Search results for: "Skillfulness"
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- Noble Priorities… If we’re not skillful, we take it out on others. There’s a frustration that comes when you’re looking for happiness and can’t find anything that’s really solid. I’ve seen cases even with monks whose practice hasn’t gotten all that far after many, many years, and they start saying, “Well, maybe there’s nothing there, there’s nothing …
- The Analytical Mind… He was looking for what was skillful but he didn’t have much guidance. So he had to look at his actions, to see what he was doing, and in particular what he was doing that was wrong. He then had to figure out how to do something that was right. That required that he analyze things. But notice, he was analyzing his actions …
- Hypocrisy… Delight in abandoning the unskillful qualities and in developing the skillful ones, wherever you may find them functioning, so that this becomes a habit in all areas of your life. That’s when you really are living by the customs of the noble ones—and the rewards aren’t small. They aren’t little tiny things. They’re enormous. But as Ajaan Lee once …
- What to Tolerate, What Not… That’s an important skill. It’s the skill that the Buddha teaches. As he says, there’s a difference between the stress that comes from the simple fact that things are inconstant, that they change, and the stress that comes from your craving. The first is the stress in the three characteristics. You’re not responsible for that. There’s nothing you can …
- Little Things… You want to be as precisely with the present moment as possible, so that skillful or unskillful states when they arise in the mind don’t pass by unnoticed. This is what it means to be uncomplacent in your practice of concentration. As we chanted just now, “One who sees danger and respects being heedful.” Well, the danger comes from little things, because little …
- Sensitivity All the Time… It’s just that you’re more skilled at being present, more skilled at being sensitive, ready to learn whatever lessons there are to learn. Michaelangelo at the age of 87 reportedly said that he was still learning how to sculpt. Well, that should be your attitude as you meditate. There are always things to learn. Even arahants have things to learn. They’ve …
- Part V : Finding a Teacher… So it’s important, as you’re engaging in an admirable friendship, that you try to pick up what’s really skillful. Once you learn to recognize it, you try to develop it within yourself. The first quality is conviction. Conviction means being convinced that the Buddha really was awakened. What does that mean in practice? It isn’t just a matter of being …
- Look after Your Mind with Ease… You want to do it in a way that’s skillful, that actually does bring the mind to a quieter state where you can put all that chatter aside. In the beginning stages, talking to the mind is necessary. Don’t think of it as an unfortunate obstacle as you’re trying to get the mind concentrated. It’s an essential part of the …
- Concentration & Renunciation… So the kind of help the Buddha gives us is to provide us with the skills we can use so that when pain comes, we’re not taken in by it. Of course, concentration on its own is not enough to deal with the pain. You also need some discernment: the discernment to see what kind of perceptions you’re applying to the pain …
- The Walls of Ignorance… Then, when they’re down and we can really see, we use equanimity to gauge for ourselves where we actually have been skillful and where we haven’t. That way we can learn from our mistakes. As the Buddha once said, “One of the signs of wisdom is in seeing your own foolishness.” At least that’s the beginning of your quest for knowledge …
- One Thing Clear Through… The path requires that you feed, but feed in a skillful way. You’re feeding off the goodness that comes reflecting back when you’re radiating goodness out. From there he goes on to the rewards of generosity and virtue, not only in this life but also, as he says, in heaven: lots of sensual pleasures, good things that come from good qualities of …
- Subduing Greed & Distress… They require new skills, and there’s a different sense of you. After a while, though, as your skill develops, you begin to get used to the fact that being a meditator is a good person to be. The world of the meditation is a good place to be. You find that you can get your balance and keep it here. And ideally, this …
- Taking an Active Role… You do try to extend skillful types of pleasure, based on concentration, based on mindfulness, but you realize that you don’t just stretch the pleasure itself. You work on the causes. Try to keep them going as long as you can. If you find you mind slipping off, ask yourself: What happened just now? Where did you lose your focus? Where did you …
- Hunker Down… There might be kusala dhamma or akusala dhamma, in other words, skillful or unskillful qualities in the mind, but the Dhamma’s right there in the mind, good or bad: That’s what you’ve got. As a meditator, your task is to sort out which mental events are skillful and which ones are not, who are your friends inside, who are not your …
- Establishing Priorities… So there is a skill to leaving meditation as well, a skill to opening your eyes. When you open your eyes, remind yourself that the breath-body is still here, the sense of energy in the body is still here. All too often when we open our eyes, all our attention goes flowing out into the visual world and our sense of the body …
- The Flood of Views… such as the view that skillful actions need to be developed, that unskillful actions need to be abandoned. Suffering and stress should be comprehended, their cause should be abandoned, their cessation should be realized, and the path to their cessation should be developed. Those are the views that get us across. As for other views, we have to learn how to let them go …
- Taking Responsibility… Meditation is like a skill. The teacher can teach you the basic techniques. It’s like a skill of learning how to weave a basket. The teacher can teach you lots of different weaving patterns, but whether you will weave well or not is up to you: your own powers of observation, learning to look at what you’ve done and see what needs …
- Setbacks… This is an important skill in the practice: the ability to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep on going. And there are various aspects to this skill. One is learning how to look at things over the long run. Just because there’s a setback doesn’t mean that you’re in an inexorable downward trend. Things can get set back for …
- Old Kamma & New… So you try to make it skillful. The skillful intention now is to create a state of concentration in the mind and let go of everything else that comes in. As for the right quality, you want to have a sense of ease and congeniality with your object. When you’re working with the breath, remember that it’s your friend. If you find …
- Goodwill as a Guardian… Which means when you think of goodwill for yourself, it should include not only, “May I be happy,” but also, “May I understand the causes for happiness and be willing and able to act on them.” Then you spread the same thought to others, hoping that they will behave in a skillful way, too. You place no limits on your goodwill. Ask yourself: “Is …
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