Practices leading to samādhi

Great, that’s been my approach. Thanks again.

I like this.

I am not sure how maintaining the perception of “beings” (satta) or “self” (atta) will help cultivate the noble right samadhi (per MN 117) & help the development of ‘seclusion’ or ‘aloneness’ (‘viveka’) that the EBTs state is a prerequisite for jhana.

In-breath-satta - out-breath-atta. Satta-atta; satta-atta-satta-atta. At least SN 5.10 states “satta” is the view of Mara.

Why now do you assume ‘a being’?
Mara, is that your speculative view?
This is a heap of sheer formations:
Here no being is found.

SN 5.10

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One’s perception of beings needn’t include a perception of atta. As the next verse in the sutta says,

“Just as, with an assemblage of parts,
The word ‘chariot’ is used,
So, when the aggregates exist,
There is the convention ‘a being.

Nice try with the strawman.

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So a mantra of: “May all conventions be happy; may all conventions be free from suffering” will help develop samadhi? I tried it & it works! ‘Birth’ (‘jati’) ended! No more ‘beings’. Only conventions. :deciduous_tree:

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Making fun of another person’s personal practice? I’ve encountered very few who would stoop to that level. You should stop now before you dig the hole you’re in any deeper.

[quote=“Mkoll, post:25, topic:3014, full:true”]
Making fun of another person’s personal practice? [/quote]

Thanks. But I follow the Buddha’s teachings, who said:

Rahula, when anyone feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie, there is no evil, I tell you, he will not do. Thus, Rahula, you should train yourself, ‘I will not tell a deliberate lie even in jest.’

MN 61

I actually tried the mantra of “may all conventions be happy” and it worked to make my mind empty & concentrated.

Now best you try it (when others address you benevolently with compassion). Giving birth (jati) to the wrong view of “beings” (satta) will not lead to jhana or enlightenment. For arahants, ‘birth’ (jati) has ended. No more giving birth to mental concepts & imaginations of ‘beings’, ‘persons’, ‘self’, “you”, “me”, etc, no more aging & death. No dukkha. :slight_smile:

Bhikkhu, ‘I am’ is a conceiving; ‘I am this’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall not be’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be possessed of form’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be formless’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be percipient’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be non-percipient’ is a conceiving; ‘I shall be neither-percipient-nor-non-percipient’ is a conceiving. Conceiving is a disease, conceiving is a tumour, conceiving is a dart. By overcoming all conceivings, bhikkhu, one is called a sage at peace. And the sage at peace is not born, does not age, does not die; he is not shaken and does not yearn. For there is nothing present in him by which he might be born. Not being born, how could he age? Not ageing, how could he die? Not dying, how could he be shaken? Not being shaken, why should he yearn?

MN 140

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You follow your understanding of the Buddha’s teachings mate, as we all do.

Let’s leave it there, shall we?

Definitely not. There are four right efforts, including the effort to wipe out unwholesome states that have arisen.

Best to practise that metta-samadhi (rather than make unwarranted allegations) so to leave it there. :heart_eyes:

"Develop the meditation of good will. For when you are developing the meditation of good will, ill-will will be abandoned.

"Develop the meditation of compassion. For when you are developing the meditation of compassion, cruelty will be abandoned.

"Develop the meditation of appreciation. For when you are developing the meditation of appreciation, resentment will be abandoned.

"Develop the meditation of equanimity. For when you are developing the meditation of equanimity, irritation will be abandoned.

MN 62

“Monks, if you should keep this instruction on the Parable of the Saw constantly in mind, do you see any mode of speech, subtle or gross, that you could not endure?”

“No, Lord.”

“Therefore, monks, you should keep this instruction on the Parable of the Saw constantly in mind. That will conduce to your well-being and happiness for long indeed.”

