Search results for: "Dhamma"

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  2. Think Like a Thief
    When I went back to Thailand to ordain, one of the first things Ajaan Fuang said to me was that if I want to learn the Dhamma, I was going to have to learn how to think like a thief. In other words, I couldn’t expect to have everything explained, everything handed to me on a platter. If I wanted to learn the … 
  3. In Gratitude- Ajaan Suwat
     … As he said, this is one of Ajaan Mun’s favorite topics was practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma. In other words, you have to change yourself to be in line with the Dhamma. You don’t try to change the Dhamma to be in line with your own defilements. If we stick by the Dhamma in this way, it’s as … 
  4. Visakha Puja – Shaking the Earth
     … But, as the Buddha said, the best way to pay him homage is through practice—patipatti-puja—in which we practice the Dhamma in line with the Dhamma. In other words, we practice for the sake of dispassion. One time, when a group of monks was going to a far distant land, they paid their respects to the Buddha. He asked them, “Have you … 
  5. Your One Responsibility
    One of Ajaan Suwat’s most common topics of a Dhamma talk was on the theme that each of us only has one person, i.e., ourselves, that we are responsible for. Now, in having you focus your concern on yourself, he wasn’t saying to be selfish in an unskillful way. It’s interesting, though, that the Thai word for selfish, hen kae … 
  6. Asalha Puja
     … The Dhamma of truth had been there forever, but the Dhamma of the teaching first happened that night, and the first member of the noble Sangha arose that night. So this was when the Triple Gem became complete. It’s important to think about that: that the right understanding of suffering is our refuge. We take refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the … 
  7. On Idle Chatter
     … That gives you three checkpoints you have to go past if you want your speech to be in line with the Dhamma. It’s not the case that simply talking about Dhamma is dhammic. Conversation or discussion of the Dhamma, as we chanted just now, is a blessing, but there are a lot of ignorant things being said about the Dhamma. And do you … 
  8. From Compunction to Release
    To understand some of the finer points of the Dhamma, especially in the more advanced stages of meditation, it’s often good to go back and look at the basics. Take the teaching on compunction, ottappa. It’s basically an unwillingness to do something unskillful because you’re afraid of the consequences. It’s usually paired with hiri, a healthy sense of shame—the … 
  9. Negativity
     … So the proper attitude to the Dhamma is always this: We’re here to get out. We’re here to develop a sense of disenchantment with the world, a sense of dispassion. That’s what’s called practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, when you’re trying to develop whatever attitudes are in line with that. One of those attitudes, the Buddha … 
  10. Daily-Life Dhamma
     … At times like that, it’s good to remember there’s a lot of Dhamma to be learned by meeting your responsibilities. And it’s good Dhamma to get you ready for the times when you finally do have some free time to get off and be by yourself. Otherwise, you get off by yourself and things just fall apart. You can’t handle … 
  11. Acceptance
     … The Dhamma we’re trying to attain is something that’s going to be found inside the heart. The Dhamma we’re listening to right now is pointing to that Dhamma. That’s why the word for Dhamma talk—dhamma-desana—literally means pointing to the Dhamma. These words are not the Dhamma. The words point to a possible attainment inside your heart, to … 
  12. Gratitude for Birth
     … Maybe they should cry when the baby is born as well.” But still, the fact that we’re born here means that we can practice the Dhamma. We have this human birth. We can do a lot with a human birth. There are people who gain full awakening in a human birth. We have the opportunity to learn the Dhamma and practice the Dhamma … 
  13. Fortress Dhamma
  14. Dhamma Wheel
  15. Noble Dhammas
  16. Beyond Sound-bitten Dhamma
    There’s a habit we all have, which is to try to reduce the Dhamma to a few easy sound bites, a few very basic principles: “It’s all about emptiness”; “It’s all about letting go”; “It’s all about compassion”; “It’s all about change”; “It’s all about acceptance.” For ease of memorization, it’s good to have a few very … 
  17. Dhamma Opportunism
     … But there’s a different kind of opportunism—Dhamma opportunism, you might call it—where you look at each situation and ask yourself, “What kind of Dhamma can I develop here?” It might be the Dhamma of contentment, realizing that the situation may not be ideal but they’re good enough to practice. Many Thai ajaans are told by their lay students, “I don … 
  18. Embodying the Dhamma
  19. Resisting the Dhamma
  20. A Dhamma Map
  21. A Dhamma Checklist
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