Search results for: "Suffering"

  1. Page 120
  2. Training Your Minds
     … But you have to keep looking at the possibility that, as the Buddha said, we can put an thorough end to suffering. There should be at least one part of the mind that’s determined to see that through, to see if it really is possible. That’s the part you’ve got to nurture. As for the other ones, as I said, sometimes … 
  3. Family Ties
     … His main exclamation around family life is just about how much suffering there is—how burdensome we can be with one another—and it’s one of those reflections that’s very useful when you sit down to meditate. Realize you can’t find happiness out there. It’s got to be in here. Sometimes, no matter how good you are, no matter how … 
  4. At Home with the Breath
     … The extent to which you can feel compassion for people who are suffering and empathetic joy for people who are happy or creating the causes for happiness: Those are good feelings to engender inside. It feels good to think these things. Thoughts of equanimity, when you realize there are certain things that are beyond your control and you accept that so you can focus … 
  5. Harmony Inside & Outside
     … If you find yourself suffering because of some deeply held notions, well, you’re willing to give them up, or at least try your best to give them up. In that way, an inner generosity, an inner largeness of spirit is what helps the meditation get genuine results. As for kind words, address kind words to yourself. There’s a famous story concerning Ajaan … 
  6. Conspiracies in the Mind
     … That’s the conspiracy that you’re really suffering from. The world outside is never going to be free of conspiracies or conspiracy theories. As we all know, this is the way human beings act. They know that some things are rightly regarded as wrong, but that doesn’t keep them from doing those things. They just try to do them in secret. That … 
  7. Take Down Your Sails
     … Even if people don’t touch it, just the fact that we’re living in a world where things can change, things are going to change, you can create a lot of suffering out of laying claim to “this has to be this way and I can’t stand it for being any other way.” This is why the Buddha teaches not-self. If … 
  8. Fabrication at the Breath
     … It’s just learning how to analyze it, learning how to master these processes so that you can get them on your side—on the side of wanting to develop a path that leads to the end of suffering—rather than just muddling around in your old ways and creating more and more suffering and stress and complaining about it, but not really being … 
  9. Ugly Body, Happy Mind
     … What’s creating a bridge between the physical pain and the pain that you’re suffering from in the mind? It’s a perception. What kind of perception? Why do you think in those terms? The same with the contemplation of the parts of the body: The Buddha recommends that you start with your own body first and then realize that any other body … 
  10. Opting Out
     … With discernment, you realize there are certain desires you could give in to, but they’re going to lead to suffering, and you find a way beyond those desires. When the goal is reached, when release comes, you’ve found a happiness that doesn’t have to depend on anything, which means it doesn’t have to feed on anyone. Remember the Buddha’s … 
  11. Concentration & Renunciation
     … After all, the Buddha used suffering as the first noble truth—as he said, if you really comprehend it, you go beyond it. So you don’t run away from it; you learn how to use it, just as you learn how to use pleasure. And it’s in learning how not to be overcome either by pleasure or pain: That’s how the … 
  12. A Full Life
     … He says you can make your purpose in life the end of suffering. The world itself, as a whole, has no purpose, which means that you’re free to choose your purpose. And you want to choose a wise one. We’ve chosen some pretty unwise ones in the past. Here’s some guidance on how to find happiness that’s totally harmless, totally … 
  13. A Positive-Sum Game
     … But if you learn to gain some control over your mind so that it doesn’t go into areas that cause suffering, it doesn’t go into areas that cause stress, doesn’t go into areas that give rise to greed, anger, and delusion, impatience, fear, whateve: When you’ve gained the concentration, the mindfulness, and the discernment to see through these things, those … 
  14. Where to Look in the Present
     … It’s right here that you can gain an understanding as to why there’s suffering, why there’s stress, and what can be done about it. So, always be very clear that when you’re in the present moment, it’s not just for the sake of nurturing an openness to whatever comes up. You need to have an underlying intention for what … 
  15. The Purity of Your Intentions
     … There may be times when, by holding the precepts, you’re going to suffer a loss of some kind, but as the Buddha said, that kind of loss is nothing compared to the loss of your virtue. So when information is hard to come by, all you have is your intentions, the purity of your intentions, to fall back on. This is why we … 
  16. No Slivers in the Heart
     … And even then, there’s still going to be suffering in the world. No matter where you go, there’s going to be aging, illness, and death. There are some heavenly realms, apparently, where there’s no aging or illness. The only pains are hunger and death. But still, there’s still going to be pain wherever you go. This reflection should give rise … 
  17. Energy & Efficiency
     … That way, you find that the issue of suffering and stress gets more manageable as well.
  18. The Search for Something of Substance
     … And the more you try to lay claim to things that are beyond your control, the more you’re going to suffer. You look at yourself; you look at your own mind. Things in society could change very drastically. Think about climate change or about the fact that all kinds of social disruptions could happen. Can you trust yourself to behave in an honorable … 
  19. Giving & Taking Time
     … But remember the things that are really causing you to suffer are the things that are coming from within. So you want to keep reflecting back on that—when you’re grumpy, when you’re tired, when you’re discouraged. Pull out of the attitude a bit and ask yourself, “Why did I let this take over?” Sometimes it may be a lack of … 
  20. The Dhamma Is in the Method
     … But sometimes you just want to get back at somebody, with the conviction that you’re right about wanting to see them suffer. But your rightness is creating a lot of trouble. There are ways of being right and yet wrong at the same time. So, you want to learn how to shed those. Then the pair of contentment and persistence: You’re content … 
  21. A Slave to the Dhamma
     … They actually make you suffer. Whereas if you’re a slave to the Dhamma, the things it asks you do are good things: to be virtuous, to be generous, to develop good qualities in the mind. “Generous” here means being generous not only with money, but also with your time, your energy. Like today’s kathina: It’s taken a lot out of everybody … 
  22. Load next page...