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**GarryPaterson** · 08-24-2011, 10:46 PM

Personally I've found that my current understanding of anatta has been arrived at through a combination of intellectual reasoning and meditation practice.

Sure, I believe that both are needed. Bhikkhu Boddhi, in his long and thoughtful commentary to DN1 is cautious about giving all to meditation in the cushion because, and I agree, if there is some sort of delusion, something not understood by intellectual reasoning, insight, contemplation of dhamma, this delusion can be brought into meditation and, being a very personal experience, hard to transmit and to put into test, meditation will be about such delusive understanding. Meditators will tell about a self, about heavenly realms found "there" or whatever. So meditation can become a fetter and lead to further wrong understandings.

Its also my opinion that eventually meditation doesn't just take place on the cushion but that meditation and post-meditation will merge together with other insights one has gathered through one's practice on the path. Yes, and IMO, that is what is meditation for. To teach mind to behave when we are dealing with daily life issues.

08-24-2011, 10:46 PM	#13
GarryPaterson Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 354 Senior Member	Personally I've found that my current understanding of anatta has been arrived at through a combination of intellectual reasoning and meditation practice. Sure, I believe that both are needed. Bhikkhu Boddhi, in his long and thoughtful commentary to DN1 is cautious about giving all to meditation in the cushion because, and I agree, if there is some sort of delusion, something not understood by intellectual reasoning, insight, contemplation of dhamma, this delusion can be brought into meditation and, being a very personal experience, hard to transmit and to put into test, meditation will be about such delusive understanding. Meditators will tell about a self, about heavenly realms found "there" or whatever. So meditation can become a fetter and lead to further wrong understandings. Its also my opinion that eventually meditation doesn't just take place on the cushion but that meditation and post-meditation will merge together with other insights one has gathered through one's practice on the path. Yes, and IMO, that is what is meditation for. To teach mind to behave when we are dealing with daily life issues.
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