):
robertk wrote:
Jechbi wrote: Can we break the link between vipāka and kamma? Is that the point, that there really is no hard-and-fast link? Or am I missing some important understanding here? It seems like there's some volitional component between those two.

Metta
:smile:
Are you talking about the javana processes arsing shortly after the vipaka citta or the initial kamma - maybe done aeons ago that led to this pleasant or unpleasant result.
In the first case the vipaka and the akusala or kusala (at the moments of javana) are of different jatis.
The vipaka is a supporting condition but not neccessarily a main condition for teh arising of the kusala or akusala. For example one coudl hear Dhamma well explained but have aversion (akusala ) to it. Or listen to false Dhamma and think that that was good(akusala).

The idea we sometimes hear about breaking the chain at the vedana link is mostly motivated by an idea of a self who can control and also by lobha which looks for a quick result. If there is understanding of any element - including vedana- then at that moment there is a weakening of the chain, but this doesn't imply trying to be equanimous or detached. It rather needs clear pariyatti wisdom that knows all elements are merely that- ephemeral and conditioned, thus anatta.
At the time, I thought you were trying to help me understand Abhidhamma. But later, it became very clear that your underlying message was that the Goenka technique is invalid. I cannot tell you how counterproductive your comments were in that thread. I became literally ill when I tried to apply your subsequent notion that some vipaka is a legitimate object of desire.

Robert, I highly value your insights and knowledge, and I respect you. But in all honesty, I find your repeated efforts to discredit Goenka to be inexplicable and potentially harmful. Can you please try to view my comments without seeing them as a personal attack? And can you please try to examine the effects of your words on others? Thank you.

Metta
:smile:
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by robertk »

Jechbi wrote:I find your repeated efforts to discredit Goenka to be inexplicable and potentially harmful. :smile:
Remember Jason saying that that I always ripped Thannisaro, or the guy who was so upset that I said Bodhi was out of line for dismissing Abhidhamma as not Buddha vacca. Or the Thai on esnagha that sent me pm for not respecting A. Mun properly. They all think I am out to get their man.
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by Jechbi »

Again, Robert, you are ignoring most of my post. Instead, you are narrowly focussing on those elements that are easiest to misinterpret as a personal attack.

I don't know about Jason or the "Thai on E-Sangha" or all those other people who also apparently have told you that you have conducted yourself in an inappropriate manner. But if so many people are objecting to your attempts to discredit the way others present the Buddha's teachings, maybe you should start listening?

Also, I would be interested to hear your response to the several posts related to this statement you made:
I believe little can be done to help anyone who thinks they are 'doing' vipassana, the attachment runs too deep usually.
How is it that you claim to be able to know the kamma of others? Certainly that is a claim of Buddha-like attainment.
Rain soddens what is kept wrapped up,
But never soddens what is open;
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by rowyourboat »

AN 4.170
Yuganaddha Sutta
In Tandem
Translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu PTS: A ii 156



On one occasion Ven. Ananda was staying in Kosambi, at Ghosita's monastery. There he addressed the monks, "Friends!"

"Yes, friend," the monks responded.

Ven. Ananda said: "Friends, whoever — monk or nun — declares the attainment of arahantship in my presence, they all do it by means of one or another of four paths. Which four?

"There is the case where a monk has developed insight preceded by tranquillity. As he develops insight preceded by tranquillity, the path is born. He follows that path, develops it, pursues it. As he follows the path, developing it & pursuing it — his fetters are abandoned, his obsessions destroyed.

"Then there is the case where a monk has developed tranquillity preceded by insight. As he develops tranquillity preceded by insight, the path is born. He follows that path, develops it, pursues it. As he follows the path, developing it & pursuing it — his fetters are abandoned, his obsessions destroyed.

"Then there is the case where a monk has developed tranquillity in tandem with insight. As he develops tranquillity in tandem with insight, the path is born. He follows that path, develops it, pursues it. As he follows the path, developing it & pursuing it — his fetters are abandoned, his obsessions destroyed.

"Then there is the case where a monk's mind has its restlessness concerning the Dhamma [Comm: the corruptions of insight] well under control. There comes a time when his mind grows steady inwardly, settles down, and becomes unified & concentrated. In him the path is born. He follows that path, develops it, pursues it. As he follows the path, developing it & pursuing it — his fetters are abandoned, his obsessions destroyed.

"Whoever — monk or nun — declares the attainment of arahantship in my presence, they all do it by means of one or another of these four paths."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised: Tuesday 2007-08-14
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .than.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by Ben »

Hi Robert
I disagree with your assessment of the technique that Goenkaji has propagated. I disagree with your statement that vipassana meditators either here or on e-sangha have claimed high attainments and I disagree with you with your statement
I believe little can be done to help anyone who thinks they are 'doing' vipassana, the attachment runs too deep usually.
.

I have been 'doing' vipassana under the guidance of Goenkaji for the better part of the last 24 years. I can assure you, over that time, my attachment to my teacher has lessened considerably and the objectivity with which I analyse the actual benefits of practicing the technique has increased. I don't think that I am 'one eyed' with regards to my teacher or the technique.

My opinion is that I believe that the technique of vipassana as propagated by Goenkaji may have originated with the early commentators or later teachers who wanted to provide a structured environment in which vipassana (special wisdom) has an opportunity to arise.

