Mod+ 267. DR. JEFFERY MARTIN, CAN ENLIGHTENMENT BE TAUGHT?

I posted this somewhere else but it seems relevant to this thread so I am posting it here. Someone asked if their meditation practice would work, and this was how I responded:

In my opinion the specifics of the practice are not as important as the basic recipe, and that you find the practices congenial so that you use them to follow the recipe.​
The recipe as I see it is that you first use a some practice to get your mind to quiet down so you can be mindful and notice what is going on in your mind, and also make you somewhat contented and peaceful so that you can notice dukkha as it arises because of the change in how it makes you feel (including physical sensations in your body).​
The second part is to then observe the activity of the mind and observe dukkha arising and fading. Observing dukkha arising and fading in your mind is a very simple and easy way to study dependent origination and the three characteristics without becoming bogged down in theory and concepts. It should help you see that thoughts emotions impulses and sensations and the sense of self (including the sense of self as an observer) arise from unconscious processes, they are not you, you don't control them, they are not yours, they are not reality.​
These two parts of the recipe work together to help you to learn to let go of attachments and aversions including attachments to your self concept.​
So does the practice help quiet your mind and help you to feel peaceful? Does it allow you to notice the activity of your mind and see dukkha arising and fading? Can you continue to practice in daily life after the formal sitting meditation?​
 
Back
Top