MN 21

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in my sitting asubha is the practice which leads to samadhi, though the mind is restless and agitated asubha practice brings peace after sometime if practiced correctly without disgust or aversion towards the body. the purpose of asubha meditation is to deconstruct the notion of a “self” and to stay detached from the human body which is made up of anatomical parts which is neither attractive nor disgusting. i agree with ajhan brahmali that mindfulness leads to samadhi (samma sati comes prior to samma samadhi in the noble eight fold path) the satipatthanas, mainly the body contemplation exercises are practices that lead to discrimination as well as samadhi.in the fourth satipatthana (contemplation of the dhammas ) the latter factors of awakening are factors that are affiliated to samadhi. ( passaddhi , piti etc. ) the mind gradually settles down to tranquil and serene state after moving through the satipatthanas .in fact, the body contemplation can be used to attain the four jhanas even psychic powers. ( e.g. kayagatasati sutta )

Middle Length Sayings
Final Fifty Discourses
Discourse on mindfulness of body ( MN 119 )

And again, monks, a monk, aloof from pleasures of the senses, aloof from unskilled states of mind, enters on and abides in the first meditation which is accompanied by initial thought and discursive thought, is born of aloofness, and is rapturous and joyful. He drenches, saturates, permeates, suffuses this very body with the rapture and joy that are born of aloofness; there is no part of his whole body that is not suffused with the rapture and joy that are born of aloofness. Monks, as a skilled bath-attendant or his apprentice, having sprinkled bath-powder into a bronze vessel, might knead it while repeatedly sprinkling it with water until the ball of lather had taken up moisture, was drenched with moisture, suffused with moisture inside and out, but without any oozing. Even so, monks, does a monk drench, saturate, permeate, suffuse this very body with the rapture and joy that are born of aloofness; there is no part of his whole body that is not suffused with the rapture and joy that are born of aloofness. While he is thus diligent, ardent, self-resolute … Thus too, monks, does a monk develop mindfulness of body.

And again, monks, a monk, by allaying initial thought and discursive thought, with the mind subjectively tranquillised and fixed on one point, enters on and abides in the second meditation which is devoid of initial thought and discursive thought, is born of concentration and is rapturous and joyful. He drenches, saturates, permeates, suffuses this very body with the rapture and joy that are born of concentration; there is no part of his whole body that is not suffused with the rapture and joy that are born of concentration. Monks, it is like a pool of water with water welling up within it, but which has no inlet for water from the eastern … western … northern … or southern side, and even if the god does not send down showers upon it from time to time, yet the current of cool water having welled up from that pool will drench, saturate, permeate, suffuse that pool with cool water. Even so, monks, does a monk drench saturate, permeate, suffuse this very body with the rapture and joy that are born of concentration; there is no part of his whole body that is not suffused with the rapture and joy that are born of concentration. While he is thus diligent, ardent, self-resolute … Thus too, monks, does a monk develop mindfulness of body.

And again, monks, a monk, by the fading out of rapture, dwells with equanimity, attentive and clearly conscious and experiences in his person that joy of which the ariyans say: ‘Joyful lives he who has equanimity and is mindful,’ and he enters on and abides in the third meditation. He drenches, saturates, permeates, suffuses this very body with the joy that has no rapture; there is no part of his whole body that is not suffused with the joy that has no rapture. As in a pond of white … or red … or blue lotuses, some white … or red … or blue lotuses are born in the water, grow up in the water, never rising above the surface but flourishing beneath it and from their roots to the tips are drenched, saturated, permeated, suffused by cool water; even so, monks, does a monk drench, saturate, permeate, suffuse this very body with the joy that has no rapture; there is no part of his whole body that is not suffused with the joy that has no rapture. While he is thus diligent, ardent, self-resolute … Thus too does a monk develop mindfulness of body.

And again, monks, a monk, by getting rid of joy and by getting rid of anguish, by the going down of his former pleasures and sorrows, enters on and abides in the fourth meditation which has neither anguish nor joy, and which is entirely purified by equanimity and mindfulness. He, having suffused this very body with a mind that is utterly pure, utterly clean, comes to be sitting down; there is no part of his whole body that is not suffused by a mind that is utterly pure, utterly clean. Monks, it is as if a man might be sitting down who had clothed himself including his head with a white cloth; there would be no part of his whole body not covered by the white cloth. Even so, monks, a monk, having suffused this very body with a mind that is utterly pure, utterly clean, comes to be sitting down; there is no part of this whole body that is not suffused by a mind that is utterly pure, utterly clean. While he is thus diligent, ardent, self-resolute, those memories and aspirations that are worldly are got rid of; by getting rid of them the mind itself is inwardly settled, calmed, focussed, concentrated. Thus too, monks, does a monk develop mindfulness of body.

He experiences the various forms of psychic power: having been one he is manifold; having been manifold he is one; manifest or invisible he goes unhindered through a wall, a rampart, a mountain as if through air; he plunges into the ground and shoots up again as if in water; he walks upon the water without parting it as if on the ground; sitting cross-legged he travels through the air like a bird on the wing; with his hand he rubs and strokes this moon and sun although they are of such mighty power and majesty; and even as far as the Brahma-world he has power in respect of his person.

