Mastering the Core Teachings of Buddha - An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book

make the transition from content to insight. By observing what we are able to do and taking a look at what someone at the next higher skill-level can do, we will be able to proceed with more confidence that we are on the right track.

This last example is a description of practice from a particularly strong and advanced practitioner. “I sat down on the cushion and the cycles of insight presented themselves effortlessly. There was a shift, and very fine, fast vibrations arose instantly, dropping down quickly, and then they shifted out, getting vague for a few seconds. Concentration restabilized and revealed the quick ending of sensations one after the other, perhaps 5-10 per second, and then things began thickening somewhat, getting somewhat irritating, but vibrations remained the predominant experience. It was just that their unsatisfactory aspect became more predominant, and there were a few sensations relating to the Big Issue.

“I may have noticed a few hints of what dualistic perspectives remain and the basic pain and confusion they cause. There was a shift, and a more panoramic and easy perspective arose, accompanied by more coherent and synchronized vibrations including most of sensate reality, including much of space, at perhaps 5-15 per second. There was a short period of barely noticeable but mature equanimity in the face of these as the vibrations became more inclusive. Any sense of practicing dropped away entirely.

“A minute later, two of the Three Characteristics presented

completely in quick succession, including the whole background of space, revealing something incomprehensible in the nature of subject and object, and reality vanished. Reality reappeared quiet, clear, beautiful and easy. I solidified space in that afterglow so as to enjoy the formless realms for a few minutes, rising up through them and back down to boundless space. A vision relating to the Big Issue arose.

“I stabilized on the vision, noticing the feeling of it, and before I knew it I was out of body, traveling in a strange realm, having interactions that replayed the issue of the Big Issue in symbolic or mythic form. I saw something about this issue that I never had before, how an old, unexamined and fictitious train of associations lead to my inability to come to some more balanced understanding of this issue.

130

From Content to Insight

This epiphany broke my concentration, and I returned to my body. I then dropped out of the formless realms, allowing a new insight cycle to begin again. When I got up off the cushion, I noticed that the psychological insights that arose in the other realm gave me an increased sense of humor and a more compassionate perspective towards those involved in this issue. They were just trying to be happy, just as we all are. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.”

They have talent and a wide range of skills. They are not only an advanced insight practitioner, but they also have strong concentration skills and can even chance into some of the more unusual concentration attainments. Further, they even seem to be able to use their ability to travel out of body to gain relative insights into the content of their stuff.

Last, they are on the look out for the subtle signs of the limits of their insights. They are not only skilled, but they realize what they do not yet know. They are well on their way to mastering the core teachings of the Buddha.

131

PART III: MASTERY

132

20.CONCENTRATION VS. INSIGHT

There is a lot of confusion on the differences between concentration practices and insight practices. This may be caused in part by the

“Mushroom Factor,” or may be due in part to other factors, such as concentration practice being easier than insight practices and distinctly more pleasant most of the time. Concentration practices (samatha or samadhi practices) are meditation on a concept, an aggregate of many transient sensations, whereas insight practice is meditation on the many transient sensations just as they are. When doing concentration practices, one purposefully tries to fix or freeze the mind in a specific state, called an “absorption,” “jhana” or “dyana.” While reality cannot be frozen in this way, the illusion of solidity and stability certainly can be cultivated, and this is concentration practice.