Search results for: "The Mind"

  1. Page 62
  2. Breathing to Awakening
     … This is why we look into the qualities of the mind. As we get older, the strength of the body goes down, but the mind doesn’t have to go down that way. But there will be a strong temptation: As the body weakens, the mind weakens as well and tends to give up on any extra efforts. You want to fight that temptation … 
  3. To Know the Unconditioned
     … That’s why the very first verse in the Dhammapada says, “The mind is the forerunner of all things. *Mano-pubbaṅgamā **dhammā. Mano-seṭṭhā *mano-mayā. All phenomena are excelled by the mind. They’re made by the mind.” The problem is, our ordinary consciousness is something that’s fabricated, something we fabricate, and everything fabricated has to be stressful. That’s the nature … 
  4. Two Hands Washing
     … For instance when you try to keep the mind with the breath, sometimes you find that the mind settles down very easily. They seem to fit. There’s very little problem: direct the mind to the breath and it settles down. Other times, though, it won’t settle down. You’ve got other issues going on. So, the first question you have to ask … 
  5. The Buddha’s Safe Space
     … You see clearly what the breath is doing and what the mind is doing: That’s alertness. And then there’s ardency, where you try to do this well, try to give yourself a really good place to stay here, as continuously as possible. That’s what gets the mind into concentration. That’s your safe space in the body. As best you can … 
  6. Strong Through Commitment
     … That’s another reason why we get the mind into concentration: You want to have a sense of well-being to give some strength to the mind. If you simply force new habits on the mind without a sense of well-being, the mind rebels. But if it comes from a sense of inner wealth, inner health, it’s more likely to stick—this … 
  7. True Happiness Starts with Giving
     … You’re making a statement about the value of the mind and the pleasures of the mind and the integrity and character of the mind, as opposed to the mere taste of pleasure. From there, the Buddha would talk about the value of virtue, which is another kind of gift. You give safety to yourself and other beings: no killing, no stealing, no illicit … 
  8. Concentration Work
     … There are times when the mind wants to simply enjoy the breathing; other times when it’s trying to figure out why it can’t enjoy it. What’s going on? Is the breath uncomfortable? Or is the mind simply too antsy to want to settle down? This is where you analyze the problem. Then you try to make changes. When a sense of … 
  9. Present-Moment Intelligence
     … You breathe in ways that gladden the mind, steady and concentrate the mind, release the mind. This doesn’t happen on its own. It’s a training. In the course of the training, you’re going to be talking to yourself as you give yourself directions: “Do this, do that.” Then you learn from what you’ve done. This is what the meditation is … 
  10. A Heart Set on Goodwill
     … They all come from the mind. But we’re not just animals. We can also be capable of things that are higher than that. And one of the things we can do is lift the level of the mind. This is why the Buddha recommends the practice of the brahmaviharas, starting with goodwill. Universal goodwill is not innate to the mind. Goodwill and ill … 
  11. What You’re Bringing
     … So when we meditate, we’re trying to shine a light into that area, both for the body and in the mind. The thing about ignorance, though, is that it’s not just an empty space. We have our ways of filling in the details. We think we know about what’s going on in the mind because we have a sketch. We have … 
  12. Care & Feeding of the Mind
  13. Giving Weight to the Mind
  14. At Home in the Mind
  15. Directing (& Not Directing) the Mind
  16. NR Caring for the Mind
  17. The Mind on a Leash
  18. The Hunger of the Mind
  19. The Mind on a Leash
  20. A Mirror for the Mind
  21. The Mind's News Cycle
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