Way forward to Insight (Vipassana) and Tranquility (Samatha) Meditation

Way forward to Insight (Vipassana) and Tranquility (Samatha) Meditation

Samatha or Vipassana

Samatha=Tranquility

Vipassana=Insight

Sati = Awareness

I found it very difficult to concentrate on the breathing technique or the Anapana Sati and the Tranquility Meditation is not my kind of stuff.

Why?

In medical setting we tend to analyze every bit of physiology and patho-physiology before arriving at or formulating a plausible diagnosis.

In that setting breathing unless abnormal or labored (Asthma, Heart failure) one is not interesting to medical guys.

Equally treatment (Morphine) for one can kill an asthmatic patient by depressing the vital breathing. In an asthmatic, it is the breathing that is labored.

In heart failure it is the heart which is failing and the breathing apparatus is trying to compensate for lack of oxygen.

There is panic in both conditions and making a correct diagnosis is difficult (even to an astute physician, if he/she is ignorant or the patient history).

This is why medical people keep records and do not get misguided that they remember every detail about you.

One is interested in the triggering or precipitating factor if the patient history is known.

For me normal breathing and breathing exercises (mindful breathing) is bit of an antithesis.

In addition, there is respiratory acidosis and alkalosis that may accompany labored breathing or even long period of meditation.

I prefer normal breathing to altered breathing patterns and be aware of my presence, if not breathing.

In this scenario, the preferred practice for me is Insight Meditation.

Insight means that you have some understanding of the basic problem.

In that sense the three basic tenets Anitta (impermanence), Dukkha (suffering) and Anatta (non-self) are important.

The postulation is that, there are only mental phenomena and no abiding guy or girl behind these mental formations or Sanskharas.

There is contact (Passa) that arouse feeling (Vedana) signaling the perception (Sanna) that concur with the conditional mental formation (Sanskhara).

These mental formations that arise and fall, one after the other without a break drive the beings (Bhava) in all of the endless live formations (Sansara).

There are good and bad mental formations.

One has to have the right knowledge to distinguish good from the bad.

That right knowledge has to be devoid of Loba (greed or craving), Dosa (hate), Moha (delusion) the triad of all the mental formations which are 54 in number.

The pathway to happiness is by relinquishing, abandoning and extinction of all evil mental formations.

In that sense, the path leads to happiness.

That alone is not sufficient since ultimate goal is balancing all mental formations, even happy ones (equanimity).

This is why Samatha guys and girls get attached to the Jhana states both in Rupa (subtle Form planes) and Arupa (formless planes, mind only) planes of existence.

There is a caveat here, these guys and girls live for eons in these planes and forget the goals they seek for and fall abruptly to lower planes.

Whereas the Insight guy, live almost a sainthood life (Sovan, Skurudagami, Anagami) for a shorter life span of the cosmos and attain the goal or Nibbana, the Samatha guy (no girls in heaven by the way all males) relish wondering in beautiful abodes.

It is left to you to decide which path to go by Samatha, the long path or the Insight the shortcut.

Pick your choice.

It is all about, the good and the bad, the knowledge,the happiness, good life and extinction at the end.

The extinction part may be difficult, if one does not understand the meaning and the ultimate goal.

That is why it is said very few would attain the merit of sainthood or score the vital goal through a narrow goalpost.