What is the best way to train in concentration ?

[CSEe]

Just sharing . To me lets say ....when I look at a pen .....if I use my "knowledge" of a pen , use my "understanding" of a pen , based on information , my culture , my sociaty of the pen , the usage of a pen , the shape of a pen......I will think that that is a pen and I am ego thinking I "know" the pen ......and "focusing" on the pen will be nothing but a pen that I think I already know ........and always set my mind on what is a pen is all about .

Thats is in my current sociaty perhaps in my daily life ...where knowledge is the key to all .

In searching purity........if I use my knowledge to know a pen or know myself.....is will be always be the pen or "myself" that I think I know .......no matter how I mediatate I will never know anything other than what I had already know.

If.....I could free myself from "knowledge" accepting that a pen is same as me in this world , both have each on shapes , own "self".......I am no greater or smaller than the pen, that the pen same like me consisted with purity in most of "ourself"...that I could learn its purity to understand my own.....the same pen on my table will never be just a pen......

The pen will be a source of searching purity , so "focusing" on the pen will be a form of learning new awaress .............focusing on "ownself"....without having "knowledge" of who we are , what we have , what knowledge we have , how others regard us , even without attach our name to our body......will be a source of new awareness .

I will never learn if I think I know , I will never know if I am not free of ego . So to me , before I focus to learn for a new awareness .........I must be totally free myself from ego , from knowledge , from pride and from who I am........

I am nothing that have something aiming to be nothing .

In search of purity , I am currently of the opinion .......accept all living and non-living same and equal as me is the basic and platform of the search.

Thks
CSEe

[0118401]

You no doubt know this, but since I don't think it's been mentioned, how about moral discipline. I struggled to see the connection between moral discipline and concentration for a long time, but it is quite obvious now, not that I'm particularly good at it though!

Logically, I can see how moral discipline is a prerequisite to concentration. However, I've tried to practise it, but my concentration is still poor. I think this is probably just a reflection of the weaknesses in my moral discipline 

[Hanzze]

*lifting "Good posting" panel* *smile*

[Bodhisatta2012]

"Just" mindfulness. To attain a good amount of mindfulness we need to strengthen our virtue. Without virtue there are to much defilement, no way to come in. It would be just a better and better ignoring practice, ignoring everything except my object of observation a objektfullness - practice. So it could just grow to a pleasant habit but not to the basis of right concentration.

I guess it is very often a right effort problem. So we need to put in much of right effort:

"One tries to abandon wrong view & to enter into right view: This is one's right effort...

"One tries to abandon wrong resolve & to enter into right resolve: This is one's right effort...

"One tries to abandon wrong speech & to enter into right speech: This is one's right effort...

"One tries to abandon wrong action & to enter into right action: This is one's right effort...

"One tries to abandon wrong livelihood & to enter into right livelihood: This is one's right effort."

MN 117]

Often we have the intention to archive pleasure or joy with our meditation practice and do not put much effort in the other path factors. *smile*

Hi, Hanzzee:

During a recent meditation retreat a Bhikkhu told the story about how he and another Bhikkhu decided while in training in Burma to change the word "Right" in the Noble Eight Fold Path to "harmonious".  Hearing this and applying the idea made me realize that being right is not enough, and often harmful.  Striving in all induction and application of The Noble Eight Fold Path to be harmonious rather than right lifts myriad burdens and obstructions, and from my experience, brings about a direct path to peace and calm in all of life's applications.  Since then, during vipassan - samatha meditation my focus has been, upon this Bhikkhu recommendation, the dispensation of loving-kindness and compassion to specific individuals and/or conditions with which have caused mental dissonance to arise.  Doing so causes the opposite, mental dissonance to dispel, and peace and calm to arise.

[Hanzze]

Dear Ron,

I don't think so, its yust because one does not have that much attachments with word. If we would call it "harmonious" all the time people would also get angry with the time. "Ohh, yes! You tell me what is harmonious. I don't feel harmonious with that so how comes you tell me inharmonious?"

Actually its a problem with our attachments to words in the first line. The second but main is ones wrong view. As soon as somebody understand Dhamma a little, he will no more have problems with right and wrong in the context of Dhamma.

To step aside of such clear words have two reasons. One is pity instead or compassion (out of wrong understanding). Another might be that many people live from Dhamma (Dhamma business) so they need to make the Dhamma like the costumer likes it. There is a pretty movement of wellness Buddhism and some who have not real faith (out of understanding) might fear that there chickens run away.

So from my view it important to be honest from the very beginning. Diplomatic and tactics are from my understanding nothing different to lying. People who are really interested in Dhamma are mature enough to think about it and see a dislike as an challenge.

I would wounder if people who seeking for pleasant words in that way are people who use to go in the correct way from house to house for their alms to be able to give Dhamma without strings or are people who are heavy involved in worldly life.

I remembering reading the first pali sutta. I thought "Wohh, there would be less people who can bear this. Truth has its own kind of protection."

