Search results for: "The Sangha"
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- Values of the Noble Ones… This is why we take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. The word for refuge in Pali, saraṇa, also means something you keep in mind. This is the mindfulness practice that will carry you through. I was reading today about high school students taking mindfulness courses. The way mindfulness courses are taught here is basically that you’re aware of whatever …
- Limitless is the Buddha… The Dhamma is also immeasurable; the Sangha is immeasurable. Their qualities are bigger than anything else you can think of in this life. They’re not only bigger than creeping things outside, but also bigger than creeping things inside—the creeping defilements and the creeping unskillful qualities that keep eating away at your potential for true happiness. So as you’re trying to stay …
- The True Dhamma Has Disappeared… Now, back in the days of the Buddha, that opinion would have been laughed out of the Sangha. But the sad truth is that at present, there are people who are happy to give it credence. Even obviously false Dhamma isn’t all that obvious to some, especially when it panders to their defilements. There’s a story about a novice staying out in …
- Sophisticated Dhamma… respect for the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha; respect for the training; and respect for concentration. Now, respect for the training covers all the main parts of the training: virtue, concentration, and discernment. So it’s interesting to think about why the Buddha added respect for concentration. It’s included in the training, but why is it singled out as being the most …
- Fix Your Views… Their confidence and conviction in the Buddha, Dhamma, and the Sangha have been confirmed. That’s the point where their view really is right. Of course, you don’t stop there. You learn how to use right view properly to take you even further, from right view to right knowledge. What this means in practice is that, as we’re starting out, our views …
- The Brahmavihāras Aren’t Enough… Mahānāma has been near the Saṅgha for the rains retreat. Now the Buddha is going to be going off on a walking tour, so Mahānāma comes and asks him, “If a wise noble disciple is on his deathbed, how do I counsel him in your absence?” The Buddha recommends that he first ask the dying person if he’s worried about his wife and …
- A Concentration Checklist… The Buddha tried to bring some harmony into the Sangha, but they basically said to him, “You just be the Buddha. We’ll take care of this quarrel ourselves.” So he left the city, went out into the wilderness, and came across Ven. Anuruddha along with two other monks, who were living a very peaceful life. Even so, Anuruddha said to the Buddha that …
- For a Routine That Isn’t Routine… We think about the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. You can sit here and just parrot the words and get that glazed look in your eyes as you stare off into the distance. But it’s better to stop and think, “Who was the Buddha? What was his Dhamma like? Who is the noble Sangha?”—what kind of example they set for us …
- The Elephant Hunter… I was reading someone say the other day that the Buddha simply asked for conviction in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, and that you follow the precepts, and that would constitute stream entry, the first level of awakening. That’s really dumbing down the path and the noble attainments, because what would you be basing your conviction on? Just that it makes …
- The Mind When Trained Brings Happiness… You may wonder why we’re showing so much respect for the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. It’s because they teach us to respect something worthy of respect within ourselves: our ability to find true happiness, our desire for true happiness. The Buddha doesn’t say that these are bad things or that they’re selfish. On the contrary, he says that …
- Asalha Puja – Completeness… Now there was the Sangha as well. So tonight is a symbol of completeness. Our next step is make sure it’s not just a symbol. Try to find some completeness in your own practice as well. The gist of the talk the Buddha gave that night started out with the fact that there are two ways that people strive to find happiness. One …
- Dhamma Intelligence… The Buddha recommends topics like recollection of the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, recollection of your generosity, recollection of your virtue. Those are to give you encouragement. Then there’s recollection of death, which is to remind you that you don’t know how much time you have, so there’s definitely work to be done right now. You can ask yourself, “Are you …
- The Range of Our Responsibility… Before he said his last words, he gave the opportunity to the people present to ask him any questions they might have about the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, the path, or the practice. He made that offer up to four times. First three times: “Anyone who wants to speak up can speak up.” The fourth time he said, “Maybe you feel embarrassed …
- The Carpenter’s Adze… You can reflect on the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, on your own generosity or your own virtue when you’re feeling down. Reflect on death when you’re feeling lazy. Learn how to read your mind by watching what it does, how it reacts to different types of training. After all, the carpenter himself has to do that. He’s not focusing …
- Strengthening Concentration… Sometimes it’s when you think of something more positively inspiring, like the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha. There are a whole host of other ways of developing strategies for motivating yourself. I’ve been reading recently about how famous writers motivated themselves to write. Anthony Trollope, for example, made a vow to himself that he would write x number of words every …
- The Four Biases… They talk about taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, and this is what they mean: You take the qualities of the Buddha—his mindfulness, discernment, concentration, integrity—and you train the mind so that it can be protected by those qualities inside. That’s the true meaning of refuge. When you have that quiet corner in the mind that you …
- Recovering Your Balance… You can think about the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha. One of the really fine things about Buddhism is that it was founded by someone who knows what it’s like to make a mistake. Even in his last lifetime, the Buddha made a huge mistake—six years of tormenting himself. And all those previous lifetimes! You look in the Jātaka stories and …
- Hold onto the Breath… As the Buddha said, there come times when you’re in the forest and fear comes up, so you think of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Take refuge in them. In other words, you follow the Buddha’s teachings and tell yourself, “Okay, I’ve got to believe, one hundred percent, that this is what’s going to protect me.” It’s …
- Respect as a Sign of Intelligence… We had the chant just now on respect for the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. What that means in practice is that you resist the urge to change them. Instead, you try to change yourself to see if by fitting into the Dhamma you benefit. And we show respect for the Buddha because he basically has us show respect to ourselves. Look inside …
- Directing & Not Directing the Mind… You can think about the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, or any other inspiring them. Think about the principle of karma— about why the mind needs to be trained. Or you can work with the breath itself, changing the way you breathe, changing the place where you focus, trying to use different concepts of the breath to see what creates a sensation of …
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