--- In [email protected], Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On Nov 17, 2006, at 1:46 PM, sparaig wrote: > > > --- In [email protected], Vaj <vajranatha@> wrote: > > > >> > >> > >> On Nov 17, 2006, at 11:40 AM, Marek Reavis wrote: > >> > >> > >>> Reading Sparaig's excerpt from the Shamatha teacher, it seemed to me > >>> to be, in essence, a verbose description of what Maharishi was able > >>> to succinctly capture in his teaching of an effortless meditation. > >>> > >>> But even Maharishi described his meditation, in the beginning > >>> days of > >>> his mission, as a form of mind control. That conceptual paradigm > >>> was/is a long-established one and, reading that description (of > >>> Shamatha) from the vantage point of a long-time TMer, it seems to be > >>> describing (albeit kind of complicatedly) correct meditation to me. > >>> > >> > >> Interesting. > >> > >> > >>> > >>> The problem for the person being presented with that description of > >>> meditation would seem to be how to figure out, from all that > >>> wordage, > >>> that all you need to do is effortlessly think/use the object of > >>> meditation (whatever that would be in the Shamatha tradition) and > >>> whenever you were aware that you were no longer thinking/using the > >>> object of meditation, to quietly come back to it in the same, > >>> natural > >>> way that you think any other thought. Just effortless thinking. > >>> Effortless effort. > >>> > >> > >> A couple of things: in terms of meditation practice anytime you fail > >> to maintain the transcendent and are back in thoughts, the process, > >> intentional or unconsciously due to engrained repetition, this does > >> (in terms of meditation) constitute subtle effort. In Shamatha this > >> process of not being yet in effortless meditation is called > >> "patching", where we don't judge the fact that we are in thoughts, > >> but just return to the object of meditation easily and simply. This > >> actually represents about the 3rd stage of Shamatha. > >> > >> True effortless meditation in Shamatha is sitting to meditate, > >> deciding to meditate a certain amount of time and then transcending > >> the entire session: one inward stroke, one outward stroke. No > >> "patching". > >> > > > > You've got a different definition of transcending than the > > researchers into TM have. > > > > There's no decision-making to reduce activity of the thalamus. > > Your body just spontaneously goes and sits down to meditate? >
Sometimes, when I close my eyes while sitting down, I start meditating without even noticing, but that's not what I meant. The mechanism or at lkeast apparent mechanims by which one has an episode of samadhi during TM is purely spontaneous. > That actually explains a lot. >
