insight meditation starts with mindfulness of breath?
that's the method buddha used .
I feel the need to develop access concentration before moving on
.
the 840000 also means unlimited , same as after shi wan yi
dharma land , pureland lies there .
shi wan yi means unlimited ,
Yes anapanasati would be good.
Anapanasati can be both insight meditation and samatha
meditation depending on how it is practiced.
Excerpt from http://www.aimwell.org/Books/Other/Anapana/anapana.html
Insight Meditators Must Know
Realities
However in vipassana meditation every object of meditation must be
absolute reality, ultimate reality, paramattha. In vipassana
meditation no concept can be the object of meditation. Concept
cannot be the object of vipassana meditation because vipassana
meditators need to realise the specific characteristics and general
characteristics of mental and physical phenomena, which are
absolute realities. So the object must be either mental or physical
processes which are ultimate realities. If concept is the object of
vipassana meditation, vipassana meditators cannot realise any
characteristics of mental and physical processes because you cannot
find any real characteristics in concepts. Concepts are created by
the mind.
Say your name is Pannananda. Even though you might have died, if I
memorise your name as Pannananda, the name is there in my mind
(though the actual Pannananda has gone). Why? Because my mind
memorises it, and makes it exist. This shows that a name is just a
concept because it is created, memorised or made to exist by the
mind. So concepts are not realities. They are things made up by the
mind, so they do not have any characteristics to realise.
If the red circle is the object of meditation, we see the form of
the circle in our mind and concentrate on it. Gradually our mind
becomes more and more concentrated on the red circle that we see in
our mind. When the mind is totally absorbed in that circle, then we
say we have attained jhana. However, that red circle is not
reality, because the mind makes the object; so it is just a
concept. It hasnt any characteristics to realise. Even though you
concentrate your mind on it for a hundred years continuously, you
cannot realise any characteristics; because it is not an absolute
reality, it is a mind-made thing just a concept.
Respiration
Meditation
Then as to respiration meditation (anapanasati), in the
Visuddhimagga it is mentioned as samatha meditation, concentration
meditation. In the Mahasatipatthana Sutta it is mentioned as
vipassana meditation. Then how can we distinguish it between the
vipassana aspect of respiration and the samatha aspect of
respiration? If we are mindful of the absolute reality of
respiration, that will be vipassana meditation. If we are mindful
of the concept regarding respiration, then it will be samatha
meditation.
So the Visuddhimagga mentions the method of concentrating on the
touching sensation whenever you breathe in and breathe out. When
you concentrate your mind on the coming in and going out of the
breath, then it is samatha meditation because you have to
concentrate on the coming in and going out, not on the wind or air.
When it is coming in you note in; when it is going out you note,
out. In, out, in, out. Your mind is not on the breathing air
but on the coming-in and the going-out. Coming-in and
going-out are not ultimate realities.
Say you come into the room through the door and go out of the room
through the door. We may ask, What is this coming in and going
out? it is neither you, nor a person. It is just coming-in and
going-out. It is just concept. In the same way, when you
concentrate on the coming in and going out of the breath, it is
just a concept. Since concept is the object of meditation, it is
samatha meditation. You cannot realise any specific characteristics
or general characteristics of coming-in and going-out because
they are not realities, just concepts, so thats samatha
meditation.
However, if you focus your mind on the point where the breath
touches whenever it comes in or goes out, it touches the nostrils.
When you observe this touching sensation and are mindful of it,
then it is (ultimate) reality. That touching point is composed of
the four primary material elements: pathavi; dhatu, hard or soft;
apo dhatu, liquidity or cohesion; tejo dhatu, hot or cold; vayo
dhatu, movement or vibration. These four elements are there
whenever you focus your mind on the touching sensation. So the
object is absolute reality. What can we call it samatha or
vipassana meditation? It is vipassana.
That is what the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw wrote about the
distinction between the samatha and vipassana aspects of
respiration meditation. I appreciate it very much. So then we can
say respiration meditation is vipassana meditation in accordance
with the Mahasatipatthana Sutta. We can also say that respiration
meditation is samatha in accordance with the Visuddhimagga. It is
very subtle and profound to differentiate between these two aspects
of respiration meditation, but I think those who have practised
meditation very well can differentiate between these two
aspects
