Can you explain a little about where this style of meditation comes from? I only know the bare basics of a few Buddhist styles, but I’d never heard before this emphasis on “vibrations” (I’ve only heard them mentioned a few times as some sort of metaphysical thing).
Trying it very briefly, I find myself noticing several vibration-like processes (saccadic eye movements, micro-level catches and inconsistencies in the regularity of breathing, pounding of blood in facial arteries). Should real vibrations be obvious and distinct from all these when you perceive them?
I also notice you give numbers like 7 hz and 10 hz which are similar to the frequency of alpha waves. Is this intentional?
Have you personally been through all these stages? Has anyone else on LW done so? I’m not going to ask for a controlled trial, but knowing more than one person has had this experience would be significant.
The earliest contemporary tradition which emphasizes meditation in a style like this that I know of goes back to Mahasi Sayadaw, a Burmese Theravada monk, and then to whoever taught him. Mahasi Sayadaw’s impact on Theravada Buddhism has been very large, though his tradition is certainly not the only one in contemporary Theravada Buddhism.
“Vibrations” is a term you won’t see in any Buddhist literature. Where I write “pay attention to vibrations,” Buddhists would write “pay attention to the impermanence characteristic of phenomena.” In Buddhism, “impermanence” (Pali: anicca) is one of the three characteristics of everything that exists. “Vibrations” is a term that suits the positivist in me better. (Note: I didn’t invent the term. It’s common in contemporary secular communities interested in enlightenment.)
What you’re describing doesn’t sound like vibrations; there are other [for lack of a better word] “pulsatory” phenomena in experience. But you can make an educated guess under the following assumption: if you can see them that easily, you should be able to see them in lots of places. So, look at part of your visual field and see if it has any property that you would describe as ‘vibratory.’ Or touch your skin and see if the sensation has any vibratory property.
I don’t know what’s up with the particular numbers. There may be some relationship between the frequencies of vibrations and the frequencies of brain waves, but I wouldn’t know. Vibrations typically present at frequencies around there (5,7, 10, whatever), and it is true that certain frequencies are more predominant in certain stages. It would be interesting to know whether there is an interesting association between the stages, their typical cognitive / emotional / attentional / perceptual manifestations, and brainwave activity.
EDITED FOR CLARITY: I didn’t see that you wrote alpha waves. Vibrations often present slower and faster than alpha waves. I’ve seen 3-4hz often enough. Stage two often has really high frequency vibrations (20hz+) if your concentration is strong or you’re deep enough into it.
Thank you. I’d heard the “impermanence of phenomena” phrase before but mistakenly thought it meant things like how all your material goods will one day break down and decay. I’ll look up Sayadaw.
The orthodox Buddhist position seems to be that ‘impermanence’ is both gross (the breakdown of macro-level objects) and subtle (fluctuations in all the objects of one’s experience).
FYI, “Sayadaw” is a title / honorific, so googling just that won’t help much.
Interesting. Thank you.
Can you explain a little about where this style of meditation comes from? I only know the bare basics of a few Buddhist styles, but I’d never heard before this emphasis on “vibrations” (I’ve only heard them mentioned a few times as some sort of metaphysical thing).
Trying it very briefly, I find myself noticing several vibration-like processes (saccadic eye movements, micro-level catches and inconsistencies in the regularity of breathing, pounding of blood in facial arteries). Should real vibrations be obvious and distinct from all these when you perceive them?
I also notice you give numbers like 7 hz and 10 hz which are similar to the frequency of alpha waves. Is this intentional?
Have you personally been through all these stages? Has anyone else on LW done so? I’m not going to ask for a controlled trial, but knowing more than one person has had this experience would be significant.
The earliest contemporary tradition which emphasizes meditation in a style like this that I know of goes back to Mahasi Sayadaw, a Burmese Theravada monk, and then to whoever taught him. Mahasi Sayadaw’s impact on Theravada Buddhism has been very large, though his tradition is certainly not the only one in contemporary Theravada Buddhism.
“Vibrations” is a term you won’t see in any Buddhist literature. Where I write “pay attention to vibrations,” Buddhists would write “pay attention to the impermanence characteristic of phenomena.” In Buddhism, “impermanence” (Pali: anicca) is one of the three characteristics of everything that exists. “Vibrations” is a term that suits the positivist in me better. (Note: I didn’t invent the term. It’s common in contemporary secular communities interested in enlightenment.)
What you’re describing doesn’t sound like vibrations; there are other [for lack of a better word] “pulsatory” phenomena in experience. But you can make an educated guess under the following assumption: if you can see them that easily, you should be able to see them in lots of places. So, look at part of your visual field and see if it has any property that you would describe as ‘vibratory.’ Or touch your skin and see if the sensation has any vibratory property.
I don’t know what’s up with the particular numbers. There may be some relationship between the frequencies of vibrations and the frequencies of brain waves, but I wouldn’t know. Vibrations typically present at frequencies around there (5,7, 10, whatever), and it is true that certain frequencies are more predominant in certain stages. It would be interesting to know whether there is an interesting association between the stages, their typical cognitive / emotional / attentional / perceptual manifestations, and brainwave activity.
EDITED FOR CLARITY: I didn’t see that you wrote alpha waves. Vibrations often present slower and faster than alpha waves. I’ve seen 3-4hz often enough. Stage two often has really high frequency vibrations (20hz+) if your concentration is strong or you’re deep enough into it.
I’ve been through the stages I’ve described, yes.
Thank you. I’d heard the “impermanence of phenomena” phrase before but mistakenly thought it meant things like how all your material goods will one day break down and decay. I’ll look up Sayadaw.
The orthodox Buddhist position seems to be that ‘impermanence’ is both gross (the breakdown of macro-level objects) and subtle (fluctuations in all the objects of one’s experience).
FYI, “Sayadaw” is a title / honorific, so googling just that won’t help much.