Search results for: "Dhamma"

  1. Page 28
  2. The Meaning of Insight
     … Those observations have meaning only in the larger context of the meaning of the Dhamma, the goal of the Dhamma, its attha. This is why, when the Buddha described his awakening, he never mentioned the three characteristics, or even the three perceptions. They’re there implicitly in terms of the duties of the four noble truths, under the insight into the drawbacks of the … 
  3. Guardian Meditations
     … Anybody who needed the Dhamma, he was happy to teach. All he asked was that people be truthful. He said, “Let someone come who’s observant and no deceiver, and I’ll teach that person the Dhamma.” Those were his only prerequisites. And he taught without holding anything back, anything that was really necessary for the sake of awakening. So that’s the kind … 
  4. Life in the Context of the Practice
     … Learning means knowing the Dhamma. We fill our heads with so much garbage, so it’s good to clear some of that garbage out and fill it with Dhamma instead. That way, when difficult situations come up, you’ve got something you can fall back on. You can remember, “The Buddha says this about this kind of situation.” For instance, he talks about true … 
  5. Why We Bow Down
     … The Buddha talks about gaining the Dhamma eye: That’s the point where you have verified confidence in the Buddha—that what he taught really was true, that he really did know what he’s talking about. When you reach that stage, then you’re on firm ground. The image that they give is of crossing a deep river. As you swim across, you … 
  6. Nobody’s Servant
     … Conviction, conviction in the principle of karma, that your actions really do make a difference; generosity; learning the Dhamma, and discernment. All these things are goodness inside, and we develop them through the meditation and also through learning the Dhamma, stocking ourselves inside with good things, so when things outside are lacking, we’re not poor. We’re wealthy with internal wealth. That makes … 
  7. The Duties of Compassion
     … But your method of sharing is indicated in that phrase we chant about the Dhamma every evening: opanayiko, you have to bring it into yourself first; and then ehipassiko, only then do you call other people to look. Of course, they can’t look at the results you’ve gotten, but you can call other people to look and say, “Look, this is what … 
  8. Swept Downstream
     … If you haven’t gained the Dhamma eye yet, you’re not really sure. You say you take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, but do you really take refuge in them? Where do you take your refuge? As Ajaan Maha Boowa says, for most of us, the reality is, Kilesam saranam gacchami: “I take refuge in defilement.” We look for … 
  9. Pleasure & Pain
     … This is the actual Dhamma. You’re dealing with very everyday, normal things, not any exalted concepts. It’s one of the reasons that when the Buddha talked about false dhammas, he used the word saddhamma patirupa, which literally means sophisticated dhamma. It’s very easy for us to get dazzled by intellectual games and fancy concepts. But the real work of the Dhamma … 
  10. Goodwill as a Guardian
     … Many times, as he would teach people these truths, they would have their first experience of awakening, called gaining the Dhamma eye. That was his gift to them. There were even people who went to see the Buddha to argue with him—there were even cases where people were sent to kill him—and yet this is how he responded. He talked to them … 
  11. Resourceful
     … It may seem paradoxical that, on one hand, here is a tradition that holds very strictly to the Vinaya and has a very clear idea about what is Dhamma and what’s not Dhamma, and yet they say, “Be ingenious. Be resourceful.” But actually, there’s no paradox at all within the parameters of what’s skillful and what’s not. You have to … 
  12. When You’ve Played Enough With the Breath
     … The first tetrad deals with the breath directly; the second, with feelings; the third, with the mind; and the fourth, with dhammas. These correspond to the four frames of reference for establishing mindfulness. The theme all the way through these steps is the interaction among breath, feelings, and mind. In some of the steps, the emphasis is on how the mind can have an … 
  13. Endurance
     … That kind of focus is what keeps you in line with the Dhamma. You’re practicing the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma: for the sake of your own dispassion. And that principle, as the Buddha said, is what guarantees that there will continue to be enlightened people in the world.
  14. In Your Right Mind at Death
     … fear of losing your body, fear of losing human sensual pleasures, fear that the bad things you’ve done in life will lead to punishment in the next life, and the fear that comes from not knowing the true Dhamma. The people who have this last fear wouldn’t necessarily express it in those terms. What it means is they have no idea for … 
  15. Switzerland Inside
     … The learning here is learning the Dhamma: reading up, listening, thinking about the Dhamma, so that when things get difficult you’ll have something reliable to fall back on. We have so much garbage in our heads. Think of how many hours of advertisements we’ve seen or heard in the course of a lifetime and how this stuff reverberates around inside. You want … 
  16. Attention with an Agenda
     … Why was it that there were pupils in the Buddha’s time who listened to Dhamma talks and were immediately able to gain stream entry? The Buddha himself explained that they had five qualities to their listening. One, they didn’t despise the Dhamma. Two, they didn’t despise the speaker. Three, they didn’t despise themselves. In other words, they were confident that … 
  17. A Sucker for Random Memories
     … There’s a passage that talks about people who go to realms of the Brahmas that are based on the jhanas, but if they haven’t really learned their Dhamma lessons well, they’re going to fall. It’s only the ones who’ve learned their Dhamma lessons who are more secure, who know they won’t have to come back here. They won … 
  18. Right Exertion at Play
     … That was one of the few times he talked about controversies in the Dhamma, and it’s directly related to one of the sets of dhammas included in the Wings to Awakening: the four right exertions. These are the same as the four right efforts, and the important thing to notice is that there are four things to do. We don’t just let … 
  19. A Meritorious Heart
     … As part of the commemoration, they invite monks—sometimes forest monks, sometimes city monks—to give a closing Dhamma talk. The very last year I was there before I returned to the States, they had invited a monk from a major city temple in Bangkok. He sent word about five minutes before he was due to get up on the Dhamma seat, saying that … 
  20. Mindfulness as a Goad
     … It’s not the case that if something doesn’t appear in the Pali Canon, it’s not Dhamma. As all the ajaans in the Thai forest tradition say: If it works, it’s Dhamma. Try to see what works for you. And then try to remember what lessons you’ve learned. If you don’t remember the lessons you’ve learned from your … 
  21. Directing Yourself Rightly
     … By the time we come to the Dhamma, we’re already in the middle of all this. What makes the Dhamma special is that it shows us a way out, because a lot of those muddling mistakes we make create a lot of suffering for ourselves or the people around us. An important part about choosing a life of the Dhamma is that you … 
  22. Load next page...