Search results for: "Conviction"

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  2. A Position of Strength
     … choose to do or say or think comes from a position of strength and not a position of weakness. The strength there is the strength of skillful qualities in the mind: conviction in the importance of maintaining a skillful state of mind, persistence in keeping it going, mindfulness, concentration, discernment. When these things are strong, when they’re in charge of your mind, then … 
  3. The Mind Comes First
     … He would often say, as you begin to meditate, to get the mind in a state where it has a sense of confidence, a sense of conviction, a sense of joy in what it’s doing. Keep that joy going regardless of how quickly or slowly the body seems to respond. “If the mind were to have a face,” he’d say, “have a … 
  4. You Can Do It
     … They include conviction, a sense of shame, a sense of compunction, learning, generosity. These are all things that human beings can work on, human beings can master. Some of those knowledges might be beyond us, but the ability to see a defilement and put an end to it is not, the ability to get your mind to settle down is not. These things are … 
  5. An Island in the Flood
     … the nutrition of conviction that what you do is going to come back at you, so you want to do things well; the nourishment of persistence, sticking with something again, and again, and again, making good things habitual; the nourishment of mindfulness, concentration, and discernment. There are all these good things here on this island in the middle of the flood. So do your … 
  6. The Real World Isn’t for Real
     … chips. The more you eat, the more you want, but they never really satisfy you and they make you sick to boot. The Buddha offers genuine health food for the mind: conviction in the power of your actions. He encourages persistence, i.e., learning to take delight in developing skillful qualities and abandoning unskillful ones, whether it means just watching them or actually actively … 
  7. What Are You Bringing?
     … Bring an attitude of respect, of conviction, of confidence, because that makes all the difference in the meditation. If you’re simply here thinking, “What am I going to get out of this?” your attitude toward meditation is more like an exchange or a monetary trade. You won’t put anything into it until you’re convinced you’ll get something out of it … 
  8. Songkran Blessing
     … The strength inside, of course, would be the five strengths, beginning with the strength of conviction that your actions really do make a difference in life, so you want to be careful about what you do. There’s also the strength of persistence, when you stick with the principle that you want to do what’s only skillful, you want to abandon anything that … 
  9. A Gift of Strength
     … First there’s the strength of conviction: that your actions really are important, the things you do, the things you say and think, really do shape your life. What does that mean? It means you have to look after the source of your actions, which is the mind, the intentions in the mind. In fact, the Buddha actually said at one point that your … 
  10. Protecting Your Space
     … But you’ve got to have the conviction that your actions are creating the majority of the things you sense in your environment. So you’ve got to look at your actions. What kind of environment are you creating for yourself as a meditator? The first step in creating a good environment is following the precepts. For the monks, of course, this means following … 
  11. Planting a Tree
     … This is why conviction is an important principle in the practice. It’s what keeps you going. In some cases, it has to be joined with patience. And the best way to be patient is to learn how to enjoy what you’re doing, without thinking too much of where you want the meditation to go. Ajaan Fuang used to say, “Play at the … 
  12. Conceit
     … Once you’ve got that amount of conviction, drop the “you,” drop the “me,” the “I,” and then set to work. That right there makes it a lot easier. And this way you become your own best friend.
  13. How the Tree Leans
     … Whereas if you develop the treasures of the mind—virtue, conviction, a healthy sense of shame, a healthy sense of compunction, learning, generosity, discernment: These things lean the mind in the right direction. Even more so, there’s the noble eightfold path. Why do you want the mind to lean? Well, think of a tree. There are trees that are leaning over all the … 
  14. Meditation as Play
     … The Buddha talks about how we go from suffering to getting a sense of conviction in the teachings. The very next step after that is joy. So remember, you’re here to enjoy the meditation. There are so many techniques where they tell you, “Simply follow the instructions. Do what you’re told. Don’t do any thinking.” That gets very grim very fast … 
  15. A Post for the Heart
     … So what do we have inside that’s really firm? Well, part of it’s our conviction that our actions are what really matter, and that we can learn how to develop a refuge inside so we don’t need to depend on things being a certain way. If this has to be that way, and that has to be this way, the mind … 
  16. Nurturing Your Inner Adult
     … the faculties of conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment. The word for faculty, indriya, is related to Indra, the king of the gods, the dominant deva. The implication is that you want these faculties to be dominant in your mind, you want them to have power. They’re your inner adults. So you use the breath to put them on top, to keep them … 
  17. Shame & Compunction
     … people who have conviction in the principle of karma, people who are generous, virtuous. Listen to what they have to say. The second thing that’s not noticed is that the Buddha is not saying just to observe your own behavior. There are passages where he says you test the Dhamma on your own by putting it into practice and seeing what results. He … 
  18. Self Esteem
     … As the Buddha emphasized, the only way out of this sense of terror or dismay is to develop strong confidence and conviction in the principle of karma, the principle of action. And that requires that you be willing to learn what’s skillful, what’s not. So when you see the mind refusing to look at mistakes you’ve made in the past, you … 
  19. Evaluation
     … it’s not simply thinking about the fact that there **are devas, but thinking more about the qualities that make them devas. You realize you’ve got those qualities in yourself: conviction, virtue, generosity, learning the Dhamma, discernment. They may not be fully developed, but they’re there. Or you can think thoughts of goodwill. This is especially useful to pull you out of … 
  20. Dangers Outside & In
     … You have conviction in the Buddha’s teachings because you realize that these teachings protect you from danger. And you develop persistence: You work on developing the good qualities that the Buddha said will lead to happiness and abandoning the unskillful ones that lead to unhappiness. You have to keep this in mind, so you’re mindful. Then you get the mind into concentration … 
  21. Delight in the Breath
     … He stuck with that conviction: There’s got to be something that doesn’t age, doesn’t grow ill, doesn’t die. He found it inside. We’re following his example. He’s made a lot of the errors for us. Of course, we’re still going to make errors ourselves, though. We listen to his teachings and can come up with all kinds … 
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