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

using the jhanas as a basic framework for understanding what is going on and how to advance is extremely useful, practical, and empowering. To know them well is to know something profound about the core mechanics of how attention works and develops, as well as the vast range of amazing things we can do with attention.

While the teacher may have learned to parrot the language of ultimate reality, this is absolutely no substitute for direct realization of it.

Now, it is true that the battle is not always to the strong, nor the race to the swift, but that's the way to bet. In other words, those who: 1) do lots of practice in daily life; 2) go on more and longer retreats; 3) are more consistently able to concentrate and investigate quickly and precisely; 4) pay attention more often during their daily acti

The first jhana in its fundamental aspect is about the application of effort, the beginnings of phenomena, and the center of attention. You direct your attention to any of the six sense doors, and when you do this you perceive an object of meditation arising where you looked for it. You direct your attention again, there is another impression of so

Check out the YouTube videos of Ayya Tathaaloka, as that's the good stuff.

In short, when doing insight practices, constantly work to perceive sensations arise and pass as quickly and accurately as you possibly can.

The first shamatha jhana arises after the practitioner has gained the ability to steady the mind on some object, that is, after a state called “access concentration”, meaning the level of concentration needed to access the first jhana or insight stage.

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