'metta is the fastest way'

[Benj]

Coming from Bhante Vimalaramsi's group, I can't help but find my self looking back on BV and Co's regular exclamation that 'metta is the fastest way to the goal'. I had spent a considerable amount of time practising his method and honestly I found it problematic throughout. However, I have recently found some suttas that appear to support this idea and I would like to discuss.

SN 46.54 "There is the case where a monk develops mindfulness as a factor for awakening accompanied by good will". It goes on like this for all the factors of awakening and then through the brahamviharas, essentially stating, from what I can gather, that metta will lead to fourth jhana, compassion infinite space, joy for others infinite consciousness and equanimity infinite nothingness. I also gather that this sutta is what BV bases his method on.

Now, I have also come across another sutta where the Buddha gives brief instructions to follower heading out the forest in a hurry and cannot hang around for a full discourse. The Buddha appears to state that he must develop all of the seven factors accompanied by the brahmaviharas and then he must develop the seven factors accompanied by the four foundations. This tells me that it would be most beneficial to develop both methods, basically, breath strategy and metta strategy in tandem. Which gives a strange tone to BV's approach of 'leave the breath alone!'

Here's what I am thinking currently. Mindfulness of breath supports the four foundations, the four foundations support the seven factors (basically, use the breath to fourth jhana), with the seven factors established that would mean samma samadhi. In my experience of samadhi, the mind is expansive, awareness unified and pointing out to 6 directions and what ever is felt is naturally radiated outwards. So I conclude, at this point, that to be in fourth jhana or samma samadhi, would mean that one is essentially practicing the brahmaviaharas without thinking about it. Giving a different meaning to the term ACCOMPANIED by

Thoughts?

Benj.

[Jhanananda]

Coming from Bhante Vimalaramsi's group, I can't help but find my self looking back on BV and Co's regular exclamation that 'metta is the fastest way to the goal'. I had spent a considerable amount of time practising his method and honestly I found it problematic throughout. However, I have recently found some suttas that appear to support this idea and I would like to discuss.

SN 46.54 "There is the case where a monk develops mindfulness as a factor for awakening accompanied by good will". It goes on like this for all the factors of awakening and then through the brahamviharas, essentially stating, from what I can gather, that metta will lead to fourth jhana, compassion infinite space, joy for others infinite consciousness and equanimity infinite nothingness. I also gather that this sutta is what BV bases his method on.

Now, I have also come across another sutta where the Buddha gives brief instructions to follower heading out the forest in a hurry and cannot hang around for a full discourse. The Buddha appears to state that he must develop all of the seven factors accompanied by the brahmaviharas and then he must develop the seven factors accompanied by the four foundations. This tells me that it would be most beneficial to develop both methods, basically, breath strategy and metta strategy in tandem. Which gives a strange tone to BV's approach of 'leave the breath alone!'

Here's what I am thinking currently. Mindfulness of breath supports the four foundations, the four foundations support the seven factors (basically, use the breath to fourth jhana), with the seven factors established that would mean samma samadhi. In my experience of samadhi, the mind is expansive, awareness unified and pointing out to 6 directions and what ever is felt is naturally radiated outwards. So I conclude, at this point, that to be in fourth jhana or samma samadhi, would mean that one is essentially practicing the brahmaviaharas without thinking about it. Giving a different meaning to the term ACCOMPANIED by

Thoughts?

Benj.

The problem that I see with most people who teach meditation and philosophy is they never seem to understand the complete process to enlightenment.  Yes, ALL of the altruistic emotions are valuable; however, in my experience they are more the product of leading a skillful contemplative life, than they are commodities that one acquires through a cognitive mental exercise.  Instead they, as well as the other 7 factors of enlightenment, should be viewed as the superior fruit, or evidence, of a successful contemplative life.

Good to see that you got on here, Benj.  I look forward to reading more of your posts here.

[Tad]

My experience concurs 100% with what Jhanananda. When my mind was a in a terrible condition, I could not feel any true metta no matter what metta training methods I tried. But as I started making progress with anapanasati meditation, I naturally started to feel growth in metta.

[Jhanananda]

Thanks, Tad, for letting us know that Anapanasati is working for you to develop the superior fruit of the contemplative life (maha-phala).