I'd like to share some thoughts regarding the passive observation method of meditation, both in relation to the teachings from which it arises and in relation to my experience and the experience of those of respectable attainment.

Today there appears to be a distortion of the Buddha's original teachings, which can be seen in a few of the various meditation methods that have developed over time. One particular method that appears to be guilty of this is the "dry Vipassana" method, in which the practitioner attempts to acquire insight into the nature of the mind without much emphasis on attaining adequate states of tranquility, but rather by simply observing the body and mind. There is essentially no requirement for the attainment of Jhana (a meditative state of profound stillness and concentration- a cornerstone of the Buddha's teachings) in insight meditation methods. There seems to be a fabricated divide between insight and tranquility cultivation, Vipassana vs Jhana practice, but the Buddha never taught this. In fact, not once in the suttas did the Buddha instruct a student to go do Vipassana. Rather, he always told his students to go do Jhana practice, which is essentially the development of both tranquility and insight together. This fact alone indicates that there may be inaccuracies with the dry Vipassana/passive observation method, particularly in the context of the goal of attaining liberation, which is the purpose of the teachings.

Vipassana is often taught to mean seeing things "as they are." This implies that there is something already out there which we cannot see because it is hidden beneath the unskillful activity and false perceptions of the mind, so we just need to clear away these fabrications. However, this is not what was taught, and may actually impede the arousal of insight. The Buddha didn't teach to see things "as they are," but rather, taught to see things "as they've come to be," or "how they've come into being" In other words, he taught us to see the process of fabrication in the mind. Fabrications do not overlay a pure level of things "as they are," but rather fabrications comprise the totality of all mental activity and perception, regardless of whether these fabrications appear spontaneous or if they are purposefully arisen. Fabrication comprises the totality of our experience of the world and our experience of our self.

Gaining deep insight into the fabrication process, which is the original purpose of the insight aspect of the Buddha's meditation instructions, requires skillful action, rather than just passive observation. It's the same with learning about anything else- simple observation yields limited results depending on the spontaneous arisings of whatever elements are being observed, but it's when you get involved and begin testing things for yourself that you really begin to understand the object at hand.

A good analogy is an egg. You can just look at an egg and learn about it's shape and size, color, etc. But it's when you crack it open and begin to make it's contents into different things that you really learn about the egg. The more skill you develop at cooking the egg in different ways, the more you understand eggs. How they react to heat, how they mix with other ingredients, etc.

Its the same with the mind. To understand the mind is to understand the fabrications of the mind, as fabrications are its sole contents. So you purposefully fabricate skillful states, like strong concentration, comfortable breathing, and tranquility, in line with the teachings. Thus, you learn much more about the mind than if you were simply observing spontaneous arisings without knowledge of cause and effect. The manipulation of fabrications really allows cause and effect to be seen.

In the effort to maintain concentration on the breath in the present moment, you begin to see what destroys that concentration. You find that it's not destroyed by things coming from the outside, but rather is destroyed by internal fabrications. This is where an all-around awareness comes in handy, in line with the third step of Anapanasati to develop a full body awareness. One-pointed awareness on one specific small area, such as the nostrils or the abdomen, causes one's awareness to become centered and focused-in on that one area to the exclusion of the rest of the body, almost like tunnel vision. This narrow focus limits the arising of insights coming from areas outside of the narrow focal point. The goal is not to gain deep awareness of just one tiny spot of the body, its to gain awareness of the entirety of one's experience. You need to be sensitive to the entire body like a spider is sensitive to it's entire web.

To clearly see the stages of the arisings of the mind, the best thing to do is try to stop them immediately and dissolve the thought form. A part of the mind will resist this, thus bringing to light an aspect of the mind that was once hidden. It is in investigating the mind's compulsions to engage in thought-worlds that deeper insights arise into the intentional element of the mind's fabrications, as unconscious as they originally appeared to be. These previously hidden aspects of mind rise to the surface in response to one's efforts to thwart their unskillful activities, and once these underground volitional aspects of your mental fabrications come to light, they can be dismantled. This way you become more sensitive to these parts of the mind and insight can do its work.

Look for areas of stress in the mind and you will find fabrication. In these fabrications you will find ignorance that has been causing your own suffering. As more and more ignorance is brought to light, it is replaced with knowledge and can be allowed to stop. It is this investigating factor, this active factor that is key. Simple observation of what arises alone does not do this work adequately.