Search results for: "Suffering"

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  2. At the Door of the Cage
     … When we got to the third noble truth, the cessation of suffering, the passages we were discussing contained descriptions of nibbana, and the general consensus in the group was that they didn’t like the sound of it. It seemed too alien, too foreign to be really appealing. Then we got to the fourth noble truth and we started talking about right concentration. That … 
  3. An Exercise in Sensitivity
     … Anything that allows you to see that you’re holding on to something that’s making you suffer, and you don’t have to hold on—that counts as insight. It’s a development of your sensitivity—one, to see that there is stress, suffering, someplace in the mind, someplace in the body; two, realizing that it comes from your clinging, it’s accompanied … 
  4. Owning Your Actions
     … And of course, this all relates to the four noble truths, which is the Buddha’s teaching on how the suffering that weighs the mind down comes from within. So meditation is always a matter of looking back at what you’re doing and the results of what you’re doing. This is why, when the Buddha wanted to express his awakening in as … 
  5. The Wisdom of Dualities
     … Right view teaches that there are desires leading to suffering and there are the desires that can, when implemented properly, lead to the end of suffering. One course is better than the other. So have some appreciation for dualities. Have some appreciation for the fact that there really is a skillful way to go about judging things. Learn how to be wise in your … 
  6. Dethinking Thinking
     … There is suffering. So, what precisely is the suffering? What’s causing it? Can it be brought to an end? As he explored that issue, he discovered that it opened up a lot of unexpected things in his mind. He found that it was possible to experience something outside of space, outside of time. As he said, there’s no coming, no going, no … 
  7. The Dhamma Protects
     … It comes from discernment, when you see how you’re causing suffering to yourself. All too often we’re focusing on the suffering caused by other people, other things, so we’re ignorant of what we’re doing. This is why the patience and the equanimity are needed, so that you can step back from what you’re usually doing to see that it … 
  8. Sitting & Walking
     … It’s in this way that you begin to see how it’s creating unnecessary suffering for itself—which is the whole point. So walking meditation is good for sitting meditation. If nothing else gets your juices stirring. It gets the body moving again so that you don’t suffer the effects of long periods of immobility. It also gives the mind a different … 
  9. It’s All in What You’re Doing
     … But they learned how to train their minds not just to bear with the pain, but to be with the pain and not suffer from it. Their example shows it can be done. There’s a case in the Canon where a monk is out in the wilderness. It’s a big grassy wilderness, not the beautiful forest wilderness we like to think about … 
  10. On Human Nature
     … If you can uproot your greed, other people around you won’t have to suffer from your greed. If you can uproot your aversion and delusion, nobody has to suffer from your aversion and delusion. That right there is a huge gift. It’s in this way that your desire for happiness can be turned into something that’s wise, pure, and compassionate. As … 
  11. Two Kinds of Cross-Questioning
     … We use the general principles as working hypotheses so that we can get into this issue of why the mind is creating suffering and how it can stop. As we’re working with the breath here, we’re developing qualities of mind that make it easier and easier to see what’s actually going on. The mindfulness part—the part that keeps things in … 
  12. From Anxiety to Confidence
     … What he discovered about human action does give us hope that it is possible through what you do and say and think, if you do it with knowledge, to put an end to suffering. And the path to the end of suffering is a good path. It’s a path that leads to light. Based on that conviction, you have a sense of shame … 
  13. Learning by Doing
     … Sometimes we’re told that the desire for things to be different is the cause of suffering, so we should just accept things as they are. But that’s ignoring the fact that “as they are” already involves some manipulation on our part. It may be very subconscious, but it’s there. After all, what do we have here in the present moment? We … 
  14. The Right Time at the Right Place
     … Just think about the Buddha’s analysis of suffering: It’s from the things we crave and cling to. In other words, we suffer because of the things we like, that we feel that we can’t let go of. That’s because we’re ignorant about what we’re doing, and that ignorance is something we don’t want to look at. We … 
  15. Bodies & Minds Outside
     … You realize that if your happiness depends on other people’s suffering, they’re not going to stand for it. You can’t say, “Excuse me, this is my happiness, and so you’ll just have to let me continue enjoying it because it’s so special.” They’ll say, “This is my suffering. It’s special, too. I don’t want it.” This … 
  16. Delight in Persistence
     … If you bring knowledge to these things, they turn from causes of suffering to the path to the end of suffering—and you bring knowledge to them as you use them to get the mind in concentration. So there’s a joy in seeing yourself being freed from things that you were afraid of before and being brave enough to face things that you … 
  17. To Know the Unconditioned
     … a consciousness without fabrications, a consciousness without suffering, without limits. That’s the unconditioned. To find that, you have to understand what you’re doing to fabricate things. We think that sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and ideas come in at us willy-nilly while we’re passively receiving them. But the Buddha’s basically saying that we go out looking for these … 
  18. Basic Intro
     … So we train the mind to bring it more under control so that it doesn’t create unnecessary suffering for itself. And as we train the mind with the breath like this, we’re developing good qualities to help with that sense of control: Mindfulness, keeping something in mind—in this case, you keep the breath in mind. Alertness, watching what’s actually going … 
  19. Control from Within
     … If we don’t train the mind, we’re going to suffer. If we do train the mind, we have the opportunity not to suffer. That’s our big choice in life. The Buddha once said the point that distinguishes a wise person from the fool is that the wise person sees the necessity of training the mind, whereas the fool doesn’t. That … 
  20. Prevention
     … If you know that your lust has harmed other people in the past and could probably harm other people again, remind yourself, “Okay, this is for their good as well as for mine.” And that you’ve all suffered enough. That’s one of the questions the Thai ajaans keep asking, “Have you had enough suffering?” And your mouth may say, “Plenty enough,” but … 
  21. To Be Sure
     … It’s not the case that you’re the only one who will suffer if the mind changes direction. Other people will suffer, too. But if you can straighten out your own mind, other people will benefit. So this is not a selfish practice. It focuses on what you’re doing, it focuses on your happiness, but with a realization that there’s a … 
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