I’m a big fan of the various spiritual maps that describe the territory toward awakening. I’m particularly fond of the maps in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, which include the progress of insight, the 4 stages of enlightenment, and the shamatha jhanas. However, every map that describes the territory of awakening will have its strengths and weaknesses. Maps, in general, are only as good as the map-makers who’ve made them. They are also only, and always, mental representations of a place which one must explore for themselves. No amount of studying an idea about what a place will be like, or even studying what the path to that place will be like, can replace the actual journey. That being said, if one is going to take the journey to enlightenment, having a good map can do wonders!
A good map can point out the quickest route to your destination. It can also give you vivid descriptions of the landmarks along the way—and perhaps most importantly the pitfalls you may face. Knowing the landmarks along the route to enlightenment, especially when they are reached, provides a tremendous boost of faith & commitment to the journey itself. Also, having an idea of what obstacles one might encounter, and when these might arise, can save the spiritual practitioner years of confusion and stuckness. And in many cases it can keep one from falling off the path altogether. Good maps, again, are absolutely crucial with respect to making the daunting journey toward awakening.
Even knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the maps, there are still some finer points that need to be examined with respect to map based practice. The first is that even if someone has an extremely accurate and helpful map, they can still use it incorrectly. Even the most sincere practitioner can misjudge their own progress, make claims that simply aren’t correct, or incorrectly assess another person’s practice. Fortunately there are ways to work with all of these dangers, and one can safely use a map provided they know what they’re doing.
If one is going to try and assess their own practice using the maps it is important to know that it is easy to misjudge one’s practice. There are many dimensions to each of these stages, including the vibratory quality of phenoman, clarity, feeling tone, spatial quality of attention, and the various insights that accompany them. Because of this, if one only tunes into one or two of these dimensions and uses that to assess their progress, they can easily be mistaken. As an example, being in a bad mood doesn’t mean one is The Dark Night. This can be most easily remedied by working with folks who have an extensive knowledge of the maps and of your practice. Teachers can often notice and point out patterns that you may not see, and thus help you become more familiar with how the map terminology actually fits with your lived experience.
Another difficulty, even if one begins to see how their experience correlates with the maps, is when trying to assess another person’s practice. Because individuals often go through these stages in varying ways, at varying intensities, and different durations, it becomes tricky to try and assess another person’s practice. That being said, as one becomes more familiar with the territory themselves and sees more and more examples of what is possible on the path—again good guidance is very helpful here—then it becomes more and more natural to be able to see these patterns in other people’s practice.
Finally, if you think you’ve reached a particular landmark—say the 1st stage of enlightenment—then there is always the question of how and when to make up your mind on what you’ve experienced. One suggestion that Daniel Ingram offers, with regards to making claims of attainment, is to wait a year and a day before deciding. Often it takes time to sort out what was what, to let the high of the experience fade, and to see what remains. It’s also during this time that new understandings will unfold, which in and of themselves will provide a great deal more confidence as to what one went through earlier.
Here again it is very helpful to work with a teacher, someone who you feel confident has traversed the same territory, so as to have an objective party’s perspective. Teachers and qualified peers can help us stay grounded in our assessments of our practice, providing a kind of reality-check. Also an honest and skeptical attitude toward these experiences can be extremely valuable. Fortunately, the fruits of the practice are not dependent on us lining them up with any particular maps. All that’s required of us is that we are sincere, and are dedicated to mastering the techniques, which have for thousands of years, led to awakening.
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September 20th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Very Nice Post Vince,
Perhaps I’m just re-stating what you’ve said, but one thing I’ve found helpful is remember that maps and conceptual frameworks that guide our lives and thought need a healthy dose of skepticism. We need to keep questioning our understanding and application of them with the assumption that our current understanding isn’t the final one.
September 20th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Hi Lee,
Yes, I absolutely agree. Skepticism, especially with respect to what we think we may have achieved, is a really helpful counter-balance to the overwhelming desire to attain that usually comes with map-based practice.
