Search results for: "The Mind"

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  2. The Strength of Heedfulness
     … But all that thinking can be tiring, so the mind needs to rest from time to time. This is how the strength of mindfulness leads to the strength of concentration—when you’re heedful—because you know that if the mind gets tired, it’s very easy to slip back to your old unskillful ways. So the mind does need to rest, and it … 
  3. To Comprehend Pain
     … Or when we’re told, “Okay, the pain for the mind is in the clinging,” even though the words are right, that’s not comprehension, either. We have to see these things in action, see the mind holding on to something that is causing it to suffer, and realizing that you have the option not to hold on. In some cases, you simply let … 
  4. Your Secret Foundation
     … The breath is as close as you can get to focusing on the mind without actually focusing directly on the mind itself. It’s right next door. And because it’s the part of the body that’s most sensitive to the movements of the mind, it’s a really good mirror for the mind. So it serves a lot of functions. When you … 
  5. Negotiating with Death
     … The mind, you could think of as the entire committee of the mind that has made a decision. It’s on the side of greed or on the side of anger—or on the opposite side. Or you’re trying to get the mind to settle down, so you check your progress against the Buddha’s list. Either it’s concentrated or it’s … 
  6. Why We Meditate
     … This is why we meditate, trying to exert some sort of control over the mind, keeping it mindful. In other words, you try to keep the breath in mind and you keep alert, watching to see what the mind is doing. It’s only then that you can clearly see what the mind does that causes suffering and what does it that actually leads … 
  7. Avoidance
     … that the suffering that really weighs the mind down comes from its actions and that you are free to choose what you’re going to do—“actions,” here, meaning not just actions of the body, of course, but actions of the mind, the decisions, the choices in the mind. You have the freedom to change those. You’re not totally determined. We’re not … 
  8. A Happiness Based Inside
     … You need a combination of tranquility and insight to get the mind firmly established in a good dependable state of concentration and to keep it there—and to realize that if you’re going to have a foundation for happiness, it lies in this direction and not outside. That means, one, steadying the mind with a sense of the breath and learning how to … 
  9. The Resolve to Let Go
     … If you’re going to get the mind into right concentration, think about the first part of the definition: “secluded from sensuality.” This doesn’t mean that you have to go to a place where there are no sensual pleasures at all, simply that you seclude the mind, withdraw the mind from that sensual kind of thinking. You have to learn how to let … 
  10. Inner Refuge
     … It can be really healing for the body and for the mind as well. You begin to realize that you have friends in here, that the qualities of the body can be used in a way, can be manipulated inside in a way that’s comforting for the mind, absorbing for the mind. It becomes easier and easier to stay here consistently. Ultimately, you … 
  11. Mindful of the Buddha’s Shoulds
     … So when our actions are so important, of course there are going to be shoulds: “What will be the best thing to do?” If you look deeply into the mind, you find that it’s very proactive. It’s not simply reacting to things outside: The mind is proactive in looking for happiness. One of our most basic questions comes from the experience of … 
  12. Five Precepts, Five Virtues
    The Pali word for meditation, bhāvanā, means to develop, to try to develop good qualities in the mind. Even with something simple like this, focusing on the breath: Take a couple of good long deep in-and-out breaths, and try to stay with nothing but the breath. In other words, the sound of the crickets, the sound of the wind, the sound of … 
  13. Meticulous
     … Actually it’s in the process of developing the mind in concentration that you learn a lot of things about the processes of the mind—not only seeing the processes, but seeing them as fabrication. When you see them as fabrication, you begin to realize: This is all pretty arbitrary. Then it’s easier to develop a sense of disenchantment and dispassion around these … 
  14. Always Observe Your Mind
     … The focus is more and more on the state of the mind: “Giving is good.” “The mind is made serene. It’s gratified by giving.” “Giving is an ornament on the mind.” He keeps pointing back more and more to the mind. After all, if you’re going to be observing the mind, it’s best to start out with observing yourself doing good … 
  15. Discernment
     … The discernment has to be there to inform them all, all the way along, because you’re looking at, “What are your actions? What are you doing right now?” Right now, you say, “I’m watching my breath.” “Why are you watching your breath?” “To get the mind into concentration.” “Why would you want to get the mind into concentration?” “Because the mind in … 
  16. Finding the Openings
     … Find a way to root the mind, first here in the body, and then more deeply in itself, so that you have something solid to hold on to instead of grabbing on to whatever trash comes flying past. This is why we meditate, to give the mind that kind of grounding. And this is why we develop discernment, so that we offer less resistance … 
  17. Impossible Things
     … Why would you want to believe that? Who in your mind is saying that? It’s the part of the mind that doesn’t want to make an effort. Do you want to identify with that part of the mind? You can if you want to, but you don’t have to. You have the opportunity of identifying with better voices in the mind … 
  18. Why We Train the Mind
     … As the Buddha once said, there’s no simile to compare with how fast the mind can change—and the Buddha was a master of similes. Even the twinkling of an eye is slower than the way the mind can change. But it can be trained. That’s the important point. When you’ve reached the point where you see how doomed to failure … 
  19. Feelings of Pain
     … Both, however, comes right down to the fact that whatever the issue, it has to get traced back to the mind. There may be pain in the body, but if the mind has the right attitude, the right understanding, then the pain doesn’t have to disturb the mind. The mind that takes the pain and stabs itself with the pain: That’s the … 
  20. Good Traditions
     … So we want to look into the mind for our happiness. That means we have to train the mind. If the mind isn’t trained, it’s going to keep slipping outside, looking for a quick fix, looking for something easy: nice sights, nice sounds, smells, tastes, tactile sensations, which are like junk food for the mind—food that tastes good, but doesn’t … 
  21. Useful Vocabulary
     … So one of the purposes of getting the mind into concentration is not just to have equanimity for everything. It’s to give rise to the mindfulness and alertness. As the Buddha said, that’s one of the uses of concentration: so you can see precisely when things are arising in the mind and notice the mind’s reaction. The more precise your vocabulary … 
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