I have been focused on the breath in meditation and I am interested in Vipassana, but I am confused about the object of meditation. I have read that you focus on the breath and as thoughts arise, you should observe them and then return to the breath and that it is the returning to the breath that increases one's mindfulness. I have also read that in Vipassana meditation, one shifts the object of meditation to the thoughts that arise and make them the object of mediation. This approach seems to be just sitting and letting your thoughts wander. Do I misunderstand the meaning of making arising thoughts the object of meditation? As it is now, I continue to make the breath the object and observe my other thoughts but generally do not pursue them, rather just categorizing the thought (like "planning the future" or "reliving the past") and then return to the breath.

I feel curious about what it actually feels like when someone directly experiences anatta. How do practitioners describe that experience? Is it sudden or gradual? Does it come with a sense of liberation, fear, or something else entirely? I’m especially interested in how this experience is understood or explained within different traditions, like Theravāda or Zen, if there are differences. Please note I'm not looking for just theoretical explanations. I’d really appreciate if there are descriptions from those who lived and felt experience of realizing anatta.

Is the samadhi nagi or also called Mushin a state were the mind gets blank and you expirience actions while your mind is blank or unconsciousness? From Suzukis book description your mind gets a known from the non-mind what during that time happend.

I've been meditating for 1 hour, and I'm planning to extend it to 90 minutes. Will there be any significant change in my experience? Has anyone had a real experience with this? Follow up Why everyone asks to do twice , not once a day? In vipassana 10 days retreat they asked not to go beyond 60 mins as it will lead to different state. That's why I asked. Why it's getting more and more difficult if I am increasing duration?

Things like sex or alcohol or drugs gives us pleasure because it shuts the conscious mind . But when doing meditation does we get happiness because of shutting of conscious mind / no thought ? I mean what's the difference between the two ?

Having learned and gained complete mastery from the two most famous teachers of his time, he decided to apply extreme austerities for some six years. With these skills acquired, driving a powerful concentration, he abandoned it all in favour of a skill he discovered when as a child at the Kings Plowing Ceremony, where he entered the first jhana [Dhyāna] quite effortlessly. Furthermore, added to this cache of tools, he prior added a powerful determination to not move from that spot, even if his blood should dry up, etc, etc. The subsequent release of this energy resulted in a spectacular display of meditative attainment. In the first watch of the night investigating Kamma with respect to successive past lives, revealing causal sequence. In the second watch of the night, investigating Kamma with respect to consequences of currently available choices. In the third watch of the night, the realisation of deliverance. Not much is said about the results of the third watch. It is a fairly common experience where insights coming from seeing a new possibility after examining two different phenomena with a common factor giving rise to a eureka moment. But what may have happened in this case, such a eureka event further resulting in a realisation that Dukkha had ceased? The Buddha's quest finally achieved. During the next eight weeks, the problem of describing a way of enabling others to achieve this result, though necessarily _not_ in the same way, given the death of the two teachers, plus avoiding austerities, plus the absence of psychic powers. In developing a tangible expression for the inexpressible, the Buddha further developed the right view, that Dukkha exists, arises and ceases according to conditions. Enabling the further development of the 'noble eightfold path'. According to tradition, all this happened in an instant, that is to say, the sequence happened very rapidly: the problem is to give it coherent expression. The result: the four noble truths.

Similar to "The Mind Illuminated" and "Core Teachings of the Buddha". Are there any books that offer a pragmatic and objective guide on vipassana meditation, rather than a "spiritual" one?

