Jorg wrote: “I accidentally came across another passage that aims to justify the practice of observing sensations.”
1. Observing sensations for the sake of observing is of no value.
– One needs to be mindful of WHY a certain sensation comes in.
– For example, if a sukha vedana comes in (say due to seeing a beautiful woman), one needs to contemplate the anicca nature of getting attached to that person.
– Do they explain how “observing sensations” lead to dispelling defilements? or to lead to the Sotapanna stage?
2. That is not what these meditation programs try to teach you.
– Rather, they focus on bodily sensations arising WHILE IN A MEDITATION RETREAT.
– Such sensations are MOSTLY bodily sensations! One cannot get to Nibbana by monitoring them!
3. As I have tried to explain many times, meditation MUST BE done at all times. That means being mindful and STOPPING getting attached to various enticing arammana!
– Of course, arammana that makes one angry must be dispelled too.
– Furthermore, one must learn Dhamma, so one will not be uncertain (vicikicca) about some arammana too.
4. Regarding those Plai verses:
“1. Kāyikaṃ sukhaṃ kāyikassa sukhassa, kāyikassa dukkhassa, phalasamāpattiyā upanissaya paccayena paccayo.”
Those people have no idea about the upanisa paccaya in Abhidhamma.
– Before I explain the meaning of that verse, I need to explain the upanisa paccaya.
– There is no need to go that far right now.
I advise first reading the posts on this subject under “Anapanasati” and “Satipatthana.”
For example, “Mahā Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta”
– It is a waste of time to translate deep Pali verses. A mere word-by-word translation is meaningless. I will have to write several posts to explain the message conveyed in those verses fully.