>>5302>are there tangible benefits? Did anyone try?I'm practicing regularly for around half a year by now; I managed to develop sort of a reflex that often when I'm lost in thought or strong emotions, my mind yanks itself out of it and lets me observe what's going on more impartially.
On the other hand, while my "field" practice (when riding a tram, walking alone, etc) has improved, I feel stuck or even regressing in my practice "on cushion", my peak was around half an hour daily, but nowadays I can barely sit 15 minutes. I wish I had a proper teacher, but alas, the quarantine doesn't make this easy (I've been attending Theravada online meetings though).
>How do i properly do it? For how long?For me a turning point was reading "Mastering the core teachings of the Buddha" (
https://www.mctb.org ), it was very refreshing to read someone describe samadhi and vipassana in detail, without the usual obscurantism, and with warnings about what you're getting yourself into (especially the "dark night of the soul" deserves mention, people generally don't like talking about potential negative consequences of following a spiritual path)
It's rather low on practical instructions though, for me helpful were Leigh Brasington's "Right Concentration" (for samadhi) and Yates&Immergut&Graves "The Mind Illuminated" (for vipassana).