I know this is not the place for this kind of questions. But I post this anyway. **I am seeking advice on Samatha meditation.** Time to time, I get strong urge to do Samatha meditation.(I'm not an expert on this). So, I start with a combination of Maithree, Anapanasati and Vipassana meditation to cut down five hindrances . At this level, I reach happy state. Then I switch to Kasina meditation. But I can't continue Kasina meditation enough time to reach any static Nimitta . That's because I lose urge to continue / neediness to reach Dhayana. Sometimes, - I feel full - I feel, can't hold any more fullness ( full pressure) - less neediness to continue . So, I feel one or multiple of above and then I can't continue the meditation. Like, I feel like I can't continue anymore. (but I want to). But through all this, I feel happy. (after Maithree and Vipassana meditation) So, questions are , - Why is this happening? - Why I lose urge? - Why sometimes feel full pressure? - How would I overcome this? ___ My own idea of the problem is, - maybe I didn't actually reduce the five hindrances evenly, maybe I reduced the 1,2 and 5, but I think, maybe I didn't reduce 3rd and 4th hindrances. (main point). - maybe my Vipassana is too much(for Samatha) and I lose carving(thanha) for Dhayana. (newly added this line). - maybe I don't have enough capacity. - maybe my methods are wrong. It could be one of above or something else. ___ Five hindrances > order is as in this article. 1. Sensory desire (kāmacchanda) 2. Ill-will (vyāpāda; also spelled byāpāda) 3. Sloth-and-torpor (thīna-middha) 4. Restlessness-and-worry (uddhacca-kukkucca) 5. Doubt (vicikiccha) **Thanks 🙏. ☸️.** **Any help is appreciated.**

I saw this scientific article -- [Learning to Accept Discomfort Could Help You Thrive](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/learning-to-accept-discomfort-could-help-you-thrive/) -- on overcoming pain, discomfort and negative emotions. There is one part in the article which seems incredible: > painful exposed nerve in his tooth.....the dentist touched the tooth, my colleague felt bubbles of joy While I understand the notion of using equanimity to overcome difficulties in life, I am rather curious about its ability to overcome physical pain. Perhaps anyone who had practised equanimity in their meditation can share their experiences? Otherwise, any insights or theories on how this might work is equally appreciated, thanks!

Is a logical questioning process of every thought(almost) a useful way to break through thought itself and possibly understand enlightenment? For eg:- What is this thought? What is the mind? And try to inspect it clearly. If no answer appears, (because you see they are difficult, almost impossible questions) that is still ok, but you begin to question things with a scientific temper and rationality.

I returned from Goenka's Vipassana retreat. The technique of being aware of sensations with equanimity was very helpful and led me into deeper states of meditation. But his technique includes scanning the body as you move deeper. What I found was if I am focused on sensations on my face then willfully changing the focus to shoulder disturbs meditation. Also, I have to keep my mind active to control and move my focus with will, from say face to shoulder etc. Else where as I read Ajahn Brahm, his whole technique comprise of 'letting-go' of 'doer' or 'will'. Main emphasis is about the attitude of not getting the 'doer' or 'craving' or 'will' involved. Further to the answers to my last question as I now understand we reach to Vipassana i.e. insight. So my question is can I skip the body scan part. Can I attain Vipassana and Jnana without involving the body scan. Just being aware of sensations on face bring a great deal of Samatha. Keep the doer, controlling mind aside. I am sorry I am mixing Ajahn Brahm and Goenka. What is happening is I am finding it difficult to attain ggod meditative mind through AB's method of focusing on breath but I am doing good progress in sense of calming my mind and reducing the thoughts by Goenkas method to watch sensations through equanimity. So my plan is attain Samatha through Goenka's method of watching sensations and then as I attain meditative mind with no thoughts switch to AB's method to attain Jnana. I checked other question-answers regarding body scan but they do not answer my question as their problem is not 'bringing in the doer' or 'will' their problems are different. So my question is can I skip the body scan?

During meditation in past, it was observed that if focus is maintained on nostrils, tip of nose and center of forehead(between eyebrows) then it causes cold and cough within 2-3 days of such practice. Surprisingly, it was observed whenever it was practised. Tried the same experiment with other fellows at that time, they also had same symptoms, if not sooner then later. In tipitaka, anywhere mentioned about ill-effects of such combination of meditation focus points? Are these ill effects or could be something else, not taken into consideration? Analysis so far- Kayanupashyana and vednanupashyana both are all about focus, observe, analyse body parts (though not always at single area but bit by bit within whole body). There might be somewhere mentioned about such ill effects, if not then either those suttas were burned off or this assumption is wrong or assumption is correct & it might be due to wrong concentration & observation, "upward air entering as cold & sensing nose part nearby forehead leading to formation of runny nose, cold, cough"

What is effect of heart on mind in reality? Is it the effect due to coziness felt across the walls of heart (similar to the one felt by a child sitting in the parent's lap) leading to the change in perception, can be bad (ill hearted), can be good(emotional), can be right(compassion). Or Is that effect due to the oxygen interchanged blood? Blood having usedup O2 usually accompanied with various deep rooted sankharas/emotions/pictures/previous-deeds and blood which got injected by fresh O2 has very low quanties of them. This 2nd one seems little clearer and unveils some concepts like,"how come compassion around an arhat's body is so strong" at physical level. Any Buddha's teaching/sutta in this meditation context.

