Dharma Treasure Community

Thanks for your feedback Blake.

I have been experimenting with staying with the breath @ the nose VS shifting focus to it etc. It generally tends to either merge with the breath if I maintain fairly strong concentration (without gross distractions etc) or dissipate if gross distractions come up from what I have observed.

Generally yes – I am…[Read more]

This is interesting… I was just having a look at Alan Wallace’s Attention Revolution as I read that it is also a book based on Kamalasila’s elephant-training system. I am not sure if you have access to the book but I have quoted some relevant passage below with pages references.

Again he translates nimitta as sign… but in this instance it…[Read more]

Blake,

Yes, I am defiantly not experiencing single pointed attention. Though some type of lesser “absorption” seems to be occurring.

Generally yes distractions are reduced after I come out of it. But I am defiantly not fully overcoming subtle distractions. Generally when it is present when I am focusing on it or not, distractions are reduced. I…[Read more]

Thanks Blake!

After further investigation… as the nimitta becomes more pronounced I am able to shift to it as the object (though as below often this shift occurs through a merging of the breath and the nimitta or the sheer intensity of the nimitta see note [1] below) and become absorbed in the illumination and the bliss/joy sensations that…[Read more]