Search results for: "Focusing"

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  2. Ajaan Suwat 100 Years
     … And it starts with being really steadily focused right here. And then watching what comes up. Then, when things come up, remember the Buddha’s instructions. If it’s something unskillful, put it aside. As for the skillful things, ask yourself: Is this the right time and place for them? Because there are some things that will come up in the mind that aren … 
  3. The Search for Something of Substance
     … But you don’t sit here with one eye on the breath and one eye further down the path to see, “Well, when are all the great things going to happen?” It’s by focusing full attention on the breath—really getting involved with it—that you get fully involved in the present moment, and the mind settles down. And the qualities you want … 
  4. Breathaholic
     … A common habit while we’re focusing on the in-breath and out-breath is trying to make a very clear line between the in-breath and the out-breath. We usually do that by tensing up the muscles a little bit. But remind yourself that that’s artificial, an unnecessary stress and an unnecessary strain on the breathing. So learn to conceive of … 
  5. Full Attention
     … The mind state that stays focused here, that’s the mind. Then, of course, there’s the mental quality of mindfulness, along with all the other factors for awakening. The thinking here is the thinking that tries to analyze how well all this is going. You make adjustments and then evaluate how well it feels. If you sense that it would be good to … 
  6. A Slave to the Dhamma
     … Everything gets dropped and everyone focuses on that one project. Ajaan Fuang’s style was to work on a project until it was done no matter how late in the day it kept you up: sometimes 4 a.m., sometimes dawn, all night long working on something, because, as he said, he didn’t like to have projects hanging over your head. So you … 
  7. The Dhamma Is in the Method
     … How do you end the suffering that comes from this endless round? He focused in on his own intentions, he focused in on his own views there in the present moment. That’s how he was finally able to gain awakening. So he didn’t rest content. He kept searching: “Given that I have this, what’s the skillful use of it? And if … 
  8. Sensitivity & Skill
     … Where your desires are focused is going to determine who you are, the identity you take on. The lower the level of the desire, the lower the level of happiness, pleasure and well-being you’re looking for—that’s all covered by one word in Pali, sukha—then the lower the state of your mind. As we meditate, we’re trying to reverse … 
  9. Joyous Discernment
     … You’re focused on one particular thing, and that means you miss something else that you’re doing, something else that’s going on around you. This is especially clear when you’re preoccupied with something and you miss other things because they’re not in the radar of your particular preoccupation. This is something we have to watch out for as meditators. We … 
  10. One Foot in the Present
     … Setting goals like that in meditation is not useful, because you’re focused too much on the results you want and not on the causes. It’s better to set a goal to be mindful of this breath, and then this breath, and then this breath, and be fully aware of the whole body, say, for this breath, and the next, and the next … 
  11. Chewed Up by Your Food
     … Then there’s the fabrication, which thinks about the breath, works with the breath, evaluates the breathing, how well the pleasure is going, evaluates the point where the pleasure is full enough, so you don’t have to evaluate much anymore, but just keep focusing on the breath sensations, and staying there with this expanded sense of awareness. It’s when you’re nourishing … 
  12. The Power of Perception
     … The difference between simply breathing and focusing on the breath lies in this perception, your ability to maintain the perception of breath without dropping it. So as you concentrate on the breath, there will be that label in the back of the mind. When the breath is coming in, when the breath is going out, there is still “breath, breath, breath.” It may be … 
  13. Turn Off the Automatic Pilot
     … Even though it may be disorienting in the beginning, you find that everything goes a lot better when you put the time and energy into focusing on the area of life where you really do have responsibility, you really do have the opportunity to make the choice, and you shape things in a direction that’s for the good of everyone.
  14. Four Mountains Moving In
     … And it’s important that we stay focused there. The media will divert our focus other places, but we have to hold firm in our conviction that what we do is important, what we do is going to make the difference between danger and lack of danger. Because it is possible to get to the end of danger, this interconnectedness of ours. Sometimes we … 
  15. The Languages of the Mind
     … Some people have noted that when they first read Ajaan Lee, his way of explaining the breath seems kind of strange, but as they start focusing on their own breath, they find that his way of analyzing the breath really does make sense. It really does correspond to what’s going on in their experience. That’s why we have separate languages and jargons … 
  16. Training like an Adult
     … Part of the training is focused on the practice sessions, i.e., what you’re doing right here as you’re meditating, as you’re here doing walking meditation, the skills you want to work on, because we are working on skills. A while back, I was talking to a group of meditators from a different tradition, pointing out the connection between the teachings … 
  17. How to Be Self-Centered
     … the voice of your inner critic that focuses on judging your behavior. This has to be trained. For all too many of us, our inner critic is not very helpful. We’ve been criticized in harsh, unfeeling, dismissive ways in the past, and we’ve tended to pick up those voices and internalize them. As I’ve said before, the Buddha said that our … 
  18. Like an Athlete in Training
     … As you’re staying here in the monastery, it’s relatively easy to get focused in this way and to content yourself with this kind of food. The problem is when you leave. The world outside is like a big supermarket. I remember when I first came back from Thailand, I was amazed at how supermarkets had changed in the States. When I was … 
  19. Ready to Evacuate
     … So you just keep focusing on holding on to the mindfulness that reminds you to act skillfully and the conviction that this really does make a difference. The Buddha talks about the different strengths of the mind. The number-one strength is discernment, this ability to let go of things that are not necessary. It makes it a lot easier to go around if … 
  20. Common Ground
     … Which is the same for everybody as you get focused on the breath in and of itself. And as you’re stepping out of the world, you’re also stepping out of yourself in the world. The “you” in here is just your awareness and the thoughts that you use to keep with the breath. That’s the only part of you that’s … 
  21. Customs of the Noble Ones
     … Because if your desires are focused on the causes, then you look at the causes you’re creating with your actions and then the effects you’re getting from your action. That way, you can get a better and better sense of which desires really are skillful and which are not. So when things are not going well, you don’t just content yourself … 
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