JuanG, this isn’t something to argue about, here are three suttas which already confirm it.
Stream enterers have wholly accomplished view:
“Mendicants, all those who have come to a conclusion about me are accomplished in view. Of those who are accomplished in view, five conclude their path in this realm, and five conclude their path after leaving this realm behind. Which five conclude their path in this realm? The one who has seven rebirths at most, the one who goes from family to family, the one-seeder, the once returner, and the one who is perfected in the present life.
AN 10.63
“In the same way, monks, for a disciple of the noble ones who is consummate in view, an individual who has broken through [to stream-entry], the suffering & stress that is totally ended & extinguished is far greater. That which remains in the state of having at most seven remaining lifetimes is next to nothing: it’s not a hundredth, a thousandth, a one hundred-thousandth, when compared with the previous mass of suffering. That’s how great the benefit is of breaking through to the Dhamma, monks. That’s how great the benefit is of obtaining the Dhamma eye.”
SN 13.1
"If one were to feed one person consummate in view, that would be more fruitful than the gift, the great gift, that Velāma the brahman gave.
"If one were to feed one once-returner, that would be more fruitful than the gift, the great gift, that Velāma the brahman gave, and if [in addition to that] one were to feed one person consummate in view, and to feed 100 people consummate in view.
(Sutta then progresseses to non-returners, arahants, paccekka buddha, samma sambuddha, etc…)
AN 9.20
Furthermore there are suttas that show the difference between Identity view (Wrong view) and Conceit (a habituation/subtle addiction). It’s important not to confuse views (beliefs) with knowledge (which arises from progressing towards cessation).
For me, I guess the main limitation of the EBTs is their very historical situated-ness in ancient India. Of course, this is also the case for many ancient religious texts, but the fact remains that many things have changed since that time.
Most people live in cities now, factory farming exists and is hundreds of times more horrible than ancient farming, global anthropogenic climate change is upon us, nuclear weapons exist, etc. The Buddha and the sangha did not have to deal with these issues, but we do, and its not obvious how to deal with them, as Buddhists, from the EBTs. They can help and provide guiding principles, but we have to figure it out ourselves…should we be vegetarians now? should we become more politically engaged to help stem climate change, the destruction of forests, etc? The answers are not obvious from the EBTs…
@Javier, I’m not being critical of your question, because it’s a great question. I do think that the Dhamma gives us most, if not all, of the tools needed to make these ethical and pragmatic decisions. To your question, we likely should be more inclined to eat much less, or no, animal meat. These factory farmed animals suffer greatly ( at least they do in the US) and it might be the most ethical position to take to avoid being part of that chain of commerce. If one chooses to eat animal meat, for dietary or other reasons, it seems that we assess this the way we must assess all kamma: is our intention wise and skillful, and if not, what is the dark kammic weight of choosing this course of action? Are there ways we can minimize the harm, even if we can’t eliminate it completely?
As with climate change and the harm being done to people, animals and habitats, it seems rational to contribute as little as we can to climate damage, and at the same time, work to engage others on as large a scale as possible to effectuate some mitigation of environmental damage. It seems to me that the 4NT give us a decision tree to work with issues about climate damage, such as cultivating right views, right intention, right action, etc.
It seems to me that if we really take this Dhamma to heart, it gives us the guidelines and inspiration to live wise, happy, minimalist, altruistic, and harm-free lives. It’s a template we can apply to almost any situation, time, or culture. That’s my two baht anyway.
IMHO No-one knowingly puts their Psychological well-being on the line. Such cases are very very rare.
I think Psychological well-being should always be an outcome of successful completion of a meditation session. Nobody should put anyone’s psychological well-being on the line for the mere purpose of completing meditation courses. Do it when you feel you’re ready.
As my teacher says, meditation should not be done out of greed, personal gain (feeling better or curing diseases) but with the pure thought of eradication of suffering in a calmed mind before starting.
I agree, but its a matter of practical application.
The suttas give us basic principles and teachings and they show how they can be applied by communities and persons, but they show this in the ancient Indian situation.
They do not tell us how to apply and adapt those principles for today. That’s main my point.
