Mahasi and Chah
- triplethink
- Topic Author
15 years 3 weeks ago #72300
by triplethink
Replied by triplethink on topic RE: Mahasi and Chah
"We do this practice to come to the end of suffering. The practice works. Aversion goes away, or more accurately, is seen as the mirage that it always was. At that point, there is just the body and mind doing what they do, responding to life moment by moment.
Aversion is a mirage, compounded from body sensations and mental impressions. When the aversion is seen in realtime as a compound, it is no longer experienced as aversion."
Which is why I said that for the majority of people a glimpse into the reality of this process is terrifying and why most people would rather do anything else than expose themselves to what is actually going on beneath their superficial awareness. Not that this applies to people well along on the process but clearly there are difficult periods for most of us. It isn't always easy to watch what we previously clung too passionately fall apart entirely. I do agree however that once the ignorance is overcome and the delusions, aversions and attachments loose sway there is an increasing and lasting sense of relief. I simply wanted to point out that what is dukkha/unsatisfying/suffering, the dependently originating conditions, do not become otherwise by nature of having been seen through however the ending of ignorance, etc. in relation to these is doubtlessly preferable. I think there are some fine points here that can use more focus. That there are differing takes on this is something with a historical background and contemporary significance, even within Theravada itself and there are even at present some fundamental differences of view for instance between different major Theravada Sanghas in Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc. with one large group taking a view akin to your thinking on primordial awareness and the opposing group viewing this as akin to eternalism. Worth some study by those with an interest.
Aversion is a mirage, compounded from body sensations and mental impressions. When the aversion is seen in realtime as a compound, it is no longer experienced as aversion."
Which is why I said that for the majority of people a glimpse into the reality of this process is terrifying and why most people would rather do anything else than expose themselves to what is actually going on beneath their superficial awareness. Not that this applies to people well along on the process but clearly there are difficult periods for most of us. It isn't always easy to watch what we previously clung too passionately fall apart entirely. I do agree however that once the ignorance is overcome and the delusions, aversions and attachments loose sway there is an increasing and lasting sense of relief. I simply wanted to point out that what is dukkha/unsatisfying/suffering, the dependently originating conditions, do not become otherwise by nature of having been seen through however the ending of ignorance, etc. in relation to these is doubtlessly preferable. I think there are some fine points here that can use more focus. That there are differing takes on this is something with a historical background and contemporary significance, even within Theravada itself and there are even at present some fundamental differences of view for instance between different major Theravada Sanghas in Thailand, Sri Lanka, etc. with one large group taking a view akin to your thinking on primordial awareness and the opposing group viewing this as akin to eternalism. Worth some study by those with an interest.