Search results for: "The Mind"

  1. Page 154
  2. Refuge
     … This is why we train the mind, so that we don’t forget the standards for skillful actions. And why do we forget? We get provoked. As the ajaans in Thailand noted, people in the West are really weak in two areas: endurance and equanimity. We lack endurance in not being able to stand harsh words; not being able to stand pain, unpleasant sensations … 
  3. An Issue of Control
     … Why is it that as soon as you focus on them, the mind gets pained as well? That’s the big issue. The simple fact that there’s pain in the body: That, you simply have to accept as a fact of life. It’s suffering or dukkha in the three characteristics. But you don’t just write it off. You look at it … 
  4. As Days & Nights Fly Past, Fly Past
     … When you have that kind of atmosphere, it’s a lot easier to practice, a lot easier to get the mind settled in concentration with a sense of well-being. The fifth quality the Buddha has you look for is discernment: To what extent do you see that you’re creating suffering that you don’t have to? That’s the big question. When … 
  5. Goodwill for the Real World
     … The reason we try to develop skillful qualities in the mind is because we see that we have to prepare for these dangers. Now, it’s true that some of the Buddhist teachings sound like they’re not designed for the real world. One of them is “goodwill for all beings.” A lot of beings are really misbehaving, so it seems difficult or impossible … 
  6. Practice at Home
     … maintaining your priorities, holding to the principle that the training of the mind is the number one issue in life. That has to be your bottom line. Out in the world, the bottom line is how much money you make. You’ve got to make enough to survive. But then your measure of, “How much is enough?” can get really distorted. There are whole … 
  7. Good Fundamentals
     … His basic principle is that the mind is capable of anything and is very quick to change direction. In fact, it’s so quick that he said he couldn’t find an analogy that was appropriate. Here he was, a master of analogies, and this is where he was left not knowing what to say. The mind can change direction that fast. So what … 
  8. Appropriate Attention Plus Admirable Friendship
     … But if you have a sense of well-being and trust, both in the breath and in your ability to stay here, then the mind can relax and spread out in the present moment. Because you do want to have your awareness filling the whole body. It’s when your awareness is just a point: That’s when it’s ready to go. But … 
  9. Thoughts with Fangs
     … As for the issue of how good a meditator you are, if that somehow pops into the mind, just let it pop out of the mind. It’s really irrelevant. And it can get into the way of deeper insights. There’s a passage where the Buddha mentions that it’s a sign of an untrue person who, on gaining strong concentration, uses that … 
  10. The Whole Elephant
     … We get the mind centered and, once it’s properly centered, it can look around itself—because you not only see the object that you’re focused on when you concentrate, but you also begin to see the activities of the mind as they relate to the object. That’s what you want to see. You want to see what you’re doing. This … 
  11. Life’s First Question
     … It’s happening all the time in the mind, and in very basic terms. When the Buddha defines wisdom, it starts with very simple things: “What when I do will to lead to my long-term welfare and happiness?” Those are very simple things, very immediate, very direct. When he defines the measure of your wisdom, the measure of your discernment is your ability … 
  12. Admirable in the Beginning, Middle, & End
     … Breathing in a way that allows you to see how your perceptions and your feelings are having an impact on the mind, and learning how to calm that impact. Energizing the mind when it needs to be energized, steadying it when it needs to be steadied, releasing it from its burdens when it needs to be released. You do all this by developing that … 
  13. The Not-Self Discourse
     … So when there’s no place for the mind to focus its desires, this realization undercuts all possible craving, because as the Buddha said in the definition of craving, it delights here, delights there, focuses here, focuses there. It always has a place, always has a location, whether physical or mental. The purpose of the questionnaire is to deprive the mind of any possible … 
  14. The Middle Way
     … You want to feed the mind so that it’s willing to listen to what your discernment has to tell you: Yes, you’ve been remiss. Yes, you’ve been sloppy. You’ve been complacent. You’ve been self-indulgent—messages we don’t like to hear. You’re more likely to listen when the mind feels well fed, when it feels nourished. But … 
  15. A Radiant Practice
     … In other words, the suffering that weighs down the mind is the suffering that we create for ourselves. The happiness that most uplifts the mind is the goodness we do. That’s merit. You’re looking for happiness in a way that causes no suffering to anyone at all. It’s something you create from within, so its effects go within. And as with … 
  16. The Wrong Uses of Right
     … Where is the stress to begin with? And then, we look deeper into the mind to see what in the mind is giving rise to that particular stress that’s weighing down the mind. Then do what we can to abandon that cause, developing whatever qualities of mind are needed to abandon that cause. That’s the right use of right view. But the … 
  17. Loving Yourself Wisely
     … So this is one of the reasons why we train the mind in meditation. It’s not just for relaxation; it’s for gathering strength. On the one hand, as the mind gets more still, you see things in the mind a lot more clearly, you can understand when there’s an unskillful impulse and you can see what it’s coming from. When … 
  18. Battling the Hindrances
     … So it’s not the body speaking, it’s the mind. You have to probe around in there for a while to see: What is it that wants to go in that direction? You’ll find some very ingrained habits, but the fact that they’re ingrained doesn’t mean that they’re part of your innate nature. They’re just habits, so you … 
  19. Defabricating Anger
     … And as you maintain it, how can you let it spread? Because you want that feeling of ease and well-being to spread through the whole body, so that the mind can have a really good place to stay here in the present moment. So now you’re shaping the present moment with knowledge, and you’re getting a better understanding of how you … 
  20. Right Speech, Inside & Out
     … to steer the mind into right concentration. But the path doesn’t go straight there. The next step is right speech. That, of course, is also connected to right concentration in the sense that the first jhāna contains directed thought and evaluation, and directed thought and evaluation are the way you talk to yourself before you break into speech. So to train your attitude … 
  21. The World Is Swept Away
     … Instead, you’ve decided to come here, to practice meditation, to get the mind centered in a sense of the body. Just sitting here—breathing in, breathing out, breathing in a way that feels good. As you breathe in, notice: Where do you feel the energy moving in the body? That’s the breath we’re talking about. Ask yourself if it feels good … 
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