That is correct. I’m speaking in the context of two or three decades of practice. Eventually it is necessary to face the hindrances in their full strength, there is no escaping that. The practice involves going from wrong view to right view, so a complete psychological revolution is necessary. Those who don’t accept that are proponents of denial of the defilements, unable to accept the mind is not pure. But the path is gradual, it cannot be accomplished on the retreat circuit. As is illustrated in the example of Ven. Channa, it is possible to achieve awakening without a teacher (Vinaya). It is necessary to face the defilements fully in a measured way to experience the power of the path.
@Javier, I hear you. My response was my attempt to frame this through my own perspective, maybe as a suggested approach. I’ve often felt that so much of these teachings are timeless.
Having said that, I have a headache, so I’ll be taking some fermented cow’s urine ( pūti-mutta-bhesajja) , and resting a bit.
But a meditation subject as a foundation of immersion is properly grasped, attended, borne in mind, and comprehended with wisdom.
That mendicant feels inspired by the meaning and the teaching in that Dhamma, no matter how a meditation subject as a foundation of immersion is properly grasped, attended, borne in mind, and comprehended with wisdom.
Feeling inspired, joy springs up.
Being joyful, rapture springs up.
When the mind is full of rapture, the body becomes tranquil.
When the body is tranquil, one feels bliss.
And when blissful, the mind becomes immersed in samādhi.
The Blessed One said, “Suppose, monks, that a large crowd of people comes thronging together, saying, ‘The beauty queen! The beauty queen!’ And suppose that the beauty queen is highly accomplished at singing & dancing, so that an even greater crowd comes thronging, saying, ‘The beauty queen is singing! The beauty queen is dancing!’ Then a man comes along, desiring life & shrinking from death, desiring pleasure & abhorring pain. They say to him, ‘Now look here, mister. You must take this bowl filled to the brim with oil and carry it on your head in between the great crowd & the beauty queen. A man with a raised sword will follow right behind you, and wherever you spill even a drop of oil, right there will he cut off your head.’ Now what do you think, monks: Will that man, not paying attention to the bowl of oil, let himself get distracted outside?”
“No, lord.”
"I have given you this parable to convey a meaning. The meaning is this: The bowl filled to the brim with oil stands for mindfulness immersed in the body. Thus you should train yourselves: ‘We will develop mindfulness immersed in the body. We will pursue it, hand it the reins and take it as a basis, give it a grounding, steady it, consolidate it, and undertake it well.’ That is how you should train yourselves."Sedaka Sutta: At Sedaka
There are a few suttas about that, the shopkeeper sutta is one:
“So too, possessing three factors, a bhikkhu is capable of achieving a wholesome state not yet attained and of increasing a wholesome state already attained. What three? Here, a bhikkhu diligently applies himself to an object of concentration in the morning, in the middle of the day, and in the evening. Possessing these three factors, a bhikkhu is capable of achieving a wholesome state not yet attained and of increasing a wholesome state already attained.”
Mindfulness of breath sutta or Anapansati sutta. Every instruction has mindfulness of the in or out breath. If this isn’t being focused on one object… In fact any mention of any meditation in the sutras requires attention to the topic of that meditation.
In addition to the shopkeeper sutta I quoted, here is another one having a single/one object
The 6 senses are like 6 animals, you should tie them to a post (single object)
"Just as if a person, catching six animals of different ranges, of different habitats, were to bind them with a strong rope. Catching a snake, he would bind it with a strong rope. Catching a crocodile… a bird… a dog… a hyena… a monkey, he would bind it with a strong rope. Binding them all with a strong rope, he would tether them to a strong post or stake.