I've been practicing meditation and studying buddhism for years, and I've always been curious about *vipassana*, but I never knew how should I practice it, on what should I focus, etc. So my questions is: what do you recommend for someone who is starting *vipassana* meditation? How do I begin and how should I do it?

Will they experience dukkha? Do they have thoughts which lead to form sankhara? What are the things they experience due to ignorance? Would they have mindfulness on five perceptions? Explain, when they experience a desire, how do they get rid of the desire? How is the desire different than from a sotapanna person?

In Mahasi Sayadaw's meditation instructions, he says "you will find the abdomen rising when you breathe in, and falling when you breathe out. *The rising should be noted mentally as 'rising', and the falling as `falling'* " but in Practice Insight Meditation it says "*never verbally repeat the words, rising, falling, and do not think of rising and falling as words*". This seems to imply that we shouldn't label rising and falling at all, either out loud, or mentally. But when we note distraction we are instructed to give them a one-word label. So this seems to me to be suggesting that we know rising and falling with direct awareness only, but we label distractions. But, equally, how does one note 'rising' and 'falling' without using the word, at least mentally? So my question is. What should we label (if anything) rising, falling, and distractions? Or just distractions? Or maybe everything should just be noted with direct awareness?

When I'm sitting, I have a lot of trouble making it through all the touching points. One issue I'm thinking that I might be having is that maybe the progression of objects is incorrect: I do rising-falling-sitting-touching and then repeat for the entire hour that I sit. Maybe I am supposed to be doing: rising-falling-sitting and then rising-falling-touching and repeat those two progressions alternatively? Assuming the former is correct - is it ever permissible to, I'm weary about using the word but, ignore very subtle objects of awareness and continue noting through the progression? I just feel like I'm forcing it every time I make it to a touching point. I try to be as mindful as possible but it's hard to feel like I'm doing it correctly when I can't even make it to a touching point. feels like it's creating needless doubts. and maybe I'm just practicing incorrectly. Thanks in advance!

Apologies, this question has been brewing for some time after observing so many expressions of suffering from maybe not so much as misinformation, but more misdirection. Are there any scriptures defining what "wholesome meditation" is with relation to all the Skandha and not just one? Wouldn't wholesome imply a working towards balance between all components that constitute an individual? Because every meditation is a technique of cultivation for the 'individual' to reach enlightenment...? Would this also mean enforcing one and neglecting the other four is not only counterintuitive, but potentially dilapidating for the cultivation of an individual? And such imbalance may shed some light on how there are so many questions regarding some form of suffering while meditating? *Watering a tree, but no offering of light, mineral rich food, interaction from the world or even foundational soil for constitution.* *Yet, plant the tree in the sun, near a creek in soil complimenting and feeding it's roots and birds to spread it's seed...*

I have a question. A man should attain enlightenment to liberate himself from cycle of rebirths and every other aspects. What if a **MAN** don't even care to try out to attain enlightenment. Will he be stuck in a cycle and no place to stop his process of rebirth until he attains enlightenment. Does he be a prisoner of this birth cycle. Is there no way for him to escape until he attains **Enlightenment**. What is the end of this birth cycle? I don't have in-depth knowledge in Buddhism or the question I ask. So please correct me if I am wrong.

By noticing my abdomen while breathing , I can feel up and down movement of it . Also I can keep a mental notes as "up" and "down". When it is up there is "rupa of up" and "Nama of up mental note " and vice versa for down. But when it is down both "up rupa and Nama " already gone . So I have a glimpse of " anicca" . I do not feel directly "dukka" relate to abdomen movement but by applying same "anicca" for other temporary things in life I can get an understanding about "dukka" too . But I do not still have any clue about "anatta" , how can I understand the "anatta" using above scenario?