Search results for: "Thought"
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- Exploring Contentment… He thought that there was nothing higher than where he was and was extremely proud of his attainment. So the Buddha visited his Brahma world. He had to show him that there was somebody who knew more than he did—more than Baka Brahma did—because it’s so easy when you gain an attainment either in terms of concentration or in terms of …
- Four Determinations… Get the mind really quiet to see, “Okay, where is there still a disturbance? What am I contributing to that?” Sometimes it’s in the factors that got you concentrated to begin with, as with directed thought and evaluation. You have to think your way to get the mind to settle down with the breath: You adjust the breath to fit with the mind …
- Centered on Concentration… As you look at all the other things you could be focused on, you realize that they don’t offer the happiness that you once thought they did. This is why the Buddha calls it awakening. We dream about things, looking for happiness here and there, and when we try to find it there, as he said, the fires of the mind scorch wherever …
- Noble Wealth… The Buddha talks about gaining huge amounts of merit, immeasurable amounts of merit, through having the right attitude toward giving, virtue, and developing thoughts of goodwill for all beings. This is all to the good because it gives us a sense that even though things of the world outside may be washed away—as we say in the chant: “The world is swept away …
- Protecting Your Space… What conversations are going on in the mind? Look for some physical seclusion, along with what the Buddha calls mental seclusion—dropping your thoughts of the future, dropping your thoughts of the past, and just staying right here, with a minimum amount of internal chatter, just enough to get the mind to settle down. The sense of seclusion is also important in the way …
- Getting into the Body… Sometimes you identify with the body, then oops, you’re identifying with a feeling, or a thought. It moves around so quickly you can’t see it. All you see is the movement. You can’t really pin it down. But if you can develop this sense of really inhabiting the body all the time, continually, no matter what, then you can look at …
- Conceit… On the one hand, it’s important to realize that this path you’re on is a hard path to follow, so you can’t go on the complacent assumption that, “This is going to be easy for me.” On the other hand, you don’t want to discourage yourself with the thought, “It’s going to be impossible for me.” The problem isn …
- On Idle Chatter… If you’re used to just talking all day, then when the time comes to sit and meditate, the mind says, “Hey, I’ve been churning out thoughts all day. Why stop now?” It’s in the habit of thinking mindlessly. If you don’t look carefully at your intentions, you miss one of the main aspects of social life as a Dhamma practitioner …
- A Radiant Practice… There are those who appreciate that fact, and they’re happy for it, for the fact that you’ve thought of them. That’s their merit that they pick up from this. So even though we may be practicing for the sake of getting out of samsara, we still want to leave some good things behind. That picture of the selfish Theravādin who’s …
- Always Observe Your Mind… the thought that giving is good. Or, “These people are poor and hungry, I have more than enough, it’s not right that I don’t share with them.” The motivations get higher and higher, and the reward in the next lifetime gets higher and higher as well. The focus is more and more on the state of the mind: “Giving is good.” “The …
- Truths Noble in the Heart… How many times in the course of the day have you done something, or said something, or thought something? You can’t count all the actions, and that’s just in one day. And it spreads out over lifetimes. You begin to realize that you’ve got a lot of things going on here. Some of the actions will give results quickly; others will …
- Heirs to Our Actions… This thought gives you the incentive to practice the path to get out. Otherwise, life gets confining. Try as you may, no matter how good it gets—you could become king, you could become one of those universal emperors who reigns over whole continents—but even for them it ends. And then where do they go? Back into the cycle. And when you have …
- Doubt vs. Questioning… That’s a lot more trustworthy than the knowledge that you gain simply from books, from words, or from what you’ve thought through on your own. The Buddha talks about three levels of discernment. The first two are the discernment that comes from listening and reading, and then the discernment that comes from thinking things through. Ajaan Lee compares the first to elementary …
- Beginning the Rains… It shows that you’ve put in some thought. And you’re not just spending all your time with social grease because too much grease can muck up the works. And finally, you’re consistent. Years back I was reading an advice column, and the person giving advice was saying, “If you’re going to help other people, don’t be very consistent in …
- The Power of the Mind… fact that the mind is going out looking for them. In the Buddha’s analysis, even prior to sensory contact there are a lot of things going on in the mind: thoughts, intentions, perceptions, fabrications of various kinds. These are the things that shape our experience now and on into the future. Because the mind has power, we can use it in various ways …
- In Memory of King Rama IX… You may not be able to get rid of it, but at least don’t let it show, and don’t let it take over your thoughts. If something in the mind says, “Okay, this is worthy of anger,” learn how to say, “No. Maybe there’s another side to it.” Or if something says, “This is worthy of lust, this is worthy of …
- The Dhamma Without Price… In fact, when he thought of when he was a king—guards posted inside the palace and outside the palace, inside the city and outside the city, inside the country and outside the country—even then he couldn’t sleep for fear that someone would try to kill him. If you’re trying to amass wealth, then once you’ve got it amassed, you …
- Learning & Respect… Then, when you can do that, he says the next step in the training is to keep track of the body in and of itself—ardent, alert, and mindful—putting aside greed and distress with reference to the world, but don’t think any thoughts about the body. The same with feelings, mind states, mental qualities. This means that you’re aware of the …
- The Wrong Uses of Right… As the body acts, as your words act, as your thoughts act, look at where they come from. Look at where they’re going. Don’t just get into them and ride around. Step back from them and see who’s driving them. That’s how you learn how to step back from your views. That’s what right view is for is learning …
- Right Speech, Inside & Out… One thought leads to another, leads to another, and you end up who knows where in the middle of Siberia. Other times, when the mind is settling down, there’s a part of the mind that’s afraid of concentration so it tries to break things up. That’s divisive speech. Harsh speech, of course, is when you tell yourself you’re a miserable …
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