Search results for: "The Mind"

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  2. Oneness is a Water Snake
     … We’re getting the mind ready to do something else, which is to let things fall apart in a natural way. Part of the falling away simply comes from the fact that, as you’re working with the mind in getting it to settle down, you begin to clearly see things—events, activities of the mind clearly—that you didn’t see clearly before … 
  3. Gladdening the Mind
    Gladdening the Mind September 2, 2004 Gladdening the mind. This is an important skill in the meditation. The Buddha lists it as one of the basic steps in mindfulness of breathing. If your meditation gets dry, it starts to seize up like an engine without any lubricant. So you need to keep your mind lubricated, keep it refreshed as you’re practicing. There are … 
  4. Jhana & Insight
     … You require some insight to get the mind to settle down, and then as the mind has settled down, your insight’s clearer. So the two processes go together. So, there’s no question about how long you do samatha and then switch over to vipassana: You just do concentration. As you’re doing it, you can’t help but begin to notice things … 
  5. Free for the Time Being
     … You may have some responsibilities after you leave meditation, but there’s no need to weigh the mind down with them now. You don’t need to clutter it up now. As I said, there’s no need to stash anything away. Allow the mind to have some freedom for the time being. Your frame of reference is just this: the breath coming in … 
  6. Faith in Present Intentions
     … We’re trying to bring the mind to the breath to give it an anchor in the present moment, both so that it can see the present moment clearly and so that it has strength to do what’s right. When you get the mind still, you can see things moving in the mind that you wouldn’t otherwise. Areas of the mind that … 
  7. Directed Thoughts, Random Thoughts
     … The part of the mind that wants to avoid the specifics and go for the generalizations: That’s part of the subterfuge of the mind to hide these things from itself. You want to get down to the nitty-gritty because there are committee members of the mind that are like dogs: They find something dead and they like to roll in it. Other … 
  8. Conviction & Persistence
    We’re here to train the mind. But we focus on the breath. It’s by focusing the mind on the breath and keeping it there that we’re developing some really good qualities in the mind: qualities of persistence, ardency, mindfulness, alertness. It’s by staying consistently with the breath in all the ups and downs of our lives that we learn some … 
  9. The Karma of Pain
     … Because this is the big problem that weighs the mind down. If the mind can learn how not to burden itself with pains like this, the other problems in the world are not problems at all. Some of them may be soluble, some of them may not be soluable, but at least they don’t weigh on the mind. And that makes all the … 
  10. The Chess Game
     … Our normal reaction is to go out and blame our suffering on somebody else or something outside, but he says the real cause is there in the mind. Now, if the mind is already feeling haggard and fragmented as it is, it’s not going to want to hear this, but once you start to deal with a sense of well-being—a sense … 
  11. Anchored in the Present
     … We’re providing the mind with a stake to keep it in reference to the present moment. Otherwise, when you want to start looking at the mind or at feelings, it’s all too easy to get pulled away. You’re angry about this, upset about that, fearful about this, and then you go off into that thought world. So what we’re doing … 
  12. Seeing the Stillness
     … We try to create a sense of normalcy in the mind. The mind’s normal state is when it’s not deciding to kill or steal or have illicit sex or lie or take intoxicants. But it’s a state of mind we tend to overlook. The Buddha tells us to bring the mind to normalcy first by bringing our words and deeds to … 
  13. Judicious vs. Judgmental
     … Just bring the mind back to the breath, bring the mind back to the breath. Why? Don’t ask questions right now, just bring the mind back to the breath. But be observant while you do it, because as you catch the mind going off, you can learn some very interesting things. You come to a point where you can see the mind beginning … 
  14. Off the Continuum
     … This is why the Buddha said that right concentration is developed not only by emphasizing the tranquility or the serenity of the mind, but also by using some insight in order to master it. As he once said, if you want to master right concentration, you should develop insight together with tranquility, because you have to understand the mind to be able to get … 
  15. True to the Teachings
     … That’s what we’re doing now as we try to bring the mind to concentration. When the mind is concentrated, try to balance that concentration to make sure it’s not just a dull stillness. Make the mind mindful and alert, so that you can actually look into your own mind to see where there’s still any falseness in there—in the … 
  16. Patience & Consistency
     … You’re trying to watch the mind, observe the mind, so that you can understand the mind. That requires a consistent gaze, because otherwise we see the mind in just little bits and pieces. It’s like connect-the-dots. There’s a dot here, a dot there, but there are huge spaces between them. And these dots don’t come with numbers. So … 
  17. Cook Your Mind
     … We’re not telling ourselves that the mind’s basic awareness is already awakened. Ajaan MahaBoowa has a fine talk on that topic. He says if the mind were already awakened, what kind of awakening is this? We’re suffering. And if the mind had already been naturally pure but then got defiled, then if you got it pure again after impurities have come … 
  18. What Is One
     … Something interesting may be coming up in the mind—something, however, that one member of the committee doesn’t want to be revealed, and so it makes you sleepy. Or just plain old laziness comes in and you latch onto any sign in the body, any sign in the mind, that you’re getting sleepy, and make that an excuse to stop. In cases … 
  19. Battling Negativity
    The work of looking into the mind, ferreting out the causes of suffering and figuring out how to put an end to them, is very delicate work, very precise work. Which is why you have to get the mind very still in order to do it. It’s like threading a needle. You hold your breath, get the rest of the body still, and … 
  20. How to Listen to the Dhamma
     … That brings the mind into concentration. So, listening to a Dhamma talk doesn’t preclude getting the mind into concentration. In fact, if you listen to the talk well, and the talk is relevant to what’s going on in your mind, it can naturally lead to concentration. Then, from concentration, as the mind is really centered, you can develop more discernment that leads … 
  21. Start with Goodwill
     … Why is it that the mind, even though it wants happiness, can create suffering for itself? It’s all in the background. Try to get as sensitive as you can, first to the breath and the body. That will then transfer over to becoming sensitive to the mind, which is a lot more delicate. So we’re here to get the mind still—but … 
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