Relaxation from toil at one’s own will, food gained without degradation, friendship with the noble-minded, a mind not agitated by contact with external things: this is the result of the highest vow of tranquillity. I know not, though I have carefully thought thereupon, by what strict penance this perfect state may be gained.

Bhartrihari: “On Renunciation”

(I’m forgiving that word translated as penance.)

The samadhi we develop is not a rigid concentration, which shuts things out. The mind that develops samadhi is strong and supple, very much alive. The state we develop is more like tenderness. The heart begins to melt. You see the true sorrow of life and its true beauty. You can’t see one without the other. Practice opens us up to both.
Larry Rosenberg, Living in the Light of Death: On the art of being truly alive (Shambhala Publications, 2000)

Dr. Thynn Thynn on khanika samadhi

In daily-life meditation, is the mind actively watching itself through a state of no thought?

Yes. When your mindfulness is at its peak, you can experience states where thoughts fall away. But the no-thought state lasts for only a split second. You experience a heightened awareness that is one-pointed as well as absolutely quiet. This momentary one-pointedness of the mind is called khanika samadhi. Although it is not as prolonged as the samadhi states in sitting meditation, khanika samadhi has the same intensity and quality. In khanika samadhi, thoughts fall away and the mind arrives at its purest state.

If thoughts fall away, does it mean that no “I” exists in that moment?

Yes, but only momentarily.

If no “I” exists in that moment, what does exist? What happens in that moment of no thought?

When split-second samadhi occurs, in that moment there is no thought, but only an absolutely pure and heightened consciousness. It is at that moment that pañña or insight awareness arises. The person experiences pure vision, ditthi visuddhi. In Pali, ditthi means view and visuddhi means purity. So, it means pure vision.

Although this experience may be brief, it is timeless and infinite; it is a moment of transformation. It is the moment when the “I” and “mine” resolve.

Read More

Source: enabling.org

Vipassana concentration is called khanika samadhi. It is translated as momentary concentration. Momentary concentration means that the object changes, but the concentration is still there. One object lasts for a few moments, and you are with that object, it disappears and your mind is on another object, which lasts for a few moments, for a moment actually and you are with that too.

Momentary concentration does not mean that you are aware of it only for a moment, that your concentration lasts only for a moment. It means that your concentration is: moment … moment … moment … moment … moment.

It goes on like that without a break. Without any break means without getting distracted, that is khanika samadhi.

When any kind of very strong and obvious sensation happens, whether it is a sound, whether it is pain, be with it, no problem. When you meditate whatever is happening right now is the object of your meditation, not what happened before or what will happen next.

Be ready, be present and objects will come and you are aware of them. Don’t expect what will happen next, don’t try to create experience, don’t make your meditation experience better, but be with whatever is happening, completely, that is the most important aspect of meditation: to be with whatever is.
Sayadaw U Jotika, A Map of the Journey
I come from a tradition that places great importance on samadhi, on getting into the jhanas. Could you please explain your understanding of samadhi?

I am interested in the kind of samadhi which develops because of wisdom. When there is wisdom, when the mind understands things, there is stability of mind and we have what is called samma samadhi. Right samadhi brings clarity of awareness and insight. Many yogis think they only have samadhi when they experience a feeling of being in a kind of trance.

This kind of samadhi has been built with some tension in the mind. In such a state they cannot learn anything and clarity of awareness cannot improve. The state of mind which we call samadhi is very relaxed, cool, and calm. It is receptive and sensitive to whatever happens and can therefore know a lot more.

Many yogis have wrong ideas about how to build samadhi. They focus; they put in a lot of effort. What develops might be quietness, but it’s heavy; there is no lightness to it. In vipassana practice all we need is enough stability of mind to remain aware from moment to moment. We need just the stability of mind to know what is happening, that’s all. We don’t need jhanic samadhi; you cannot use absorption concentration for vipassana. Yogis who develop jhana before they practise vipassana need to get out of jhana first.

Jhana temporarily controls the defilements; there are no gross defilements in a jhanic state. Jhana suppresses the five hindrances. But jhana only suppresses kama chanda, sensual desire. It does not suppress other kinds of lobha (greed). Bhava tanha, the desire to become, is very much present in every jhanic state.

Samadhi is only complete when it has all three ingredients: samma sati (right mindfulness), samma vayama (right effort), and samma samadhi (right stability of mind). When there is continuous awareness with the right attitude and the right ideas, samadhi develops naturally.

Sayadaw U Tejaniya in Awareness Alone Is Not Enough (PDF)

See also, A strong, stable and continuous samadhi

Source: sayadawutejaniya.org