September 24th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
my question is, is “map-based practice” an accurate term? Aside from very broad changes (?) I don’t gather that we’re so much basing practice on the maps as just occasionally checking against them–it’s not like points get awarded–and even then, at times I have to think that the only thing to “base” on them is the understanding the practice has an unfolding effect over time, and that it leads to an ends.
that, and I think there’s a false sense of linearity, at least prior to stream-entry. Generally things happen in order, but, e.g., i can show all sorts of dark night crap during one sitting then drop into just purely physical energy release in the next, or even during a sitting I can get good concentration, face a lot of stuff like lose of center of the field of vision, feeling the body “falling apart”, getting upset, etc., then minutes later be just suffering kundalini crap.
Also I am a huge fan of being skeptical of attainment. As far as I know I’ve made as much progress as nothing, in fact, i feel like I’ve regressed. Is it just a vision or the A&P? How can you judge for sure?
September 24th, 2008 at 9:57 pm
Hi Nathan,
I think it is absolutely accurate to call the type of practice that Daniel suggests, and which I have done, map-based practice. Checking one’s practice against the maps are one thing, but using their fundamental insights to guide one’s practice is another. For example, I knew that crossing the A&P was the first major breakthrough that I was looking for, and also knew that 3-weeks was a good rough approximation of how much time it could/would take someone (on retreat) to do so. I used this knowledge to strategize my practice. I also knew that once one had gotten into equanimity that it would be easier to get back into it, and so I knew I had a good chance at getting stream-entry on a retreat of 1-month of duration. Also, on that very retreat, having known that it was common to cycle (or fall back) between the 9th and 11th nana, I didn’t get disheartened (though it certainly hurt) as I time-and-time again got into high equanimity, fell back into desire for deliverance and then cycled back through re-observation (ouch). I kept the noting strong, noticed new things that I hadn’t before, and after the 5th (or so) time cycling through equanimity I got stream-entry. Also, having known about the review phase, I quickly recognized the patterns that I was going through, and became even clearer about their fundamental descriptions (from my own experience).
At this point, having gone through these cycles a couple hundred of times, I’m very familiar with how the maps line up with the territory (as I wasn’t before I got stream-entry and then began to cycle). Knowing this is extremely helpful as I am able to recognize these patterns in myself, and not take myself to seriously when I’m dark nighting all over the place (which, you can ask my wife, happens all the time… hehehe). I can also see these patterns playing out in other folks, and when I point it out skillfully they are often more empowered to practice, to not project their dark stuff out onto the world, and to find a way through this territory. I think, just as it did with me, at some level having this knowledge is extremely practical and valuable.
When you say, you feel like you’ve regressed, I hear what you’re saying. I went through the dark night, for well over a year, not having even known that I crossed into it (and that was with knowing the maps fairly well). At that point, it wasn’t so clear how the maps were helpful beyond inspiring me to practice (as you mentioned). The one thing that is helpful though, is knowing that a feeling of regression is almost always a sign of deepening, especially when one is practicing well.
My suggestion would be to go on a good-length retreat (6-12 weeks if you can manage it), finish this up, and then make assessments about how helpful (or not) the maps are. Nothing beats getting a more balanced perspective post-dark night. Of course, you don’t have to a long-retreat to get stream-entry, it just helps. But again, that’s map-based practice for ya.
September 25th, 2008 at 9:59 am
i suppose what i mean is, it doesn’t change the injunction to practice at all. the instructions are still the same, maps or no maps.
September 25th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Hi Nathan,
Yeah, the injunction definitely remains the same, though as you know, it’s nearly impossible to separate one’s conceptual understanding (Right View) from the practice and the way it’s applied. So in that sense there is no difference, and yet there’s all the difference in the world.
Often times people will practice correctly, get into the Dark Night, and then make up all sorts of stories/beliefs about practice (that simply aren’t true) and will then stop practicing in a way that will help them get through. See where I’m going with this? You can’t separate the two…
Best,
-Vince