Search results for: "Concentration"

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  2. Active Truth
     … So this is why concentration is something you want to develop. Again, sometimes you hear that when you’re meditating, being mindful, and a good strong state of concentration comes along, you have to be wary of getting attached to the concentration, so just let it come, let it go. And somehow in that way you transcend the attachment. Well, that’s not what … 
  3. The Desire to End All Desires
     … concentration based on desire, concentration based on persistence, concentration based on intent, and concentration based on your powers of analysis. The brahman says, “That’s impossible. How can you use desire to get rid of desire?” And Ananda asks him, “Before you came to the park, did you have desire to come to the park?” “Well, yes.” “Now that you’re here, where is … 
  4. Protecting Yourself Against Yourself
     … This shows the direct connection between right resolve and right concentration. There’s another sutta Buddha talks about mundane right resolve and transcendent right resolve. Mundane right resolve is avoiding thoughts of sensuality, ill-will, and harmfulness. Transcendent right resolve is the factors of directed thought and evaluation that get you into concentration. So there has to be a motivation to do the concentration … 
  5. Taking Your Own Medicine
     … We want to use the powers of concentration and mindfulness and alertness that we develop when the mind is well concentrated so that we can start seeing into these things and putting an end to the suffering, putting an end to the harm and damage that the mind causes itself. That, of all the four uses of concentration, is the most important. The concentration … 
  6. Beyond Inter-eating
     … As you keep with this, the mindfulness turns into concentration. The Buddha never drew a sharp line between mindfulness meditation and concentration meditation. Mindfulness is the theme, the basic quality that helps you stay with something. And as it becomes firm, it turns into concentration, where the mind is centered but has a broad awareness that fills the whole body. And it’s there … 
  7. Steps in Concentration
    When the Buddha taught concentration, the how-to part of the instructions was in his description of right mindfulness. You’re focused on the body—for example, the breath—in and of itself—ardent, alert, and mindful—putting aside greed and distress with reference to the world. So where’s your breath right now? Anything that’s not related to this breath at the … 
  8. When Nothing’s Happening
     … If you let go and find you go into a deeper level of concentration, that’s fine. Learn to settle in and get to know that level of concentration. But there will come a point where you realize that your concentration is as good as you can get it. If you hang on here, it’s something that has to be maintained. If you … 
  9. Not Getting What You Want
     … concentration based on desire, concentration based on persistence, concentration based on intent, concentration based on analysis. The brahman says, “Then it’s an endless path. How can you use desire to get rid of desire?” Ananda asks him a question in return. He says, “You came to this park. Before you came here, did you have the desire to come here?” “Well yes.” “How … 
  10. A Valuable Gift
     … The mind has its currents, and when they’re concentrated they can be strong. You want to use them in a good direction. This is why we talk about not just plain concentration but right concentration: right concentration that’s based on skillful intent—the intent not to harm, the intent not to pursue sensual desires. Because there is concentration that’s wrong, concentration … 
  11. Discernment in Concentration
     … This is the kind of concentration that gives rise to discernment—as you’re doing the concentration. But be prepared for the fact that there’s going to be more demanded of your discernment than just seeing how you do the concentration. You want to take that quality of being reflective and use it to deal with whatever issues come up in the mind … 
  12. A Questioning Attitude
     … There was still another way that he hadn’t tried yet, the practice of concentration. But the concentration in and of itself didn’t do the work. He had to start asking questions again, “Can I use this concentrated mind to learn things?” In particular, the main turning point was when he used his concentration to delve into this issue: Where is there suffering … 
  13. What’s Worth Doing?
     … And as we know, the author said, the Buddha said that a sense of self is bad, so you shouldn’t try to create concentration. Right concentration has to happen on its own, and right effort is basically the effort of no effort—an attitude that short-circuits the path entirely. Again, you’re letting go like a pauper. You don’t have concentration … 
  14. Hindrances Based on Delusion
     … Often the problem of sloth and torpor arises in what’s called access concentration. You’ve been able to drop the distractions that keep interfering with your concentration, and your moments of concentration get longer and longer and more and more continuous. Things get comfortable and then you want to drift off and go to sleep. That’s the way we’re programmed. Ever … 
  15. Distinctions That Make a Difference
     … But you really get to know them as you practice concentration. This is one of the reasons why concentration is necessary for discernment, because when you’re concentrated, you’ve got all the aggregates right here. You’re doing them as part of the concentration. Say you’re focused on the breath: The breath is body, or form. It’s part of the wind … 
  16. Choiceful Awareness
     … Start out with mindfulness, which leads to concentration. It’s not the case that these are two separate practices. Mindfulness gets you focused on body, feelings, mind, and mental qualities, in and of themselves, all of which are the basic components of concentration. “Body,” here, of course, is the breath. Feelings: The feeling of ease that you’re trying to create with the breath … 
  17. Right Now
     … All I emphasized the other night role was that discernment plays after you’ve developed concentration. But it can also be your preparation for concentration on a certain level—at least enough to clear away a lot of the distractions that would pull you out of concentration. Try to notice: What are the topics you’re thinking about? Which direction does your mind tend … 
  18. Staying Normal
     … So all these qualities—virtue, concentration, discernment, and release—revolve around this normalcy of mind. They work together. Ajaan Lee has a passage in one of his books where he analyzes virtue, and in the course of his analysis, virtue starts turning into concentration and discernment. He analyzes concentration, and it starts turning into virtue and discernment. He analyses discernment, and it turns into … 
  19. The Goldsmith
     … One of the things you want to keep in mind is that you’re trying to bring the mind into a balanced state of concentration. You have to figure out first where you’re out of balance and then bring things back into balance. The calming factors—like concentration, calm, equanimity—are for times when the mind is hyperactive and has too much energy … 
  20. Heightened Skillfulness
     … On the one hand, you practice virtue in a way that’s liberating, conducive to concentration. In other words, even though you are scrupulous in following the precepts, you’re not tied up in your scruples because you realize that virtue is a matter of your intentions. When you’re clear about your intentions, then that kind of virtue really is conducive to concentration … 
  21. The Riddle Tree
     … This is how discernment fosters concentration. The typical pattern, of course, is that concentration fosters discernment. But as the Buddha said at one point, to get the mind to settle down to good strong concentration you need both tranquility and insight. Sometimes you’ll depend more on one side than on the other. And it will vary from day to day, from session to … 
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