Search results for: "Discernment"

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  2. A Conglomeration of Germs
     … If you use it to meditate—to give rise to concentration, to give rise to discernment—or as a means for generosity and virtue, that’s a sign that you really know how to use your body. Take advantage of this conglomerate of old kamma that you’ve got, and while you can hold it together, learn how to use it well.
  3. Equanimity as a Skill
     … You’re getting your mind under control, and you can develop qualities of discernment, mindfulness, and alertness to learn how to put aside your greed, aversion, and delusion. When you can do that, you benefit and the people around you will benefit, too. This is a part of your motivation for being here: that it’s going to be better for the people around … 
  4. Cherish Your Friends
     … You develop virtue, concentration, discernment. These are your friends inside. And the same principle applies outside. If you have helpful friends, hold onto them, cherish them. And you try to be a good friend, a true friend, to that person too. So with regard to the question of holding on and letting go, the Buddha said you’ve got to be selective. There are … 
  5. Don’t Be Burdensome
     … You need discernment to tell yourself—not only tell yourself but also to stick with the determination—that you’re going to go for what leads to true happiness, regardless of your likes. There’s that old principle of being willing to sacrifice lesser pleasures for greater pleasures. I think I’ve told you there was a translator who came to this passage and … 
  6. Fangs in the Static
     … So, the purpose of concentration is to make you strong and to provide you with a basis for discernment, so that you can begin to see through the ways the mind lies to itself with its perceptions, with its labels of things. That way, when the static comes, and you can see, yes, there are fangs in the static, you know you don’t … 
  7. A Home for the Mind
     … You can maintain that as a steady goal only if the mind is well trained, if you’re mindful, alert, concentrated, discerning. These are the qualities that we develop as we meditate. Then there’s that reflection on the requisites: the food, clothing, shelter, medicine that we use. Why do we use these things? Because we have to look after the body. It’s … 
  8. Learning by Doing
     … We’re here to develop our own sensitivity, because it’s through our sensitivity that we develop discernment. We see things as they are actually happening and then can do something about it. When you settle the mind down like this, first let it get some rest. We tend to be frazzled by the way we live in the world, and it’s good … 
  9. Analyzing Anger
     … You take delight in developing your conviction, your persistence, your mindfulness, your concentration, and your discernment. But then when they’ve done their work, you have to see that they, too, are not the goal. They’re the path. So the very final step is to use this five-factor analysis and apply that to the path, too. That’s when you’re really … 
  10. Tranquility & Insight Through Jhāna
     … You start out with things that are obvious problems and you work your way up to the more subtle ones until finally there’s nothing left but the path itself—states of concentration, the activity of discernment—and you apply the same five-step program to the path as well. That’s when you’re really free. So, when you start with something obvious … 
  11. Look After Yourself with Ease
     … conviction, virtue, generosity, discernment. These are the inner qualities that make you more independent, more self-reliant. So that’s what it means to look after yourself with ease: learn the skills you need to prepare for dangers in this lifetime, and the dangers that come at death. So even though you’re suffering hardships, your mind doesn’t have to suffer. You’re … 
  12. Groundwork
     … Evaluation together with directed thought here are the discernment factors of concentration practice. The Buddha identifies them with a high level of what he calls right resolve. In ordinary right resolve, you resolve not to indulge in thoughts of sensual pleasures, not to indulge in thoughts of ill will, not to indulge in thoughts of harmfulness. Then as the mind begins to settle down … 
  13. Worldly Effort
     … The Buddha says we should look right here, developing virtue, concentration, and discernment. It seems an unlikely place, looking for refuge in our own actions, but he says that’s the only place you can do it. Our actions seem awfully ephemeral, but he says everything else is based on action. But the path is a special type of action. It’s the action … 
  14. Bless Yourself
     … The Buddha also gives other lists of the treasures you can maintain that include virtue and the discernment of right view, along with other qualities that maintain these two: things like conviction, a sense of shame, a sense of compunction, learning, and generosity. The sense of conviction, of course, means being convinced that the Buddha really did awaken to the truth, and he taught … 
  15. Time Well Spent
     … It’s in following the imperative that you actually develop discernment. So as you practice, try to look at everything as an opportunity for training the mind. When you’re doing chores around the monastery, it’s an opportunity to train a lot of good qualities, such as persistence, endurance, and determination. You make up your mind you’re going to do a project … 
  16. Random Word Generators
     … This is one of the ways in which getting the mind into concentration also develops your discernment. The two go hand in hand.
  17. Acceptance
     … You learn how to get the mind into concentration, how you get the mind to become more mindful, more discerning: all these skills that we work on as we meditate. So when we find that the mind is not getting concentrated, we don’t just sit there and accept it. We say, “Okay, what’s wrong?” We try to figure things out. If the … 
  18. Fabricating against Defilement
     … But once you get the hang of it, it’s pleasant work as you’re developing mindfulness, alertness, concentration, discernment. These are good qualities to have in the mind. They do depend on desire but it’s good desire. The Buddha didn’t say that all desire was bad. After all, the ability to generate the desire to engage in skillful effort is an … 
  19. Peace Requires Character
     … It’s the kind of discernment that really serves a purpose. Then, of course, there’s compassion. You want to make sure that in your search for happiness, in your eating habits, that you don’t cause harm. And purity is making sure that you actually follow through with that. As the Buddha said, you know a person’s purity by watching the dealings … 
  20. Dethinking Thinking
     … And they’re useful not only for concentration, they’re also useful for discernment. Look at what the ajaans say about their practice. When you’re working with pain, the big issue is perception. When you’re working with lust or pride around the body and trying to see the unattractiveness of the body, the issue is the perception. Why is it that you … 
  21. Practice All Day
     … whatever little talking you have to do to yourself to remind you to stay there, whatever perception you hold in mind to make sure you do it skillfully—that you develop discernment. That’s all part of the meditation: The directed thought keeps you in line; the mindfulness keeps you in line. It’s only in this way that you can expect to make … 
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