Recommended teachers?

okay take 2!:slight_smile:

Apart from the obvious teachers: Ajahn Brahm, Sujato and Brahmali… As i already listened to everything with a lot of joy. and yes I meditate too. I’m looking to try a bit of variety. Any “youtube” teachers suggestions? but someone with “Right View” (if you know what I mean…)

Also, a good community that is kind and practicing well.
so suggestions to check places and teachers out… those that teach about cassation of ALL and teachers, monastic or lay, who are well skilled in real jhanas. that is a must.

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The Hillside Hermitage YouTube channel is my go to.

In general, I don’t think it is beneficial to approach any Dhamma talk with a preference for what the teacher is capable of, purely for the fact that someone hoping to learn may have an insufficient measure of what it means to have right view or jhana. What I mean is, preconceived notions of what these things mean have a tendency to get in the way. Just a helpful attitude that has benefited me in the past.

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I’ve gotten a lot out of listening to all of Ajahn Brahm’s old talks.

I’m currently getting a lot out Sayadaw U Tejania and his emphasis on vipassana through continuous awareness.

I found Thanisarro Bhikkhu to be depressing, anxiety producing, and a bit strange with the way he put things until I started reading the suttas.

ah yes Ajahn Sona is good. I also found Ayya Khema and Shaila Catherine and Alan Wallace’s shamatha talks helpful

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hey thanks. I heard Utejaniya once but he was putting down jhana? did I misunderstand him? As if someone doesn’t at least praise all factors of 8fold path then I don’t want to listen to him?
I’ll check out

I listened to the suttas yet its nice to have a real person elaborate.

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The 3 parts of the 8 fold path are Sila, Samadhi, and Panna. My understanding is each of the 3 are dependent on the other two. So, removing one would be like playing Jenga. :slight_smile:

From the little bit of the suttas I have seen so far the jhanas are frequently mentioned and there is no mention of distinct vipassna technique. Sutta wonks, correct me if I am wrong.

Having said that you can usually get something useful out of most teachers, just know enough to set aside what you think might be wrong.

Are you looking for…ditthi-sampanno ariyas? Who are also jhana-labhi?

Oh gosh. That’s a lot to ask from a Youtube recommendation. Is it ok if I just ignore this requirement to make a general recommendation?

In addition to those mentioned:

BSV Youtube- BSV Dhamma Talks

Also:

Buddhist Society of Victoria Youtube—> Ajahn Nissarano.

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This is correct, the reason being serenity is easier to understand than insight and the Buddha was a skilled teacher. Vipassana is throughout the suttas, but requires knowledge to discern. For example the majority of a number of suttas listing the jhanas conclude with the extinction of all cankers, which is insight (vipassana) and the only one of the higher powers which is a necessary condition for sainthood.

For example: Digha Nikaya 34; Majjhima Nikaya 4, 6, 77; Anguttara Nikaya 3.99, 5.23; Samyutta Nikaya 15.9

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Those who follow the vipassana path correctly relegate jhana to a lesser position than insight:

" The three divisions of the Noble Eightfold Path provide the check against this threefold layering of the defilements. The first, the training in moral discipline, restrains unwholesome bodily and verbal activity and thus prevents defilements from reaching the stage of transgression. The training in concentration provides the safeguard against the stage of manifestation. It removes already manifest defilements and protects the mind from their continued influx. But even though concentration may be pursued to the depths of full absorption, it cannot touch the basic source of affliction — the latent tendencies lying dormant in the mental continuum. Against these concentration is powerless, since to root them out calls for more than mental calm. What it calls for, beyond the composure and serenity of the unified mind, is wisdom (pañña), a penetrating vision of phenomena in their fundamental mode of being."

