Search results for: "The Mind"

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  2. The Buddha’s Protection
     … Trying to get the mind to settle down, because the mind, when it’s settled down, is in a much more secure place. It can watch itself. It can see its actions clearly. You’re going to need to see them clearly because following the Buddha’s teachings is not just a matter of following the rules. When the Buddha says that certain types … 
  3. Oozing Bodies, Oozing Minds
     … One is effluent, something that comes flowing out of the mind. Usually in English we think of an effluent as something dirty, and that gives a pretty good idea of the implication in Pali as well. It’s something that defiles the mind, something unclean. Another translation is fermentation, something that comes bubbling up out of the mind. Either translation is effective in getting … 
  4. Beyond Likes & Dislikes
     … There are two parts of the mind: the part that likes to fool itself and the part that likes to be fooled. It’s like little kids playing together. “Okay, I’ll be the doctor, you be the patient,” or, “I’ll be the doctor, you be the nurse,” or whatever. The two parts of the mind say, “Okay, let’s play along,” and … 
  5. Exploring the Basics
     … That helps with the staying power of the meditation because after all, the mind is a very complex organ. Training the mind is not a matter of forcing it into a few simple and draconian modes. To train the mind, you have to engage the whole mind. So remind yourself that when the body breathes in a healthy way, it’s healthier. The organs … 
  6. The Purity of Your Intentions
     … The needs of the mind have to do with having something that’s interesting to observe. Here again, your intention is important. When you think about how the breath fabricates feeling, and feeling fabricates the mind, you realize how important it is to get to know the breath. Then you think about all the important things you’re going to learn about the mind … 
  7. The Right Focal Length
     … What’s the mind cooking up right now? What new issues is it creating to stab itself with? Try to take those four noble truths seriously. The cause of stress and suffering that’s weighing on the mind is what’s happening in the mind itself. The things outside that it brings in to aggravate its suffering are brought in through craving and clinging … 
  8. Don’t Objectify
    We focus on watching the breath so that ultimately the mind can watch itself, because the breath is probably the closest thing that you could focus on outside of the mind. In the beginning, it’s a lot easier to stay with the breath than it is just to stay with awareness, because awareness is so large and vague and has such ill-defined … 
  9. Mange in the Mind
     … You see the intentions of the mind, the activity of the mind, because that’s where the suffering comes from. It doesn’t come from your body—although the mind can create a lot of suffering around the body. The body gets sick, you get upset. The body is growing old, you get upset. The body is getting ready to die, you feel abandoned … 
  10. Intelligent about Change
     … Here he was, the master of analogies, and even he couldn’t find an analogy for how quickly the mind can change. The twinkling of an eye is still slower than the mind when it’s ready to change. And that’s the kind of change you have to fight. Once the mind is in good shape, you have to resist its tendency to … 
  11. A Master of Your Thoughts
     … The “doing it” is a simple matter of bringing the mind to the breath—or if you want, to buddho, to the parts of the body, or to any of the recollections. If you choose the breath, try to bring the mind to the breath and then evaluate it. Is this a good place to stay? Then you make adjustments. If the breath doesn … 
  12. Mindful Judgment
    We meditate because the mind needs to be developed, or the good qualities in the mind need to be developed. The word for meditation in Pali, bhavana, means literally that: development, bringing things into being, or taking what’s already there and strengthening it. Mindfulness, alertness, concentration, discernment: These are all things we have to some extent, and what we’re doing is learning … 
  13. Into the Cave with the Tiger
     … It means things that are caused, and in particular, things that are caused from within the mind. But now you’ve found something that’s not caused from within the mind. It’s not caused at all, which is why the idea of “whatever is subject to origination” would naturally occur to the mind at that point. In opposition to whatever is subject to … 
  14. Heedful, Attentive, Mindful
     … So when you’ve got the mind focused here on the breath, you want to be aware not only of the breath, but also of the mind and what kind of qualities you’re trying to develop in the mind, which ones you’re trying to abandon. This relates back to appropriate attention. And that, of course, relates back to the sense of heedfulness … 
  15. Friendship Leading to Seclusion
    We come here to gain some seclusion so that we can focus on what’s going on inside the mind. The texts talk about three kinds of seclusion: bodily seclusion, mental seclusion, and then seclusion from your attachments. Bodily seclusion is when you’re away from other people, as when you go off and sit in your hut, sit in your tent, sit under … 
  16. Your Intentions Come First
     … And that comes from the mind. So the mind needs to be trained, to make sure that its kamma is good. Then we have the reflections on goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity, to remind us that we want a happiness that’s true, something that really lasts and doesn’t harm anyone. The equanimity also reminds us that there is only so much … 
  17. Renunciation Isn’t Deprivation
     … the skill of getting the mind centered, getting the mind to settle down, and to find satisfaction in being with one thing—undisturbed, just being able to enjoy the pleasure of having the mind settle in. So, when thoughts of sensuality seem attractive, you have to remind yourself that there’s a better way of finding pleasure. And it’s right here, right here … 
  18. Honesty & Integrity
     … When the mind goes into a blank, there’s a lesson there as well. You learn what kinds of objects the mind can stay focused on and stay alert, and what kinds of objects are not conducive in that way. Sometimes you stay with one point in the body, and that point begins to disappear as the breath gets more and more refined. You … 
  19. The Power of Intention
     … The question came up yesterday, How is it possible that people can have evil intentions and still get the mind into concentration? Well, it’s possible with all kinds of intentions to get the mind focused, but if you want your concentration to lead to awakening—in other words, you want it to be honest and really conducive to true happiness, i.e., right … 
  20. How to Think about Death
     … Whereas if you can train the mind to contemplate these things and find ways of perceiving your own aging, illness, and death in a way that doesn’t disturb the mind at all, that lifts a huge burden off the mind. This comes under the principle of respect for heedfulness—in other words, realizing that we have to take time to think about things … 
  21. Wearing the Breath
     … The same principle applies to the mind. Unexpected things can happen that, when you’ve created the conditions, can be unexpectedly good or unexpectedly bad. So let’s work on something unexpectedly good: getting the mind really quiet. We hear again and again, “Don’t get involved with your thoughts. Try to stay with the breath.” Really take that seriously. There’s the sensation … 
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