Search results for: "Feelings"
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- Delight in the Dhamma… He feels gratified. He’s free from all that disturbance. In the same way, learn how to delight in getting alone. Get the mind to settle down. Get some pleasure out of the breath. Get some pleasure out of concentration. That way, you allay your itch and find a well-being that comes from inside. So learn to delight in that. And finally, the …
- Cutting New Paths in the Mind… thoughts of shame, thoughts of inadequacy, fear, feeling threatened very easily. There are lots of ways in which we bring unnecessary suffering onto ourselves, and they tend to be very quick. They’re like paths in the mind over which we’ve walked back and forth many, many times. There’s nothing in the way, we’ve killed all the grass, we’ve cut …
- The Gift of Discernment… What are you holding onto in terms of the form, whatever forms there may be in your experience right now? What are you holding onto in terms of feelings, perceptions, fabrications, consciousness? How are you holding on? Why do you hold on? What’s the allure? When you see the allure, then you want to see the drawbacks of holding on like that. That …
- Responsible for Your Actions… Then adjust the rhythm and texture of the breathing so that it feels just right. Experiment a bit. It’s like fixing food. You taste it and then decide if it needs more salt or less salt or this spice or that spice until you get the taste that’s just right. Because concentration is food for the mind. It’s nourishment for the …
- The Buddha’s Compassion… People feel they’re owed this, they’re owed that. And whatever good things come their way, they just take it for granted, without realizing all the difficulties that people have gone through in order to create a society that works somewhat. It may not be perfect, but think of what society would be like if everyone just decided, “Okay, I’ve had enough …
- The Dhamma Eye… You have to know this part of the mind really well, the part that’s adjusting things in the present moment, using the different kinds of fabrication—bodily fabrication, the way you breathe; verbal fabrication, the way you talk to yourself; and mental fabrication, feelings and perceptions. Get to know these things really well, so that when they finally fall away, you’ll know …
- Joy & Discontent… When you can finally get past it, even just temporarily, notice how good it feels. Notice that you’re able to do this. There will be part of the mind that comes back and says, “Well, you can do it only temporarily,” or, “It doesn’t really count.” If you don’t have a positive voice inside to counteract that, what are you going …
- Straightening the Arrow… This is the sense of inner spaciousness that allows you to place restrictions on other things, other activities, without feeling too hemmed in. So even though there may be elements in your outside world that are beyond your control, the way you look and listen to things is under your control. The way you direct the mind, the perceptions you hold in mind as …
- Intelligent Equanimity… Even the equanimity you feel when you’ve obtained the goal: There’s a transcending of that as well, in what the texts call “non-fashioning.” In other words, you realize that equanimity is a choice you make: These are the things you’re going to put aside; these are the things you’re going to focus on. The things you put aside, you …
- Right Effort & Right Mindfulness… the rest of the body, feelings, the mind that’s aware of the breath, mental qualities that are involved in staying with the breath. You stay with these things and put aside other contexts. In particular, you put aside the context of the world out there. Any greed or distress with reference to the world, any desires you have for the world, or any …
- Respect for the Triple Training… He said, “A person who feels no shame in telling a deliberate lie: There’s no evil that person will not do. That person is empty of the qualities of a contemplative.” He raised the issue of not lying the very first thing when he taught his son, Rahula. The practice begins there. Only when that’s firmly established are you really ready for …
- Brahmaviharas at the Breath… What kind of breath would feel good? Make that your intention right now. That’s the beginning of goodwill: learning how to find pleasure in a harmless way, learning to explore the various resources you have right at hand. One of the themes in the teachings of the forest ajaans is that all you need for awakening is right here. You have it. You …
- Taking Responsibility… First figure out what kind of breathing does feel good right now, and then how you let it spread. You learn from trial and error until you arrive at trial and success. So you take responsibility for your training. That’s what “being in training” means. It’s interesting to note that when the Buddha talks about those who are in training, it starts …
- Saṃvega & Pasāda… Concentration feels pleasant. The breath is pleasant. Your state of mind is pleasant. The world doesn’t look so bad after all. If you could maintain that state of mind, it would be very easy to live in the world and not suffer—too much. At least that’s what you think. So you need the saṁvega, a sense of urgency, a sense of …
- How to Fall… Now, the mind may come up with other reasons: “Oh no, you can’t turn around now; you’ve committed yourself.” Well, that’s interesting! You’ve suddenly committed yourself to the distraction — which isn’t committed to you — and you don’t feel you’ve committed yourself to your meditation. This is one of the many tricks the mind plays on itself. The …
- Being Your Own Teacher… You get a nice state of equanimity and you feel it’s going to take care of you. But as the Buddha points out, you can get stuck on equanimity. It leads to a long rebirth in a nice place, but even those nice places are places you’ll ultimately have to leave. When you leave them, the number of people who go on …
- Truth Through Training… We’re trying to get a sense of just right with the breath, so that the breath feels good and nourishing coming in, relaxing going out. It’s not too heavy, not too light, not too fast, not too slow. So fine-tune your breathing right now—and then fine-tune your understanding of your mind. Remember, your mind is not just up in …
- Inconstancy… Try to figure out what kind of breathing feels best for you right now. The best way to know that is to be here continually. It’s like watching a TV show. If you walk into the room and then walk out of the room, five minutes later come back; then walk out after five minutes and come back ten minutes later, you don …
- Noble Priorities… form, feeling, perceptions, thought constructs, consciousness. The clinging is the big problem. That’s the suffering. What causes it? The three kinds of craving, which are things that you do. You could attack those three kinds of craving by doing other things—in other words, following the path, starting with right view all the way through right concentration under the headings of virtue, concentration …
- Expanded Possibilities… I had a similar feeling with Ajaan Fuang. The world opened up. There were more possibilities than I had imagined before. Part of this came from sensing his psychic abilities—he seemed very quick to read my mind—but also his wisdom and compassion. He never bragged about his powers. He never talked about them. But they were there, and he used them well …
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