28
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If I start doing Vipassana now, how long will it take me to achieve Nirvana?
There is a lovely zen saying, a dialogue between new student and master:
"Master, if I put in great effort every day to attain awakening, how long will it take?"
The master replies, "20 years."
"...
23
votes
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What exactly differentiates Vipassana from Samatha meditation?
What are the key aspects of Vipassana that are not present in Samatha?
samatha means tranquility - it is a necessary aspect of any wholesome meditative practice.
vipassana means seeing clearly or in ...
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20
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Was Vipassana discovered by the Buddha (Siddhartha)?
The orthodox view is that samatha meditation was not discovered by the Buddha and vipassana meditation was.
On the origins of samatha meditation:
Besides the fact that other teachers at the time of ...
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19
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What exactly differentiates Vipassana from Samatha meditation?
A simple explanation is, the goal of Shamatha is to calm down, while the goal of Vipassana is to see.
So in Samatha there is more effort, more conflict. Especially in the beginning, you are fighting ...
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16
votes
What are the differences between vipassana and mindfulness meditation?
When Buddha taught meditation he did not explicitly separate it in different types. If you read Anapanasati Sutta, Satipatthana Sutta, Kimattha Sutta, Cula-suññata Sutta, and any number of suttas ...
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13
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What exactly differentiates Vipassana from Samatha meditation?
I second Andrei's Answer, but would like to expand, because the mechanics of both samatha or vipassana seem to differ as well.
With samatha you can use conceptual meditation objects like colours, the ...
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13
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If I start doing Vipassana now, how long will it take me to achieve Nirvana?
The Buddha himself gave the answer in the Maha Satipatthana Sutta—The Greater Discourse on Steadfast Mindfulness or the Great Discourse on the Establishing Awareness (DN22):
"Indeed, bhikkhus, ...
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12
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Overwhelming states of being reached through meditation
First of all, I think your question has gotten worse at explaining your condition through your edits (sorry!).
In Theravada Buddhism, and really I think I speak for all of Buddhism when I say, the ...
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12
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If I start doing Vipassana now, how long will it take me to achieve Nirvana?
Call me an over-enthusiast but presently, the highest priority in my life is to achieve the object of Nirvana or moksha.
This is good! You need enthusiasm to stay motivated in your practice.You also ...
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11
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How much is the minimal time for practicing Vipassana in daily life for achieving better mindfulness?
Geez, ya'll are crazy. 30 minutes?
I'd say WORK up to that maybe after a few months of practice but in the beginning it is best to LIKE MEDITATION and do PRACTICE PROPERLY rather than just loiter ...
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11
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How to disambiguate between various meditation practices?
I agree with Dhammadhatu in that the different meditations seem confusing when you don't know what it is all about.
When you know the underlying principle, you know how these different meditations ...
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10
votes
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How do I integrate Vipassana practice into daily life?
Follow the following basic steps in integrate meditation to daily life:
Pay attention to fabrication and how they are created, i.e., when you react to sensations. Train to be equanimous to sensations....
10
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Mahasi Sayadaw Walking
The Buddha did in fact teach just this practice:
Bhikkhus, you should train thus: ‘We will be devoted to wakefulness. During the day, while walking back and forth and sitting, we will purify our ...
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9
votes
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Can one learn meditation on their own?
According to my understanding you can learn and start meditation (Samatha or Vipassana) using books and online videos. Of course there are some meditation practices which will be better to learn with ...
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9
votes
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How to judge progress in vipassana
There are multiple stages of insight before you reach stream entry. Then there are the 4 stages of sainthood which follows which you can judge of the fetters and defilements that remain.
Taking ...
9
votes
Sloth-torpor-Restlessness-worry
You should use the 5 faculties and 5 powers to balance you mind to dispel some the niwarana.
When restless this is because your have become too energetic but lacking in concentration. Best is to do ...
9
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What exactly differentiates Vipassana from Samatha meditation?
Samatha is for calm, vipassana is for insight. But please don't get obsessed with separating the two. One is not better than the other. Right Mindfulness (for insight) and Right Concentration (for ...
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9
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What is dry insight?
Dry insight or bare insight (suddha-vipassana) is the 'direct' way (Pali: ekayano maggo) to insight (nibbana), without jhana meditation practice (i.e. without 'upacara samadhi' or 'appana samadhi').
...
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9
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Difference between satipatthana and vipassana
Vipassana is a compound of two words: vi - and passana. Vi means various, i.e. the three characteristics (transiency, unsatisfactoriness, non self). Passana means right understanding or realization by ...
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8
votes
In meditation, should one pursue tranquility first, prior to looking for insight?
I will try to answer from my point of view as a Vajrayana practitioner.
I've been taught that one needs to have a relatively stable mind in order to practice insight meditation. But this doesn't ...
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8
votes
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Strange feelings after meditation and mindfulness practice?
I don't think you are alone in this. Susan Blakemore in her excellent book Zen and the Art of Consciousness describes almost this exact situation. She paid attention in her everyday life just as you ...
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8
votes
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Meditation technique proposed by the Buddha
If we take the Pali Canon as been the closest we have to the word of the Buddha then there isn't a wealth of specific meditation advice in there when compared to other types of advice such as ethical.
...
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8
votes
When meditation goes wrong
Things can go wrong in meditation. Some of the are as follows:
If you are not equanimous, i.e., you are reacting to different situation thus creating negativity. This can accumulate to an extent this ...
8
votes
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Details when practice vipassana
I'm guessing it sounded better in the original Burmese. "Imagining" seems more reasonable than "meeting", since the latter is not real. On the other hand, it is not so important whether the experience ...
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8
votes
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When during meditation we forget where we are
Since you are asking from a specific tradition, I can give a pretty specific answer:
Is this feeling expected at any meditation stage ?
Yes, it is expected at the stage of bhaṅga-ñāṇa (knowledge of ...
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8
votes
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Does samatha practice always come before vipassana practice?
While different traditions might emphasize one over the other, they all need a certain level of development for both:
"These two qualities have a share in clear knowing. Which two? Tranquillity (...
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