Search results for: "Dhamma"

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  2. Maybe the Buddha Knew Something
     … That’s what kept the Dhamma alive for us. Have a sense of gratitude, a sense of appreciation, for what he did. And that, of course, should inspire you ask yourself, “What can I do right here?” Being heedful, ardent and resolute: That’s what keeps the Dhamma alive.
  3. Remembering Ajaan Fuang
     … She told him that she was interested in printing some English Dhamma books, and she’d heard he had some English translations of Ajaan Lee. At that point, we had Keeping the Breath in Mind, Frames of Reference, and The Craft of the Heart. So he gave her a copy of each and said, “You can print whichever one you like.” She took them … 
  4. The Truth of Transcendence
     … Remember, the Dhamma wheel has twelve spokes and so far we only have eight. The remaining four spokes were realizing that he’d completed the duties with regard to all four truths, and it was the completion of those duties that led to something beyond the four noble truths. After all, the truths are part of the path and the path does go someplace … 
  5. Heedful, Ardent, & Resolute
     … Even though we take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, ultimately we have to take refuge in ourselves because we’re the ones who have to do the work. What this means is that we try to take the qualities of the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha and develop them within ourselves. As the Buddha said, he found his awakening … 
  6. The Four Noble Truths from Within
     … The texts talk about touching the Dhamma with the body, or seeing the Dhamma with the body. This is where you see it and touch it. It’s not as if it’s a physical object you’re going to touch. It’s a dimension that’s going to be experienced right here where you’re experiencing your body. But it’s a different … 
  7. Victory over Death
     … With this huge destruction of life, what would you do?” The king said, “What else could I do but practice the Dhamma, practice what is good.” The Buddha said, “In the same way, I tell you: Aging, illness, and death are moving in, crushing all living beings in their path. What are you going to do?” The king said, “What else can I do … 
  8. Lessons of Right Resolve
     … Ajd when they all come together, that’s when you begin to really see the Dhamma—you gain the Dhamma eye, which is illuminated by *all *the factors of the path coming together.
  9. The Noble Truths Come First
     … That’s why he says Sabbe dhamma anatta, not just sabba sankhara anatta: Not just all fabrications, but all dhammas—all phenomena, fabricated or not—are not-self. That’s the perception you apply to that experience. That’s when you’re totally free. You can develop dispassion for that, too. That may seem like a subtle issue: Which comes first, the four noble … 
  10. Life Well Lived
     … Think movies about the Dhamma, the teaching he gave. Think movies about all the people who’ve followed his teachings in the past, gained awakening themselves. That’s one kind of reflection… This is why we have these chants every evening on the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha: to remind us to take the movies in our minds and turn them in this … 
  11. The Constancy of the Body
     … And as Ajaan Lee points out in one of his Dhamma talks, you’ve got a good friend right here with the body. Oh, it causes problems: aches here and there, hunger, whatever. But there’s a certain constancy to the body. The feelings of solidity, warmth, a sense of energy that make up our sense of the body: Those are always there as … 
  12. The Noble Eightfold Path to the Deathless
     … They say that at stream entry you gain the Dhamma eye, in which you see that all things subject to origination—fashioned by the mind—are also subject to passing away. Now, that insight will occur to the mind naturally only when you see something that’s not originated and doesn’t pass away. After Sariputta gained the Dhamma eye, he went back to … 
  13. Staying, Moving, & Neither
     … What are the alternatives aside from moving and staying in place? Ajaan Lee once said we have a tendency to see the big issues as the big abstractions, all the technical vocabulary, as high-level Dhamma, whereas the simple business of learning how to keep the mind still is low-level Dhamma. But that, he said, is wrong. We’ve got it all backwards … 
  14. A Poker Mind
     … The fourth frame of reference, dhammas, is basically lists of qualities and other things to watch out for, to adjust, to help bring those first three things together more snugly. They include a list of hindrances: Those are qualities you want to abandon. The factors for awakening are qualities you want to develop. The fetters with regard to the six senses are to be … 
  15. Scribe Knowledge, Warrior Knowledge
     … The Dhamma is basically warrior knowledge, but most of us learn it first as scribe knowledge. We learn about the four noble truths and the noble eightfold path and all the many lists that the Buddha taught. But when he boiled down the basic teachings, the ones he said were really important, he focused on the wings to awakening, which are lists of qualities … 
  16. Hindrances to the Heightened Mind
     … You could think about the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, think about your generosity, think about your virtue. As long as you’ve got the energy to think, think about good things. And finally, uncertainty: Ask yourself, what’s wise about uncertainty? You’re looking for the allure of these hindrances, that’s basically what it comes down to. Why do you go for … 
  17. A Path Under the Trees
     … It’s good to remember that the Buddha found the Dhamma in the wilderness, but he was able to bring it into civilization. In other words, he found it in seclusion. Of course, even when you’re in the wilderness, you’re not totally alone. There are all the other animals out there, the spirits of the trees, spirits of the place, but they … 
  18. Staying Power
     … For the same reason, you can read passages in the Dhamma, listen to Dhamma talks to get a different voice in your head from the voices that say you have to worry about what’s going on at work and how it has to take up all your time. It’s amazing how little things at work, little things at home can take all … 
  19. Reflect on What You’re Doing
    When the Buddha first started teaching the Dhamma to his son, Rahula, at that point Rahula was still a novice. One of the first images the Buddha used was of a mirror. He said, “Just as you use a mirror to reflect on your face, reflect on your actions.” This is a theme that runs throughout the entire practice. You want to look at … 
  20. Quick on the Draw
    There’s an aspect of the Dhamma that tends to get overlooked, and it’s related to an aspect of the Buddha that tends to get forgotten, too, which is that he was a member of the noble warrior caste. His approach to the practice was that of a warrior, and the qualities he encouraged were those that a warrior would have to develop … 
  21. You Can’t Relax Your Way to Awakening
     … So he opened his eyes one night when Ajaan Lee was up on the Dhamma seat giving the Dhamma talk, to see if Ajaan Lee was blowing all the mosquitoes away with his breath. But he saw that Ajaan Lee, the breath expert, was covered with mosquitoes. So it’s not always the case that, when you’re sitting and meditating with lots of … 
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