Search results for: "Dhamma"
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- The Fourth Frame of Reference… And then there’s the fourth frame of reference, the dhammas. Often we don’t have a real handle on how to make use of that fourth frame of reference, because it looks like little more than a list of Dhamma teachings. But it’s much more than that. It’s a list of different ways you can look at problems that come up …
- Sending Happiness… How do you direct your thoughts to the breath? How do you evaluate the breath? Or if you find that the mind isn’t willing to settle down with the breath, what other things could you be thinking about right now that would be in line with the Dhamma? One of the monks who stayed with Ajaan Lee toward the end of his life …
- Shoulds & Ideals… There’s a Dhamma lesson here. Many of the things that we think are good for us, that we enjoy, that would be comfortable for us, are actually our burdens. We’ve got to learn how to let them go. We can’t have all the different forms of happiness we want in life. So we have to decide what’s really important and …
- Adjusting the Flame… But then in some of his Dhamma talks, he talks about the breath starting at the soles of the feet, coming up the legs, and going up the spine. Method Two talks about the breath energy coming in right at the heart and then going down to the liver, the spleen, and the intestines. But in some of his Dhamma talks, he talks about …
- A Good Foundation… When you learn how to admit that fact, then you’re ready to grow in the Dhamma. But it means that, as you practice, you’re going to see a lot of things about yourself that you don’t like to see. The mind will need some nourishment, a good foundation, so that these insights don’t knock it off balance. This is why …
- A Friend to the World… The one who points you to worthwhile things is one who tries to keep you from doing unskillful things, and get you established in doing skillful things—shares whatever knowledge he or she has, particularly knowledge of the Dhamma, and points the way to heaven. In other words, your loyal friend is not just a yes-man or a yes-woman. If you’re …
- Skills for Awakening… Not every defilement or distraction that comes into the mind is explained in the texts or the Dhamma talks you’ve heard. You’ve got to figure out: Where exactly is the allure of this particular instance of greed, aversion, or delusion? You may not be able to foresee the particulars of a particular defilement, but you can learn the basic principles of how …
- Generosity First… The quality of generosity, what they call caga in Pali, is included in many sets of Dhamma teachings. One is the set of practices leading to a fortunate rebirth. This doesn’t apply only to the rebirth that comes after death, but also to the states of being, the states of mind you create for yourself moment to moment, that you move into with …
- Training for Dispassion… As he said, “Let someone come who is honest and observant, and I’ll teach that person the Dhamma.” Through your honesty and powers of observation you’re taking advantage of this luminous quality of the mind, and you’re learning to bring your powers of observation inward. The honesty, of course, is needed because when you want to learn something, you have to …
- Playing Your Lute… This is basically the Buddha’s “start where you are” Dhamma talk. You start off with what you’re capable of. If you have an illness, you have to take that into consideration. If your level of practice is not all that advanced, you have to take that into consideration as well. You have to look at your capabilities and adjust everything else in …
- Noble Conversation… They ask him questions about the Dhamma. He answers them to their satisfaction, and then he stops talking. He doesn’t take this as an opportunity to string things out, to make more connections. You have to be especially careful with important people. You have to show that you’re here for another purpose and not for social connections. Then there’s talking about …
- The Strength to See… This is why when the Buddha taught the Dhamma, he didn’t just teach a technique for meditation. He provided the whole context. This is why we have the monastic Sangha. This is why we have the Vinaya. This is why we have the standards he set down for good human values for people who want to practice, who want to put an end …
- Is It Worth It?… We’re fortunate that we have this path as an option; we have the Buddha and the Dhamma to point it out for us, and the Sangha to keep it alive.
- Don’t Just Do It… If you want the Dhamma, there are two qualities you have to nurture. One is commitment, and the other’s reflection. In both cases, you can’t just go through the motions. In the case of the commitment, think of the terms that are used in the description of mindfulness and the bases of success: “ardency,” “intent.” There’s another Thai idiom that translates …
- Simple & Basic… The basic Dhamma textbook that’s used to teach monks and novices in Thailand is made out of lists, starting with lists of twos, lists of threes, fours, fives. And the very first list, in the list of twos, is two qualities that are very helpful everywhere: mindfulness and alertness. They’re very necessary and very basic. And yet we’re taking these basic …
- Doing Your Duty… This ability to look around, to be sensitive all around, is what makes a true Dhamma practitioner. Ajaan Maha Boowa talks about staying with Ajaan Mun. He would be focusing on a particular dhutanga practice and trying to be very, very careful in adhering to it—and getting proud about it. Ajaan Mun would have his ways of breaking the practice to make him …
- Dignity in the Face of Hardship… I think I’ve told you about the time I gave a Dhamma talk and I happened to mention the word dignity in the talk. Afterwards, a Russian woman came up. She’d been living in the States for ten years. She told me she learned the word “dignity” in her English class in Russia, but this was the first time she’d heard …
- Emulating the Truth… This is how we also develop the wisdom faculty in the factors of awakening, the factor that’s called analysis of qualities, dhamma-vicaya: looking at what’s skillful in our actions, and what’s not skillful, and seeing that they’re clearing different. It’s important to realize that we overcome doubt not simply by forcing ourselves to believe something, but by looking …
- Kindness in the Light of Karma… And all the crazy things where people, even so-called Dhamma teachers, say how you should just learn how to accept your base motives and be okay with them. But then, of course, if those base motives are okay, people will act on them. That’s why the world is in such a mess. You look around and it’s not very inspiring, but …
- The Uses of Right Concentration… Remember that when the Buddha gave his first Dhamma talk, all he talked about in detail was right view. He mentioned the eight factors of the path but then focused just on the first factor, right view about suffering, its cause, its cessation, and the path to its cessation. That was enough for Ven. Añña Kondañña to experience the Dhamma eye, the first level …
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