Search results for: "Mindfulness"

  1. Page 145
  2. Cheating the System
     … The fact that you have a body, the fact that you have a mind, the fact that you’re a being, leaves you exposed to pain all the time. As Ajaan Suwat once said, take an iron spike and you can stick it anywhere in the body and there’s going to be pain. What’s not normal is learning how to not suffer … 
  3. The Anatomy of the Present
     … The water here stands for your state of mind in the present moment. The large river represents a mind that is developing thoughts of unlimited good will, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. It’s developed in virtue and developed in discernment. And it’s trained so as to not be overcome easily by either pleasure or pain. When your mind has these qualities, it … 
  4. Control
     … You turn and look at your mind. You get up in the morning, you plan to do x, and yet you find yourself later during anti-x, or non-x. Fortunately, the mind doesn’t have to be that way. You can train it. We’re trying to take advantage of that fact. As the body starts disobeying us, and we find that things … 
  5. Sensuality
     … In fact, the mind gets a lot clearer, and it’s through the clarity of the mind experiencing this kind of pleasure that you can begin to see what’s actually going on in the mind. So he decided not to be afraid of that, and actually to pursued it. It’s ironic, how often we read about the dangers of getting attached to … 
  6. Let Go Like a Millionaire
     … Whatever else comes up in your mind, don’t let go of the sensation of the breathing as the breath comes in, the breath goes out. Try to make yourself interested in the breath, to see what kind of breathing feels good and what kind of breathing is good for the body and mind. If you’re tired, what kind of breathing will give … 
  7. Good for What Purpose?
     … You think that you can trust whatever urges come up in the mind. Yet who knows what’s going to come up in the mind? As the Buddha said, the mind can change directions very fast. If the mind is basically anything, it’s basically changeable—and quickly changeable at that. So what do we do? I know some people who say they don … 
  8. You’re Doing Something Wrong
     … first, to get the mind into a proper, balanced state of rest. Sometimes you get so quiet that you fall asleep, which is not what you want. You want to be alert and still at the same time. You want to develop a quality of mind, an awareness, that fills the whole body. One way to get that full-body awareness is to work … 
  9. Wise about Pain
     … The three qualities the Buddha says should be brought to mindfulness and concentration practice are mindfulness, alertness, and ardency. Mindfulness means keeping something in mind. In this case, you keep in mind the fact that you want to stay with the breath. As for alertness, you’re alert to what you’re doing: Are you staying with the breath? If not, what can you … 
  10. Learning from Determination
     … You learn that you have to develop theh skills of mindfulness, alertness, and ardency: mindful to keep the precept in mind; alert to make sure that your actions actually are in line with the precept; and ardent in your desire to stick with the precepts, even when it’s difficult, even when you’re challenged, even when it goes against your likes and dislikes … 
  11. Interconnectedness
     … If we can do them with more mindfulness, more alertness, we find that gradually we do become more and more skillful. So, as you’re sitting here with your breath, try to be as mindful as possible of what you’re doing. Try to keep your mindfulness as continuous as possible. That strengthens your mindfulness. As for your alertness, try to be as sensitive … 
  12. Surprise Yourself
     … What’s clear is that we’re practicing mindfulness of breathing to get the mind into concentration, and the 16 steps fall into four tetrads. One tetrad deals with the body, one with feelings, one with the mind, and one with dhammas. In other words, they deal with the frames of reference that we use to establish mindfulness. But the question is, do you … 
  13. Nobody’s Servant
     … Otherwise the mind is going to go wander around and sniff at the flowers and look at the mountains outside. You’ve got to keep reminding yourself to stay here, stay here. And as you keep reminding yourself, your potential for mindfulness gets strengthened—because that’s what mindfulness is: a faculty of active memory, reminding yourself of what are the important things to … 
  14. To Make Suffering Crumble
     … For instance, when you’re driving yourself crazy talking about certain things in your mind, focus less on the content of what the mind is saying, and more on the process of how the mind talks to itself, and how it uses perceptions to stab itself, and how it doesn’t really have to—or, how it focuses on certain feelings in the body … 
  15. The Role of Attachment
     … You develop good qualities in the mind. You like them. When you get something good in the mind, you hold on to it both to see how far it can take you and for the sense of well-being that comes with it. If it’s the best thing you know in the mind, hold on to it. Don’t let go of it … 
  16. Learning Right Speech
    There’s a tendency to think of practicing the Dhamma as meaning what you do when you sit here with your eyes closed, trying to get the mind into concentration, trying to develop discernment. But we have to remember that the path to awakening is not a one-fold path or a two-fold path. It’s a noble eightfold path. And each of … 
  17. A Noble Warrior’s Path
     … to train you in skills, to develop your ingenuity, to fire up your fighting spirit, to give you maxims to keep in mind when the going gets tough so that you can approach difficult situations with skill. To keep those words in mind, those instructions in mind, without losing your presence of mind in difficult situations: That’s the function of right mindfulness. But … 
  18. No One Size Fits All
     … You become more and more sensitive to what the mind is doing, what the results are, and what you need to do in response. That’s the basis of insight. That’s the basis of discernment. As you’re trying to get the mind into concentration, the big questions are: “How do you get the mind to settle down? How do you get it … 
  19. For Your Future’s Sake
     … And the fact that you’re able to maintain a precept develops good qualities in the mind. You have to keep the precept in mind. That’s mindfulness. You have to be alert to watch over your actions to make sure they stay in line with the precept. And finally, you have to be ardent in doing this. In other words, there will come … 
  20. Believe in Your Actions
     … There’s the part of the mind that has to be alert but there’s also the part of the mind that has to be ardent. You have to want to do things skillfully and you have to put in the effort to figure out what is skillful in any situation. And be willing to learn from your mistakes. Heedfulness is not easy. It … 
  21. Judging the Dhamma
    One of the first things you notice as you try to get the mind quiet is how unquiet it is. Or as Ajaan Lee once said, a lot of the practice is getting to know your defilements. All these thoughts that come into the mind and pull you away from the practice: There are lots of them. And getting to know them doesn’t … 
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