Search results for: "The Mind"

  1. Page 144
  2. The Power of Action
     … Having a place to settle down is what allows you to see, “Ah, the mind’s moved,” and you bring it back. And once again, you bring it back. Sometimes it’s discouraging in the beginning because the mind seems to be moving off every place but the breath. But if you’re persistent, give yourself pep talks, and remind yourself of times when … 
  3. Over-informed
     … What happened if you drop that? In the beginning, the directed thought and evaluation were necessary parts of getting the mind to settle down, because otherwise, if you didn’t direct your thoughts to the breath, it would go someplace else. The mind has a tendency to talk to itself. So have it talk to itself about one thing: the breath. But there does … 
  4. Endurance & Equanimity
     … With equanimity, the mind is not affected by things it likes or doesn’t like. It has an ability to stay on an even keel. With endurance, you’re dealing with things you don’t like. Whether the mind is on an even keel or not, you’re able to hold yourself back and not react out of anger. It’s very closely related … 
  5. Two Roads to the Grand Canyon
     … Or if the idea that you’ve reached a certain attainment comes into the mind, notice how the mind reacts to that idea. If you can see any defilement in your reaction, you’ve come out ahead; you’ve learned an important lesson about the mind. So when you think about the path to the goal, think about those two roads to the Grand … 
  6. Comfort Dhamma
     … But they’re a lot easier to take if you’ve got a sense of well-being going in the mind, in the body. The Buddha’s going to be handing us a lot of tools to take apart a lot of the things we believe—a lot of things that we hold to—and it’s hard to let go of the things … 
  7. A Full Heart
     … Sometimes something comes up in the body and has an effect on the mind. Something comes up in the mind and has an effect on the body. Sometimes a little stirring will appear and it’s not really clear at the very beginning whether it’s going to be a physical or a mental event. Then you place a perception on it and it … 
  8. Not-self in Context
     … It’s only when you’ve done that, that you’re ready to take on the teachings of inconstancy, stress, and not-self on a subtle level where they really do make a difference in the mind, really do give rise to dispassion. But first you have to be passionate about training the mind. The dispassion in the beginning has to deal with things … 
  9. The Buddha’s Questions
     … Is there anything in my mind that would cause me to do something unskillful? Is there any unfinished business in the mind?” And if there is unfinished business, he says to try to straighten out the mind quickly, with the same sense of urgency you’d feel if your head were on fire. Then ask yourself the same question at sunset: “I might die … 
  10. The Allure of the Hindrances
     … Try something that engages the mind more. Think of all the 32 parts of the body. Visualize them. Ask yourself where they are in your body right now. Breathe deeply into that part of the body. Then move on to the next part, the next part. See what that does. You can try goodwill for all beings in all directions, thinking about all the … 
  11. Encouragement
     … So, you want to learn how to evaluate when something comes up in the mind: Is it Dhamma, or is it not? Among the first principles for deciding are the principles we use with regard to speech. The Buddha was challenged one time as to whether he would say anything displeasing to other people. The challenge was this: If he said that he would … 
  12. Passion, Dispassion, Compassion
     … The Buddha calls compassion of this sort an ornament of the mind—an ornament of the mind that’s become cleansed of its passions. So it’s not that you become hard-hearted or unfeeling. It’s simply that you don’t need the same play of emotions, the same play of feelings, in order to get yourself to do the right thing. As … 
  13. Trust in Heedfulness
    The Buddha gives a list of five qualities that give strength to the mind. The list starts with conviction. And as the Buddha says frequently, the various members of the list—starting with conviction on through persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment—are developed through heedfulness. Now, this may seem a strange combination: Conviction, on the one hand, implies trust; and heedfulness implies wariness. But … 
  14. Turtle Mind
    Ajaan Suwat would occasionally comment on the paradoxical nature of the mind in concentration. On the one hand, it’s very tender, very sensitive. On the other, it’s tough and resilient. The image that comes to mind is a turtle. A turtle’s body is very, very weak and gentle, so it needs a hard shell to protect it. As meditators, we have … 
  15. Playing by the Buddha’s Rules
     … You solve them by looking at the mind: Why does the mind create suffering around these things? Through its clinging. Where is the clinging? You often hear it said that the Buddha says that life is suffering, which is not a very useful message. He actually says that clinging is suffering. And that’s useful, something you can do something about. And he gives … 
  16. Attached to Concentration
     … If you simply tie the mind down to the object without giving it any sense of satisfaction, it’ll try to break loose. When it breaks loose, it’s not going to come back easily. So even though you’re putting a tether on the mind, you’ve got to give it something to be interested in within the range of the tether so … 
  17. Taking Risks
     … And the point when you really know is when you finally do get to that point where there’s no more suffering, there’s no more stress in the mind. There will still be pains in the body, but the mind itself has no pain, no suffering. There’s nothing that weighs on the mind at all. There’s nothing inconstant, nothing stressful. That … 
  18. Construction Techniques
     … You breathe in a way that gladdens the mind, breathe in a way that steadies or concentrates the mind, breathe in a way that releases the mind, breathe in a way that makes you sensitive to mental fabrication—what your perceptions and feelings are. In other words, get the mind really quiet with the breath, and then you begin to see that you have … 
  19. Unlearning Helplessness
     … that it does make a difference when the mind is wandering off that you bring it right back. And even though it wanders off again, that doesn’t mean that you’ve failed—just bring it back again. Learn to develop this as a new habit. You’re developing good qualities in the mind: Mindfulness—the ability to keep your breath in mind. Alertness … 
  20. Positive Right Speech
     … Ideally, we’re here to keep the mind quiet. The Buddha says you want to observe the precepts in such a way that it’s conducive to concentration. And one of the ways of doing that is to check on your speech. Ajaan Fuang’s test always was, “Is this necessary?” And he had some very stringent standards for what was necessary speech. If … 
  21. Defilements as Not-self
     … But you have to point out that this is not going to be very long-lasting, it’s not going to be very healthy, so it’s not going to be good for anybody at all—whatever the reasoning that helps that voice in the mind understand. So as I said, this is an exercise in not-self, seeing these voices in the mind … 
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