Insight And Momentary Concentration
The visuddhimagga says that a meditator should try to develop the insight knowledges from sammasana nana (comprehension by groups) upwards only after he has completed five kinds of discernment. These are:
1. rupa pariggaha = discerning of rupas.
2. arupa pariggaha = discerning of namas.
3. nama rupa pariggaha = discerning of namas and rupas.
4. paccaya pariggaha = discerning of dhammas which are causes and dhammas which are results of the present namas and rupas.
5. addhana pariggaha = discerning of dhammas which are causes and dhammas which are results of the past and future namas and rupas.
The objects of insight meditation are namas, rupas, dhammas that are causes, and dhammas that are effects, and these are also called sankhara dhammas (conditioned phenomena).
The understanding (panna) that sees all these sankhara dhammas as impermanent, painful, and not-self is called insight (vipassana). Therefore, a meditator who wishes to develop vipassana which begins from maggamagga nana dassana visuddhi onwards must first have completed ditthi visuddhi and kankhavitarana visuddhi because it is the namas rupas and the causes and effects discerned in those purifications (visuddhi) to which the three characteristics of impermanence, pain, and not-self must be applied and which have to be seen with insight.
In the practice of insight the meditator must alternately apply the three characteristics at one time to the internal five khandhas, at another time to the external five khandhas, at one time to the rupas and at another time to the namas (see vsm.XXI, 86). The Visuddhimagga also instructs to apply the three characteristics to the dhammas in the past and future at the time of doing insight on the factors of dependent origination during sammasana nana and udayabbaya nana (see vsm. XX, 6 - 9 ). The concentration that occurs while doing insight is called khanika samadhi, because it does not remain on a single object continuously as it does in samatha.
To be able to systematically practise insight as described above, the practice must certainly be based upon upacara or appana jhana concentration. Here upacara concentration refers to that produced by four elements meditation or samatha meditation. Only the concentration that occurs when doing insight in the above way can be called vipassana khanika samadhi.
Please note that if the meditator is as yet unable to see rupa kalapas or individual namas, to analyse them, to discern the causes and results in the past, present, and future, to apply the three characteristics to all these dhammas, then his concentration cannot be called insight momentary concentration (vipassana khanika samadhi).
To summarize, when developing concentration, the suddha vipassana yanika individual's highest concentration reached by four elements meditation is called upacara concentration by comparison to the upacara concentration preceding jhana. This highest concentration is also called khanika samadhi by the sub-commentary. When a suddha vipassana yanika individual practising vipassana bases his insight on upacara concentration, which for him is purification of mind (citta visuddhi), and then proceeds to see with insight conditioned phenomena, he has at that time concentration called vipassana khanika samadhi. When the samatha yanika individual who develops firstly upacara or appana jhana samadhi as his purification of mind then arises from that concentration and sees with insight conditioned phenomena he has at that time concentration called vipassana khanika samadhi.
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