It's not very wise to change the Dhamma into something the people can take, actually the Dhamma should change people. *smile*

Fact is that people don't like to care about their virtue (right speech, right action, right livelihood) but seek for the ultimate liberation. The eightfold paths can only be build up step by step. There might be one or the other who have so much merits from the past, that he could make a lucky strike.

If we like to gamble, I am not sure if Dhamma is useful to gain the success a normal player wishes to gain. *smile*

[catmoon]

 I do not think great virtue is a prerequisite for deep concentration. Some virtue is necessary though. I just think the amount has been greatly exaggerated.

The reason virtue is necessary is that an unvirtuous life is filled with things like anger, conflict, and preoccupation with self. These can become powerful distractions from meditation, and must be subdued at least to the point where the meditator can create a mind of some tranquility as he meditates.

I believe the sutras are very clear on the methods of development of concentration. They speak of vipisanna and related practices, such as focussing on kasinas and such. The key point I think is that visualization is not the path, nor is mantra. These practices are wonderful for the development of compassion and for breaking up wrong views, but they are the very worst thing one can do if attempting concentration, because they fill the mind with the exactly the kind of busy conceptions that must be eliminated in order to attain concentration.

[Hanzze]

That is a popular believe, but not what the Buddha taught and therefor mostly without success on the path, for sure meditation is often used as a compensation for wrong livelihood and imperfect virtue.

"Now what, monks, is noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions? Any singleness of mind equipped with these seven factors — right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, & right mindfulness — is called noble right concentration with its supports & requisite conditions.

Read more in detail Maha-cattarisaka Sutta: The Great Forty

as:

"If any priest or contemplative might think that this Great Forty Dhamma discourse should be censured & rejected, there are ten legitimate implications of his statement that would form grounds for censuring him here & now. If he censures right view, then he would honor any priests and contemplatives who are of wrong view; he would praise them. If he censures right resolve... right speech... right action... right livelihood... right effort... right mindfulness... right concentration... right knowledge... If he censures right release, then he would honor any priests and contemplatives who are of wrong release; he would praise them. If any priest or contemplative might think that this Great Forty Dhamma discourse should be censured & rejected, there are these ten legitimate implications of his statement that would form grounds for censuring him here & now.

These practices are wonderful for the development of compassion and for breaking up wrong views, but they are the very worst thing one can do if attempting concentration, because they fill the mind with the exactly the kind of busy conceptions that must be eliminated in order to attain concentration.

The problem her is that one might be attached to right/wrong speech and right/wrong actions because he had not improved his livelihood and therefore he/she is either victim of this destruction of concentration because he is busy with struggle on in an balancing act or he develops additional wrong views to make it bearable.

*smile*

So its good to walk step by step, as layperson with much, much patient so that one does not lose the track. Improvement is the mechanic of the eightfold path and only if all crossings are developed rightly the wheel can turn the for the first time completely with no return.

[Hanzze]

Let me bring a sample:

There is a man earns his living (for him self and his family) by being a soldier. One day he realize that the cause of suffering is harming and harming the cause of suffering. One day he realize that his work harms others and harms him self in return.
Depending on his personal situation, he needs to get rid of this livelihood. He have to look for him self and on those who depend on him (children or parents, or what ever real task he still have).
If he would immediately leave the soldier hood it could be dangerous for him self and for those who he needs to care of. For him self as the hood he is involved in could be angry with him (because they do not understand or maybe feel discriminated or endangered by his decision to leave this livelihood) and even kill him as call him one with disrespect. For those he need to care of, its carries the danger, that he would maybe not have a future income to provide them.
If he would continue his livelihood like it is for the sake of his family but by keeping his attainments and vows he would also endanger him self and his family. Being a soldier and abstain from killing is very risky. He could be killed and that would also push the family into deep future problems.
If he would continue he would have bear suffering and worry all the time, some might develop strange views to work on as usually but caught in this trap he would neither attain better concentration nor a way out.

So the smart way is to reduce it step by step improve small parts and gain more and more concentration, the better the view the easier he would see a way out of it including the best way for those he have to care of. With patient he would have the right day, the right time to leave it without hurting others, when he strives for it honestly.

Having gained freedom of burden (sublime or aware) out of wrong virtue and wrong livelihood he is able to to gain right concentration and out of it right view. All turns around right intention, right mindfulness and right effort as well.

The eightfold path is not developed to make the suffering bearable but to escape from it. Step by step. The reasons to walk this way must be enough, that's for sure. Saddha comes for self realization, if there is no right view (good amount of understanding the first and in consequence the second and third noble truth) jet traditional live also protects till this point is reached. Today there are no more wise traditions existent (which have been developed very according to the eightfold path) we could relay, so Saddha (faith out of understanding) is our anchor that could help to join the eightfold path.

*smile*

[Lobster]

I like to focus or concentrate on creating and sharing.
So for example created this Medicine Buddha vid, whilst chanting his mantra 

http://youtu.be/04WlxofPsJk