“P.S. Taṇhā happens automatically due to “bad gati.” We have control over “upādāna” because that is when we become aware of the “attachment.” Thus, if we are mindful, we can realize we have started cultivating abhisankhara and stop it. That is the basis of Ananapasati/Satipatthana!”
Thank you for reminding us of this, i.e. control over upadana. And you emphasized it again in the newest post Anuseti – How Anusaya Grows with Saṅkhāra
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Thus, we must stop the process of “anuseti” (cultivating abhisaṅkhāra) as soon as realizing attachment to an ārammaṇa. This is the basis of Ānāpānasati/Satipaṭṭhāna.
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A number of vipassana/satipatthana retreats out there teach people to focus on the “vedana paccaya tanha” step, the most typical of which is the “vipassana” as taught by S.N. Goenka. This tradition teaches people to scan the body for physical vedana to stop tanha for them.
Thus, they are scanning the wrong things. Instead we should be “scanning” for abhisaṅkhāra, stopping apuññabhisaṅkhāra (at least at the beginning) as soon as we catch them.
Without being exposed to true Dhamma I would still have been doing anapana as breath meditation and vipassana/satipatthana as above.