Search results for: "Perception"

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  2. Perceptions of Earth & Space
     … Of course, when you’re not here, especially if you go back to a city, you can’t surround yourself with the perception of wilderness. But you can go on to the next perception that the Buddha recommends, which is the perception of earth, that everything around you is earth. Of course, that’s not all it is, but for the time being, that … 
  3. The Fetter of Perceptions
     … And the question is, which perceptions are more useful, and more useful for what purpose? One of the reasons this is a training is because people who have gone before us have found that certain perceptions, certain ways of talking to yourself, will really make a difference in heading in the right direction. So maybe your perceptions are true, but other perceptions can also … 
  4. Encouraging Perceptions
    Encouraging Perceptions November 23, 2010 When we meditate, we’re working with the process of perception. When we focus on the sensation of the breathing, we’re also keeping in mind a particular perception of the breath so that we know what to look for, where to look for the breath. For example, if you have a perception of breath simply as air coming … 
  5. Change Your Perceptions
    When you’re focused on the breath, you need a perception to hold you there. The perception can be an image you hold in mind—a visual image, a word, a little sign to remind you that this is where you want to stay. If it’s a visual perception, this is where Ajaan Lee’s instructions become handy, because remember, when we talk … 
  6. Three Perceptions
    Three Perceptions August 21, 2007 Almost any book on Buddhism will tell you that the three characteristics — the characteristic of inconstancy, the characteristic of stress or suffering, and the characteristic of not-self — were one of the Buddha’s most central teachings. The strange thing, though, is that when you look in the Pali Canon, the word for “three characteristics,” ti-lakkhana,doesn’t … 
  7. The Fabrication of Pain
     … So as soon as a perception arises, think of the perception having its moments as well, if the perception is causing you pain. If you find a perception that helps you be with the pain and not suffer, hold onto that perception, at least for the time being—in the knowledge that a perception that helps today may not necessarily help tomorrow, but at … 
  8. Perceptions of Self & Not-Self
     … He called them perceptions. That should alert you right there: Something is up. Self is a perception. Not-self is also a perception. And it’s not the case that one of those is a conventional truth and the other an ultimate truth. Everything you say is a convention, every perception is a convention, and these conventions have their uses at different times and … 
  9. Awakening Is in the Details
     … It’s in that gap between your perceptions and reality that realizations can occur. In other words, you realize you’ve been holding on to a perception—either it’s just making you miserable, or it’s not in line with the way things are, and you’re operating in blindness—but when you suddenly see, “Oh, that was just a perception that I … 
  10. Lessons from Jhana
     … If you flit from perception to perception randomly, there’s not that much that’s learned. But when you hold onto one perception—whether it’s simply the perception of the breath, the perception of the body not having to breathe, the perception of the boundary between the body and the space outside dissolving away—these are useful perceptions because they give you a … 
  11. Medicine – Timely & Timeless
     … But he doesn’t then just go and say, “Simply turn your perceptions around and that’s that. The problem is solved.” That’s not how it works. The solution is more indirect. Before you take up the three perceptions of inconstancy, stress and not-self, he has you develop other perceptions first—in particular the perceptions that lead the mind to concentration. While … 
  12. Perceptions & Potentials
     … As the Buddha said, every state of concentration up through the dimension of nothingness is a perception attainment. That picture you hold in mind—that’s your perception at the center of your concentration. As you get to know the breath, you begin to notice how much your perception of the breath has an impact on how you actually feel the breathing—and also … 
  13. Cutting Edge Perceptions
     … In that way, you can relate more particularly to the present moment and see which sensations are being turned into problems by your different perceptions. The role of perception is huge in the meditation. Concentration is a perception attainment. But the things that get in the way of the concentration can be perceptions as well, these mental fabrications that weigh you down, place obstacles … 
  14. Perceptions of the Breath
    Perceptions of the Breath March 23, 2010 To bring the mind to the breath, you need to have a perception—a label or a picture in mind—as a way of reminding yourself where you want to stay, and exactly what topic you’re focusing on. That’s because all the states of concentration up to the dimension of nothingness are called perception attainments … 
  15. Fangs in the Static
     … The Buddha also has you develop these positive perceptions for cessation and dispassion. The final perception he has you focus on is the mastery of perception that comes from breath meditation. When you do breath meditation, you get more sensitive to how the mind creates its perceptions, where the allure of those perceptions is, what the drawbacks of the perceptions are. In other words … 
  16. Right Inner Speech
     … The perceptions that led to the pain are not necessarily all the same every time. So the perceptions that will pry those perceptions away, giving you a new perspective, will have to be new perceptions, too. But the process always comes down to this: Is it true? Is it beneficial? And is this the right time and place for that particular perception, that particular … 
  17. Wilderness Wealth
     … You go to more and more refined perceptions: from the physical properties, you go to infinite space; from space to infinite consciousness, consciousness permeating everything; from there to nothingness; and then on to neither perception nor non-perception. And then to what the Buddha calls the themeless concentration of awareness. At that point you’ve gone even beyond the notion of oneness. Oneness actually … 
  18. Physical Pains & Painful Words
     … The perceptions can stir things up; and the perceptions can calm things down. Depending on which perceptions you use, it’s going to make all the difference. But realize that you do have the freedom to change your perceptions. The same principle applies to hurtful words. The Buddha gives two prime examples of how to think about hurtful words. One is the perception that … 
  19. Layers of Selves
     … When you can hold that thought in mind, you’re already beginning to work with your perceptions, because perceptions are the big problem, the perceptions we cling to over and over and over again. They seem to be confirmed by our experience of reality, so we hold onto them tight, even though the perception is actually causing us a lot of unnecessary mental suffering … 
  20. Perceptions for Training the Mind
     … Those are useful perceptions to hold in mind as you’re working with the energy. Those are some perceptions that allow you to work with the breath to the point where the breath gets still. In the meantime, though, you also have to work with perceptions to help keep distractions at bay, as you’re putting aside greed and distress with reference to the … 
  21. Straightening the Arrow
     … When you look at the path, it’s largely one of developing the right perceptions: seeing the value of generosity, seeing the value of virtue. Getting the mind in concentration, the Buddha said, is a perception attainment. You have to maintain the perception of breath and choose the proper perception of breath so that the mind can settle down with it, so that you … 
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