Upvote:2
(most effective even than the tip of the nose but you may choose the tip of the nose also. Traditional Theravada schools accepts either the tip of the nose and upper lip. Webu Sayadaw and teachers influenced by his teaching hold that upper lib is better. Also more consistent with "around the mouth" interpretation of Parimukam
found in multiple Suttas in the Theravada Tripitaka)
Parimukam
with appear in nearly all Anapana related Suttas is around the mouth. Hence according to this interpretation more consistent with the Suttas.(Following is directly from the Theravada Suttas. So compatible with any tradition which accepts the Theravada Tripitaka as the doctrinal basis.)
insight and serenity goes hand in hand. In Anapana Sutta the 5th and 6th steps in the 4 steps dealing with sensations has serenity.
The 12 steps for getting into dhyana [mental absorption]
[Contemplation of the body]
`Step 1—Experiencing a long breath
Step 2—Experiencing a short breath
Step 3—Experiencing the whole breath (or whole body)
Step 4—Calming the breath`
[Contemplation of feelings: Entry into dhyana]
`Step 5—Arousing joy
Step 6—Arousing happiness
Step 7—Understanding mental functions
Step 8—Calming the joy and happiness`
[Contemplation of the mind]
`Step 9—Experiencing the mind
Step 10—Shining the nimitta [meditation sign]
Step 11—Sustaining the nimitta
Step 12—Freeing the mind`
[Contemplation of dharmas]
`The 4 steps to take after emerging from dhyana
Step 13—Reflecting on impermanence (anicca)
Step 14—Reflecting on fading away [of lust] (virāga)
Step 15—Reflecting on cessation [of suffering] (nirodha)
Step 16—Reflecting on letting go [of defilements] (patinissagga)`
Source: The Discourse on the Mindfulness of the In-and-out-breathing by Piya Tan
Upanisa Sutta (read along with Transcendental Dependent Arising A Translation and Exposition of the Upanisa Sutta by Bhikkhu Bodhi), The (eleven) “Without Need of Intention” Discourse - (Ekā,dasaka) Cetanā’karaṇīya Sutta, The (ten) “Without Need of Intention” Discourse - (Dasaka) Cetanā’karaṇīya Sutta and other Suttas covers the formula for liberation (nibiddā formula). Extract from the elven link formulation (formula is more or less the same with minor variations):
`(1) For the morally virtuous (sīla,vata), there arises freedom from remorse (appaṭisāra).
(2) For the remorseless, there arises joy (pamudita).
(3) For the joyful, there arises a zestful mind (pīta,mana).
(4) For the zestful minded, there arises a calm body (passaddha,kāya).
(5) For the calm-bodied, there arises happiness (sukha).
(6) For the happy, there arises concentration (samādhi).
(7) For the concentrated, there arises the vision of true reality (yathā,bhūta,ñāṇa).
(8) For one who sees true reality, there arises revulsion (nibbidā).
(9) For the revulsed, there is letting go [dispassiom] (virāga),
(10) For the dispassionare, there is (10) the knowledge and vision of liberation (vimutti,ñāṇa.dassana)`
Thus implies serenity is important. Also The Great Sixfold Sense-based Discourse - Mahā Saḷ-āyatanika Sutta mentions the need of both Samatha and Vippassana to be developed in a balanced way though the natural development (meditation method and temperament) one may precede the other though ultimately both develop (Yuga,naddha Sutta - The Discourse on the Twin Path).
Upvote:4
It really doesn't matter which location you meditate on. The only big difference between the two is that the movement of the abdomen is a very apparent thing while the movement near the nostrils is much more subtle and harder to catch.
The thing that determines if you are practicing Vipassana-Bhavana versus Samatha-Bhavana isn't the location of what you are meditating on but rather the way in which you are looking at the object of meditation. This is clear if one looks carefully at the instructions in Chapter 18 of the Visuddhimagga. Paragraph 5 of said chapter describes Vipassana according to the four elements saying:
- But one whose vehicle is pure insight, or that same aforesaid one whose vehicle is serenity, discerns the four elements in brief or in detail in one of the various ways given in the chapter on the definition of the four elements (XI.27ff.). Then, when the elements have become clear in their correct essential characteristics...there become plain ten instances of materiality (rupani) with the body decad...
Later in the chapter it is described also in terms of the 18 Dhatus, the 12 Ayatanas, the 5 aggregates, and again the four elements. All of these different categories are classified as being ultimate realities within the Theravada school, whereas everything else is classified as Paññatti, or concepts, meaning that they are mental representations of experiences rather than the experiences themselves.
Thus the only thing that really makes a practice Vipassana meditation is that one is meditating on the object as an experience rather than as a concept. If one is meditating on the abdomen and sets their mind on the physical feelings of the movement themselves, then one is practicing Vipassana meditation but if they are meditating on the stomach itself as being an object, then that is not Vipassana meditation.
Similarly if one is meditating at the nostrils and one is meditating on just the feelings of the air that happen at the walls of the nostril or the lip, that can be Vipassana, but if one is meditating on it just as air moving in and out, that is not Vipassana