Search results for: "Mindfulness"

  1. Page 110
  2. Karma in the Present
     … You want to give the mind a good place to stay so that it has the strength to do what it knows is right. Another way of bringing good karma to the present moment, a good attitude to the present moment, is developing thoughts of goodwill. This works in several directions: First it creates a basis for skillful ideas in your mind so that … 
  3. What’s Important
     … There’s a desire in the mind for freedom. There’s a desire in the mind for integrity. There’s a desire in the mind to be honest, to be truthful. These desires exist, too. So, it’s not that we’re totally denying desire. We’re simply sorting our desires out and trying to give prominence to the ones that are most honorable … 
  4. Giving Meaning to Life
     … As you work on the path, you begin to see how the mind creates a thought world and you realize that you have the choice to go into that thought world or not. As you develop more and more mindfulness, more and more alertness, you understand these processes of the mind. Through understanding them, you can free yourself from them. You don’t have … 
  5. Three Noble Truths Versus Four
     … We practice right speech, right action, and right livelihood to get the mind in the right frame of mind, to create the right conditions to have a concentration based on honesty. We practice right effort to get rid of the qualities that get in the way of concentration and to develop the qualities that are needed for the mind to get centered. We practice … 
  6. Over-informed
     … So what did he do? He got his mind into that state and he asked the question, “Is there still some stress here?” He realized it was in the directed thought and the evaluation. What happened if you drop that? In the beginning, the directed thought and evaluation were necessary parts of getting the mind to settle down, because otherwise, if you didn’t … 
  7. One Foot in the Present
     … Just make up your mind that if you do catch yourself losing the breath, you’re not going to berate yourself, you’re not going to get upset. You’ll just notice the fact that you’ve moved off the breath and come right back to it. Remember: It’s normal, especially if you’re new to the meditation. The mind isn’t yet … 
  8. Be Observant
     … Start with the breath because the breath is nearby, and the movements of the breath are more obvious than the movements of the mind. Ultimately, you’re going to want to turn around and look at the mind itself, but the mind is extremely subtle and fast. So you practice first with things that are a little bit slower, more blatant. Try to see … 
  9. When Things Aren’t Going Well
     … You can’t let negativity take over your mind. It’ll have lots of things to complain about—“This is not the right place to practice; these are not good people to practice with,” on and on and on—diverting your attention from the real problem, which is that you’re not paying careful attention to what the mind is doing. The mind is … 
  10. The Brahmaviharas Are Not Enough
     … Set your mind on those. Then, if the person can set his mind on the Brahma realms, union with Brahma, then he’s to be told, “Even that has a sense of self-identity. There’s still going to be suffering; it’s still fettered. Set yourself on abandoning self-identity – the way you define yourself. It’s only then that you gain true … 
  11. Selecting from the Teachings
    Allow the mind to settle down with the breathing. Think of yourself as gathering the mind in from all the places it’s been roosting in the course of the day, like a big flock of birds. It’s been thinking about this, thinking about that, all over the place. Now all the birds are going to come down on the same telephone pole … 
  12. Ups & Downs
     … getting the mind into stillness, into concentration, and in using your discernment to let go of your defilements. In both cases, you’ve got to learn how to develop a certain stamina, learn how to keep the mind on an even keel, and not be either excited by things going up or upset by things going down. Remind yourself: This is normal. This is … 
  13. Turn Off the Automatic Pilot
    Turn Off the Automatic Pilot December 5, 2011 The part of the mind that keeps shaping experience is something that lies very deep. And it’s something we often don’t pay attention to. We’re more interested in the effects outside—so interested in things outside that we lose touch with where they come from. The part of the mind that shapes things … 
  14. Sensitive in Seven Ways
     … What are your weaknesses when you sit down to meditate? Where are the places your mind tends to go that it shouldn’t go? Are you lacking in mindfulness? Are you lacking in alertness? Is the problem with the mind, or more with the body and the breath? Learn how to read yourself. Then try to compensate for your weaknesses by taking advantage of … 
  15. Standing Outside Your Thoughts
     … The fifth approach is, as the Buddha says, to crush your mind with your mind. In other words, if the other approaches don’t work, you just make up your mind, “I’m not going to think that thought,” and then you bear down. Put the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth, grit your teeth, and just tell yourself, “I … 
  16. Healthy Conceit
     … Exactly what happens when the mind is distracted? Where does it go? You might think that a lapse in mindfulness would be impossible to see because, of course, there’s no mindfulness in that moment. But remember, you’ve got different committee members and some of them are watching you. So take advantage of that fact. There’s somebody observing the meditator here, and … 
  17. Building a Home for the Mind
    The texts often talk about concentration as being a home for the mind—*vihāra-dhamma: *the place where the mind can settle in. Before you can settle in, though, you have to build a house. As Ajaan Lee said, the work in building this house is in the directed thought and evaluation. You find a topic that you like to think about, and then … 
  18. All for the Sake of Freedom
     … And where do our actions come from? They come from the mind. So we’re going to train the mind. The emphasis on suffering is meant to keep reminding us that there’s work to be done. We’re here meditating because there are things that need to be done in the mind. If we don’t do them, the mind’s just going … 
  19. Desires Have Their Reasons
     … Well, here’s a desire to settle down, just be very still, so you can see these movements of the mind. The ajaans talk about them a lot. Luang Puu Dune talks about how the mind goes flowing out. That’s the cause of suffering. Ajaan Lee identifies these outflows with the effluents. There’s a desire that arises in the mind and then … 
  20. Conviction & Focus
     … To do that, you have to be mindful. And when you develop right mindfulness, you get your mind into concentration, and that gets your discernment even sharper. So all of the strengths in both lists can be traced back to conviction that the Buddha was right. We may not know yet, but it’s a good working hypotheses that even old people can accomplish … 
  21. The Gift of Goodwill
     … So, taking care of your mind is a gift not only to yourself but also to the people around you. They talk of the famous ajaans dying extremely peacefully, not burdening anyone else with their suffering because they’ve learned how not to suffer from whatever can happen to the body, whatever happens to the mind. So as you train the mind, it’s … 
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