Search results for: virtue
- Page 24
- Radiating Goodness… Generosity, virtue, and meditation are all forms of merit. Even stream entry is a form of merit, so you can’t look down on it. What that means is that you look at the world as an opportunity to gain the happiness that comes from doing good. So if unexpected things happen, look at them as an opportunity to make some merit. A lot …
- Wisdom Through Training… with very simple things like generosity and virtue. The act of being generous develops good qualities in the mind. The determination to realize what principles of action you want to follow because they’re harmless and the things you want to avoid because they’re harmful and then sticking with that: That virtue develops good qualities in the mind as well. You need to …
- Teaching Old Selves New Tricks… As for virtue, you try to behave in ways that are harmless, following the precepts and also looking at other ways of being skillful not covered by the precepts. We mentioned this the other day. There are a lot of areas in life for which no one can formulate a precept, because the lines between skillful and unskillful are a little blurry, but when …
- The Path to Stream Entry… He did that intentionally, because virtue has an organic relationship with right concentration; right concentration has an organic relationship with discernment. They all come together in this process of being very attentive to what your mind is doing—what its intentional actions are; what the results are—and how you keep refining, refining, refining what you’re doing. It’ll get so refined that …
- Songkran Blessing… As for beauty of the mind, that, the Buddha says, is the quality of your virtue. This is one of the reasons why, whenever we have a ceremony like this, we always take the five precepts to remind you that this is where genuine beauty lies. As you get older and you start dressing up, putting on makeup, trying to look like you did …
- The Power of Consistency… And as for ardency? Sometimes we try to do good, and sometimes we say, “Well, I just want to go for the pleasure of whatever seems pleasant right now.” So here you’re trying to develop the virtue of consistency. Learn how to appreciate that it’s going to be an important power. This is going to teach you a lot of valuable lessons …
- Cooperation… As you develop these qualities as you go through the day, they come back and become part of your own virtue. Your mind becomes more patient, enduring, kind, well-meaning mind. It’s a good mind to be in. So don’t say, “Well, today’s a busy day; I can’t meditate.” You can meditate, because what does meditation mean? It means to …
- Life’s First Question… This is why discernment is based on virtue, by way of concentration: in other words, learning how to look at your actions and being able to admit that “This as a mistake. This is not working. This is causing suffering and stress either for me or for somebody else. How can I do it differently? How can I talk myself out of doing it …
- Noble Wealth… the treasures of conviction, a healthy sense of shame, compunction, virtue, knowledge of the Dhamma, generosity, and discernment. He talked about them as a wise investment. This is very much unlike what we’ve heard in modern days about how bad it is to have an attitude of spiritual materialism, the idea that you’re going to get something out of the practice or …
- Skills to Make You Free… The next two skills are that you train yourself in virtue and train yourself in discernment: your ability to see what’s going on in the mind, what choices you’re making, which ones are skillful, which ones are not. The final two skills are the ability not to let the mind be overcome by pain and not to let the mind be overcome …
- Being a Buddhist… then the very first thing is that you live a life of virtue. This is why nowadays when they have formal ceremonies for people who want to declare themselves Buddhist, after you take the Triple Refuge you take the five precepts, which means that you will not intentionally kill, steal, have illicit sex, take intoxicants, or lie. This sort of virtue is the second …
- Communal Harmony… You’re trying to develop good qualities of all kinds, not just mindfulness, not just concentration—but all the virtues of a good heart. When we have these qualities, qualities of a good mind, qualities of a good heart, then the fact that we’re living together here actually becomes a source of joy rather than an irritation. And our own practice will develop.
- A Radiant Practice… generosity, virtue, and meditation. They cover a lot of different activities. Generosity covers a huge range of activities. Simple things like cleaning up the place, little acts of kindness, anything that makes you feel good that you’ve gone out of your way to do something good: That’s merit. It’s the same with virtue. There are areas where you could have said …
- Meticulous… This is the point that Ajahn Chah was aiming at when he constantly talked about how virtue, concentration, and discernment are all the same thing. It’s not that you pick up one and then drop it when you go on to the next. You just get better and better at this one thing: virtue-concentration-discernment. And that’s how *all *the aspects …
- Long-term Wisdom… The same with virtue. Sometimes it may be difficult in the beginning to go against your old habits that the Buddha said you shouldn’t be doing, but once you get the hang of it, you find that it really is a lot more comfortable living in a world where you’re not causing anybody any harm. And the same with meditation. Once the …
- Mind the Gap… So it’s not just the meditation, it’s also the generosity, the virtue—all the things the Buddha said lead to your long-term welfare and happiness. Those are the things that protect you. From what? Well, from your own bad impulses. So the problem is inside, but the solution lies inside as well. Look for it. It’s there.
- Not Crushed by the World… In fact, that’s a large part of the virtue of following the precepts: that you want to be consistent. Even people who break the precepts aren’t breaking them all the time. They’re not killing all the time or stealing all the time. As the Buddha noted, even people who are really sloppy about the precepts actually spend more time not breaking …
- Developing Inner Wealth… That’s one of the virtues of having this kind of wealth inside: It’s protection. So focus your attention on inner wealth. As for outer wealth, learn to use it in a way that gives rise to more inner wealth. Because the inner wealth is where all the true happiness and security lie.
- The Buddha’s Encouragement… This is true all the way from the practice of virtue through concentration and discernment. Sometimes in the practice of virtue it’s a matter of brute determination: that you’re just going to see it through, not let yourself get discouraged. One of the images is of a soldier who hears that there’s an army coming; sees the cloud of dust; actually …
- Serenity… You can reflect on your own virtue, you can reflect on your own generosity. These are calming thoughts as well: realizing that even though your virtue may not be perfect, you’ve got at least some good things that you’ve done in your past. Your generosity may not be perfect, but there are areas where you’ve helped other people: either through material …
- Load next page...