—Bikkhu Bodhi

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Wow marvellous sir! Thank you so much for pointing this! :pray::pray::pray:

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I have attended 10 days vipassana course of igatpuri dhammagiri by S.N. Goenka. He also said that when one is practicing Vipassana-insight, knowing about jhana s does not matter. Jhanas come in mundane concentrations and don’t necessarily help in liberation. But vipassana-insight, if followed correctly, after taking appropriate guidance, can actually lead to entering stream of dhamma(stream-entry). It is said that when one is reading or remembering various suttas, commentaries, jatakas, or any of such things, all of it essentially means that we are just reading about a sweet food. We are actually supposed to eat it. That’s what practicing Vipassana is. It is the path which leads to straight awakening in this very life right now. We can know the efficacy of dhamma right here and now if we practice Vipassana. So yes jhana are of very very less significance if one is practicing Vipassana. Jhanas should not be focused on if one wants to realise the essense of Buddha’s dhamma right here and right now.

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I have attended several of the Goenka courses too and unfortunately Goenka is not reading the suttas or perhaps choosing to ignore the parts that don’t fit his tradition. Jhanas are the 8th factor of Noble Eightfold path and allow the hindrances to be abandoned. you cannot gain liberating insight of anicca when your mind has hindrances. hindrances are abandoned in jhanas so jhanas are essential for liberating insight.

most of the stuff he says is good but that part and the kalapas part isn’t what the Buddha taught.
it is good though people stay present and do body sweeping and anapanasati.

Don’t say that my dear friend. Goenka guruji is not teaching suttas because he is directly teaching Vipassana course to people who have come to attend the retreat. Many of the people who attend course are not familiar with buddhism so that’s why suttas are not read/taught directly.

Goenka was not born in buddhist community. He was born in Hindu community of merchant and was millionaire at the age of 25. Moreover he don’t teach suttas because one cannot learn Vipassana by reading suttas. Teaching suttas is not goal of that course. Only refuge in triple jewel and taking precepts is enough to learn the Vipassana-insight technique, which is the goal there. The reason for attending course is not to enrich our knowledge of suttas essentially. Reason is to learn something which we can use in our daily life to be free from daily pains/suffering.

As far as I know, jhanas don’t help in abandoning hindrances, they merely help in suppressing them. Regardless of that, whatever you are saying can be done after realising the noble eightfold path. Vipassana-insight technique is the the first step for general practitioner. We are not adept like some monks in the Buddha’s time to go through jhanas first and then insight. Even Goenka guruji say this, we can also go through jhanas first and then insight but it requires time. Going with Vipassana insight is easy way. I will give you an analogy.

Suppose realising the fruit of stream-entry is like learning to write correctly with pen. Jhanas are like posture. Goal is to improve handwriting and not to improve posture. If we learn the rules of writing first then we can find posture on our own afterwards. But if we run behind learning posture we will lose/forget the very goal of our venture which is learning to write. Once person learns to write perfectly, meaning, once one attains insight into impermanence, one will enter into stream and then one can progress further by himself or herself. But if one goes through jhanas, there is very high chance that one will stay in jhanas only and won’t work further from that, as it requires guidance also. Opposite to that once one attains proficiency in insight of impermanence through vipassana, one can progress by himself on the path without guidance.

I hope you are getting what I am trying to say. Vipassana-insight is one of the direct way to the core/goal of Buddhism which is liberation. We still don’t know the importance of that.

No my dear friend. Jhanas can be attained through insight only and Liberating insight not required as far as I know. [Liberating insight=insight which has seen impermanence]. If one(ordinary person) enters jhanas without liberating insight one will definitely be stuck there(cling). Jhanas should be entered with the help of liberating insight only for general people like us who lack continuous and perfect guidance. And liberating insight is attained through vipassana only.

I don’t know but regardless of that if one progresses in vipassana, one definitely comes across it. As far as I know kalapas is the smallest unit of everything we experience. Seeing kalapas means seeing impermanence directly in our own body.

