Direct mode vs Vipassana

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In the last part of the 5-part instruction Direct mode - the student asks Kenneth if direct path is different to Vipassana. Kenneth says yes. Grounding something, cooling something, leading it down to the ground... is helpful in day-to-day life but won't lead to insight.

I actually found this kind of confusing ... as insight meditation... putting your focus on areas of anxiety or hardness or whatever and intuitively feel the three characteristics, impermanance, dukkha, non-self... has the same effect to me? In objectifying the feeling and viewing it from the right view - at the same time I dismantle it.

How is there a difference?

edit: I have now edited the headling from &quot;direct path vs vipassana&quot; to &quot;direct mode vs vipassana&quot;... I meant direct mode all along.

Kenneth is the inventor/co-inventor, whatever, of the term &quot;direct mode&quot; which is what he thus describes:

&quot;Grounding something, cooling something, leading it down to the ground... is helpful in day-to-day life but won't lead to insight.&quot;

&quot;Direct path&quot; is a way many people describe practices like Zen - they are supposedly a &quot;simpler&quot; or more direct way to find awakening. Think Zen shikantaza, or koan study.

Vipassana/investigation is what you describe thus:

&quot;... as insight meditation... putting your focus on areas of anxiety or hardness or whatever and intuitively feel the three characteristics, impermanance, dukkha, non-self... has the same effect to me? In objectifying the feeling and viewing it from the right view - at the same time I dismantle it.&quot;

Hope this helps....

Oh, right... there's a difference between direct path and direct mode... what I meant was though, how is direct mode different from vipassana insight meditation? Since when I let my focus be on areas of anxiety, pain and at the same time being aware of the three characteristics (in other words practicing insight meditation, right?) - it's just like I'm grounding it - just like Kenneth describes what you do in Direct mode. The question, thought, sensation becomes dismantled, led down to the ground just like the lightning through a lightning rod...

But Kenneth says there's a difference between direct mode and Vipassana, and at the moment it's hard for me to see the difference...

Vipassana is an investigation. What's going on? How does an object arise and pass away?

Direct mode is not an investigation but a soothing salve. A process that calms. Thus the lightning rod analogy - you watch the arising of pain, discomfort, distress, and you ground that in the body.

Interesting... Thank you

Direct mode involves dropping the observer, it is &quot;being&quot; rather than &quot;seeing&quot; so in that situation insight is not needed. You have already arrived. In my own experience direct mode practiced consistently leads to some heavy shifts if not insight into the 3 chracteristics.

It's getting clearer and clearer... the difference. And yes, I've also suspected that developing the skill to drop the observer can be really helpful on the trail... isn't this actually what we're trying to do?

&quot;viktorvnh&quot;:284h2qno wrote: l... isn't this actually what we're trying to do?[/quote:284h2qno]

Im not sure if you mean for direct mode or in general, but what was revealed to me through a lot of direct mode was that there never had been an observer, no inside or outside. Of course that's just another perspective, but that's the best way I can frame it.

Yes, I meant in general. Thank you. <!-- s:) --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_e_smile.gif" alt="" title="Smile" /><!-- s:) -->

You're welcome.