Search results for: "Concentration"

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  2. The Challenge
     … You take it in stages, using whatever concentration you can develop. It’s not that we don’t have any concentration before we start. There is such a thing as momentary concentration, the kind of concentration that allows you to listen to this talk and make sense of it, allows you to read a book, follow a thread of argument, follow the thread of … 
  3. Ready to Evacuate
     … As you sit and meditate, getting into concentration, you have to put a lot of things aside, even though it’s just for the time being. But it’s good practice, because you learn an important principle: that the mind is not made wealthy by holding on to lots of things. It actually puts itself in better shape by letting go. There’s a … 
  4. To Know the Unconditioned
     … This is why we do concentration and then look at our other attachments. We see that they’re nowhere near as peaceful or satisfying as a state of concentration. Then we see that even the different states of concentration have their drawbacks. So we pursue stillness even more, to the point where there’s nothing the mind will hold on to. That’s when … 
  5. Take Nothing for Granted
    The Pali word samādhi that we translate as “concentration” in English, is translated into Thai by the phrase, tang jai man, which means to set your mind firmly on something. In this case, set your mind on what you’re doing, what the mind is doing. Set your mind on one thing. Give it a purpose. That’s one of the reasons why we … 
  6. Imagine
     … To master concentration, it has to capture your imagination, just as with any other skill. When you practice concentration, what are you doing? You’re creating a state in the mind. That requires imagination. The noble eightfold path as a whole is something fabricated, something put together. It brings you into the present, but when you get into the present you discover how much … 
  7. Wealth Worth Holding Onto
     … So in sticking with the precepts, you’re getting the mind ready to settle into concentration complete with mindfulness, alertness, and ardency. Those are the kind of precepts that are pleasing to the noble ones, that incline the mind to want to settle down. As the Buddha said, the two things that are important for mindfulness and concentration are views made straight—i.e … 
  8. Respect for Suffering
     … Show some respect for your concentration. After all, concentration is a noble truth. It’s the heart of the path. Once your concentration is solid, then you’re ready to delve into the issue of why there is suffering in the mind. In other words, you come at it with respect. You realize that this is a very complicated issue. It’s going to … 
  9. Focus on the Doing
     … Right release is interpreted as real concentration, when the mind finally hits a state of concentration that’s totally unfabricated, can’t be destroyed, can’t be affected by anything at all. It builds on the concentration you’re doing. It’s not that you do concentration and you drop the concentration to move on to insight. The insight lies in learning how to … 
  10. Location, Location
     … So don’t be afraid to desire concentration. Don’t be afraid to desire to do it well, because it’s in doing the concentration and desiring it that you learn what desire does. When you see the subtle stress even in a state of concentration, and the mind inclines to something better than that, you’ve raised your sights. It’s when the … 
  11. Rivers of Craving
     … It wasn’t until he got his mind concentrated that he actually could see what was going on. This is why we should have respect for concentration. When the Buddha talks about the different things that we should respect in order to keep the true Dhamma alive, he talks about the triple training, and then he says again, “concentration.” Now, concentration is part of … 
  12. Strength of Concentration
     … So even though when concentration is defined as a strength, it’s said to be that you bring the mind to singleness of mind with the purpose of letting go, the question is: How do you first bring the mind to singleness? The Buddha’s definition is warning us that the purpose of concentration is not to build up powers. They do happen to … 
  13. Training Wheels
     … Because the real pleasure that comes from concentration is not so much pleasure from the body, or from the physical feelings. It’s the pleasure of having the mind settle down and be still and have some peace inside. The pleasure also comes from having some control over what the mind is going to do, because these topics of concentration, the component factors of … 
  14. The Brahmaviharas Are Not Enough
     … What the brahmaviharas can do is take you to concentration. Then, based on concentration, you have to develop discernment, and that’s a different practice entirely. It’s based on concentration, and there’s an element of discernment that comes into concentration, but you really have to emphasize the discernment part if the concentration based on the brahmaviharas is going to take you to … 
  15. The Uses of Concentration
    The Uses of Concentration December 29, 2008 Ajaan Lee begins his breath meditation instructions by telling you to breathe in deeply, three times or seven times. Use the wind element in the body to clean things out a little bit. Then allow the breath to find a rhythm that feels just right. See where your sense of ease is right now: which parts of … 
  16. Sense Pleasures & Sensuality
     … As long as you’re not willing to go beyond the practice of concentration, it’s like there being sap on your hand from the branch. You’re stuck. But being stuck on concentration is a minor problem compared to being stuck on sensuality. You actually need the pleasure of jhana to get away from sensuality. Otherwise, all you see are two alternatives: sensuality … 
  17. Nuclear Thinking
     … The skill in the practice lies in learning how to make use of whatever level of concentration you’ve got to deal with wherever you are in the rhythm of the mind. In periods when the thoughts seem to be few and far between, you can’t let yourself be complacent. Build up your concentration as solidly as you can so that, when the … 
  18. The Strength to See
     … In terms of dealing with physical suffering, that’s where concentration comes in. For most of us, our powers of concentration don’t go very far past suffering. Momentary concentration, which is ordinary everyday concentration, tends to get stopped by suffering. Even with just the slightest little bit of displeasure or boredom or dissatisfaction, we’re gone. We’re off someplace else—to say … 
  19. An Island in the Flood
     … But mindfulness and concentration help with your virtue as well, because they give you this center of strength, this island you can stand on, where you feel secure, where you feel well established. When you’re well established, your duties are easier to do. You gain nourishment from the concentration. The Buddha compares concentration to food. This island is not a barren island. It … 
  20. Simple & Basic
     … Respect your concentration. That respect leads to having a respect for everything that surrounds the concentration: looking into what keeps the mind steady, what keeps the mind stable, and trying to get really, really good at it. Because the more precise you are in seeing what’s going on while you’re looking after what’s going on, the more precisely you’ll see … 
  21. Taking Charge
     … When it’s really resolved on those things, where else will the mind go but into good concentration? Then as the mind is really concentrated, it’s able to be secluded from unskillful mental states. And when unskillful mental states come back, you can see them clearly. This is how concentration fosters discernment. And, in turn, the discernment fosters your concentration. You begin to … 
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