Irrespective of Buddha taught that or not, vipassana insight meditation surely gives insight into the reality of impermanence. And when one observes impermanence directly through insight, then only one sincerely searches for that which is not impermanent, that which is permanent, that which we call nibbana. Searching sincerely then one realizes that which is permanent, that which is not born and does not die. So in other words, only then noble eightfold path is attained after stream-entry. Only stream-enterer has right view, the first of eightfold path. Till then one is just trying to follow noble eightfold path.

We actually don’t search for permanence sincerely even if we do chanting or enter jhanas or study any sutta.

The linear interpretation is preliminary, followed in time as practice develops by the circular. In sila/ samadhi/ panna the culminating element is the wisdom component of right view and right intention, penetrating the linear and setting the circular in motion.

“One makes an effort for the abandoning of wrong view & for entering into right view: This is one’s right effort. One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in right view: This is one’s right mindfulness.[2] Thus these three qualities — right view, right effort, & right mindfulness — run & circle around right view.”

—Majjhima Nikaya 117

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One thing I forgot to mention is what I mean by general practitioner.

General practitioner means one whose mental defilements are not prone to manifest in his body atleast during practice.

It is just as said above by bhikkhu bodhi.

Take for example person who is prone to lustful thoughts. During practice such person is more likely to stop practicing and start engaging in lustful acts. So for such people(who don’t come in general lot) need to practice concentration first. General lot is not like that.

Hi dhamma friend.
Goenka retreats are helpful in that they encourage presence, acceptance and being aware of the body. The teachings though have several errors. Following the teachings in the Goenka retreat do not lead to full liberation from suffering as taught by the historical Buddha.

To realize Nibbana it would be helpful to read the Buddha’s teachings. When a teacher says something that contradicts the Buddha’s teachings then one must ignore those untrue teachings and stick with the Buddha’s teachings if one wants to end rebirth and realize Nibbana.

it is a shame that our conversation was deleted. I do not know why as you made very good points and we addressed important experiences that arise and their limitations. there may be people who have the same confusions from the Goenka retreats who will try to seek clarifications. I think some people who have the role of moderator are enjoying exerting too much control over other people’s conversations

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Hello friend!

What S.N. Goenka taught is simply one of the ways of reaching nibbana. I don’t see anywhere even in his books or in his recorded lectures that he claimed that what he is teaching is the only way. It is not the only way I am sure he also knew that as we all know. But I would say it is one of the easy ways which could be spread in masses. His goal was to spread this teaching in masses comprising of people not just from buddhist background but also from different religious backgrounds.

My teacher says there are thousands of ways to nibbana, if any person holds and follows even only one of them he can reach there.

So Even if that person don’t know some suttas, he can somehow reach there if he follows anyone path, as maybe he will find the need to read suttas by himself and read them if he finds it necessary

Off course reading will definitely help. I don’t know what Goenka taught which you are referring as contradiction. I would like to listen if you could tell me what contradiction you found. As for me I didn’t find any contradiction between what Goenka taught and what I have read. Well I haven’t read all the Buddhist suttas…as Buddha’s teachings are vast…it is not possible atleast for me to read all of them. I have read very few and I didn’t find any contradiction in them atleast.

Oh can you not see our conversation? I can see my last message although it is saying hidden from community and there is also an option of show hidden content, by clicking on which I can read it. Can you try clicking on ‘read hidden content’?

I don’t think we have to worry about such people haha. I do believe I can misunderstand any point easily. As we all are capable of erring. So I don’t say that this is wrong even if it seems. Instead I try to analyse to find fault in my own assumptions.

Don’t say that dear friend. Moderators are very good and doing their job nicely. It’s their right and duty to judge our conversations as to prevent flourishing of the misunderstandings and misbehaviors.
I do think that above conversation is hidden by forum software only and not by moderators. Can you please tell me which part you cannot read? I can share that again if necessary.

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May I know the reason?

The talks are great.

Ayya Khema! passed away but online talks. Anyone met her? impressions?