SuttaCentral
Does anyone know who taught the Most Venerable Pa-Auk jhana meditation?
I see he has been an influential teacher of Western Jhana Retreat teachers. So the question of his lineage ie who taught him jhana is pertinent.
I found a detailed biography of the Most Venerable Pa-Auk
Its clear he had had many renowned Burmese Vipassana teachers including Mahasi Sayadaw. However theres no readily apparent Samatha lineage? Any ideas?
Maybe he taught himself?
Thatās rather sketchy, but there are quite a few teachers mentioned there whom it states he studied mindfulness of breathing, four elements, etc. Isnāt that your answer? It may not be easy to find information about them in English, however.
Furthermore, my impression from the works of Sayadaw Mahasi, Sayadaw U Pandita, etc, is not that they were averse to the development of samadhi. However, they felt that the method they developed was more efficient, particularly for lay people. Furthermore, the method does involve a primary/grounding object that does develop samadhi. In fact, there was a long argument in the form of articles in the Sri Lankan Buddhist periodical āWorld Buddhismā. in the 1960s that revolved around whether or not the Mashasi method developed samadhi to the level of access concentration, which is the level required for ādry insightā according the commentaries (if I recall correctly).
I canāt locate the discussion I mentioned above but hereās a quote from U Pandita Questions and Answers
ÄnÄpÄnassati can take two directions. If the meditator strives to be mindful of the form or manner of the in-breath and the out-breath, then it is samatha meditation and leads to one-pointedness of mind. On the other hand, if the meditator notes the sensation of the in-breath and out-breath as it moves and touches, then it is vipassanÄ meditation. The element of wind or motion (vÄyo-dhÄtu) is matter (rÅ«pa), while the awareness or consciousness of the sensation is mind (nÄma). Therefore, ÄnÄpÄnassati can be considered as vipassanÄ, and can lead to high levels of insight wisdom. However, in the Visuddhimagga, in the section on mindfulness of the body (kÄyÄnupassana), fourteen objects of meditation are discussed, and further subdivided into objects for tranquillity (samatha) and insight (vipassanÄ) meditation. In the Visuddhimagga, ÄnÄpÄnassati is presented as an object of tranquillity meditation. Consequently, if we are to instruct meditators to develop ÄnÄpÄnassati as part of insight meditation, we will be inviting much unwanted and unwarranted criticism and controversy. And neither MahÄsi SayÄdaw or myself would want to argue here that the Visuddhimagga, the rightly venerated classic, is at fault here.
As he says: āin the Visuddhimagga, ÄnÄpÄnassati is presented as an object of tranquillity meditationā, so references to ÄnÄpÄnassati in Pa Aukās biography is likely to be referring to that.
As a general comment, Iām not sure it is useful to focus too much on details of ālineage of methodā. In my experience, good teachers will have a broad knowledge and will encourage their students to work out what is most effective for them at this particular time, as in the simile of the cook in SN47.8. However, this may not be apparent from their introductory material or their presentations to large groups, which have to present some coherent story.
That a great sutta thanks. Unfortunately āgood teachersā seem rare and as a beginner student its very easy to be mislead.
Maybe. Maybe not? The bio states āmindfulness of breathingā. No mention of samatha or jhana. So on the balance of probability it appears unlikely.
Id rather not speculate. If no one directly knows thatās OK. However it doesnāt encourage confidence.
Shouldnāt we investigate ourselves if someone is a good teacher with simple observation? Neither tradition, lineage, class, knowledge can define if a teacher is good. We have in our hands the teachings of the Buddha, and per the Buddhaās teachings you should not accept nor deny any teaching giving to you (not even the Dhamma) without personal investigation (MN 95), and this can include if the teaching is right according to the Buddhaās words in the suttas.
Hi @Jara. Given vinaya constraints, I donāt think youāll find statements about Ven Pau Aukās attainments. However, as I indicated, mindfulness of breathing is understood to be a jhana practice in the Classical Theravada texts such as the Visuddhimagga.
Great. Yes, indeed the Anapaasati Sutta is the main way some Thai Forest Ajahns teach samadhi.
Thanks for all your excellent input.