ED, I think practioners miss out on so much by dismissing early Buddhism. Awakening is relatively easy, but staying awake is much harder. The factors in the Noble Eightfold Path keep us there. Of course, we could just skate on the surface claiming to be wise because we've outgrown the commitment/discipline required in the older teachings.
Mike ________________________________ From: ED <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 28 July 2012, 15:41 Subject: [Zen] Re: Chan and zen Mike, maybe? "In terms ofearly traditions as found in the vast Pali canonand the Âgamas, meditation can be contextualized as part of the Noble Eightfold Path, explicitly in regard to: * Right Mindfulness (samma sati) – exemplified by the Buddha's Four Foundations of Mindfulness (see Satipatthana Sutta). * Right Concentration (samma samadhi) – culminating in jhanic absorptions through the meditative development of samatha.[8] And implicitly in regard to : * Right View (samma ditthi) – embodying wisdom traditionally attained through the meditative development of vipassana founded on samatha.[9]" Much more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_meditation --ED --- In [email protected], mike brown <uerusuboyo@...> wrote: > > Bill, > > "Simple one pointedness of mind was all that it takes." > > So is samadhi, or at least access concentration (the state of mind just > before entering the first jhana), essential towards awakening? > > Mike
