Search results for: "Generosity"

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  2. The Wrong Uses of Right
     … We know that generosity is good; we know that gratitude is good. But if you think about it for a while, you realize that generosity is good primarily because people choose to be generous. That has good consequences. Gratitude is good because it’s right to honor the times when people have chosen to help us, to do good things for us. It’s … 
  3. The World of the Body
     … As for the perfections, starting with generosity and going down the list—generosity, virtue, renunciation, discernment, persistence, endurance, truth, determination, good will, and equanimity—whatever we can do to develop these qualities, they give meaning to life, because they’re the things that will be left when we have to leave the body. So this world we have inside: We put it to use … 
  4. Alone Together
     … The first principle is generosity. You don’t think only of yourself, of what you’re getting out of the situation, or what you want out of the situation. You try to take other people’s wants and needs into consideration as well. And if there’s anything you have to share, you’re happy to share it. We hear so much about hoarding … 
  5. Serenity
     … You can reflect on your own virtue, you can reflect on your own generosity. These are calming thoughts as well: realizing that even though your virtue may not be perfect, you’ve got at least some good things that you’ve done in your past. Your generosity may not be perfect, but there are areas where you’ve helped other people: either through material … 
  6. Fear & Insecurity
     … This is why generosity and virtue play such a large role in the training of the mind, because they get you out of yourself. The focus is not so much on the form and feelings and perceptions and what-not that make up who you are, but more and more on the goodness and merit you can create through your actions. This is an … 
  7. Unlimited Mind, Limited Resources
     … The recollection of your generosity and your virtue serves two functions. One, when you’re meditating and you’re beginning to feel like you’ve got no ability at all, try to recollect the times when you were generous or you abstained from doing something harmful even though you could have gotten away with it. That gives you a sense of your worth. That … 
  8. A Path of Aggregates
     … He would often prepare people by having them think about generosity, virtue, the rewards of virtue and generosity that can be found in heaven. But then the drawbacks: Even heavenly sensual pleasures have their drawbacks. Some of them can be quite severe. The Canon says that very few devas return to the human world after they pass away from the deva realm. Many of … 
  9. Evaluation
     … It could be recollection of the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, recollection of your own generosity, your own virtue, even recollection of the devas. **With the recollection of the devas, it’s not simply thinking about the fact that there **are devas, but thinking more about the qualities that make them devas. You realize you’ve got those qualities in yourself: conviction, virtue, generosity … 
  10. Pain
     … conviction, virtue, generosity, discernment. But you’re really going to need them at the moment of death, too. Conviction that the Buddha was right: What you do with the mind right now is really going to make a difference. That was one of his major insights in the night of his awakening. Your past karma throughout life may have an influence on where you … 
  11. After the Fire
     … I must admit as I bowed down to the Buddha the last time on Tuesday morning before we left, I looked around and wondered, “Will I ever see any of this ever again?” This place has been built out of generosity. You look at each item in the sala, look all around the property: It’s the work of people who’ve given their … 
  12. Abandoning Effluents (1)
     … The way the Buddha would prepare you is through a life of generosity, a life of virtue. As for your reflections on your generosity and virtue, you ask yourself: What kind of actions lead to long-term well-being? And how do you relate to long-term well-being? After all, ordinary actions that are relatively skillful can lead to good results. But the … 
  13. True Values
     … Then there’s learning, generosity, discernment: These are all good things, good wealth, solid wealth, reliable wealth. So if you want to be wealthy, this is where you should look. As for status, genuine status doesn’t come from being put in a position of power outside. It comes from having power over your own mind, your own ability to say No to your … 
  14. Life in the Context of the Practice
     … The other treasures are learning, generosity, and discernment. Learning means knowing the Dhamma. We fill our heads with so much garbage, so it’s good to clear some of that garbage out and fill it with Dhamma instead. That way, when difficult situations come up, you’ve got something you can fall back on. You can remember, “The Buddha says this about this kind … 
  15. One Thing Clear Through
     … Every aspect of the path, starting with generosity as a foundation for the path, and then the training in what the Buddha calls heightened virtue, heightened mind, and heightened discernment: This is the way out. We’re training not just the mind but also the heart, which is why generosity is a good place to begin. The word citta, in Pali, covers both mind … 
  16. Mindful All the Way
    The Buddha says that among the rewards for generosity and virtue is rebirth in heaven. But then we read that rebirth in a good destination is guaranteed only in the case of a stream-enterer—in other words, someone who’s had a first taste of awakening. That sets the bar a lot higher. So the question is, what about those earlier promises? The … 
  17. The Dhamma Eye
     … All the good things you do, as one of the Thai ajaans once said, start with generosity and respect, and those two qualities of generosity and respect carry you through all the way to the end, because the realization of the deathless finally means that you learn to let go of everything you’ve been holding on to. You held on because you thought … 
  18. Justice vs. Skillfulness
     … As for helping other people, that’s a matter of generosity. The Buddha set out duties only in terms of the four noble truths. As for the issue of helping other people, he didn’t place a duty on anyone. He pointed out the advantages of being generous, but he didn’t try to force anyone in that direction. He simply pointed out that … 
  19. A Good Purpose in Life
     … There’re other things they’re doing with their generosity, their virtue, their determination to develop a monastery here in a very unlikely place, i.e., America, and to see it through.” It requires endurance. It requires patience. It requires determination, all kinds of good qualities. And all of that is part of the practice. When you learn how to look at our life … 
  20. Wealth & Strength
     … It was because of his generosity of spirit that he thought that Wat Metta would be a good place to start. He already had the temple there in Ontario. But he felt that a place where people could really practice—and not just Thai people, but people of all backgrounds—would be of genuine use for the world at large. We now have this … 
  21. Balancing Tranquility & Insight
     … the sense of well-being that comes from developing virtue, developing generosity; the sense of confidence that arises from contemplating the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha; or recollecting on your own past virtues, your own past acts of generosity, and, as they say, the qualities of the devas that you’ve been developing, which include generosity and restraint. When you think about these … 
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