Search results for: "The Mind"

  1. Page 128
  2. The Kamma of Meditation
    The reason why we’re focusing on training the mind in the present moment is because of the way the Buddha taught kamma. That may seem ironic, as most of us think of kamma as having to do with past and future—and it does. But it actually has to do with all three time frames—past, future, and present, and it hinges on … 
  3. The Meaning of the Body
     … And it’s a great dissolver for the narratives the mind spins for itself. Once the mind spins its narratives, it snares itself, like a spider caught in its own web. Someone once said that the universe isn’t made out of atoms, it’s made out of stories. That may not be true of the physical universe, but the universe of our lives … 
  4. In Tune
     … But if we have these bases for harmony in terms of the precepts and right view, then the fact that we’re living together as a group actually becomes conducive to getting the mind still, getting the mind quiet, so that we can each work on the work that has to be done: ferreting out our defilements, developing discernment. Think of the questions that … 
  5. Delusion
     … You’ve got to learn how to figure out how to deal with, say, mindfulness or concentration as you’re getting into them here in the mind, trying to make them grow. With concentration, it’s largely a matter of doing everything you can to get the mind to stay with the breath or whatever your one object is. In the beginning, it’s … 
  6. Customs of the Noble Ones
     … Are the thoughts that you dwell on obscuring the mind, making it dark, making it hard to see things clearly? That’s one of the problems with the hindrances: They deceive you. When sensual desire comes in, there’s a part of the mind that wants to side with it, so: “Yeah, that person or that object really is desirable.” When ill will comes … 
  7. To Get Ourselves
     … It’s a way of developing a sense of detachment toward your food, a willingness to eat whatever you get, so it helps scrub away some of the defilements of the mind. The other reference to the customs of the noble ones is in the Canon, where the Buddha talks about four traditions of the noble ones. We chant it every now and then … 
  8. To Suffer Is an Active Verb
     … We look to see the level of suffering in the mind, and then try to see how it’s connected with what we’re doing. The Buddha says to watch it to see it go up and down so that you can detect the causes. When are you going to watch it best? When you’re getting the mind into concentration. That’s when … 
  9. Self-Reliance
     … The same principles apply to the mind. You have to watch the mind, live with the mind, watch its dealings, see how it handles hardships, see how it frames questions. Look at what kind of questions your mind is asking and how it goes about answering them. This way you get to know your own mind. You learn how to read your practice to … 
  10. Wisdom Through Doing
     … Anything unskillful comes up in the mind, you want to let it go. You should focus on the breath. Anything that’s not related to the mind and the breath together, just let it go. Give the mind some time to be by itself. You’re not concerned about anything else but just this awareness in the present moment, anchored in the breath with … 
  11. Can Do
     … It’s basically saying that you can get the mind into concentration and you can induce these things, you can follow these steps. What it means in practice is getting the mind still and then posing these questions. Say there’s a pain in the body, and it’s a sharp pain. It’s not the ordinary pains of just sitting and meditating. It … 
  12. Take Good Aim
     … Firing accurate shots in rapid succession means being very clear about what’s going on in the mind, moment to moment, and especially clear about when suffering is arising there, how it’s arising, and how it can be brought to an end. Because the mind can change so quickly, you want to be able to see it very quickly. Piercing great masses means … 
  13. Heedful of What’s Precious
     … When a skillful state arises in the mind, you want to figure out, “How do I keep it going?” If it disappears, you want to figure out, “Well, what happened? Why did it disappear?” Similarly with unskillful states: If you see something unskillful coming into the mind, you want to watch it with the idea of figuring out where it’s coming from so … 
  14. Always in Training
     … And so much of the goodness that the mind could do gets sacrificed for that. We have to realize that our values are backwards. It’s the mind that’s more important, and the body has to be there in service of the mind. This is where we get into the issue of the healthy positive and unhealthy positive body image. An unhealthy positive … 
  15. Body Contemplation Is Compassionate
     … When you leave this body, where are you going to go? If the mind has lots of attachments, it’s just going to grab onto whatever comes past, out of desperation. There’s work to be done so the mind doesn’t grab on like that. You really can make a difference in how you die by the preparatory work you do right now … 
  16. After-work Meditation
     … A part of the mind has a tendency to believe in the negative things more than in the positive, so it feels fake to remind yourself of how much you really do want true happiness. But don’t you want to happiness? Can’t you allow yourself to think that thought? Part of the mind will say, “But look at all these horrible people … 
  17. Listening to the True Dhamma
     … When it talks about perceptions, okay, you’re engaging in perceptions right now—whatever images you have of how the breath flows in your body, where you are in the body, what pictures you have in the mind. Are they the best pictures for getting the mind to settle down? The Dhamma points you to things you’re doing all the time but haven … 
  18. Awaken to Your Potentials
     … As you get the mind still with the breath and explore the potentials of the breath, you find that it’s good for the mind and for the body. Like right now, you can breathe in long or you can breathe in short—fast, slow, heavy, light, deep, shallow. These different ways of breathing will have a different effect on your body and on … 
  19. The Buddha’s Cure
     … So when the mind feels confident, feels calm, collected, you can see a lot more clearly, probe a lot more clearly. The parts of the mind that are recalcitrant, that are really clinging, can begin to loosen some of their grip, because they can see that they’re not being chased out for the sake of pain or harshness. They’re being chased out … 
  20. Calming Mental Fabrication
     … You can do this either just to get the mind to a spot where it feels really good and quiet, or to start understanding what’s going on in the mind—how it fabricates things. The best way to learn about the process of fabrication is to fabricate something really good. So he gives you some recommendations, and it’s good to keep them … 
  21. No Who or Where
     … This is a state of becoming that we’re creating as we get the mind into concentration, but the more you can keep it at the level of events, it’s a transparent* *becoming. You get to see the process as it’s happening. It enables you to see the process that happens when parts of the mind want to destroy the concentration and … 
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