Search results for: "The Sangha"
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- Control from Within… We can reflect on the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha—the example they’ve set. We can reflect on our own goodness, the times in the past when we chose to do the right thing. We were generous when we didn’t have to be. Or we held by our principles when we didn’t have to. We made the right choice: That …
- Inner Refuge… We depend on the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha to some extent as examples: This is how happiness is found, this is how people have found it in the past and other people are finding it in the present moment. But for genuine refuge, we have to take the qualities that they develop—mindfulness, alertness, concentration, discernment—and build them up inside. That …
- Protest Your Virtue & Right View… As the Buddha pointed out in dealing with the monks, if there’s been a split in the Sangha and one side is operating under corrupt motives, then even attempts to create harmony again that depend on pretending that their motives were not corrupt, is not going to be harmony. You have to dig down as to what was the problem. That kind of …
- Impossible Things… This is why sanghanussati, recollection of the Sangha, is such a useful contemplation. Sometimes it’s hard to compare yourself to the Buddha, but you can compare yourself to members of the noble Sangha. People who followed the Buddha’s teachings were of all kinds. There were lepers, poor people, rich people, all kinds of people. One famous pair was Mahapandaka and Culapandaka. They …
- Thinking About Your Fears… killing an arahant, killing your parents, causing a split in the Sangha. You haven’t done any of those things. This is one of the reasons why, when someone is on his or her deathbed, people will come and say, “Remember all the good things you’ve done—the times when you were generous, the times you were virtuous, the times you meditated.” Realize …
- Slogging Through Difficulties… This is one of the reasons why we have sanghanussati, recollection of the Sangha, as part of our practice. Think about all the difficulties the monks and the nuns went through: the ones who were about to commit suicide because they hadn’t gotten any concentration for thirty, forty years, and then something clicked, and they gained awakening. So instead of hoping for some …
- Why We Bow Down… To fight that part, it helps to have a strong sense of faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha. “Faith” is often the F-word in Western Buddhism but it’s a necessary part of the path. But the faith needed for the path is a clear-eyed faith. We know we’re operating on assumptions that we can’t confirm yet …
- Boring… the recollection of the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha. Recollection of death—the fact that it could happen at any time. Whatever recollection you find gets you more motivated: Think about it for a while until you’re ready to come back to the breath. And remind yourself: Everything you’re going to need is right here, simply that you haven’t noticed it …
- Resourceful… Ajaan Lee, toward the end of his life, wrote about taking the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha as your refuge both on an external level and on an internal level. The external level basically gives you examples of what to do and what not to do. As I was saying last night, a lot of the Buddha’s teachings are not just about …
- Comfortable as an Outsider… In the same way, when you respect the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, when you respect your ability to find true happiness, that makes you part of the cosmopolis of the Buddha’s parisa, the following of the Buddha: those who are asking the questions the Buddha asked, looking for the answers inside themselves. So as you repeat the chants at night, remember …
- Training Your Intentions… the brahmavihāras, contemplation of the body, recollection of the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Saṅgha—anything that gives rise to a sense of enjoyment in being here. You need that sense of enjoyment because you’re going to be doing some serious work but you don’t want to be grim about it. And you don’t want to be defeated by the fact that …
- Study & Practice… This is why the Buddha set up the apprenticeship of the Sangha. A lot of this cannot be explained in words, but you can pick it up by being around people who’ve trained—if you’re sensitive and open to learning. This is why one of the most important verses in the Dhammapada is about the difference between the tongue that can taste …
- A Sense of Time & Place… That’s why we have the contemplation of the body for lust, developing the brahmaviharas to guard against anger and ill will, contemplation of death to overcome laziness, and recollection of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha to give us encouragement on the path. There’s also recollection of our generosity and our virtue to reinforce our sense of self-worth. These are …
- Refuge… It’s expressed in terms of taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, but basically it means taking refuge in their qualities and developing those qualities inside yourself. And they’re all qualities that are developed through the wise pursuit of happiness. The Buddha has three main qualities that the tradition talks about: wisdom, purity, and compassion. Wisdom, as the Buddha …
- Evaluating Your Practice… This is why the Buddha set up the Sangha, so that there’s an apprenticeship. You not only listen to Dhamma talks, you also live with someone who’s been practicing the Dhamma so that you can pick up that person’s example. When you internalize the lessons, there comes a point where you’re independent. But until then, remember: You still have things …
- The Source of Goodness… It turns out she’s a stream-enterer, so there is no way she’s going to abandon the Buddha, the Dhamma, or the Sangha. And she says over and over as she points out the issues that put his mind at ease, that the Buddha says it’s not healthy to be worried at death. So she said everything she could to console …
- A Happiness Without Boundaries… When we talk about taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, we’re taking them as examples as to how to find true happiness, how to develop the skills inside that lead to happiness. So. The Buddha. We talk about his three major virtues: wisdom, purity, and compassion. They all come from learning how to find happiness in a responsible way …
- Separate… We take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, in the sense that we see what good qualities they have and we try to develop those good qualities within us. That would come down to wisdom, compassion, and purity—and these are all strengths. The wisdom, there, is to see not that things are so much interconnected—although you can see how …
- Dhamma in Vinaya… Often it’s useful to look at how the Buddha worked out some of the implications of how these larger principles should be applied to the rules that govern the life of the Sangha. You can learn a lot of important lessons that way, even if you’re not a monk. Take for instance, the Buddha’s analysis of actions for the sake of …
- Safety in an Uncertain World… This is one of the ways in which the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha can give us refuge They give us standards to stand against those of the world. The world says that material wealth is the best thing there is, power is the best thing there is, beauty, fame. The Buddha says, “No, those things will change on you.” And to get …
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