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Originally Posted by Gem
I think legend has it that Gotama made two different sermons, a longer one and a shorter one, and these are recorded in two different suttas.
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Of course you are correct - i.e. whatever you say, Gem.
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Originally Posted by Gem
Yes the satipatthana is the practical 'way to meditate' in regards to mindfulness, insight meditation, or vipassana (rose by other names). Different schools have read the sutta differently, and teach variations of the practice. There are obvious contradictions in these variations, so scholars discuss the finer intricacies, as catsqotl mentioned in the case of Sayadaw's approach.
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catsquotl's point was broader than that, in my reading. YMMV.
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Originally Posted by Gem
People can quote or paraphrase Sayadaw as though it's 'right practice' because Sayadaw is a great teacher, but another great teacher, like my teachers for example, would say stop doing that. The meditation student will become confused, one says do this and the next one says don't do it. Hence there is no way of obeying both these teachers - which one is right and which one is wrong?
In the martial arts it is the same. Tae Kwon Do students attend my school and the grand master starts to correct even their most basic stance. If I went to train in Tae Kwon Do, the master would correct me, even though I stand correctly according to my own school. As you can see, I'm not talking black and white. I'm talking grey areas. Of course the masters of martial arts will give sound guidance to their students, just as my meditation teachers gave sound guidance, but even on an anatomical level, I can perform the kick 'correctly', and my peer also performs it correctly, yet due to the differences in our individual anatomy, these kicks are executed very much in the same way, but they appear quite differently. I still have to to find my own groove even with the guidance of the grand master. When I actually feel the full force of power, only then do I know for myself that the motion of the kick is 'right motion'.
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Um ... I don't believe that anyone has said that the practice is not in the detail, and no-one has said to follow different teachings/traditions.
Buddhism is eminently experiential based and that is exactly how the Buddha set up his teachings and the course of his Dharma.
There are real deal Masters/Adepts in this field, just not on this forum, and that includes you and me.
BT