"Then those six animals, of different ranges, of different habitats, would each pull toward its own range & habitat. The snake would pull, thinking, ‘I’ll go into the anthill.’ The crocodile would pull, thinking, ‘I’ll go into the water.’ The bird would pull, thinking, ‘I’ll fly up into the air.’ The dog would pull, thinking, ‘I’ll go into the village.’ The hyena would pull, thinking, ‘I’ll go into the charnel ground.’ The monkey would pull, thinking, ‘I’ll go into the forest.’ And when these six animals became internally exhausted, they would stand, sit, or lie down right there next to the post or stake. In the same way, when a monk whose mindfulness immersed in the body is developed & pursued, the eye does not pull toward pleasing forms, and unpleasing forms are not repellent. The ear does not pull toward pleasing sounds… The nose does not pull toward pleasing aromas… The tongue does not pull toward pleasing flavors… The body does not pull toward pleasing tactile sensations… The intellect does not pull toward pleasing ideas, and unpleasing ideas are not repellent. This, monks, is restraint.
“Thus you should train yourselves: ‘We will develop mindfulness immersed in the body. We will pursue it, hand it the reins and take it as a basis, give it a grounding. We will steady it, consolidate it, and set about it properly.’ That’s how you should train yourselves.”
Sorry for posting sequentially (shopkeeper sutta, and the 6 animals sutta) instead of one large post, but here is the most technical sutta on having one object:
Suda sutta (SN 47.8) is about a foolish monk who does satipathana but does not get concentrated because he doesn’t pay attention to nimittas.
That foolish, incompetent, unskillful mendicant doesn’t get blissful meditations in this very life, nor do they get mindfulness and situational awareness.
Sa kho so, bhikkhave, bālo abyatto akusalo bhikkhu na ceva lābhī hoti diṭṭheva dhamme sukhavihārānaṃ, na lābhī satisampajaññassa.
Why is that?
Taṃ kissa hetu?
Because they don’t take their mind’s hint.
Tathā hi so, bhikkhave, bālo abyatto akusalo bhikkhu sakassa cittassa nimittaṃ na uggaṇhāti.
Now this requires research because the sutta only refers to citassa nimitta, but if you research other suttas on tranquility, you will see the abyagga nimitta and samatha nimitta arise together and lead to citassa nimitta.
And what fuels the arising of the awakening factor of immersion, or, when it has arisen, fully develops it?
Ko ca, bhikkhave, āhāro anuppannassa vā samādhisambojjhaṅgassa uppādāya, uppannassa vā samādhisambojjhaṅgassa bhāvanāya pāripūriyā?
There are things that are the foundation of serenity and freedom from distraction.
Atthi, bhikkhave, samathanimittaṃ abyagganimittaṃ.
Frequent proper attention to them
Tattha yonisomanasikārabahulīkāro—
fuels the arising of the awakening factor of immersion, or, when it has arisen, fully develops it.
ayamāhāro anuppannassa vā samādhisambojjhaṅgassa uppādāya, uppannassa vā samādhisambojjhaṅgassa bhāvanāya pāripūriyā.
SN 46.51
Abyagga means “non-distraction” aka one pointedness. If you are distracted you cannot become concentrated, and so a foolish monk does satipathana without concentration (cough vipassana cough momentary concentration)
I think you have made a quite offensive statement if i understood you correctly, which of these do you agree with (if any)?
vipassana as it is practiced in traditions that teach “dry-insight” is the practice of fools
satipatthana [mindfulness & situational awareness of feelings/mind/body/dhamma] cannot be developed without prior attainment of the jhana known as the pleasant abiding [blissful meditation]
I wonder if you are familiar with Samadhi Sutta an4.41
And what is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to mindfulness & alertness? There is the case where feelings are known to the monk as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. Perceptions are known to him as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. Thoughts are known to him as they arise, known as they persist, known as they subside. This is the development of concentration that, when developed & pursued, leads to mindfulness & alertness.
a) Do you think one needs the pleasant abiding meditation to develop this too?
b) Do you think that the “cough vipassana” doesn’t develop it?
c) Do you think it is developed without concentration?
[2] "Furthermore, when walking, the monk discerns, ‘I am walking.’ When standing, he discerns, ‘I am standing.’ When sitting, he discerns, ‘I am sitting.’ When lying down, he discerns, ‘I am lying down.’ Or however his body is disposed, that is how he discerns it.
e) Do you think one needs the pleasant abiding meditation to develop this too?
f) Do you think that the “cough vipassana” doesn’t develop it?
g) Do you think it is developed without concentration?
