Vipassana Meditation by Jack Kornfield - Audiobook - Audible

In the later Theravada custom, samatha is considered a preparation for vipassan, calming the mind and strengthening concentration in order for insight to develop, which leads to freedom. The Buddha is stated to have actually recognized two paramount mental qualities that occur from wholesome (training or advancement of the mind): Samatha, calm abiding, which steadies, makes up, combines and concentrates the mind; Vipassan, insight, which makes it possible for one to see, check out and determine "formations" (conditioned phenomena based on the five aggregates).

For instance, in the Kimsuka Tree Sutta (SN 35. 245), the Buddha offers a sophisticated metaphor in which serenity and insight are "the speedy set of messengers" who provide the message of nibbana via the honorable eightfold course. In the Four Ways to Arahantship Sutta (AN 4. 170), Ven. nanda reports that individuals obtain arahantship using calm abiding and insight in one of 3 methods: They establish calm abiding and after that insight (Pli: samatha-pubbangamam vipassanam) They establish insight and after that calm abiding (Pli: vipassana-pubbangamam samatham) They develop calm abiding and insight in tandem (Pli: samatha-vipassanam yuganaddham), for example, acquiring the very first and after that seeing in the associated aggregates the three marks of presence prior to continuing to the 2nd jhna.

As Thanissaro Bhikkhu composes, When [the Pli suttas] illustrate the Buddha telling his disciples to go meditate, they never quote him as saying 'go do vipassana,' but always 'go do jhana.' And they never equate the word "vipassana" with any mindfulness strategies. In A Good Read of instances where they do discuss vipassana, they generally pair it with samatha not as 2 alternative techniques, but as 2 qualities of mind that an individual may 'gain' or 'be enhanced with,' which ought to be established together.