if u got to like say 2nd jhana by meditating on your breath, are you still able to get to 2nd jhana easily if u meditate on something else next time?
it depends, you should try which method suits you, some people find certain methods unsuitable and some methods suitable.
if mindfulness of breathing works for u then u might want to consider ur main method
what if one day im drowning/buried alive then i cant meditate via breathing
am i supposed to die without being in a meditative state?
Originally posted by Weychin:You have vivid dreams of being buried alive perhaps?
First,you must be able to enter the meditative state at will.
You also need to contemplate on impermanence and death.
When you can truly accept the inevitability of death, you will no longer grasp and thus able achieve the meditative state.
what vivid dreams? im talking literally
Originally posted by Fire Vampire:what if one day im drowning/buried alive then i cant meditate via breathing
am i supposed to die without being in a meditative state?
If you have mastery of jhana, you can enter at will.
However, entering jhana is not the goal of Buddhism. Liberation is the goal of Buddhism. Surely you don't want to be reborn in a jhanic realm for millions of years and yet still fall back into the lower realms after that.
So in addition to shamatha jhanas, you still need to do vipassana, realize ur true nature, get enlightened and liberated.
When you are liberated, you are liberated at each moment in life and do not need to depend on meditation and you do not need to enter any jhana. Even if you get hit by a bus and died on the spot you will still be liberated. The distinction between meditation and post-meditation dissolves and every moment is a 'meditative' authentication of the luminous and empty nature of mind.
Personally I am more of a direct path practitioner and don't exactly follow the gradual shamatha/vipassana practices: http://awakeningtoreality.blogspot.sg/2010/12/my-e-booke-journal.html