Search results for: "The Mind"

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  2. 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 … 
  3. 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 … 
  4. 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 … 
  5. 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 … 
  6. 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 … 
  7. 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 … 
  8. 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 … 
  9. 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 … 
  10. The Buddha’s Wisdom
     … He saw that there was an ultimate peace in the mind that couldn’t be found simply by repeating wise things to yourself or thinking skillful thoughts. You had to take the mind apart to see what the real problem was. He identifies the problem for you in the four noble truths: The problem is suffering—the suffering we inflict on ourselves but don … 
  11. The Pursuit of Happiness & Goodness
     … In other words, they blurred the mind, they obscured the mind, clouded the mind. And they could lead to some very unskillful states of mind, both in the pursuit of the pleasures and in enjoying them. He realized that that pursuit was a dead-end pursuit, so then he went to the opposite extreme: He pursued self torture and self affliction. But he came … 
  12. The Middle Way
     … Mindfulness is also a matter of getting the mind still, bringing it to right concentration. In some places it’s taught that simply observing the body, observing the mind, is insight in and of itself. But to begin with, there has to be concentration, and these establishings of mindfulness are the topics or themes of concentration. You’ve got to get the mind anchored … 
  13. Against the Grain
     … That teaching sometimes is interpreted as saying that the mind is naturally awakened and you just have to let the clouds of defilement pass away on their own and you’ll reach its awakened nature. But when the Buddha says that the mind is luminous, luminosity is not the same as being awakened. The mind can get luminous in states of concentration. The mind … 
  14. It’s What You Give
     … Phenomena are preceded by the mind, excelled by the mind, made by the mind. The people who put that statement first in the Dhammapada knew what they were doing, because it expresses a principle that holds all the way through the practice: The mind comes first; the heart comes first. We live in a world where we have to put a lot of energy … 
  15. Feeding on Right Resolve
    Just as the body needs food and nourishment, the mind needs nourishment as well. The Buddha identifies three different kinds of food for consciousness. One of them is sensory contact: sights, sounds, smells, taste, tactile sensations making contact at your eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, mind. Then there’s the act of consciousness itself as those things make contact: We’re constantly looking, listening … 
  16. A Path Under the Trees
     … It doesn’t take anything away from anyone else and doesn’t encourage the mind to be heedless. And it doesn’t obscure things. In fact, the more you can find a sense of well-being by being quiet here in the present moment, the clearer things become in the mind. So you try to stay established on the breath coming in, going out … 
  17. Right View Tells You What to Do
     … The more you can get the sense of being still and solid with your object, the subtler the movements you’re going to be able to see in the mind. So we do the concentration, which involves both focusing on one object and also being prepared for the fact that the mind is going to go off, so you’ve got to learn how … 
  18. Lust
     … Or just look at what lust does to the mind, right here, right now, when it starts flaring up. Think of how much you lie to yourself, how many areas of the mind get shut down as you focus on liking this, wanting that, and totally ignoring all the consequences. The narratives you build up in the mind are total fantasies. To be attractive … 
  19. Worldly Equanimity & Its Uses
     … Let’s watch it.” Again, you hold the mind in check. You exercise some restraint, not by clamping down, but by having the right perceptions in mind to make it easier to keep the mind on an even keel. Because to get the mind to the deeper levels of equanimity requires that you be really observant. Once you get the mind into concentration, how … 
  20. A Connoisseur of the Breath
     … All of this is designed to put the mind in position where it’s ready to settle down. The mindfulness and alertness protect the mind, provide a good foundation. The quality of ardency is what helps make it skillful. And when you reflect on the universality of suffering, it gives you the right motivation for practicing. So all these qualities together get you ready … 
  21. Stop & Think
     … Undirected is when nothing much is weighing down the mind. You simply let go of your concerns and find yourself with the breath. You settle in with the breath, you’re mindful, alert, and ardent to stay with the breath. And whatever thinking you engage in has to do only with the breath itself and the mind’s relationship to the breath: the directed … 
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