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I have done several 10 day courses, satipatthana courses and a 20 day long course.
I usually do couple of courses every year, but due to the pandemic I have not done one since september 2019.
On day 5 or 6 discourse, Goenkaji explains dependent origination. The meditation aims at
breaking the link at vedana pachaya tanha. By not reacting to the vedana the tanhna does not
have to opportunity to arise which is the 3rd noble truth.
The vipassana technique is explained in depth in the Chachaka sutta MN 148 (six sets of six)
where the Buddha tells us to train and be disenchanted to the sensations.
By sitting without moving one can experience the sensation of pain dissolve and disappear,
once can witness and experience the truth of annica (all sensations are temporary).
That is my understanding, but I am sure there is a lot more to it and other experienced
meditators can shed further light.Sir, thankyou for the guidance. I do try as much as possible to contemplate on dhamma topics.
These days due to the pandemic it is easy to contemplate on the annica nature of the body.
The more we understand annica, the less the dukha when it comes to attachment of the body and
the fear of death.
To my understanding as far as anatha is concerned, in the preliminary level we need to work on
the gross concept of identifications ( I am a man/women, rich/poor, healthy/ unhealthy and so on.
Please let me know if there are other practical means to advance on the path.Sir, you mention 17 chittas and millions of them running in a second. It is so inconceivable to
comprehend.
During meditation and also during the day when I am aware of the breath, there is a feeling of
calm and contentment, how am I able to experience that if so much is happening in the mind.
Or is the mind of a meditator not as active as a non meditator, and following the 8 fold
noble path is an antidote for the storm of a mind in the sea of samsara?
Even when the mind is disturbed, we are only aware of a few thoughts and they all seem to subside
in a minute or so and we seem to experience a thoughtless stage during meditation or even during
walking meditation.Thank you for the clarification. I happened to listen to a lecture on Abidhamma by Mr Richard Jones of the london buddhist vihara.
It is easier for me to listen than to read, so I prefer listening to talks.
He mentions how bhavanga (and he says there are many flowing at the same time) simply flows until it is interrupted by a sensory input. So my above statement was a simplistic understanding of how meditation works, but now it is obvious that it is not all that simple.
These topics are very interesting to read and hear, but hard to remember.
I am glad that the Buddha has the suttas, which are lost easier to understand and remember.
I was a novice monk in a theistic school for a good part of my youth, and followed and tried to
practice that (as taught by the school of madhva, ramanuja, chaitany ect). Also we were systematically brainwashed against Buddhism and monistic teachings by Shakara.
I happened to do a vipassana course by Mr. S N Goenka, and then got interested in Buddhism.
I was amazed at how scientific Buddhism was and the meditation has been very helpful in controlling and calming the mind ,compared to the mantra meditation I did for several decades.
