Vipassana Meditation

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The english word "suffering" for the term "Dukkha" does not do it much justice. The Buddha said ( Source: https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca1/dukkha.html)

"Birth is dukkha, aging is dukkha, death is dukkha; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, & despair are dukkha; association with the unbeloved is dukkha; separation from the loved is dukkha; not getting what is wanted is dukkha. In short, the five clinging-aggregates are dukkha."

— SN 56.11

This sums up everything that is Dukkha.

Now while meditating how do we realise Dukkha. First of all in Vipassana Meditation, we never do it with music as it is a distraction. So , please do not do that. Meditation is done with the aim of seeing "reality" as it is by transcending our faulty perceptions and societal conditioning.

How do you know Impermanence while Meditating? For example : You are meditating for half and hour and you notice an itch in your knee. You do not scratch but only observe it. While observing it you notice that after a while it ends , and some other sensation begins somewhere in your body. This is showing you the impermanence of sensations.

How do you know non-self Annata and Dukkha? With more practise in meditation and realising the impermanence of things around you , you will realise this as well. However , it takes practise.

In order to understand these things , I suggest you practise more for yourself and try to understand these concepts at an experiential level , through your own experiences. Merely intellectualizing these concepts will help only a little.

Upvote:1

Nooooooo. That's all wrong! :)))) Seriously.

If I'm meditating for example with music and I am aware of the changes of the music that is impermanence right? If I breathe in and out that is impermanence?

Not at all. Impermanence is when you try to achieve some stable state of mind and realize that it is impossible. No matter how deep you get you always have to come out and pee. That's impermanence.

However, how do I see dukkha and not self (especially not self)? Dukkha can be a scratch for instance?

Dukkha is the feeling that something is wrong, something is missing, something is not good enough. Your feeling when you look at your meditation and you realize it's not good enough - that's dukkha.

Not self is traditionally explained as our inability to control anything, not even thoughts. Another way to see no-self is to see how the thoughts float into one another, specifically how the thought that is watching becomes the thought being watched by the next thought.

In Vipassana one experiences all three characteristics, but does one also contemplate on all threes or is that a separate meditation?

Don't force anything. Follow your instincts.

Upvote:3

Do not meditate with music. It's distracting. Go to a quiet place with the least number of distractions.

There's no such thing called 'breathing'. Breathing is a concept. What you should focus on is the feeling at the nose when the air hits inside. Do not make more than what the senses can feel. All that is felt is the cold, warm, smooth or rough sensations rising and falling. Simply keep noting that. If you happen to hear something, just note it as hearing. Don't make more out of it. Same attitude with any other sensation or thought.

Do not try to thinkup impermanence, suffering and non-self. That is like digging a hole in the ground, putting water to it and calling it a water well. The proper way is to keep digging until you find water. In the same way, keep noting the sensations/thoughts and the 3 characteristics will reveal themselves when the mind is matured.

Here is a handbook for you: https://www.sirimangalo.org/text/how-to-meditate/

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