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Should I judge the efficacy of Samadhi based on the ethical qualities of the meditator?

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8 answers
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As far as I understand, one of the main purposes of the eight factor of the Path (samma samadhi) is to clean the mind from impurities. I've read a lot of discussions where one meditator states that only his/her method is the true method, while all the other methods are worthless and wrong. There are multiple arguments for such beliefs, and one might agree with them in some degree. There are a lot of criteria that can be used to know whether one method is right or not; for instance: Does it follow the instructions found in the suttas? Does it interpret correctly those instructions? Does it lead to a temporary peace of mind? Does it stops during the extention of the sitting the arising of the hindrances? Can the steps followed be replicated with consistency? Can those steps be followed by everyone else? Does it lead to the arising of the factors of jhana? And so on... But, how important and relevant is the behavior of the meditator (towards others and in general) as a factor to check whether his/her meditation style is right or wrong? If a reknown meditator (even openly self acknowledge) shows little to no empathy, prudence or wisdom, should I suspect that his/her meditation method is wrong? I think the above question could be especially important since it is stated in multiple suttas that Right Samadhi leads to the development of Wisdom, which I understand as a form to be more in harmony with how things are (i.e. not desiring circumstances to change), and how be prudent, intelligent and skillful when acting upon and communicating with others. **If an individual shows itself as a very experimented meditator, but shows none (or little development) of these qualities, is that a sign of choosing some method not conducive to the goal as proposed by the Buddha?** Thanks in advance for your time and patience! Kind regards!
Asked by Brian Díaz Flores (2115 rep)
Aug 28, 2019, 11:37 AM
Last activity: Oct 4, 2020, 06:56 AM