Dear Ven. Yuttadhammo,
Thanks for this really amazing response. The issue is just a personal thing
I'm trying to resolve. What you have written and the source texts you have
provided should go a long way in helping. Ven. U Thitzana also gave
instructions for one-step (left, right) and two-step (lifting, dropping)
walking. My problem is that I just don't get the point of doing segmented
walking and can't see (at least not yet) how it fits in with the purpose of
the iriyāpatha meditation subject. Why so much focus on the walking? What
about the other postures? My preference would be to put the whole section
into practice although I must admit standing does go with the walking but
not sitting or lying down. Ven. U Thitzana's instructions on breathing
meditation seemed fine to me.
He is planning to return again to Canada early next year for a much longer
stay of six months, so it's likely he'll be leading another retreat at the
Dharma Centre of Canada next year too which I'll probably sign up for. He's
agreed to answer my Pali questions via email even though he doesn't spend
much time answering emails of any kind. So I don't expect to get any long
detailed explanations.
Best wishes,
Jim
----- Original Message -----
From: "Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu" <yuttadhammo@...>
To: <palistudy@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, August 05, 2012 12:33 AM
Subject: Re: [palistudy] update
Dear Jim,
I'm not sure what the issue is with the three-part step; as long as one
is noting a movement of the body (yathā yathā vā panassa kāyo paṇihito
hoti tathā tathā naṃ pajānāti) then it seems to be proper according to
the iriyāpathapabba. The broken walking step is also generally
considered to be acknowledgement of the dhatus as per the Visuddhimagga: