Meditation, some answers

[Gem]

The understanding of mindfulness refined because it entails purification and healing, truth and wisdom and self-liberation, so we usually talk about it as a 'way' rather than as a thing. Rather than something happening, something stops happening. Because there is nothing that happens which you notice, but absence of such a thing, it can't sate any desire, so they might stop for an instant, but immediately resume the movement of volition that runs from aversion and chases after desire. The practice is quite simple in principle: stop doing that, as Buddha describes 'ardent awareness with understanding of impermanence, free of aversion and desire in the world', repeating that principle throughout the four divisions of the satipatthana sutta. Hence the practice is always the same. Regardless of body sense or mind experiences, practice is awareness with equanimity of mind for the novice, the adept, the teacher and the master.

[Unseeking Seeker]

Mindfully notice … moment to moment … how we tend to slip into stupor
Guna Tamas … mayas pull of gravity … both bondage and anchor

Mindfully notice … moment to moment … how we tend to slip into stupor
Guna Tamas … mayas pull of gravity … both bondage and anchor
Until the Source becomes the anchor

[sky]

Originally Posted by Gem

as Buddha describes 'ardent awareness with understanding of impermanence, free of aversion and desire in the world', repeating that

But we live in 'This world' In Buddhism according to Scriptures it is not 'Desires' that cause the problem it's the 'Craving' to fulfill our desires that cause the suffering.
The Metta Sutra is a desire for all sentient beings to be happy etc:. Desires used skilfully are beneficial to yourself and others.
Why did The Buddha teach, because He had a 'Desire' to help others as I presume the Goenka Man did

[sky]

@ Zinnat....
Thank you for the time you spend on this Thread, your Posts are insightful.

[Unseeking Seeker]

@ Legrand …

Attention yet oscillates! Getting there, getting there, slowly smelling the roses

[Ewwerrin]

It is all about focus, isn't it?

What do you guys do when what you focus upon keeps changing? Am I changing my focus, or is my focus changing me?

Originally Posted by zinnat

As absurd it may sound, but the truth is that mindfulness cannot be achieved by conscious mind.

That's why mindfulness meditation is a specific meditation technique. As far as I can determine in essence it's no different than any other technique in that there's an object of attending and when distractions arise notice them, gently let them go and return to attending whatever the object might be.

While it's consciously attending an object the real work is carried out below the conscious by not allowing thought trains to develop and run wild. It's not allowing the neurons that have been wired together by conditioning to continually fire together and reinforcing the existing wiring further. Slowly over time that dissolves the conditioned wiring through mechanisms of neuroplasticity. We don't consciously execute mechanisms of neuroplasticity, nature does, but by specific practices we have a certain amount of high-level orchestration.

So far and if that's all it is then it's a secular practice, but combined with other traditions (knowledge, action, devotion) it becomes a spiritual practice.

Originally Posted by Ewwerrin

What do you guys do when what you focus upon keeps changing? Am I changing my focus, or is my focus changing me?

That's a basic of meditation and develops over time through practice. When one notices the object of attending is no longer in evidence gently let go of the distraction and return to the object of attending. See the part in my above post about neuroplasticity.

That's how one develops a focused and concentrated mind, by continually failing attending (focus) and then continually returning to attending.

https://youtu.be/5TeWvf-nfpA?list=PL...PNokg&t=120 9

[Gem]

Originally Posted by sky123

But we live in 'This world' In Buddhism according to Scriptures it is not 'Desires' that cause the problem it's the 'Craving' to fulfill our desires that cause the suffering.
The Metta Sutra is a desire for all sentient beings to be happy etc:. Desires used skilfully are beneficial to yourself and others.
Why did The Buddha teach, because He had a 'Desire' to help others as I presume the Goenka Man did

It was pretty clearly explained that 'craving' is the culmination of aversion and desire, but you believe there are skillful desires and I have no reason to convince you otherwise. Metta is another a nuanced area which involves compassion or good-intent... but you think intent and volition are the same, and I already said 'just watching' and 'making it happen' are different and pointed out how volition can be unintentional just as intent can be non-volitional. I have no urge to convince anyone of that either. You're doing the right thing and not listening to 'some guy on the internet'. I don't know why Buddha taught (and neither do you). My guess is he liked it and figured it was beneficial, but that's just because that's why I do my thing, so I project it onto the imaginary Buddha-dude in my head, but at least I'm aware that's just mental fabrication.