By the purified deva-like hearing which surpasses that of men he hears both (kinds of) sounds—deva-like ones and human ones, whether they be far or near.

He comprehends by mind the minds of other beings, of other individuals, so that he comprehends a mind that is full of attachment … aversion … confusion, that it is full of attachment … aversion … confusion; or a mind that is without attachment … aversion … confusion, that it is without attachment … aversion … confusion; or he comprehends a mind that is contracted that it is contracted, or a mind that is distracted that it is distracted; or of a mind that has become great that it has become great, or of a mind that has not become great that it has not become great; or of a mind with (some other mental state) superior to it that it has (some other mental state) superior to it, or of a mind that has no (other mental state) superior to it that it has no (other mental state) superior to it; or of a mind that is composed that it is composed, or of a mind that is not composed that it is not composed; or of a mind that is freed that it is freed, or of a mind that is not freed that it is not freed.

He recollects manifold former habitations, that is to say one birth and two births and … Thus he recollects (his) former habitations in all their modes and detail.

With the purified deva-vision surpassing that of men he beholds beings as they pass hence and come to be; he comprehends that beings are mean, excellent, fair, foul, in a good bourn, in a bad bourn according to the consequences of deeds.

By the destruction of the cankers, having realised here and now by his own super-knowledge the freedom of mind and the freedom through intuitive wisdom that are cankerless, entering thereon, he abides therein.

so my point is that satipatthanas itself can be developed in order to acquire samadhi as well as discrimination.

thanks,
with metta. :anjal:

Indeed. It seems clear to me that the main purpose of satipaṭṭhāna is to take you to samādhi.

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Certainly satipatthana precedes jhana in the usual gradual training sequence, such as in MN 27 and 107…

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Right, I’m not even sure why anyone would expect differently, given how clearly the EBT’s lay this out. Within the 37 factors conducive to Bodhi, we see, in several different formulations, that mindfulness precedes samādhi. This principle is clearly illustrated in the Five Roots, Five Powers, Seven Factors of Bodhi, and the Noble Eightfold Path.

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Right. Those were precisely the sorts contexts I had in mind. And there are others as well.

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Yes, I would tend to agree, depending a bit on what you see as the satipaṭṭhāna aspect of the gradual training. Many would argue that the section on sampajaññā is about satipaṭṭhāna, but I think this is doubtful considering the scholarship done by Bhante Sujato in “A History of Mindfulness.” I would tend to regard the sampajaññā section as an aspect of right effort. To me it is the section on the abandonment of the hindrances - coming, as it does, just before the jhānas - that is the satipaṭṭhāna part of the gradual training. The overcoming of the hindrances fits with what I consider the main purpose of satipaṭṭhāna as described in the Satipaṭṭhāna Suttas.

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Thanks for the clarification, Bhante. Of course, both are before the jhana section…

I agree that body contemplation can have a pleasant cooling effect on the mind. It sort of “pierces the veil” of ones assumed bodily image and challenges ones identity with it.

I find it can even be helpful when dealing with difficult memories, as the emotions tend to be attached to an imagined form or forms. Breaking those forms down can make the associated memories feel less solid and real.

This constitutes the ‘investigation’ factor in the causal process of the seven factors of awakening, which leads to joy and concentration.

See 15.06- 18.19, and 40.12-44.24:

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Interesting you made the connection with the awakening factors. I’ve recently been exploring the bojjhanga and how they connect with other aspects of the path. The “investigation” factor has been one of the more elusive factors. It sounds like a very active quality, it’s difficult to reconcile with leading to stillness. However you’ve presented it here as something closer to insight resulting from close observation, something that arises naturally. This make sense in the context of factors leading to stillness and equanimity.

No if you listen to Bikkhu Bodhi 40.12- 44.24 three of the factors are active requiring energy, and three passive- resultant. For a clearer idea of ‘investigation’ see Samyutta Nikaya 46.51.

Thankyou, do you mean this one ? This is one of the suttas I have been reading recently .

I assume you are referring to this passage:

Frequent rational application of mind to them fuels the arising of the awakening factor of investigation of principles, or, when it has arisen, fully develops it.

Yes I can see that it is described as being an active factor. Thankyou for elucidating.