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5 votes
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Schopenhauer’s inexplicable disturbance in the heavenly calm of Nirvana?

There is a similar question here: What is the starting of Samsara?. I would be surprised if there was any Buddhist reference supporting Schopenhauer's claim that "the world came into being as a ...
Tenzin Dorje's user avatar
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4 votes

How can we choose more congenial Kammattana?

You will need trial and error but generally based on the personality types. The Pali commentaries further provide guidelines for suggesting meditation subjects based on one's general temperament: ...
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena's user avatar
4 votes

Computer Feedback in Meditation

I've heard of some meditators who use tools like EEGs. Of late these models are becoming pretty cheap, USD 100-500, which was unthinkable even a few years ago. They can't be very accurate at this ...
Buddho's user avatar
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4 votes

Computer Feedback in Meditation

Biofeedback programs just take data such as heart rate, blood pressure, etc... and display them on a screen so that the person can see them. The underlying theory is that if a person can directly see ...
Bakmoon's user avatar
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4 votes
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Meditation - hot and expectant in the morning

Be expectant in life as a house holder but not when meditating. When meditating focus on the task at hand. With regards to ideal time for meditation, it depends, from person to person and time to ...
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena's user avatar
4 votes

Which is the easiest of the four paths for a novice lay practitioner?

I believe that many/most people understand the meaning of jhana incorrectly. Bhikkhu Kumara has written a book recently to address this. He is waiting on more feedback before allowing people to post ...
Joel Rosenblum's user avatar
4 votes

Help Me Choose which meditation i Should do Anapanasati or Brahmaviharas?

Brahmaviharas is a lower type of meditation than Anapanasati. In Brahmaviharas you use your intellect, to make up suggestions or narratives, that condition your point of view a certain way. In ...
Andriy Volkov's user avatar
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4 votes

Is samadhi the same as samatha? Is there khanika samatha?

If I sit dow on the cushion for a moment, that's momentary samatha. Samatha is simply calmimg. It can take place anywhere. Samatha can lead to samadhi, but the two are by no means identical. It ...
user20010's user avatar
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3 votes
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Shamata - attention on upper lip, diaphragm or belly?

Well it depends on the teacher who is guiding you. If you do have a teacher go by what he instructs. One of interpretations focul point (as in the original teaching as well as the most effective ...
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena's user avatar
3 votes
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Is samatha meditation more suited to lay people than vipassana?

Samatha = citta-samatha = Leading to wholesome mind = seclusion of unwholesome in 5 strings, kāmaguṇa. Vipassanā = samatha-vipassanā = Leading to sabbasaṅkhāra-samatha, nibbāna = seclusion of whole ...
Bonn's user avatar
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3 votes
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Sila before samatha, samatha before vipassana according to AN 11.1-3?

As I explained in "Is samatha meditation more suited to lay people than vipassana?", the factors of "being good", "feeling good", "calming down", "understanding", and "liberation" are designed to ...
Andriy Volkov's user avatar
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3 votes

Samatha vs Vipassana. What are the mechanics?

What you say is well researched, that's the traditional view. There are some other sutras to look at in addition: Ekottara Agama 17.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20110811122049/http://sites.google....
brother eric's user avatar
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3 votes
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Samatha while studying

Higher levels of concentration is not possible while the mind is active but you can have some level of non-exclusive focus on like the breath or bodily sensations while working. You need to develop ...
Suminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena's user avatar
3 votes

What effect does social media, mobile gaming and watching movies have on my meditation practice?

You let go of the grosser forms of happiness, the grosser strategies for happiness, and get used to more and more refined ones. And they finally take you to the point where there's no course left but ...
Andriy Volkov's user avatar
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3 votes
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Is samadhi the same as samatha? Is there khanika samatha?

Shamatha and Samadhi are not synonyms. Samadhi is Single-Pointed Concentration, a completely stable and highly refined state of attention. You can achieve voluntary sustained Samadhi through ...
Filipe Rocha's user avatar
3 votes

What were the Original Methods of Meditation and their Instructions as Expounded by the Buddha?

Links to the most important suttas on meditation here: https://lucid24.org/misc/raft/index.html (disclosure: my website, most of the sutta translations derived from B. sujato). You'll want to start ...
frankk's user avatar
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3 votes
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I am trying to find the correlation between theravada jhana, rupa/arupa and the 9 levels of calm abiding in tibetan buddhism

In the Gelugpa's Lamrim tradition for sure, and I suspect in most other Lamrim traditions as well, the four rupa jhanas and the subsequent arupa jhanas are practiced after the 9 abidings, once the ...
Andriy Volkov's user avatar
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3 votes
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Better results when pausing meditation?

Interestingly, I experience a similar phenomenon when I miss a day. My first sit back on the cushion always seems to be better (you'll note the emphasis). I always feel more relaxed and it appears ...
user23533's user avatar
2 votes

jhānas, Zen, and how to practice concentration meditation

There are some great ressources around, some I frequently relay on are: The Buddha Net file Library on Zen, Chan The Buddha Net e-book Library on Meditation Zen Buddhism WWW Virtual Library But my ...
Louis's user avatar
  • 469
2 votes

What is the difference between samadhi and samatha?

Samādhi means the stability of mind. Samatha means the peace of mind. Wholesome mind arising is a friend. Unwholesome mind arising is an enemy. Uddhacca mind factor is instability of mind. There ...
Bonn's user avatar
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