I didn’t know that the Visuddhimaga considers the breath to be the most difficult object for attaining jhāna Very interesting, thank you very much !!!
I think people can claim all types of achievements and sincerely believe they have them.
I understand, these words seem wise.
Maybe I’m too gullible.
Here is the original post that LF replied to:
Genuine jhana is not an easy achievement.
The kasina preliminary work is difficult for a beginner and only one in a hundred or a thousand can do it. The arousing of the sign is difficult for one who has done the preliminary work and only one in a hundred or a thousand can do it. To extend the sign when it has arisen and to reach absorption is difficult and only one in a hundred or a thousand can do it.Vsm. XII.8
And one must master first jhana before one can go on to strive for second jhana (let alone 4th jhana). It is an amazing skill and needs someone with enormous accumulations.
Also these days many choose the most difficult object - breath
.Visuddhimagga Viii
211: "Although any meditation subject, no matter what, is successful only in one who is mindful and fully aware, yet any meditation subject other than this one gets more evident as he goes on giving it his attention. But this mindfulness of breathing is difficult, difficult to develop, a field in which only the minds of Buddhas, paccekabuddhas and Buddhas sons are at home. It is no trivial matter, nor can it be cultivated by trivial persons.
Tbh, I don’t take this literally. I interpret this as basically it’s hard to succeed in meditation and the only one who succeeds are those who don’t give up.
I took a math class in college last year, and in the beginning there were a lot of students, but gradually, many students dropped out and stopped coming. The only ones who passed that math class were the ones who didn’t give up. I think meditation is like this. It’s hard and only a few can do it, but it’s also a skill that anyone can learn if they are skillful. I think everyone has an equal chance of succeeding, but some can succeed faster and more easily because of their parami and practice in previous lives.
Yes persistence is vital. But we need to be realistic too.
Remember there are 2 kinds of bhavana (“meditation”),lakkhaṇārammaṇūpanijjhānena, in the dispensation (sasana).
Lakkhaṇūpanijjhāna is what is sometimes called insight meditation (the way of the sukkhavipassakā) , seeing phenomena as they are as anicca, dukkha and anatta.
And ārammaṇūpanijjhāna is samatha, serenity meditation.
The first takes any object that arises in the present moment. It can be developed anytime if there is sufficient understanding.
The second needs specific conditions such as a quiet place.
I think, if a survey of the modern world was done, we would find these numbers to be on the conservative side.
I’ve seen people who can’t stir a pot for 15 minutes without a smartphone in one hand(not that I’m much better).
If we examine it, probably the entertainment industry is the biggest industry in the world. Not just the usual suspects but for example travel industry, hotels, spars , books , board games, hobbies etc. Supposedly one ancient Roman poet complained, all that the Romans want is Circus and bread, well the modern world is much worse I think.
It is not without reason that the Blessed One when discussing Jhana began by stating “vivicceva kāmehi …”
Yes. That is one reason why, as a layman entralled by the objects of the senses, I see most value in the way of insight alone, sukkavipassaka.
Survivorship bias. Need I say more? The state of the world is far from your view. Suffering—the entire world is suffering. A laborer can strive to the fullest, breaking his back, yet he will never be successful in life; such is his fate; such is the result of his kamma.
When I say succeed, I meant in the context of meditation. Anyone who has a capable body, regardless of race, social status, or wealth has a chance to succeed in meditation if they meet with the right teachers and put in the effort just like how anyone can learn to drive or swim if they have a capable body, a good teacher and if they put in the effort.
That rules out some people. Not everybody can be a doctor. As there are winners, so there are losers; one cannot be without the other; such is the constant state of the world.