Search results for: "Discernment"

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  2. The Wisdom of Ardency
    The Wisdom of Ardency July 2, 2012 All of the factors of the path build on right view, which means that they all contain an element of discernment or wisdom. The question sometimes arises: Where in the practice of right mindfulness is the element of wisdom? There’s a general tendency to see it in the quality of sampajañña, or alertness. But alertness just … 
  3. The Will to Awaken
     … these are an important part of discernment. The five strengths that end in discernment begin with conviction. As one of the ajaans in Thailand once said, it’s not the case that discernment begins with perceptions or ideas or concepts. It begins with conviction, that there is a way out, and that it can be found through your own actions. The other aspect of … 
  4. Look at Yourself
     … It’s this kind of discernment—the discernment that deals with individual things directly here in the present moment—that’s able to see them. The Buddha says that discernment sees things as separate, and you can see them as separate only after having really been with them and practiced with them thoroughly. That’s how you gain release from them. If you don … 
  5. Stupid about Pleasure
     … This is why we also need discernment to remind us that there are a lot of important areas where things are either/or. In particular, discernment is needed to see the drawbacks of many of the old pleasures we’ve been wallowing in. This is a lesson we resist. One, we don’t like to be told that we’ve been engaging in harmful … 
  6. No One Size Fits All
     … You have to learn how to read yourself—and that’s a large part of discernment right there. If all you had to do were to know just one technique and apply it relentlessly, it wouldn’t take much discernment. Any fool can do that. What’s required in the middle way is that you figure out what’s just right for you right … 
  7. Meaning Through Perfections
     … the perfection of discernment, because it’s the only teaching in which discernment is really all-around: to understand how things are originated in the mind; how they pass away; what their allure is; what their drawbacks are; and then the escape from them through dispassion. This discernment that understands how we can develop dispassion and find an escape—that’s what makes the … 
  8. The Skillful Heart
     … But here, too, the discernment is colored by issues of the heart. The Buddha said that discernment begins with the question, “What, when I do it, will lead to my long-term welfare and happiness?” You’ve got to use your discernment for the sake of happiness long-term, and that’s a desire of the heart. The discernment comes in as you understand … 
  9. The Five Faculties Confirmed
     … conviction and discernment. These two faculties provide the framework for our practice. It’s because of conviction that we’re practicing, and it’s for the sake of discernment that we’re practicing concentration. The two qualities help each other along. In a general sense, conviction is focused on the fact that there is a path to awakening. It’s like being lost in … 
  10. Determined on Awakening
     … Nobody else has to know about your powers of concentration, your discernment. When nobody else knows, you’re safe. So you can look at all the factors of the path, all the qualities we’re trying to develop, as ways of developing those four qualities of discernment, truth, relinquishment, and calm. When the Buddha says to not neglect discernment, he’s basically saying: Look … 
  11. Concentration Nurtured by Virtue
     … The great fruit and benefit of concentration, of course, is discernment. And from discernment there’s release. But without the virtue, no matter how strong it is, concentration is not going to lead to discernment, because it’s built on dishonesty. Discernment, however, is all about being honest and truthful with yourself. So if you want concentration that’s safe, it has to be … 
  12. Make the Most of This Breath
     … I was reading someone from another branch of Buddhism saying that wisdom or discernment with regard to the precepts means knowing when to follow the precepts and when not to. That’s lazy discernment. It’s kind of a cleverness maybe, but it’s hard to call it discernment at all. Real discernment knows how to maintain your precepts and, at the same time … 
  13. Doubt vs. Questioning
     … The Buddha talks about three levels of discernment. The first two are the discernment that comes from listening and reading, and then the discernment that comes from thinking things through. Ajaan Lee compares the first to elementary education and the second to high school education. But the really useful discernment, he says, is the discernment that comes from developing qualities in the mind. This … 
  14. Concentration: A Balancing Act
     … But neither extreme gives rise to much discernment. It’s when you’re trying to get things balanced: That’s when you have to bring your discernment to bear. And as you bring your discernment to bear in the concentration, you’re getting it ready to do further work, so that the concentration naturally develops into discernment, and the discernment can lead to release … 
  15. Discernment
  16. Persistence & Discernment
  17. Mindfulness & Discernment
  18. Mindfulness, Concentration & Discernment
  19. Levels of Discernment
  20. Discernment in Jhana
  21. Discernment Fosters Concentration
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