anding the
problems and misunderstanding of anger, we can reduce and ultimately
- Analysis of the meditation object to understand and perceive
When doing analytical meditation, never take for
granted the first quick answer that comes up. When you ask "why,
how and when" again regarding your initial answers, you may discover
the "real", underlying answers. Also, the answers should not only
come just from the intellect, also check your feelings and emotions,
as long as you don't get caught up in them..
An example: in death meditation you can think of
death. When you ask, "Will I die?" the immediate answer will be
"Yes", and it seems you are finished. But take some time to check
with yourself if you really live your life consciously in the realisation
that you can die any minute. Asking yourself, "How would it feel
to die right now?" will get you into another level of the mind.
Ask, "How will I die?" and "How will I feel?"
and the simple question about death becomes intensely acute and
Then ask for example, "Why will I die?" and you may answer, "Negative
karma". But rather than giving just the textbook answers, check
how these things feel: "What is negative karma really? How
does negative karma feel? Do I really believe in karma, and do I
act that way?" etc.
Analytical meditation is not just about giving the instant logical
answers from the books, but verifying what your OWN answers are.
For me personally, often the real answers appear to be stowed away
in emotions and is hiding behind the logical straightforward answers.
After doing the analysis in a very slow and calm
way, one should single-pointedly focus on the conclusion made in
the end, without analysis, just "look at the conclusion". This really
works to let your own conclusions "sink in", and make them part
of your understanding and wisdom.
As example using above meditation, you may conclude
that you are really not so sure whether you believe in karma. The
conclusion may well be something like: "I have to check about karma
more" or "I need to check why I often don't act as if I believe
in karma". Personally, this is the kind of stuff that makes me more
sensitive and aware about my state of mind, and it stimulates to
meditate more on the subjects of philosophy and psychology.
For the complete text of "Mindfulness In Plain
English", a well-loved 'how-to meditate' book on Vipassana
by Venerable Gunaratana, click here
page of realization.org.
According to the Buddha and the many great masters
following in his footsteps, we need to practice both single-pointed
concentration and special insight. Slightly edited from http://geocities.com/dhammapada2all/:
"In the Anguttara Nikaya Sutta (4.170):
Venerable Ananda (one of the main disciples of the Buddha) says
that monks and nuns who informed him that they had attained arahantship
all declared that they did so by one of the four categories, i.e.
there are only these four ways to arahantship (liberation):
o Samatha followed by vipassana - after which the path is born
o Vipassana followed by samatha - after which the path is born
o Samatha and vipassana together, simultaneously - after which
the path is born in him/her, and
o The mind stands fixed internally (i.e. on the cognizant consciousness
or 'self') until it becomes one-pointed - after which the path
is born in him/her.
... Charity (dana) and morality (sila) are the
positive and negative aspects of doing good (actively doing good
and refraining from doing bad actions.). Likewise, samatha and
vipassana can be said to be the positive and negative aspects
of meditation. Samatha is the positive aspect which brings one
closer to Nibbana. Vipassana is the negative aspect, because one
sees everything in the world as it is with proper wisdom thus:
'This is not mine, this I am not, this is not my self' -- as a
result, one will naturally withdraw from and let go of the sensory
world. In other words, samatha meditation pulls one towards Nibbana,
in contrast to vipassana meditation, which pushes one away from
Or, as found in text from the Ming Dynasty by an unknown
master; Taoist Medi