Search results for: virtue
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- Doing Favors & Making Merit… It would have no virtue at all. That’s why the Buddha said, when he introduced karma, “There is what is given, there is what is sacrificed.” In other words, these things have meaning. Then he went on to say, “There are parents.” You might think, “Well, that’s obvious.” But what he meant is that your parents should have a special place in …
- Goodwill… When the Buddha talks about generosity, talks about virtue, talks about meditation, these are all good things to do, honorable things to do—things that you can be proud of, in that you’re looking for happiness in a way that harms no one at all, and it actually lifts the level of your mind. All too many pleasures in the world pull you …
- Dethinking Thinking… Why is it that in some of the lists you have discernment coming first, then virtue, then concentration, and in others you start out with virtue, then concentration, then discernment—or mindfulness, discernment, then leading to concentration? What’s going on there? And what patterns are consistent? You’ll find that one pattern is always consistent: that mindfulness comes before concentration. In some cases …
- The Constant Teachings… how many Buddhas there have been throughout the course of time, they all teach the same thing: “Abandon what’s unskilful; develop what’s skillful.” What’s skillful? Generosity is skillful. Virtue is skillful. Meditation is skillful. These are the things that you can really depend on. They create within the mind a refuge that grows stronger and stronger until finally you reach a …
- The Four Biases… It’s not just the case that virtue allows the mind to settle down. Once the mind is settled down and solid, it allows your virtue to become more and more solid and reliable, too. And it’s not just an abstract thought. There’s a real visceral sense when your mindfulness fills the body, and you can allow the breath energy in the …
- A Complete Training… As we develop merit—or goodness, basically—through generosity, virtue, and the development of goodwill, we’re learning about how to construct good states of heart and mind, and to have a good influence on the world around us. After all, this is the world in which we’ll be practicing, so you want to create a good environment. At the same time, if …
- A True Man of No Rank… So, we look at the example of the people from the past and we regret that some of their virtues are getting less and less common around us. But that should stir us to have a sense that we can keep those virtues ourselves. It’s a trait of a good person—you see somebody else has a good habit, a good capability, and …
- Determination… In this way, he nourishes himself with that thought, uses his wisdom, uses his concentration, uses his virtue. There’s an interesting passage where Citta the householder is about to die. Some devas come to see him and say, “Set your mind on becoming a universal monarch, ruler of the continent of India, because you’d be a good ruler.” And the reason they …
- The Challenge… Ajaan Suwat once noticed when he was teaching a meditation retreat that one of the reasons why everyone was so grim about their meditation was that they didn’t have any more basic experience of the Buddha’s teachings, experience with generosity, experience with virtue, or at least the particular way the Buddha taught generosity and virtue. He noted that if you had that …
- It’s Up to You… Where are they still lacking? Are you lacking in terms of generosity? Lacking in terms of virtue? Lacking in terms of meditation? This is a good time to make a determination that for the next three months you’re going to be more careful about your precepts, for example. Especially that one about lying: It’s all too easy to think, “Well, I can …
- Inner Refuge… We have a certain amount of virtue, a certain amount of concentration and discernment. Our refuge lies in developing these things to the point where we really can depend on them, when they’re all-around. As Ajaan Mun once said, you have to make your practice in the shape of a circle. Keep going around and around and around in a circle and …
- Strength to Be Good… But with the goodness that comes from the meditation, the goodness that comes with generosity, the goodness that comes with virtue: That kind of goodness spreads around. And because your gain in these things doesn’t mean that anybody else has to lose, these kinds of goodness create a good society where people can live together without constantly putting up boundaries and trying to …
- Anti-slacker Dhamma… You hold back on applying them to your practice of virtue, concentration, and discernment. That means you don’t apply the three perceptions to the path just yet. You apply them to everything else that would pull you away from the path. In terms of virtue, if you find that your attachment to your relatives or your wealth or your health would prevent you …
- Time to Take Stock… We have the practice of virtue; we have the practice of generosity; we have the practice of meditation. Ask yourself: In which areas are you strong? Which areas are you weak? If you find that you’re weak in any of those areas, strengthen them. So try to make use of this convention that we have that today is the last day of the …
- Staying on Track… It’s a framework that comes from the practice of generosity and the practice of virtue. These are qualities not only of the mind, but also of the heart. They keep you on course. This is why the Buddha taught meditation as part of a larger path, an eightfold path, not just a one- or two-fold path. Generosity is one of the prerequisites …
- Observe Yourself in Action… Here you can get some help from what are called the four precepts or four virtues of purity. As you develop right action, right speech, and right livelihood, you learn how to observe yourself. But these four precepts or virtues of purity elaborate on that a little bit. They start with the virtues of the precepts themselves: For the monks it’s the Pāṭimokkha …
- Treasures from the East… The fourth treasure is virtue. When you actually stick with the precepts, you realize that they’re a good counsel. There are times when you might be able to make some immediate profit off of lying or stealing, a little bit of enjoyment from the intoxicants all around, but you realize that, No, you’re above that. There’s a sense of honor that …
- Mistakes… Then he would talk about the long-term benefits of generosity and virtue in this life and then also on into heaven. That was the third topic, the joys of heaven. But then he would focus on the drawbacks of sensuality. Even heavenly sensual pleasures have their drawbacks, and those drawbacks can hit pretty hard. Once you’ve gotten used to things being really …
- The Noble Search… What about the rest of the world?” Well, if you find a happiness that’s blameless and you do it through virtue, concentration, and discernment, or through generosity, virtue, and meditation, how can looking for happiness in that way be a selfish thing? You’re looking for a happiness that places no burden on anyone, that doesn’t harm anyone. When you look at …
- New Year’s Day… The Buddha offers generosity, virtue, meditation as the three main ways of training your mind. In the course of training your mind, you find happiness, because generosity is happy for you and it’s happy for the people you give the gifts to. Being virtuous is happy for you and happy for the people who are not oppressed by your behavior. And meditating is …
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