Search results for: "Greed"
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- Unentangled Compassion… I can think about anything I want.” And it goes straight to things that get you riled up in terms of anger, fear, greed, lust. And so the effort here means learning how to drop those things, how to disentangle yourself from those thoughts. See them simply as events coming into the mind. And don’t get hoodwinked into thinking that they’re something …
- Appreciation… When we meditate and lessen our greed, anger, and delusion, we learn how not to be overcome by our moods and emotions. We realize that we have tools to use so that the emotion is not just a given that we have to accept, but is instead something we can learn to work with. We learn how to reshape the present moment in a …
- Doing, Maintaining, Using… You begin to see where your personal issues are, which things spark your greed, which things spark your anger, which things are still surrounded by delusion. These things are easier to notice if you stay with the breath. For one thing, when anger begins to arise in the mind, it’s going to make a change in the breath. There will be a catch …
- Question Your Perceptions… That allows you to question the perceptions that give rise to greed, aversion, and delusion, and the perceptions that serve the purposes of greed, aversion, and delusion. As you call them into question, you find that you open up a lot of understanding inside. So perception is a good aggregate to focus on, because it’s key to a lot of our defilements. There …
- Perceptions for Training the Mind… Then there’s the other activity, which is putting aside greed and distress with reference to the world—in other words, dealing with all the distractions that would pull you away from your topic. He provides perceptions for dealing with those, too. It’s good to remember that we have this body of knowledge, this body of perceptions that we can draw on. We …
- A Victory that Matters… This is why the Buddha said that it’s better to focus on the battles inside, battles over your own defilements, greed, aversion, and delusion. Those are the battles that can be won, and when you win, you don’t create any bad kamma. As for whether the people outside will acknowledge your victory, that doesn’t really matter. In fact, as Ajaan Lee …
- The Origination of Suffering… The other side of our task, of course, is to put aside greed and distress with reference to the world. Any thoughts about the world outside right now, you just put them aside. Remind yourself: What are those thoughts? The world itself, as the Buddha said, is simply sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, and thoughts. And your thoughts about the world: Either they …
- Cheerfully Ardent… Put aside greed and distress with reference to the world. Here your greed and distress related to the world might be that you’re too eager to get results, saying, “The amount of time I have here is so little. I’ve worked so hard to get here. I really want to see results of this right now.” Well, the results are going to …
- Generosity & Virtue as Skills… You can say No to your greed, you can say No to your possessiveness. This is especially true when you’ve given something, not because it was the holiday when people give things or you were under a compulsion to give, but because you just felt like giving. You saw something you had, and that someone else could use it well and would benefit …
- Head, Heart, & Gut… Actions based on greed, aversion, and delusion are going to cause suffering. Actions based on the lack of greed, lack of aversion, lack of delusion can lead away from suffering. That’s one of the basic principles of causality. In fact, causality is so central to the Buddha’s awakening that when he gave the very shortest description of what he awakened to, it …
- Interconnectedness… As you work through the processes that ordinarily would give rise to greed, anger, or delusion, you find that you can manage them in a way that doesn’t have to stumble into those unskillful states. At the same time, you find that the people around you are subjected to less of your greed, anger and delusion as well. The whole atmosphere surrounding you …
- Damming & Diverting… In other words, greed, aversion, and delusion don’t start from things outside. It’s not the case that we’re just sitting here perfectly fine—passive and placid—and then something comes along and stirs us up. All too often we’re out there looking for trouble. The mind goes flowing out, looking for things that it can desire, looking for things that …
- Concentration & Insight… Say you sense that there’s greed, anger, or delusion lurking around in the mind. The Buddha says if you really want to understand them to the point of getting past them, you have to understand not only their drawbacks but also their allure. Why is it that that particular state of mind is so attractive? Why are you willing to play along with …
- The Boundaries of Mindfulness… When you’re doing mindfulness practice, the Buddha tells you to put aside greed and distress with reference to the world. Your frame of reference has to be either the body, feelings, mind, or mental qualities—dhammas—in and of themselves. That’s your territory. Every place outside of your territory is dangerous. So you want to stay grounded. You want to keep these …
- Inner Wealth Management… You don’t say that “I’m going to go past my greed by not doing any work at all.” That, as Ajaan Lee would say, is letting go like pauper. You let go and you’re still a pauper. When you realize that you need wealth, you do whatever is needed. As the Buddha said, your wealth is “earned with the strength of …
- What to Tolerate, What Not… When greed comes, what is it like? When anger comes, what is it like? When delusion comes, how do you recognize that it’s delusion? When you’re clinging to something, you have to watch that: What is the clinging here? Why? This is why we work on developing our mindfulness and alertness: so that we can see these things and deal with them …
- Lessons for New Monks… All too often we let greed, aversion, and delusion have free rein as we look at things and listen to things. Our looking and listening is pretty much determined by what we like, so we’re feeding our likes. But then, as the Buddha pointed out, so many of the things that we like are actually suffering or the cause of suffering in and …
- The Five Hindrances… These two derive from the unskillful roots of greed and aversion as unskillful roots. The last three hindrances that derive from delusion. There’s sloth and torpor, a type of delusion that comes when your energy level is too low; restlessness and anxiety, the delusion that comes when you energy level is too high; and then, uncertainty. Ajaan Lee has an interesting analysis of …
- The Art of Right Speech… The Buddha said that if certain things, when you say them, give rise to greed, aversion, delusion in you or in the person you’re speaking to, or if your intention is to give rise to greed, aversion, delusion, you shouldn’t say them. Of course, you can’t be totally responsible for the other person’s response. But if you’re anticipating that …
- Start with Yourself… If you can’t trust other people to behave well in difficult situations, how are you any different? How can you trust yourself? As long as you have greed, anger, and delusion inside the mind, especially delusion, you can’t trust yourself at all. This is why the Buddha’s way of improving the world starts from inside. You’ve got to start with …
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