Bare attention/awareness
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The following is a quote frm AEN's journal Who Am I (pg 2 & 3 ) :.... 'open' the 'eye of immediacy' ; that is... capacity to immediately penetrate discursive thoughts & sense ,feel ,perceive without intermediary the perceived.It is a kind of direct knowing..... Be it non-dual or vipassana,both require the opening of this 'eye of immediacy' .As im considering to start engaging in the practice of this type of meditation/contemplation,some input will be deeply appreciated - such as :Meditation centers offering classes on such practiceBooks recommendations(internet link/articles) dealing with the subjectSharing of personal experience?(to Thusness : Thanks for ur lunch !)
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Originally posted by taoteching:The following is a quote frm AEN's journal Who Am I (pg 2 & 3 ) : .... 'open' the 'eye of immediacy' ; that is... capacity to immediately penetrate discursive thoughts & sense ,feel ,perceive without intermediary the perceived.It is a kind of direct knowing..... Be it non-dual or vipassana,both require the opening of this 'eye of immediacy' . As im considering to start engaging in the practice of this type of meditation/contemplation,some input will be deeply appreciated - such as : Meditation centers offering classes on such practice Books recommendations(internet link/articles) dealing with the subject Sharing of personal experience? (to Thusness : Thanks for ur lunch !)
In that article, Thusness stated there are two paths: the gradual path and the direct path. The direct path requires you to go through the I AM phase, after which you will be able to have that taste of non-dual presence as a guide, and you will intuitively know that taste is similar in all experiences and states when non-dual insight arises.
The gradual path like Vipassana leads to non-dual experience and insight. It can be a question of 'How am I experiencing the moment of being alive?' which leads to the experience and insight of what Aliveness (seeing, hearing, touching, etc) is. This is the Actualism (actualfreedom.com.au) approach. There can also be the practice of bare mindfulness with a few pointers like 'in the seen only the seen', 'in the heard only the heard', 'there is sound but no hearer', 'thoughts but no thinker', etc which will lead to insights of non-duality and anatta. This is the case for me and Thusness.
The direct path like self-inquiry leads to the I AM realization I articulated in the earlier pages in the Certainty of Being thread. It can be a question of 'Who am I?' or 'Without thoughts and labels, how is 'I' experienced?' which leads to the direct experience and insight of what Beingness or Pure Presence in a non-conceptual state is. It gives a sense of conviction having touched the essence of one's Presence/Being.
If you want to practice self-inquiry, I can recommend the not-too-lengthy online articles by Ch'an Master Hsu Yun, books by Ramana Maharshi, Adyashanti's 'True Meditation', Stephen Bodian's 'Wake Up Now', Ken Wilber's 'The Simple Feeling of Being: Embracing Your True Nature'. There are probably many other good books on self inquiry from Zen and Advaita. My own e-book contains some substantial amount of info and conversations on this practice.
The latter parts of my e-book emphasize more on Vipassana practice as a way to enter non-dual insight. The earlier parts of my e-book emphasize on self-inquiry practice. It is just that different practice leads to different insights I am having and therefore a different emphasis at the moment. That said, I believe it is good to go through self-inquiry to realize the I AM first - however not everyone has to go through this path.
If you want to practice Vipassana, here are some good links for you to go through:
Chapter 13 ...(Mindfulness - Sati) by Bhante Gunaratana
This Moment of Being Alive (Actual Freedom)
Zen Master Douglas Phillips's
– The Sutta About Bahiya, Part 1
(Feb 4, 2005)– The Sutta About Bahiya, Part 2
(Feb 12, 2005)Toni Packer's What Is the "Me"?
Adapted from a talk on Day 5 of the September 1998 retreat.Tejananda John Wakeman's Pure Awareness (Available at http://tejanandajohnwakeman.googlepages.com/pureawareness)
Books you should read for Vipassana:
The Wonder of Presence and The Silent Question by Toni Packer
Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana
Meditation Now or Never by Steve Hagen
Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha by Daniel M. Ingram
Anything by Thich Nhat Hanh, J Krishnamurti, etc
A more complete book recommendation list by me can be found at Useful Books and Links
And hope this convo from years ago helps (ck is my friend):
Ck: john, how to practise vipassana in daily life?
Thusness: just observe every sensation.
Thusness: until one day u are able to experience "emptiness as form".
Thusness: then it becomes effortless.
Thusness: Truthz u cannot imagine the bliss when one clearly experiences that.
Thusness: but there is no point to over stress anything.
Thusness:
Ck: Thusness just observe every sensation... give me an eg?
Thusness: when u breath, u don't have to care what is the right way of breathing, whether u breath hard or soft, smooth or fine...just experience as much clarity as u can...just that experience...regardless of what it is like.
Thusness: same for all other experiences.
Ck: wot abt sound? hows it?
Thusness: when u hear, just the sound...the totality of the sound. There is no how but just to do away with all abitary thoughts. Hear the sound as clear as u can be.
Ck: then wot abt thots?
Ck: thots r v sticky
Thusness: thoughts seldom arise if the practice is correct. If it arises, then not to chase after its meaning. Not to answer urself what it means, not to dwell in 'what'...then u will resort to just the moment of awareness.
Ck: when i try to be just openly aware, i notice that i jump from sense to sense
Ck: like one moment hearing, then touch, etc
Thusness: that is okie.
Thusness: our nature is so.
Ck: wots the rite way to do it
Thusness: don't think that u should concentrate.
Thusness: ur only duty is to sense with as much clarity as possible.
Ck: and for all the sensations, i dun dwell in the 'what'?
Thusness: ur mind is looking for a way, a method
Thusness: but what that is needed is only the clarity.
Thusness: however because our mind is so molded and affect by our habitual propensities, it becomes difficult what that is direct and simple.
Thusness: just stop asking 'how', 'what', 'why'.
Thusness: and submerge into the moment.
Thusness: and experience.
Thusness: i perfer u to describe.
Thusness: not to ask how, what, why, when, where and who.
Thusness: only this is necessary.
Ck: ok
Thusness: if u practice immediately, u will understand.
Thusness: if u entertain who, what, where, when and how, u create more propensities and dull ur own luminosity.
Ck: i shuffle btw self inquiry, observing sensations n thots, being aware... its ok rite
Thusness: yes
Ck: means start work i'll hv even more propensities...
Thusness: that is when u do not understand what awareness, but it is true to certain extend. -
Originally posted by taoteching:(to Thusness : Thanks for ur lunch !)
You are welcome. :)