Search results for: "Attention"

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  2. The Languages of the Mind
     … Here we’re working on a whole vocabulary of concepts to deal with the breath, as a way of anchoring us in the present moment, so that we can watch it, feel at home here, feel comfortable here, and also begin to understand what’s going on, especially in terms of this issue of intention and attention, and the results of your intentions and … 
  3. In Terms of the Four Noble Truths
    The Buddha once said that there’s no one internal quality more useful for awakening than appropriate attention: asking the right questions, looking at things in the right light. And appropriate attention essentially comes down to seeing things in terms of the four noble truths. And the truths here are not issues of just saying, “Well, there is suffering, there is the cause, there … 
  4. Like an Athlete in Training
     … Now when you walk into a modern supermarket, it’s very tempting just to grab whatever attracts your attention. There’s so much. But you realize, if you grab everything, one, you’ll go broke. At the same time, there’s a lot of stuff in there that’s bad for you. So there are two things to keep in mind when you go … 
  5. A Self Rightly Directed
     … Direct your attention inside, and remind yourself that whatever happens in the world, the really important things that you’re going to be taking with you when you leave this world are the qualities you develop in your mind. And it’s not as if you’re just taking, taking, taking from the world and running away. To develop those good qualities, you have … 
  6. Intelligence of the Heart
     … Part of the mind will say, “There are other things I’d rather do.” You have to ask yourself, “These other things, how many of them really are worth it?” There are some things that you have to do that require your full attention, so you give them your full attention. There are a lot of things you can do, though, that don’t … 
  7. Truth Without Air Quotes
     … There are intentions, acts of attention—choosing what to focus on, what not to focus on—perceptions; all kinds of things shaping the things we’re going to see and hear and taste and touch and smell, even before they happen. So no wonder we’re dubious as we get conscious of these different factors and see how they shape even basic things like … 
  8. The Skills of Truth & Calm
     … As for name, that includes perception again, feeling again, attention, intention, and contact. Attention: You’re paying attention to the breath, and the question you’re asking yourself is, “How do I get the mind to settle down? Once it’s settled down, how do I get to understand the process of fabrication?” It’s all right here. The intention, of course, is your … 
  9. Sucked into the Tube
     … The more you start paying attention, the more you start getting interested in this energy flow in the body. You find, as you get more and more engrossed in it, that you’re less likely to wander off. But it’ll still happen every now and then. Ideally, you want to catch yourself in the act before the mind really goes someplace. Some meditation … 
  10. A Strong Sense of Self
     … Wherever you feel the breath most prominently in the body, focus your attention there and watch it steadily so that you can judge what feels good. It’s good to choose a spot in the body that’s very sensitive, because that will alert you when the breath is suddenly not feeling comfortable anymore. After all, the needs of the body will change as … 
  11. Centered
     … In other words, your concentration is spread out in all directions, while your awareness is centered inside, so that no one spot in your outside range of vision is getting more attention than others. Everything is equal. You’re ready to pick up the signs wherever they are. One way of developing this kind of concentration is to think of your awareness starting with … 
  12. Exploring What You’ve Got
     … It’s called “attention.” Attention means basically what you choose to focus on, what questions you choose to ask yourself. So the purpose of meditation instructions is to get you to ask the right questions. It’s in asking the questions that you can begin to pry loose your ignorant ideas, the ones that cause suffering. So always come to the meditation with a … 
  13. Ekaggata
     … You can’t just make a promise to yourself and then trust that it’s going to happen on its own without your paying any attention to what you’re doing. You promise yourself that you’re not going to kill anything. Okay, watch yourself. No stealing, no illicit sex, no lying, no intoxicants: In every case, watch yourself. The precept on lying is … 
  14. When Things Seem Dark
     … So you want to bring the light of your attention to what’s going on. They talk about practicing bare attention, but there is no such thing. What there is, is what the Buddha calls household equanimity—the ability to maintain equanimity in the face of sights, sounds, tastes, tactile sensations, and ideas. That last one is probably the hardest. Things come into the … 
  15. On Deserving to Be Happy
     … So you pay attention. You do your best and pay attention to what you’re doing. Then you judge the results. That’s the fourth base for success. In Pali it’s called vimamsa, which is a term for analysis. You’re trying to figure out what you’re doing in terms of cause and effect. Analyze what you’re doing and try to … 
  16. Delight
     … There’s lots to learn in just getting the mind to settle down, paying careful attention to what you’re doing, and not thinking, “Well, this is something I have to get through so I can move on to the next step.” It’s by paying careful attention right here to this step that the next step appears. As for the last two types … 
  17. Start by Relaxing Your Hands
     … If all you can think about is eating, then you’re not paying careful attention to what you’re doing. The food may burn, or you may forget an ingredient because you’re not paying careful attention to the steps that’ll take you to the food you want. So focus on the steps, one by one by one, and the food you want … 
  18. Inner Worlds
     … We get a taste of this when the mind settles down, even just in concentration and you can give all your attention to this world inside. If you do it well, then as far as you’re concerned, the world outside doesn’t even have to exist. It doesn’t matter. You need a space in the mind where things outside don’t matter … 
  19. Varieties of Mindfulness
     … So that’s where we focus our attention. That’s what we should keep in mind. This is called dhammanussati, keeping the Dhamma in mind. This is why the Buddha has us listen to the Dhamma, read the Dhamma, because the Dhamma contains all sorts of useful and encouraging ideas. For instance, there’s the passage where the Buddha is talking to his son … 
  20. Factors for Awakening
     … One is that the Buddha says that as you go through the factors for awakening, you develop them based on appropriate attention. What is appropriate attention? It’s applying right view to what you’re doing, asking yourself, “What am I doing that’s skillful and what’s not? What am I doing that’s causing unnecessary stress and what can I do to … 
  21. Respect for Concentration
     … These things will all be present to your awareness, but you won’t send your attention out after them. Try to keep your center here inside. As you develop this continuity, it becomes your habitual center of awareness, your habitual point of reference. The movement of other things in relation to that center becomes very clear. In other words, the impulse to go out … 
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