Search results for: "Thought"

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  2. Remember This
     … As the Buddha said, the first thing that really got him on the path was his ability to separate his thoughts into two types: those worth pursuing and those worth letting go. What was the distinction? Basically, the distinction was: “Where do these thoughts lead? What kind of intention is motivating them? Where does the intention lead?” If the thoughts had to do with … 
  3. Staying, Moving, & Neither
     … A thought comes up and you jump right in and ride off without looking to see who’s driving, where they’re planning to go. And so one of the important skills in the meditation is learning how not to move along with the thoughts. A thought will shoot out, and you don’t have to get involved. You stay right here with the … 
  4. Standards for Thinking
     … Then, based on your thoughts, you ask yourself, “What am I going to do?” Because a huge part of the mind’s inner conversation is what to do next: A thought comes into the mind and the question is, “Should I follow this thought or should I drop it?” Something happens outside: “Should I pay attention to this or should I ignore it?” “What … 
  5. Part I : Basic Instructions
     … One of the important skills as a meditator is to learn how to step out of your thoughts, because all too often we jump right in. For many of us every thought that comes is like a little present wrapped up in wrapping paper with the bows: “Oh what’s this?” You want to go inside and see what’s in there, and it … 
  6. All Three Functions of Mindfulness
     … Then the thoughts are gone, but the hormones are still stirred up. You’re still having the physical symptoms, say, of lust or of anger or fear or guilt. And because the physical symptoms are there, you figure, well, the emotion must still be there, the thought must still be there, and so you can dig up the thought again. So it’s good … 
  7. Papañca
     … Where are you in relation to the breath? And what does it mean to keep the breath in mind? On the other hand, there are other thoughts that come up: the distractions that might pull you away from the breath. If you do your best to keep those thoughts at bay, you learn about the process of how thoughts form. In the beginning, it … 
  8. Calm
     … If particular thoughts are really insistent, try to think in ways that counteract them. With thoughts of lust, you can think about the unattractiveness of the body. With thoughts of anger, you can think about your own well-being and your need for goodwill to maintain your well-being. In other words, find a calming antidote. Then, after things have calmed down a bit … 
  9. Analysis of Qualities
     … And he divided the thoughts into those categories not in terms of what he liked or didn’t like, or what he found entertaining or instructive or interesting. Instead, the question was: Where do these thoughts lead? The unskillful side led to all kinds of unskillful behavior. The skillful side led to more skillful behavior. So he decided to keep his unskillful thoughts in … 
  10. Analyzing Anger
    We spread thoughts of goodwill every day as a baseline to remind ourselves of what our motivation should be as we deal with other people, what our attitude should be toward them—what we want our actions and words to promote: happiness for ourselves, happiness for others. So then when we see attitudes or actual words or actions that are not in line with … 
  11. Noble Standards
     … Maybe there’s more out there than I thought possible. Maybe I can’t take myself as the measure of all things. Maybe it would be good if I tried his standards. And I thought, “I’m going to have to stretch myself. Work harder and meditate longer.” When emergencies of various kinds came, I had to learn how to drop whatever I thought … 
  12. Think
     … You do that by reversing the thoughts, changing the thoughts around, turning them inside out, trying new ways of thinking. So we get the mind still not because stillness is going to solve the problem in and of itself. We get it still so that it can do the work, see things clearly. If you want to see what the mind is doing in … 
  13. Even Animals Can Be Trained
     … In this way, you’re taking the ordinary, everyday functions in the mind, where it has feelings and perceptions—the labels you put on things—thought constructs or thought fabrications, where you put thoughts together, and your consciousness, which is aware of all these things. These are things that you’re engaged in all day long. But now you’re trying to make something … 
  14. Deconstructing Suffering
     … You’re supposed to stay with the breath, and all of a sudden you find yourself thinking about other things, getting absorbed in other thought worlds. It doesn’t take you too long to realize that you’ve created those thought worlds and then fallen for them, forgetting that they’re creations, things you’re making up right here in the present moments. You … 
  15. The Gift of Goodwill
    When we spread thoughts of goodwill to all beings, what kinds of thoughts are we spreading? We’re not wishing that everybody runs around with a big grin on their faces. We’re wishing that people find well-being. One of the Buddha’s phrases is, “May all beings look after themselves with ease.” Another is, “May no beings despise anyone or mistreat anyone … 
  16. Worries & Regrets
     … As for the thoughts that come up after that, learn how to chop them up. As you breathe in, think of the breath scattering the thoughts. Or you can think of the breath as a big broom sweeping through the body, sweeping through the mind, sweeping those thoughts away. That way, you can settle down and actually strengthen the mind here in the present … 
  17. Determined Goodwill
     … Your truthfulness is what takes the thought of goodwill and helps to carry it out in your thoughts, words, and deeds. Then there’s relinquishment. Here it’s a matter of thinking about situations where there’s someone you think deserves to suffer. They’ve acted in unskillful ways, and it seems wrong that they’re not meeting up with some sort of punishment … 
  18. Fighting Spirit
     … And when you stop thinking that thought, where does the tension go away? The next time you think that thought, think of little knives going into that part of your body and just chopping everything up. Shred those thoughts, those patterns of tension, to bits. Then be on the alert to see the next time a disruptive thought like that comes up, and just … 
  19. On Not Being a Victim
     … Just hold that thought in mind. Don’t be too impatient to see the results, because after all, the power of thought depends on a consistent strong thought that you can carry on over time. If you think a little bit and then scramble around looking for results from the thought, that’s just a sign of impatience. The thought doesn’t have time … 
  20. Basic Stuff
     … This way, the breath is both a mirror for the mind and also a means of gaining some control over which thoughts you’re going to follow, which thoughts you aren’t. You begin to see that you have more of a choice than you thought. All too often, we simply act on impulse. A thought pops into the mind and comes right out … 
  21. The Buddha’s Wisdom
     … You see how the mind slaps a perception on that, saying, “Oh, this is a thought about x,” and then it runs with it—fabricates more thoughts around it. You’re not going to see this until you’ve stepped out of your thoughts. This is why you need to get the mind really absorbed in the sense of the breath filling the body … 
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