Search results for: "Thought"

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  2. One Hand Clapping
     … The root of the problem is that we’re too interested in our own thoughts. It’s almost as if, as a thought begins to form in the mind, we think it’s a little present. We want to see what’s in the thought. We open it up, and sometimes there’s something entertaining there. Sometimes there’s something interesting, something practical. Sometimes … 
  3. Focus on the Doing
     … What is this process of creating thoughts in the present moment? How does it happen? What are the steps? At what point, does a thought world become compelling? At what point do you decide to go with the thought world? And how does that thought world form to begin with? These are things you can observe only if you’re not totally sucked into … 
  4. Watch the Mind at the Breath
     … He noticed that thoughts of sensuality, thoughts of ill-will, and thoughts of harmfulness were going to have a bad impact. Thoughts of renunciation, goodwill, or harmlessness would have a good impact. So he did his best to drop the unskillful thoughts. When you think about being mindful of mind states, all too often you hear, “Well it’s just a matter of watching … 
  5. Sucked into the Tube
     … The important thing is that you try to see the thought as an event in the mind rather than getting sucked in to the little thought-world that the mind creates. It’s like walking through a room, seeing a TV show on, and it’s so easy to sit down and get sucked into the tube. In this case, you want to walk … 
  6. Gratitude, Goodwill & Generosity
     … So before we empty our minds of thoughts, we have to fill them up with good thoughts. The Buddha once said that, for him, the beginning of getting on the right path was learning how to divide his thoughts into skillful and unskillful, and then to encourage the skillful thoughts so that they could crowd out the unskillful ones or undercut them. And then … 
  7. A Leap of the Heart
     … It’s an image for thoughts in the mind. Your greed says, “Just one more thought of greed.” Your lust says, “Just one more thought of lust.” But there’s not even any water there. Or what little water there is, is certainly not enough to keep you going. And then all these thoughts are going to die regardless. So why are you willing … 
  8. Perceptions for Training the Mind
     … You blank out for a minute and suddenly find yourself in another thought. So you have to remind yourself: You don’t have to tie up the loose ends of the thought. Just leave the loose ends dangling and get back to the breath. There are other times, though, when the mind really does want to think about that distracting thought. The thought has … 
  9. Escape from Inter-eating
     … We get the mind still so that it can see itself clearly and see the subtle movements of thought. Now, you’ll be dealing with two kinds of thought. Some of the thoughts are actually related to the concentration to get the mind to settle down. Directed thought and evaluation are part of the first jhana as you adjust the breath and adjust the … 
  10. Here Be Tigers
     … The question is, what does the thought mean? What is this thought a thought about? And as you get quicker and quicker in seeing how the mind deals with these thoughts, you’ll begin to see that you apply the meaning to that little stirring. The stirring didn’t have a meaning on its own. So you have to ask yourself why: Why that … 
  11. See Your Thoughts as Strange
    See Your Thoughts as Strange August 17, 2018 Try and settle into the body—the body as you feel it from within, what the texts call “form”—and try to find a sense of pleasure here. Explore the breath to see how it feels, and adjust it so that it feels just right: not too long, not too short, too deep, too shallow, too … 
  12. Correcting, Fostering, Cutting Away
     … Think of those images the Buddha has for dealing with distractive thoughts. Using a small peg to drive out a bigger peg: In other words, using a skillful thought to drive out a non-skillful one. Thinking of yourself as being young, looking in a mirror and seeing a dead snake wrapped around your neck: Have a similar sense of disgust with the thoughts … 
  13. Nuts & Bolts
     … Some thoughts come up and they just go right past you. Other thoughts have a real allure and they may or may not be skillful. The amount of the allure is no measure of how good that particular thought will be for your long-term happiness. Some of the thoughts are brand new; others are old thoughts you’ve thought many, many times in … 
  14. Figuring Out Concentration
    The description of right concentration says that, on the first level, you have pleasure and rapture accompanied by directed thought and evaluation. Now, “directed thought and evaluation” is the Buddha’s was of describing how you talk to yourself on an ordinary everyday level. You direct your thoughts to a topic and then you evaluate it: You ask questions, make comments. So, as you … 
  15. Bigger than the World
     … Any thoughts where you can recognize, “This is me at this point in time, in this location, with this world with its past, with its possible future”: Those are all thoughts of the world. You want to replace them with thoughts of the Dhamma: in other words, thoughts of being mindful, being alert, being ardent here in the practice; staying with the breath, getting … 
  16. The Skill of Not Suffering
     … Where is this thought going? Where is it coming from? With many thoughts, you don’t have to ask very much. You can tell right away: “This thought is going to lead to suffering; this thought is going to lead to harm”—especially the thoughts that have a lot of craving and clinging. As when you’re sick and you have thoughts, “I wish … 
  17. Everything Comes Together Right Here
     … Any thoughts about the world outside, just put them aside right now. They don’t belong here. You just want that sensation. Thoughts of sensuality, thoughts of anger, thoughts of whatever: Think of them as being like clouds. They can come by and they can go away. They don’t have to have much substance. We’re the ones who give them substance. We … 
  18. Best Friends
    When you read the Buddha’s descriptions of right concentration, you notice that the two activities that help the mind to settle down are directed thought and evaluation. In order to clear away unskillful thoughts in the mind, you have to direct your thoughts in the right direction, toward the breath. And you keep directing them there, Keep reminding yourself: “Stay with the breath … 
  19. Goodwill for Bad People
     … So when we spread thoughts of goodwill, it’s not just for others. It’s for ourselves, so that we can learn how to trust ourselves, to be more scrupulous in how we find happiness. That’s an important thought to keep in mind because there are times when you spread thoughts of goodwill and it’s really difficult, either because of negative feelings … 
  20. An Examined Life
     … But it’s a common fact that in order not to think about it, you have to stuff your mind full of all kinds of other thoughts. Many of us feel that the more thoughts we can stuff into the mind, the further we can keep thoughts of death at bay. So it becomes a habit, not only multitasking outside, but multitasking inside as … 
  21. Discernment Fosters Concentration
     … And he treated the two types of thoughts differently. It wasn’t just a matter of accepting whatever came up, or learning how to be okay with the unskillful thoughts for fear that the ego might get damaged if you’re not okay. He saw that the skillful thoughts should be encouraged, or at the very least tolerated; the unskillful thoughts, though, had to … 
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