Enlightenment Through Vipassana?

[Wind]

1) Is it possible to get enlightened purely through Vipassana technique?

2) What are the limitations of it in this work, towards the Enlightenment? What are limitations in contrast to other techniques, like self-enquiry?

I asked a teacher of Vipassana about it during the course, and he said the technique goes to the cause, and is "self-inquiry" in itself. Through my observation and practice I can see that it indeed goes to the cause, altough I still feel that the con of it is that it doesn't focus on observing the "thoughts".

Let's discuss the pros and cons of this topic here.

[No-Thing]

After a certain point (while meditation) there are no thoughts anymore, or they are mere in the background. You let go and detach of what you perceive in your direct experience. You feel on a bodily level where you still hold on (it feels like tension or density) and let go and transcend that. This holding on is the bodily expression of a certain belief you are emotionally invested in. So yes it is self-inquiry in a different form.

Vipassana is a great technique but it can only get you so far (which is very far). At this point there is not much to let go of and even the attempt to use any type of technique is a step in the wrong direction. At this point you know which direction you have to go in and you need no teacher anymore. But you still have a daily live, where teaching can help you with your development and integration. But in deep meditation at a certain point there is no technique anymore.

[No-Thing]

There are many techniques that can bring you all the way. The question you need to ask yourself is which one has the best results for me at this stage of my development. A technique that works great now might not be so suitable in a couple of months from now an visa versa. So I'd suggest, dedicate to a technique for a week and see how much you progress. Are you seeing changes in your daily life? If so, continue until you feel the need to try something else or you stagnate. 

From my experience Vipassana is a good technique to burn through layers of your emotional wounds.

Contemplation & inquiry is good to have a breakthrough, which results in a direct of experience of what you focussed on. If you focus on nothingness long enough, you will experience it directly eventually. If you would be able to sit down and focus intensely on nothingness for 20 hours a day, you would get there in no time. 

A breakthrough experience will shed layers of your ego and emotional wounds. 

Letting go of your ego and emotional wounds will make it easier to have breakthroughs. 

Start somewhere but start and practiced diligently and persistently, diligently and persistently.

 

[Heart of Space]

The difference between Vipassana and Self-Inquiry is that Vipassana looks to dissolve everything related to the ego.  All your neurotic behaviors, thought patterns, cravings, and aversions.  Everything.  Self-inquiry goes straight to attempting to dissolve all thoughts and mental constructs that you have of "self" to get to a state of "no-self" as quickly as possible.  Both are valid techniques, one is just more focused with a very specific goal and purpose in mind.  I prefer Vippassana because I view it will produce a more 'complete' result, but that's only my personal feelings and bias.  Do what feels right for you.  

Edited October 2, 2017 by Heart of Space

[pluto]

You can become Enlightened simply by waking up from a dream or walking on the street, there is no limits to how it can happen as all is ultimately in a divine order/play. You can always better prepare yourself and usually with inner desire but ultimately one and the same.

I started getting glimpses in my late teenage years soon as i stopped with all the junk and processed food, as my body was finally clearing up and becoming balanced chemically everything started to "turn on" and slowly lead to more magical things

[Leo Gura]

@Wind I got my first sober enlightenment experience through Vipasanna.

The whole point of Vipasanna is enlightenment. It's like you're asking, "Can a hammer be used to hit a nail?"

The major limitation is that you spend 20 years practicing mindfulness but you never apply it to the root of matter: What are you? What is awareness? What is reality? What is existence itself?

The key to enlightenment is that you must apply mindfulness to your IDENTITY as a physical being (or whatever the fuck you believe you are). If you're not questioning your physicality, you're not hitting the nail on the head, you're just sitting around waiting for a hammer to accidentally fall out of the sky and hit that nail square. You might be waiting for a while there.

[Wind]

On 03/10/2017 at 10:26 AM, Leo Gura said:

@Wind I got my first sober enlightenment experience through Vipasanna.

The whole point of Vipasanna is enlightenment. It's like you're asking, "Can a hammer be used to hit a nail?"

The major limitation is that you spend 20 years practicing mindfulness but you never apply it to the root of matter: What are you? What is awareness? What is reality? What is existence itself?

The key to enlightenment is that you must apply mindfulness to your IDENTITY as a physical being (or whatever the fuck you believe you are). If you're not questioning your physicality, you're not hitting the nail on the head, you're just sitting around waiting for a hammer to accidentally fall out of the sky and hit that nail square. You might be waiting for a while there.

Thanks for sharing.

But Leo! If you get enlightened through Vipassana, ego dissolves in itself, doesn't it? Because as you sit there observing the sensations on your body as a primary focus, the pheripheral awareness is still there to observe the structure of the "I" and the existencial insights about who you are start to bubble up. Plus, as you keep detaching from the physical sensations, you are detaching from your physicality as well.

Or are you making distinction between people who do only Vipassana and don't focus on questioning existencial nature that much VS people who do Vipassana and question their existence, e.g. when one's mind naturally leans towards that direction on a daily basis?

[Wind]

On 02/10/2017 at 9:27 PM, No-Thing said:

After a certain point (while meditation) there are no thoughts anymore, or they are mere in the background. You let go and detach of what you perceive in your direct experience. You feel on a bodily level where you still hold on (it feels like tension or density) and let go and transcend that. This holding on is the bodily expression of a certain belief you are emotionally invested in. So yes it is self-inquiry in a different form.

Vipassana is a great technique but it can only get you so far (which is very far). At this point there is not much to let go of and even the attempt to use any type of technique is a step in the wrong direction. At this point you know which direction you have to go in and you need no teacher anymore. But you still have a daily live, where teaching can help you with your development and integration. But in deep meditation at a certain point there is no technique anymore.

Very on point. I noticed that the quickest way to the Truth is to really get in touch with the authentic intuition and use it as the main guide.