Search results for: "Attention"

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  2. Clinging-Aggregates in Context
     … As for the world in which that thing exists, parts of that world may be totally irrelevant to your desire, so you don’t pay much attention to them. You pay attention to the parts that are relevant: the ones that either help you attain that goal, that object, that pleasure, or get in the way. Often you find yourself identifying with the various … 
  3. The Lightning Bolt
     … It’s not that you believe everything you hear, because the third factor is appropriate attention, as you subject that Dhamma to the right questions: Does this Dhamma sound like it’s going to lead to the end of suffering or is it going to get you entangled, either in views or social responsibilities that will distract you from really focusing on the mind … 
  4. Skillful in Everything
     … You cultivate the desire to learn, and then you stick with it and give it all your attention. You use your ingenuity. This list—desire, persistence, intent, and ingenuity—is called the bases of power, the bases of success. When you develop these qualities, you find not only that the things that you create are nicer but you’ve also got a nicer mind … 
  5. Remarkable Qualities
     … Really focus all your attention on this. How much have you observed your breath in the past? What do you know about the breath aside from the fact that it comes in and goes out? Actually there are lots of variations to the breath: in long, out short; in short, out long; long in and out; short in and out; heavy, light; shallow, deep … 
  6. Distraction & Drowsiness
     … As long as you don’t pay attention to thoughts on other topics, eventually they’ll fade away, fade away. It may take time, but don’t be impatient. They’re not your responsibility right now. Your responsibility is to be with the breath. The other problem, of course, is drowsiness. The best way to deal with that is to give yourself something to … 
  7. Dealing with Confusion
     … You can focus your attention on any one spot in the body that seems convenient or you can focus on the body as a whole right from the start. The choice is yours. What’s important is that you allow the breath to be a good place to stay, a comfortable place to stay. If the body seems tired or weak, think of breathing … 
  8. Life Well Lived
     … It’s only when your attention is focused but relaxed that you can maintain it. If it’s tense, it’s going to wobble, it’s going to jump off. And try to bring your full attention to what you’re doing. What you’re doing is developing good qualities of the mind that you can use in other parts of your life—because … 
  9. The Buddha’s Narratives & Yours
     … There’s another thing that he recommends that you not think about in his discussion on appropriate attention in Majjhima 2. He talks about questions that are not worth following, not worth paying attention to. And some of them are, “What was I in the past? Was I in the past? What was I in the past? How was I in the past? How … 
  10. Respect for Emptiness
     … We tend to ignore them, we don’t pay them much attention. We’re so much more interested in running after things, getting the mind all stirred up, yet ignoring those little moments of stillness between what basically come down to moments of disturbance in the mind. We see the disturbance as interesting and the stillness as boring, and so we keep running after … 
  11. The Dhamma Points Inside
     … You ask yourself, “How does this apply to my mind?” In particular, “How does this apply to the problem of my mind, in which I’m creating suffering for myself?” It’s called appropriate attention. You take the lessons you learn from the Dhamma that you’ve heard in talks, and also from the Dhamma you notice just as you go through the day … 
  12. Don’t Leak Out Your Ears & Eyes
    We sit here with our eyes closed, trying to gather our attention inside to be with the breath, thinking of the breath as a whole-body process: the energy flowing through the nerves and the muscles that allows the air to come in, the air to go out—the oxygen exchange that helps keep us alive. And this can be very nourishing. The trick … 
  13. No One Size Fits All
     … He just keeps churning out food, which the master may like or may not like, but the master finally decides he’s sick and tired of this cook because the cook isn’t paying any attention. The cook who pays attention to what the master seems to like and who provides more of that: That’s the cook who gets rewarded. So try to … 
  14. The Evening News
     … Someone else is doing something important, whereas our time isn’t important so we should pay attention to what they have to say. This is the opposite of what the Buddha has to tell us, which is that the processes shaping your life are happening right here right now. And they’re not just happening—you’re involved in them. You’re willing them … 
  15. Fear & Insecurity
     … So it’s no wonder that these are the things that grab our attention right away. But, the Buddha says, those aren’t the things to be afraid of. The real thing to be afraid of is that you’re going to do something unskillful—particularly in trying to protect this identity you’ve taken on, to ward off whatever you think is going … 
  16. Lessons in Fabrication
     … And in that field of seeds, we have our choice as to which ones we want to pay attention to, which ones we water with our attention. Then we have our intentions in the present moment that put together those potentials and turn them into an actual experience. Like right now: You’re focused on the breath. The fact that you have this body … 
  17. The Big Picture
     … Pay a lot of attention to that. Verbal fabrication is the way you talk to yourself, what the Buddha calls directed thought and evaluation. You choose a topic to think about, and then you make comments, ask questions. Pay attention to that, too. Keep it focused on the breath. And there’s mental fabrication, perceptions—the labels you put on things—and then feelings … 
  18. Staying in Position
     … Give your full attention to those. In other words, you don’t have to claim the whole body as yours. If the pain wants to have your knee, let it go ahead and have the knee. Make sure that you get out of the line of fire. Then, as your chosen spot gets more and more comfortable, you can think of the comfort spreading … 
  19. Seeing Through Your Defilements
     … Where is it most prominent? Focus your attention there. It may not be on the air coming in and out of the nose. It may be the movement in the chest or the movement of the stomach. But wherever it’s clearest to see, focus your attention there. And then ask yourself, “Is it comfortable?” If you’re not sure, you can try different … 
  20. The Karma of Ideas
     … Often it’s these elements of perception, attention, and intention: the ideas you hold in mind, the things you focus on as important, and what you want to do as a result. So as you decide to keep the Buddha’s shoulds in mind, that changes your intention. You hold on to these, as opposed to the shoulds of the world, and you find … 
  21. Your Quiet Corner
     … This is where you also bring in the quality of ardency, which means you really pay attention to this, you have a sense of the preciousness of this quiet corner. You respect it. You don’t toss it away for whatever else comes up in the mind. No matter how compelling, no matter how important other things may seem, right now nothing else is … 
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