Search results for: "Wisdom"
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- Merit: Actively Happy… That’s the beginning of the wisdom, realizing there are things you can do. From there, you’re convinced in what the Buddha taught, that there is such a thing as long-term happiness, and that long-term is better than short-term. That’s how these questions are wise. But beyond the wisdom of the questions lies the wisdom of the answers that …
- Sensuality… There are those chocolates that come with little bits of chocolate wisdom written inside the wrappers. Chocolate wisdom tends to be, “Take another one, indulge yourself, be nice to yourself, give yourself more cholesterol problems.” Even without the advertising industry, though, you have that way of thinking when you’re feeling really miserable and you tell yourself, “Give yourself an ice cream cone, give …
- Basic Stuff… That’s the beginning principle of wisdom: “What when I do it will lead to my long-term welfare and happiness?” That’s the question that leads to wisdom. Of course, the question itself is wise. IT shows that you realize, one, your happiness depends on your own actions, and two, that long-term happiness is better than short-term, because short-term turns …
- Strategies for Happiness… As for wisdom, the Buddha said that the sign of a wise person is realizing that sometimes the things you like to do are going to cause suffering, and the things you don’t like to do are going to cause happiness. It’s a measure of your wisdom to realize that and to act accordingly. In other words, you have to appreciate the …
- Body & Mind from Within… But the path to the end of suffering is something you can also do right here as well, if you’re willing to take on the Buddha’s instructions and borrow his wisdom. Then, as you develop the skills that are needed to see through your suffering, to see through your causes of suffering, the wisdom becomes your own. So this is your private …
- Infinite Good Humor… You can develop that quality of very basic wisdom that the Buddha identified as wisdom or discernment in effort, or as we would say, in action. We tend to think of wisdom or discernment as dealing with the three characteristics or emptiness or dependent co-arising: very high-level teachings. But as the Buddha pointed out, it begins with this ability to talk yourself …
- Wise Choices… As the Buddha once said, wisdom begins by asking that question: “What when I do it will lead to my long-term welfare and happiness?” It’s wise because you realize that the question of happiness and suffering is the big issue in life, that happiness depends on your actions, and that you have the choice to cultivate happiness or not. Not only that …
- The Wisdom of Equanimity… This is one of the reasons why equanimity is said to be the highest of the brahmaviharas, because, to be skillful, it requires a large element of wisdom. It’s a particular kind of acceptance. And it’s a particular kind of indifference. The acceptance here is that if you want happiness, you’ve got to do things to find that happiness. You accept …
- The Wisdom of Ardency… I want to deal with Dhamma questions.” But if you don’t deal with headache questions, what are you dealing with? And where is the Dhamma, if not in questions about cause and effect? The effort lies in focusing on the details; the wisdom and discernment lie in learning how to deal with those details. Recognize a problem. Try to come up with a …
- The Search for Happiness… As the Buddha said, to do it right, you have to develop wisdom and discernment, along with compassion and purity. After all, wisdom begins with the question: “What when I do it will lead to my long-term welfare and happiness?” There are two value judgments right there. One is that the search for happiness is a good thing. The other is that long …
- Victory in Battle… That’s the beginning of wisdom. Not just seeing that long-term is better than short-term, but also seeing that long-term is possible. The idea that everything is simply inconstant and there’s nothing really worth going for: That’s not wisdom. Wisdom lies in seeing that long-term is possible, and it’s worth the effort. So it’s a matter …
- Pro-self, Pro-help… It’s important to realize the extent to which wisdom or discernment requires action. You see this in another one of the Buddha’s teachings, which is the list of five strengths. They start with conviction; then there’s persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment. Discernment comes at the end. But as the Buddha says, to develop any of these requires heedfulness, which contains an …
- The Energy in the Body… Nobody ever gained wisdom simply by following a set of directions or a set of instructions. You follow the instructions but then you have to observe to learn what works for you, what doesn’t work for you, and how to develop your own powers of judgment. Without that, wisdom is never really genuine. There are methods where, when you have an experience in …
- To Keep You Going… So that’s the beginning of wisdom. Compassion, of course, comes from the realization that your happiness can’t depend on the suffering of others. And then finally there’s the quality of purity, in which you really do make sure that your actions don’t cause any suffering or any harm. You have to reflect on your actions and their results, again and …
- A Wilderness Mind at Home… That’s a basic wisdom that underlies all the wisdom teachings, all the way up to the really refined ones like the emptiness leading all the way to release. So try to develop that very pragmatic kind of wisdom. What this means is that you create an environment where outside influences are pushed out a little bit, kept at bay, so that you can …
- Truths of the Will… You don’t just watch states of concentration come and go, thinking that there’s wisdom in simply watching them come and go. The wisdom lies in figuring out how to bring them here, how to get them established, and how to maintain them while they’re here, and to get them to develop further. So right effort really is an important part of …
- Wisdom Requires Integrity… Sometimes you hear that Buddhist wisdom is all about emptiness or non-duality. But you have to ask yourself: Are you suffering because you think things are dual? Are you suffering because you don’t realize that things are empty? Suppose you’re attached to a flashlight. Why are you attached to the flashlight? Because you don’t realize your oneness with the flashlight …
- Persistence… That’s wisdom: a pragmatic kind of intelligence that goes into right effort. You’re wise enough to realize that this is not something you simply study and think about. It’s something that’s meant to make a difference for the better in your life, and you’ve got to do it if you wisely want to experience those better results. Think about …
- Working Hypotheses… That’s the beginning of wisdom. Take that question: “What when I do it will lead to my long-term welfare and happiness?” It’s wise because it’s based on the realization that your welfare and happiness do depend on your actions, that long-term happiness is possible, and that long-term is better than short term. So wisdom is the first quality …
- The Light of the World… We also believe that the wisdom of the Buddha’s awakening is the highest expression of wisdom. As he said, wisdom or discernment begins with a series of questions: “What when I do it will lead to my long-term harm and pain? What when I do it will lead to my long-term welfare and happiness? What’s unskillful, what’s blameworthy? What …
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