Robert, please keep in mind that the ten-day course is an introductory course. Numerous times during that ten-day course, Goenkaji explains that it is 'the kindergarten of Dhamma'.
Also, I agree with Jechbi with regards to your comparison of Goenka / Goenka's students with the Moonies. Such comparisons and other provocative statments do little for your argument.
Metta

Ben
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Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by robertk »

Ben wrote:Hi Robert
I disagree with your assessment of the technique that Goenkaji has propagated. I disagree with your statement that vipassana meditators either here or on e-sangha have claimed high attainments and I disagree with you with your statement
I believe little can be done to help anyone who thinks they are 'doing' vipassana, the attachment runs too deep usually.
.

IBen
Where did I ever say that people on esngha or here have ever claimed high attainments? What I am saying is that anyone who claims to have attained even nama-rupa parichedda nana, the first stage of insight, is claiming a high achievement. I have met and read of many (but not on esangha or dhamawheeel) who claim even more. Now as this is my last post on dhammwheel I apologize for not adding in 'most 'to my statments about the people who think they are having/doing/practicing vipassan becuase they can concentrate on a part of the body. Obviousdly some people are able to change. But I work out of an internte cafe most of teh time on a very tight schedule and sometimes write in a hurry.
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by robertk »

Ben wrote:Hi Robert
Also, I agree with Jechbi with regards to your comparison of Goenka / Goenka's students with the Moonies. Such comparisons and other provocative statments do little for your argument.
Metta

Ben
Final post . I did not compare goneka with teh moonies. I was told by an esangha member that i should not speak anything about Goenka unless i was a past student. I used the example of moonies and my daughter to show that I could still have opinions even if I was not an ex moonie etc etc etc .
I don't have to study with Buddhadasa eitehr to write my post crtciining his beliefs. Or if I do please tell me why.
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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by Ben »

Hi Robert

You're always welcome here. Even though I may disagree with your point of view regarding vipassana meditation and SN Goenka, I respect and welcome your opinion. You never fail to give me a great deal to think about whether it is in regard to the Abhidhamma, the Dhamma generally or whether it is related to the technique propagated by my teacher. Your presence here is an asset to Dhamma Wheel - not just to those new to the path but to those who are more experienced and those, like me, who may even disagree with you!

I also want to make it clear that the discussion of my teacher and Vipassana Meditation as taught by him is not a prohibited subject here at Dhamma Wheel. Criticism of the technique that my teacher has propagated is not breaking some unspoken rule. I just ask that criticism of a teacher's method is done with respect.

What I want to point out that is that for many of us who have practiced under SN Goenka, that our understanding which has been developed through the experience of meditation courses and/or sustained daily practice is as valid, even if different, from your point of view.
Metta

Ben
“No lists of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road

Learn this from the waters:
in mountain clefts and chasms,
loud gush the streamlets,
but great rivers flow silently.
- Sutta Nipata 3.725

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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by tiltbillings »

robertk wrote:
tiltbillings wrote:
Robert: Without right view at the level of pariyatti - correct theroretical understanding- there can be no direct experience.
That does not say much about the efficacy of the practice.

?
Is this meant to disagree with what I said? In that case you disagree with the Theravada position .
Neither among a hundred bulls, nor among a thousand, will even a single bull ensure the continuance of his line in the absence of a cow. Even so, neither among a hundred bhikkhus intent on insight, nor among a thousand, will even a single bhikkhu penetrate the noble path in the absence of pariyatti.

Marks are engraved in rock to show the location of buried treasure; for as long as those marks endure, the treasure is not reckoned as lost. Even so, for as long as pariyatti endures, the Teacher’s Dispensation is not reckoned to have disappeared.
(Manorathapūraṇī i. 92-3, Translted by Dhammanando
I would be the last one to disparage study and learning the texts, but there is enough evidence of people, not followers of the Buddha, attaining a degree of awakening, such as Sariputta, based upon hearing a brief line of Dhamma, not even necessarily directly from the Buddha. So, careful study has not been an absolute necessity for initial insights. I suspect a person could come to some degree of insight by doing present-awareness practice - sati.

On the other hand the vipassana teachers with whom I have studied and practiced teach very carefully traditional Buddha-Dhamma. If a non-Buddhist, knowing nothing about the Dhamma, were to do a three month retreat at IMS, in addition to the practice experience, that individual would come away knowing a great deal in terms of practice, not just meditation, but sila, dana, and the Four Noble Truths.

I cannot speak for all vipassana teachers, but the ones I know teach Dhamma.
>> Do you see a man wise [enlightened/ariya] in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.<< -- Proverbs 26:12

This being is bound to samsara, kamma is his means for going beyond. -- SN I, 38.

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Re: did the buddha teach vipasanna meditation?

Post by MMK23 »

I think some of the participation in this thread has been dangerously close to sectarianism/intellectual mob mentality. Before Ba Khin, Mahasi Sayadaw, SN Goenka, etc, a conversation about "doing vipassana" would have presented extraordinarily different view points to the ones clearly popular amongst some practitioners here. Robertk's views are neither exegetically or traditionally marginal, and the views he has expressed here may well be more representative of "lay buddhism" for a good part of the time since the Buddha's death. Yet here, his view is clearly radical, which to my mind implies that clearly Theravadin orthodoxy for most people participating in this thread has been shaped by a modernist discourse of meditation, which is remarkably for being reframed here as an appeal to the authority of the suttas. I think this is a very strange case of intellectual imperialism and if nothing else, I would urge participants to have a slice of humble pie before weighing in with the burdens of revisionist certainty and sectarian audacity. I say this with kindness as an appeal to a functioning way of having discussions about things. I would be most disappointed if more people other than Robertk feel marginalised in this forum simply for being Theravadin a way that the majority is clearly not.
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