Search results for: "Concentration"

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  2. Other People
     … It’s made by a combination of developing concentration and also having some discernment. The concentration gives you a good place to stay, your own separate sense of energy, your own separate source of energy—like in the days when the Burmese attacked Ayutthaya. Ayutthaya was able to withstand the siege for a long time because they had their own sources of water and … 
  3. 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 … 
  4. Test Everything
     … And there’s another kind of patience, the patience that, when the mind does get into concentration, and you say, “Okay, what’s next, what’s the next step?” the patience requires that you stay with that state of concentration. This is what requires heedfulness, because sometimes it’s all too easy to say, “Well, the mind is rested enough for now. Now I … 
  5. A Friend to the World, A Friend to Yourself
     … The gatekeeper and the soldiers need food, which is what the concentration is for. The various levels of concentration in that image start with very basic foods and then go up to the really good stuff: honey and butter. But concentration is not your only strength. The Buddha says that inner strength depends on conviction. This is largely a matter of verbal fabrication and … 
  6. The Arrow in the Heart
     … This is why we get the mind into a state of concentration. It’s like relaxing around an arrow so as to minimize the pain in the mind and make it easier for us to pull it out. Even though concentration is not the ultimate ease and it’s not the ultimate happiness, still it gives us a period of rest and the ability … 
  7. Constant, Easeful, Self
     … The implication, though, is that even as you’re practicing concentration, you’ve got to apply some discernment to what you’re doing; to understand what you’re doing and to understand how to get past distractions to your practice. And it seems primarily that what the Buddha was focusing on was that when something comes into the mind to interfere with your focus … 
  8. Yes & No
    The Buddha’s description of what right concentration is like is in his description of right concentration. His description of how to do it is in his description of right mindfulness. You choose a frame of reference that you’re going to stay focused on. You try to keep track of that, ardent, alert, mindful, putting aside greed and distress with reference to the … 
  9. The Return of Chickens from Hell
     … Now, the mind is willing to stop only if you’ve got something better to hold onto in the meantime, i.e., your state of concentration. Otherwise, you’d be afraid that you’re going to starve. Once you’ve got the concentration as your food, though, then even though there is some stress in creating the concentration and keeping it going, it’s … 
  10. Go, Do Jhana
     … You’re still going to have to deal with disturbances as you try to make your concentration more solid and continuous, as you try to keep the mind centered at all times. You get the mind into a good solid state of concentration and then, when it’s firmly there, step back to evaluate it in terms of the subtle disturbances still present within … 
  11. Metta Can Hurt
    To get the mind to stay in concentration, you need an object that you like, and this will be a very personal, individual matter. Some people like the breath. Some people find that the mind can settle down really well when thinking of the different parts of the body. Some like to repeat a word like buddho or dhammo or sangho, and some like … 
  12. Dharma Warriors
     … As you’re developing concentration, work on the concentration every chance you get. If an issue comes up and you’re not ready to tackle it yet—in other words, if you try tackling it and you realize you’re just getting yourself sucked into that old mind state—pull out. Go back to the concentration. This ability to pull out is going to … 
  13. Alone & with Others
     … You’ve pulled back just a little bit and you can watch, “What is this mind doing?” That way, you can understand what’s going on in your concentration and begin to observe different levels: different levels of subtlety in your focus, ease, rapture, equanimity, stillness in the concentration. And although this is not in the Pali Canon, it’s useful to put a … 
  14. At Home in Jhana
     … That’s why we practice concentration: to give the mind a place where it can stay, gather its energy, gather its strength. And you’ll experience at least some peace of mind along the path. We just chanted the different factors of the path. The first one that the Buddha discovered was right concentration. You probably know the story. When he was practicing austerities … 
  15. The Gift of Discernment
     … And to see that clearly, you’ve got to get the mind concentrated so that it can see the subtle movements inside and, at the same time, not have such an overriding sense of hunger all the time. Try to feed off virtue. Try to feed off concentration. Feed off all the factors of the path—concentration in particular. That’s where you can … 
  16. A Graduated Discourse
     … There’s that phrase we had just now in the chant, “respect in welcoming guests.” It relates to the fact that the Buddha said if you’re stingy with the Dhamma, there’s no way you’re going to get into right concentration. So when people come here, we’re happy to share the Dhamma with them as a way of opening our own … 
  17. A Message for the Universe
     … You can get great states of concentration, but they need to chip away at your solid attitudes if they’re going to make a difference. Ajaan Fuang had a student who was very talented in concentration. She could settle down, get her mind quiet really quickly, very firmly, but it was concentration without discernment. She actually needed somebody there to remind her to come … 
  18. A Seeker’s Habits
     … You want to develop conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, discernment. You work on these, and as you work on these, they begin to make a difference. The one thing he asked you to believe was in the principle of karma: that what you do makes a difference. So as you’re sitting here meditating, it’s not that you’re sitting here waiting for something … 
  19. The Wounded Warrior
     … For the time being, I’m not going to go anywhere else.” When you do this, you put the mind into concentration. After all, what they call the foundations of mindfulness, the establishings of mindfulness, or the four frames of reference: These are the themes of Right Concentration. If you stay here consistently enough, it turns into concentration in the mind. Then you can … 
  20. How We Cling
     … When you create your state of concentration, it’s as if you’re dealing directly with the atoms and chemicals, although in this case, the atoms and chemicals are activities. Then you begin to reflect: This state of concentration is probably the best state of becoming you can find, but it, too, has to be maintained. You have to keep working at it. It … 
  21. Up for the Challenge
     … Give me some instant gratification.” This is one of the reasons why we practice concentration—to get a sense of well-being inside right here and now. But that also requires that we come to the concentration with a sense of well-being, which is why the practice is not just sitting with your eyes closed. It also involves generosity and virtue. Here again … 
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