Search results for: "Discernment"

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  2. The Karma of Self & Not-Self
     … There was a time when someone asked the Buddha, “What is virtue for?” “Virtue is for concentration.” “What is concentration for?” “Concentration is for the purpose of discernment.” “What is the purpose of discernment?” “The purpose of discernment is release.” “What is the purpose of release?” “Total unbinding, nibbāna.” Then the person asked “What is the purpose of nibbāna?” The Buddha said, “No, you … 
  3. Sucked into the Tube
     … This is how discernment develops, and this is how discernment becomes the kind of discernment that can liberate you. If you want to see fear or anger happening, you want to see it while it’s actually happening. You don’t want to go through instant replays, because your video machine has its defects. It’s not nearly as effective when you see it … 
  4. Judging Your Meditation
     … That kind of playing develops your powers of judgment, develops your powers of discernment, starting with the breath and then moving into the mind. As those powers of discernment get more developed, you’re in a better and better position to see that there is such a thing as good meditation, and there is such a thing as a bad meditation session. And you … 
  5. A Good Dish of Concentration
    That phrase in the chant just now, “those who don’t discern suffering,” sounds strange. We all know that we have suffering. The problem is that we don’t really discern it. To discern it, in the Buddha’s terms, would be to see it in terms of the five clinging-aggregates, and that’s usually not the first thought that occurs to us … 
  6. Artillery All Around
     … These are important means for developing discernment. Otherwise, you just do one method, one method, not even thinking, not taking any responsibility, and that’s not going to develop discernment at all. Your defilements have their different tricks and techniques, and they’re going to run all over you because they’re going to know. They can see you coming from a mile away … 
  7. Read the Breath
     … This ability to read your breath is a very important skill, because learning how to read the situation in your body and mind in general is where discernment comes. Discernment is not a matter of trying to clone the insights you read in books. It means being very sensitive to what’s happening in the present moment, and what needs to be done, where … 
  8. The Same but Different, but the Same
     … Some people found it easy to gain concentration but had trouble using their discernment. Other people were more prone to discernment issues, more prone to analyzing things, but they had a real problem getting their minds to settle down. Some people, when their minds would settle down, would start having visions or weird sensations in the body. So he’d have to herd them … 
  9. Safety in an Uncertain World
     … Remember the questions that lie at the beginning of wisdom and discernment, "What when I do it will lead to my long term harm and suffering? What when I do it will lead to my long term health and happiness?” When the Buddha says long-term, he means really long. Many, many lifetimes. Our unskillful actions can have an impact not only in this … 
  10. The Heart of the Teachings
     … In the process of that, your discernment has been avoiding what is unskillful, developing fully what is skillful and cleansing the mind. So this is why these three principles are called the heart of the Buddha’s teachings because they’re useful with regard to all three parts of the Triple Training in virtue, concentration, and discernment, and on all levels of the practice … 
  11. Look After Yourself with Ease
     … We sometimes hear that you develop the precepts or the virtues that correspond to the precepts and then you practice concentration and then you develop discernment. But these three parts of the path are all interrelated. After all, the noble eightfold path starts with right view and right resolve, which are factors of discernment, and then moves into virtue and on to concentration. So … 
  12. The Humane Quality of the Path
     … Other issues may come up in the mind, but for the time being, you just put them aside: “I’m not ready for that one yet.” If something is really urgent and you have to deal with it, then you take what powers of concentration and discernment you do have, and you use them. But otherwise, you develop your discernment and concentration by working … 
  13. Heedfulness All the Way Through
     … So there’s a bit of discernment in there, together with some goodwill for yourself. Then, based on heedfulness, the whole rest of the path develops. You can see this most clearly in a set of dhammas the Buddha calls the five strengths, which are identical with the five faculties. You start with conviction. Formally, this is conviction in the Buddha’s awakening. But … 
  14. A Gift of Strength
     … In particular, you develop mindfulness, concentration, and discernment, which are the other strengths. Mindfulness doesn’t mean simply being aware of the present moment. It means keeping certain things in mind—and especially, the whole issue why you want to focus on being skillful, where you have to focus your attention, focus your energy, looking at the way your intentions take shape. Where do … 
  15. Three More Recollections
     … conviction, virtue, generosity, learning, and discernment. Conviction is in the Buddha’s awakening. Generosity and virtue we already know. Learning is learning the Dhamma, having a fund of Dhamma within you. Think of the things that go sloshing around in most people’s minds, especially now with the mass media: all kinds of stupid songs and jingles, issues that the media raises as important … 
  16. Shoulds & Ideals
     … First you use your discernment in deciding what’s a desirable goal: both desirable and possible. Then you use your discernment to understand exactly what’s needed to get there. Once you’ve used your discernment, the next quality is truthfulness. You really stick with it, do whatever is required. Don’t change your mind unless you start seeing that you misunderstood what you … 
  17. Like a River Full of Water
     … So in developing these brahmaviharas, you want to be as wise and discerning as you can, because they’re a way of developing discernment. They’re not just nice thoughts or restful places to put the mind. As you’re developing these attitudes, you want to develop the discernment that’s realistic, clear eyed, so that these attitudes really can apply to your day … 
  18. Heeding the Deva Messengers
     … conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment. These are the qualities we need to develop as strengths within ourselves. We have to have them take charge in our minds so that we’ll have the strength to do what’s right, to do what’s skillful now while we still have some bodily strength. When the body has no more strength at all, then it … 
  19. Admirable Friendship
     … As the Buddha said, when you find an admirable friend who has conviction, generosity, virtue, and discernment, you try to emulate those qualities. You try to develop your powers of observation, too, to see how they do it. This means, of course, asking questions but also just noticing. The same with generosity, the same with virtue, and the same with discernment: You listen carefully … 
  20. Discernment Performs
     … So remember that as we’re practicing, we’re not here for the purpose of gaining discernment as the goal. Discernment is one of the actions that we’re trying to master. That is, it, too, has to be seen as performative. What is it doing to the mind when you hold a particular idea in mind? It may be true, but is it … 
  21. Simplify
     … This is why we spend so much time sitting here with our eyes closed, working on mindfulness, concentration, and discernment, because these are the qualities that will see the mind through any situation. When you see people really “losing it,” this is what they’ve lost. They’ve lost their mindfulness, they’ve lost their concentration, they’ve lost their discernment. So you want … 
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