Search results for: virtue
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- Observing the Mind at the Breath… If something is disturbing the mind, what can you do to undercut it? Sometimes working with the breath directly will help with that; sometimes you have to bring in other topics, like contemplation of the body, goodwill, any of the recollections—the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha; recollections of your own virtue, your own generosity, to give yourself a sense of self-worth; recollection …
- Honesty & Integrity… This is why training in virtue is an essential part of developing insight. You can’t just pull somebody off the street, sit them down, and give them a method and hope that the method will break through to true happiness inside. You’ve got to have that ability to see what you’re doing, what the results are of what you’re doing …
- Your Own Karma… recollection of the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha; your own past generosity, your own past virtue. You can recollect death when you’re getting lazy. Recollect the Buddha when you’re getting discouraged. Recollect the Sangha when you’re getting discouraged. Remember all the people who’ve trod this path in the past—people with lots more problems than you’re having right now …
Introduction: The Authenticity of the Pāli Suttas
… The factors for awakening. “Now, what is the food for the arising of unarisen mindfulness as a factor for awakening, or for the growth & increase of mindfulness as a factor for awakening once it has arisen? There are qualities that act as a foothold for mindfulness as a factor for awakening [well-purified virtue & views made straight]. To foster appropriate attention to them: This …- The Karma Snake… your practice of virtue, concentration, and discernment for the sake of putting an end to suffering. If you use the teachings for other reasons, trying to assign blame, say, outside, or deciding that there are certain people you’re not going to help because they’ve obviously got bad karma, that’s an abuse of the teaching. Or if you’re going to justify …
- Our Sense of Self… That’s why we practice generosity; it’s why we practice virtue. When you learn to identify with a generous mind-state, you find you really enjoy it. It’s much more expansive than a greedy or stingy mind state. You learn how to withdraw from the greedy or stingy mind state. It may come up, but you decide you don’t have to …
- The Same for Everyone… everybody. Now, the Buddha did admit that there are various ways of conceiving the path, but there are a limited number of variations. And they all basically contain the same factors: virtue, concentration, and discernment, sorted out in different ways. When you look at the different lists in the Wings to Awakening, you see that the factors are sometimes listed in different orders. For …
- A Safe Harbor… The Buddha talks about virtue, for example, as universal gift. When you decide that you’re going to stick by a particular precept no matter what, you’re offering safety, say, from killing, safety from stealing, illicit sex, lying, the taking of intoxicants. You offer that safety to everybody at all times. And because that safety is universal, you have a part in that …
- Passion for Dispassion… So we focus our passion on the fourth noble truth, which comes down to virtue, concentration, and discernment. Although ultimately—as we complete the duty with regard to the truth and fully develop it—we have to let it go, too. But we let it go not out of disgust or aversion. We appreciate it. It’s taken us to a really good place …
- Into Position… The poem goes on to talk about the triple training, and yet concentration is part of the triple training; the other parts are heightened virtue and heightened discernment. You may wonder why the Buddha has to mention concentration twice. Well, it’s because it’s easy to overlook. It’s very quiet. It doesn’t have any brand-new ideas, although it does provide …
- Success on the Path… And the practices he recommends that are inspiring are recollection of the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha; recollection of your own generosity, virtue; recollection of the qualities of the devas, thinking about the fact that you’ve been developing those qualities as well. And you think about those themes as much as you need to get rid of that fever in the body …
- Choices… by the way you breathe, by the topics you think about, or by reflecting on the fact that you’re living a life of virtue, you’re living a life of generosity. You’re developing the qualities that the Buddha said will make you a deva: whatever theme you find is inspiring so that you’re happy to be here, because when you’re …
Mindful of the Body
VII. Jhana / Discernment
… He discerned that ‘There is no further escape,’ and pursuing it, he confirmed that ‘There isn’t.’ “If someone, rightly describing a person, were to say, ‘He has attained mastery & perfection in noble virtue… noble concentration… noble discernment… noble release,’ he would be rightly describing Sāriputta.… Sāriputta takes the unexcelled wheel of Dhamma set rolling by the Tathāgata, and keeps it rolling rightly.” —MN …- Perceptions & Potentials… He says that when the mind has this inner sense of virtue, it’s well clothed. So, you’ve got all the requisites: food, clothing, shelter, medicine for the mind. You’re going to need all this support because there are going to be difficulties in the path. It’s not going to be an easy path all the way along. A lot of …
- Mature Happiness… true happiness. And he teaches us to find it in ways that are also worthy of respect. You look at the different factors of the path: They’re all honorable things: virtue, concentration, discernment. They’re noble qualities of mind. And the happiness we’re looking for is a happiness that’s mature. It requires mature wisdom to attain it. As the Buddha said …
- Developing the Path… For discernment to become a faculty—in other words, a dominant factor in your mind—you have to actually develop conviction, persistence—which includes developing virtue—and then mindfulness and concentration. In other words, all the factors of the path have to be developed for right view to really become strong, to have a good solid foundation. Not only do you have to do …
- Anchored by Skillful Roots… If your survival is accomplished without generosity, without virtue, without meditation, it’s not worth much. It’s not the sort of survival that keeps you healthy and well- nourished. You look at survivors of war, who had to go and kill and steal and cheat and bomb, and then go into a lot of denial about it. Look at all the veterans of …
- Outside the Box… It’s loss in terms of your view, loss in terms of your virtue, that can. So look at your views. Try to develop a sense of values that is outside the ordinary, and learn how to question things you haven’t been questioning before. Ajaan Maha Boowa has some good questions for questioning pain. When you first read them, they sound kind of …
- Admirable Friendship, Inside & Out… You ask them about their conviction, their generosity, their virtue, their discernment, and then you try to follow their example. Most difficult, of course, is the discernment. You find that it comes down to the questions they ask. Look at the Buddha teaching his son: At the very beginning, he said that if you’re going to do anything, look first at your intention …
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The Truth of Rebirth
1 : Questioning Assumptions
… When discussing more mundane topics, such as the rewards of generosity and virtue, he would cite the rewards they brought not only in this life but also in future ones. Even in cases where he was asked specifically to confine his discussion to the present life, he would end the discussion by referring to the rewards of these skillful actions after death (AN 5 …Show one additional result in this book
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