Search results for: "Focus"

  1. Page 95
  2. The Pursuit of Happiness & Goodness
     … Find the sensitive spots in the body that respond to different ways of breathing, that let you know, “Okay, this way of breathing is really good,” and focus there. As the Buddha said, indulge in it. Not to the point where you lose the breath and just go for the pleasure. Remember the breath. The fact that you’re attentive to the breath is … 
  3. Endurance
     … Which spot in the body seems to be most sensitive to the breath coming in going out? Focus your attention there. And see what kind of breathing feels really good there. If the mind wanders off, bring it back. You’re trying to protect this sense of well-being right in that spot inside. That will be something you can learn to depend on … 
  4. A Point of Balance
     … So as you focus the mind right here on the breath, you’re putting yourself in a position where you really can solve the problem of suffering and its cause. If you’re not right here, you’re wide of the mark.
  5. Like Earth and Space
     … So you put them out of your mind and you just focus on the fact that everything around you is earth. Your body is earth. The things you’re sitting on are earth, the trees above you. Here we are in a building, the building is earth property. As the Buddha said, it’s like taking a cowhide and stretching it with a thousand … 
  6. Noble & True
     … through the body, so that no part of the body is untouched by that sense of wellbeing. There may be little pains here and there, but don’t pay them attention. Focus primary attention on the sensation of comfort that you’re gaining here right now, because it’s a blameless comfort; it’s a blameless pleasure. Again, that’s something that makes the … 
  7. Guarded
     … You focus on doing good where you can—both inside and out—and that becomes your strength. The ajaans talk often talk about the need for a fence. As Ajaan Maha Boowa says, virtue is a fence for your thoughts, words, and deeds. Concentration, in particular, is a fence for your mind. It’s through discernment that you learn how not to need those … 
  8. Selecting from the Teachings
     … So focus on the breath, because, to begin with, that’s the element through which you experience the whole rest of your body. We tend to think of ourselves as being in the solid part of the body, and that the breath comes in and out of that. But actually our whole awareness of the body, from the head down to the toes, out … 
  9. Hitting a Wall
     … If your energy is running out, your mind is distracted, it’s hard to focus, okay, you’re pushing yourself too hard. If you’re not pushing yourself hard enough, there are also telltale signs. You’re going to sleep without any sense of having expanded your range in the course of the day. That’s a telltale sign right there. There should be … 
  10. Questioning Impermanence
     … the body, how do they affect the breath? How does the breath affect them? When you think about the breath, does that change the breath? Some people, as soon as they focus on the breath, tense up around it. That’s their way of keeping something focused and under control. But that doesn’t last very long. How can you stay with the breath … 
  11. Trustworthy Judgment
     … Set up the question in your mind and then put it aside, focus on the breath, stay with the breath. Get the mind so that it’s really solid and still, and then from that perspective you can start contemplating the issue. Then do it again, and then again, just to make sure. You want to develop the kind of habit where you don … 
  12. Truths of the Will
     … So you focus on the breath. And whatever energy is required to keep the mind with the breath, you apply that energy. Whatever skill is needed to pull away from any disturbances, any hindrances, any distractions, you apply that skill. You keep at it. Of course, truths of the observer require a certain amount of will for you to know them. In other words … 
  13. The Intelligent Heart
     … If you want to succeed in that desire, you have to focus it on the causes. You have to make sure that the desire is well-balanced, not so intense that it gets in the way of seeing clearly what you need to do, and not so weak that you don’t have the energy to do it. You train your desire to be … 
  14. Mindfulness Like a Dam
     … But if you focus it on one channel, it has a lot of force. So we’re going to use this force to clean up what’s in the mind. You’re going to find things you don’t like in the mind, but they’re not going to stay there. Your ability to see them is the first step toward washing them away … 
  15. Harmlessness
     … And even when you can’t focus entirely on the breath, or give it your 100% attention, you can still make it the framework. Even though you’re aware of what’s going on outside and you’re responding to what’s going on outside, you can still be aware of the breath energy in the body. It may be too much to ask … 
  16. The Sport of Wise People
     … But you can’t let yourself lose your focus on keeping the bowl of oil balanced on your head. You should have that kind of respect for your concentration—and, as I said, for the concentration of the people around you. There’s that old saying that silence is golden. So if you’re going to break silence, what you have to say should … 
  17. Insight from Developing Concentration
     … Ajaan Lee recommends that you use, not the perception of air coming in and out of the lungs, but the perception of the energy in the body as your main focus. Think of the breath as going throughout the body, the energy throughout the body. Hold that perception in mind. Note the words in those instructions: attention, intention, feeling, perception. Those are mental actions … 
  18. Feeding While You Work
     … So you focus on the breath and learn to how to enjoy the pleasure at the same time. When things aren’t quite balanced, you bring them back into balance again. This requires a lot of attention, a lot of concerted intention. The best parallels are with manual skills: playing music, creating a piece of carpentry or joinery like a set of drawers. You … 
  19. Awaken to Your Potentials
     … It may depend on how you breathe, where you focus in the body, or what image you have of the breath. After all, perception plays a very important role in concentration. Everything up through the dimension of nothingness, the Buddha calls “perception attainments.” So what perception would be best right now? You’re getting the mind to settle in with a sense of awareness … 
  20. Ask Yourself the Buddha’s Question
     … But if you think in terms of “What am I doing?” then you can focus on the actual causes of your problems. Your sense of “you” is too large and vague to tackle. But an action, a thought, a word, a deed: Those are things you can look at. You can break them down—and you can change them. So follow the Buddha’s … 
  21. Relating to Kamma
     … You focus on the practice. You may not be able to get all the way to nibbana in this lifetime, but your efforts are not wasted. You can pick up in the practice again; you can create the conditions for being able to pick it up again after you die. So there are lots of ways you can learn how to get a better … 
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