Search results for: "Discernment"

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  2. Turning Anxiety into Heedfulness
     … As for times when anxiety does come up, remember that whatever happens in the world, you’re going to need mindfulness, alertness, concentration, and discernment to deal with the unexpected. So instead of laying out all kinds of scenarios about what you’ll do if this happens, what you’ll do if that happens—which would just eat up all your time—just remind … 
  3. Stay Tuned
     … That’s how you give rise to the discernment that will set you free. The Buddha uses a different analogy. Of course in those days they didn’t have radio stations, so his analogy is planting a seed in a field. The field here is your kamma. The fact that you’ve got a body sitting here right now, that’s a result of … 
  4. Alertness: What Are You Doing?
     … For developing discernment, it’s the same sort of thing. This question of “What am I doing right now?” is the question that underlies the four noble truths. You’re doing something right now that’s causing stress. Look for it. When you get to something really big in the meditation—say, a sense of just knowing, knowing, knowing—always keep that question in … 
  5. Analysis of Qualities
     … That’s the role of discernment and insight in getting the mind into concentration. So, as you’re sitting here, which kind of questions are worth asking? Putting the mind and the breath together, you’re trying to use pleasure as the glue to stick them together. So how do you deal with the breath in a way that’s pleasant? How do you … 
  6. Put Your Heart into It
     … If you’re not honest, and your precepts are not honest, your concentration is not honest, your discernment is not honest, the practice isn’t going to get anywhere. Building on that, the Buddha talks of many other qualities of the heart. He extolls modesty, contentment, persistence, unburdensomeness. These are all qualities of the heart. We tend to think of someone being good-hearted … 
  7. Clearing Your Space
     … Even as things get more settled down inside the mind, and you start actively engaging in discernment work, figuring things out, there will come times when the problems you’re trying to work out have not been solved, but you have to put them down because you simply need to rest. If you can’t rest, you’ll wear out very quickly. So, clear … 
  8. Greed for Outer & Inner Wealth
     … The other treasures are learning, in other words, learning about the Dhamma, having a fund of knowing what the Buddha said on different topics so you can call them to mind when you need them; generosity; and discernment. Now, you’ll notice that some of these treasures are qualities of that admirable friend you’re looking for. That’s because admirable friendship leads beyond … 
  9. The Noble Truth about Craving
     … That’s the discernment part. When the Buddha describes the four noble truths as noble, this is why. They give you a perspective on your craving that lifts you above it, outside of it. It’s only when you get outside of it that you can see it for what it is and what it does. Think of the Buddha on the night of … 
  10. The Three Perceptions & Their Opposites
     … This is a necessary part of developing discernment, because only when you push against them do you really know how far they’re true and how far they’re not. But as Ajaan Lee says, eventually you’re going to have to let go of the concentration, even though it’s relatively constant, easeful, and under your control. That’s one of Ajaan Lee … 
  11. For Your Future’s Sake
    The Buddha said that the question that lies at the beginning of discernment is, “What, when I do, will lead to my long-term welfare and happiness? What, when I do, will lead to my long-term harm and suffering?” It’s a question that’s aimed at the future. In other words, you focus on what you’re doing right now, but you … 
  12. Questioning Your Conviction
     … Sariputta, “Are you convinced that the five strengths of conviction, persistence, mindfulness, concentration, and discernment lead to the deathless?” And Sariputta says, “No, I’m not convinced. I know.” And how did he know? Because he questioned things, tested things, tested himself. **So even though conviction is the foundation post, it’s not the whole building. And before you put up the whole building … 
  13. Imagine Your Breath
     … It’s the discernment faculty in your concentration. You begin to see fabrication. You begin to see how it can be used to energize the body, to calm the body, to energize the mind, to calm the mind. You come to realize that you’ve got a lot more leeway here in the present moment for making this a much better place to be … 
  14. Safe at Home
     … They can help give rise to discernment, give rise to concentration, give rise to understanding. They can be very useful. Others are not so useful, so you have to learn how to figure out which is which so that you can really be in control of your mind. The best place to see them is right here in the present moment. They tend to … 
  15. The Buddha Didn’t Play Gotcha
     … A weakness in your concentration and a weakness in your discernment make you think that way. If your concentration is really solid, you can stay in all kinds of difficult situations and maintain your balance. Or even if you get knocked off balance in the areas where you’re still attached, you can get back into balance a lot more easily if you’ve … 
  16. A Refuge from Karma
     … You train the mind in virtue, you train it in discernment, so that it doesn’t have to suffer from things. You train it not to be overcome by pleasure or pain. You do that through the concentration. You can sit here, and everybody has had this experience: You start out meditating and there’s a pain here and a pain there. Your immediate … 
  17. Learning from the Precepts
     … understanding things in terms of the three characteristics and other aspects of discernment. Now, you find this not at all in the Canon. Every time the Canon talks about alertness or sampajañña, it means knowing what you’re doing while you’re doing it. The commentary says, though, “Well, everybody knows what they’re doing while they’re doing it. Even jackals know that … 
  18. Things Don’t Have to Be This Way
     … This includes an element of discernment: trying to figure out, “What kind of breathing can the mind stay with? What kind of breathing feels comfortable? What way of conceiving the breath makes it easy to keep in mind? What way of conceiving the breath makes the breath comfortable?” To answer these questions, you experiment. Ajaan Lee recommends thinking about the breath energy throughout the … 
  19. Safety All Around
     … So it’s a pleasure that allows you to see the mind clearly and puts you in a position where you can move on to the next training, which is the training in heightened discernment: basically, seeing things in term of the four noble truths. What’s noble about the truths? They force you to question your clinging and your craving. Otherwise, you’re … 
  20. Concentration Food
     … This is why Ajaan Lee places ardency, among those three qualities, under the heading of discernment. You’re wise enough to realize that we’re not just here to watch. We’re here to make a difference, and the desire to make a difference in a skillful way is part of the path. It’s to be developed. Craving simply to have things be … 
  21. Keep the Mind from Wandering
     … This is the discernment that comes through the practice of concentration. Ultimately, you get to the point where you have to learn how to outgrow the food even in the concentration, but until you reach that point—and it’s going to quite a while before you reach that point—learn to appreciate the food you’ve got here, the potential home you’ve … 
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