Hello all,

I recently listened to Culadasa's great retreat on YouTube called "The Jhanas". Highly recommend.

However, one of the takeaways from this retreat is that you need to be at least stage 6 for even the "ultra-lite" Jhanas. As someone who is not stage 6, is there a retreat available where he directly addresses the first 5 stages?

What is being trained in these stages and how does it differentiate from the concentration used to attain jhana in stage 6+?

I am mostly curious about what preparatory practices to do before jhana and what suttas these recommendations come from. Thanks!

I see so often that good and evil don't matter and it's just our perspective which could be true yeah. But then yesterday I was reading the manual of insight and saw this. Pretty interesting what the Buddha actually was saying. Im excited to keep reading. There was quite a few examples of people who did nothing but work their whole life and live normal and hear one verse and it liberates them. Some even lived immoral and changed right before death and became liberated.

“Defilement obstacle” (kilesantarāya) refers to three types of wrong views: the wrong view that there is no good or evil (akiriyadiṭṭhi)—the idea that actions do not become good or evil and do not lead to good or evil results;

the wrong view that everything is cut off or comes to an end when a being dies (natthikadiṭṭhi)—the idea that no further existence will occur after death and that there are no good or evil results that come from good or evil actions;

and the wrong view that volitional action does not produce good or evil results (ahetukadiṭṭhi)—the idea that happiness and suffering arise by themselves without causes.

Of these three views, the first denies that effects have causes, the second denies that causes have effects, and the third denies both. So the three kinds of wrong view deny the law of cause and effect.

If one holds steadfastly to any of these three types of wrong view, they are said to have steadfast wrong views (niyatamicchādiṭṭhi) and are bound to be reborn in the lower world immediately after death. Thus these views are an obstacle to celestial rebirth and path knowledge and fruition knowledge.

"All emotions will vanish of themselves" "Those who cannot still all emotions must have at least pure emotions" from Swani Sivananda's article. He is suggesting that most people cannot still all emotions so they should try to hold onto positive emotions; Bhakti Marga helps in this.

"The sublimation of all emotions and mental activities of every kind is the direct practice of yoga."

The Lotus Consciousness

Your consciousness is a lotus. The Egyptians used the symbols of the papyrus and the lotus, and the Indians, the Hindus, use the lotus.

The experience of Samadhi is a lotus blooming, but he goes to the source. - Osho

Just as the lotus grows out of the muck of the pond without having to send down roots into the earth, so does nirvana grow from the muck of the mind. As shown in the below paragraph, Consciousness is behind the Mind.

Brahman - Purusha/Prakriti - Consciousness (Crown/Lotus Chakra) - Mind (Third Eye) - Space (Throat Chakra) - Air (Heart Chakra) - Fire (Solar Plexus Chakra) - Water (Sacral) - Earth (Root) . - The Mahabharata.

The seventh chakra, also known as the crown chakra, is depicted as a thousand-petal lotus flower at the top of the head.

The third eye is a concept in Buddhism and Hinduism that represents a vantage point for achieving enlightenment and higher consciousness.

Mind is merely a reflection of Consciousness. When the reflection is destroyed, Consciousness shines through in all its glory through the jnani (wise person) when the mind is absent or still. - quotes taken from various articles.

"When emotions are high, wisdom is low." “When emotions dominate, maturity and wisdom deteriorate.”

Water does not stick to lotus leaves because of the leaf's hydrophobic, or water-repellent, surface. Emotions have a similar relationship, like water to lotus flowers, to an enlightened person or Jnani or wise-person.

Samatva, or absolute freedom from emotions, has been set as one of the prime essentials for the health of the nerves and brain.” - Relax With Yoga, by Arthur Liebers, [1960].

“He is completely freed from all emotions: Joy, envy, fear & anxiety cause inward agitations in men. Ever peaceful with himself & the world, the devotee is unaffected by these emotions, & deals with them with equanimity. Such a devotee is dear to Me.” - Bhagawat Gita.

"When karma is exhausted and emotions are emptied, that is a true Buddha." - quote from an article on Buddhism.

Brain is the seat of mind. Mind is the seat of emotions.

“Heart is the seat of consciousness.” Consciousness is the seat of peace/samadhi.

In samadhi, the mind returns to its original seat in the heart.

I know this is highly personal, but I'm curious: What are some of your favorite unexpected or unusual books that were helpful for your path? I'm thinking about books that aren't about meditation, or are only tangentially related.

As a personal example, Metaphors We Live By by Lakoff & Johnson led to extensive questioning of what metaphors I tend to use for my "path" of practice. Additionally, I found Inventing Our Selves by Nikolas Rose particularly insightful about modern conceptions of the self, and how they show up in my practice & occupation.

Considering self-love, I’m not sure if I love myself or not. What does that feel like? Strangely I do find others way easier to have metta for. If it’s a fast path to jhana I’d rather take that path because it would give the double benefit of rock solid self-care beyond what conventional therapy brings.