Search results for: "Focus"

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  2. Food for the Mind
     … So as you focus on that one small spot, try to keep it as steady as possible. As Ajaan Lee said in one of his talks, big things start from small things. So you focus on one spot to begin with. Once that spot is steady, then you try to take that quality of steadiness and let it flow throughout the body. In the … 
  3. Vows
     … You set a goal that’s realistic but challenging, you figure out what causes, what actions, will get you there, and then you focus on those actions. You can’t practice without a goal, for otherwise everything would fall apart and you yourself would start wondering why you’re here, why you’re meditating, and why you aren’t out sitting on the beach … 
  4. Cooking Food for the Mind
     … There are lots of ways you can play with the breath energy, lots of places you can focus. You can focus on your little toes if you want to. You can focus on the base of the spine—anywhere in the body, as long as you open your imagination, with the realization that breath is in every part of the body. The property of … 
  5. The Brightness of the World
     … We tend to think that the Buddha’s teachings focus on the negative side of the world. There’s that chant we have: “The world is swept away, it does not endure, it offers no shelter, there’s no one in charge.” This is a point that even newspaper writers are beginning to admit. I read a column today where the author was saying … 
  6. Success Through Maturity
     … This means that you have to have an immediate focus on the present at the same time you take a long view. The immediate focus is for making sure you give full attention to what you’re doing. The long view is for learning how to read the results of your actions without getting upset over setbacks. Accept the fact that there will be … 
  7. The Equanimity of a Victor
     … accepting the reality of the situation and so that you can focus on what you really want, what really needs to be done to get what you want. One of the images for equanimity the Buddha uses is an elephant in battle. It’s surrounded by all kinds of horrible things: horrible sights, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations; seeing other animals being taken down … 
  8. Fabricated Path, Unfabricated Goal
     … You’re here to focus on the breath, not to focus on jhana. You’re here to focus on the breath, creating a mind state that allows you to see what’s going on in the mind. And whether it reaches jhana at this particular time or not, that’s not the issue. The issue is: Can you get the mind still enough to … 
  9. There is This
     … Where are those cool sensations? Which part of the body feels cooler than the others? Focus on that. As you stay with that sense of coolness, notice: Can you spread it around? This way you learn how to make use of what’s there. There is this, there is warmth, but there’s also the “this” that’s not so warm. Or you can … 
  10. Where Perceptions Can Take You
     … All you have to do is focus on one of them. If you really get to know that one very thoroughly, then the other four will come running in right there: The insights you gain into the one will then apply to the other four. Very often the ajaans focus on perception as the big culprit that’s creating trouble in the mind. You … 
  11. An Interest in the Breath
    When we focus on the breath, we want to be as sensitive as possible to how the breathing feels, not just at one spot or two spots in the body. We want to be able to feel the breath in* all* the parts of the body. That requires that we have the conception, or the perception, that breath can be everywhere in the body … 
  12. Heedful, Attentive, Mindful
     … To have appropriate attention, you focus inside—where the main dangers are, although the Buddha does recognize there are dangers from outside. But they’re not the ones you might ordinarily expect. It’s not that other people can harm you—that is a danger but it’s not the real danger. The real danger is when someone gets you to behave in ways … 
  13. Flexibility
     … You focus on the causes, and the result will have to come. It’s like the sense of ease that you gain in the meditation, the sense of fullness, rapture, refreshment: As long as you focus on the cause, you’re okay. If you leave the cause and just try to hold on to the rapture, it’s like trying to grab hold of … 
  14. Mindful All the Way
     … It’s just a matter of learning how to focus them on what you’re doing right here, right now. As long as what you’re doing is skillful, you don’t have to worry about the future. Just make sure you remember the good lessons you’ve learned from the past. So the main focus is right here, but it connects past and … 
  15. The Not-Self Discourse
     … Just focus on the aggregate. Why is it important to focus on the aggregates? Because in the first sermon, the Buddha had already identified the aggregates, when you cling to them, as suffering. One of the ways in which you cling, of course, is through your sense of self. In fact, all the other forms of clinging can be directly related to that sense … 
  16. Right Mindfulness
     … That’s the process we’re working on here as we focus on the breath. It’s the first of the establishings. To remain focused is called anupassana. It means you choose something to watch and then you stick with it. In this case, what you watch is the body in and of itself. In other words, not the body as a part of … 
  17. An Auspicious Birth
     … So as you’re up sitting late tonight, keep this point in mind, that whatever comes up, you’ve got the choice of what to focus on, what to latch on to. There may be many things happening in the present moment, but the Buddha says to focus on four types of things, and particularly on the factors of the path, getting the mind … 
  18. Bases for Success
     … If you focus simply on the results, you can sit here and think for hours about how much you’d like to have the results, but they’re never going to come. They won’t have any foundation. So you’ve got to focus on your efforts. In this case, the effort is to have singleness of mind or cittassa ek’aggatā. Sometimes this … 
  19. What Are You Doing Right Now?
     … So that’s where he has you focus, on your actions, understanding your actions. This is good. If you try to understand what you are, you get involved in all kinds speculations that really go nowhere. But if you focus on what you’re doing, it’s something you can actually watch. Your actions in the past, your actions in the present: These are … 
  20. The Truth of Perceptions
     … Where do you feel the warmth in the body in the midst of that stillness? Focus on that. Hold the perception of fire in mind. You could even have an image of a fire burning, but make sure that you’re also in touch with the actual sensation of warmth. Then remind yourself that there’s a certain amount of warmth throughout the body … 
  21. Lessons in Happiness
     … For instance, we know that we’re going to have to let go of the body, let go of attachment to the body, but what’s the first thing you focus on when you meditate? You focus on the breath, which is part of the body. You’re not letting go of the breath, you’re actually working with it. Look at those sixteen … 
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