Q: When we talk of putting aside greed and distress with reference to the world, this seems to me at a height inaccessible to human beings—of course, without any real evidence—and it gives me an impression of being an inaccessible star of separation from sadness and discouragement. What are the best ways to think about this? A: The attitude of putting aside greed and distress with reference to the…
Ultimately, when you reach a perception of the breath that allows the sensations of in-and-out breathing to grow still, you can start questioning more subtle perceptions of the body. It’s like tuning into a radio station. If your receiver isn’t precisely tuned to the frequency of the signal, the static interferes with the subtleties of whatever is being transmitted. But when you’re precisely tuned…
Usually our mind likes to get carried away with having fun. If we find ourselves infatuated with amusement, take it as important and hold on to it, the Buddha recommends to ground ourselves in an attitude of alertness. Hilarity is a tie. It can drag us onto the path of foolishness. When we are infatuated and crazy about something, we can go wrong anywhere. Whether in the hidden or open, it’s all t…
The Sangha lives according to the Vinaya, a code of monastic discipline established by the Buddha. In accordance with this discipline, the monastics are alms-mendicants, living lives of celibacy and frugality. Above all, this training is a means of living reflectively and a guide to keeping one’s needs to a minimum: a set of robes, an alms bowl, one meal a day, medicine when ill, and a sheltered p…
If we know both supposition and release in the proper way, we can get along. Suppositions have their uses, but in reality there isn’t anything there. There isn’t even a person there! There’s just a set of natural conditions, born of their causal factors. They develop in dependence on their causal factors, stay for a while, and before long they fall apart. You can’t stop that from happening. You ca…
All things in the world are suppositions that we’ve supposed into being. Once we’ve supposed them, we fall for our own supposings, so nobody lets them go. They turn into views and pride, into attachment. This attachment is something that never ends. It’s an affair of saṁsāra that flows without respite, with no way of coming to closure. But if we really know our suppositions, we’ll know release. If…
How do actions determine results? Skillful intentional acts—those that would lead to no harm for yourself or anyone else—tend toward pleasant results. Unskillful intentional acts—those that would lead to harm for yourself or others or both—tend toward painful results [§16] It’s important to emphasize the word tend here, as there’s no ironclad, tit-for-tat deterministic connection between an intent…
In our practice we need to learn what right effort is in contrast to just will power. In Thailand the attitude is always to sleep little, speak little, eat little. This has quite a strong influence on one’s mind. It sets in motion the idea of pushing and striving. But it also tends to create a kind of mental state that is very suppressive. One isn’t really aware of what one is doing. A lot of peop…
In one particular sutta - the Mangala Sutta - the Buddha explains the way to behave in order for us to be happy. Being respectful and showing humility, Knowing contentment in life. Paying back the debt of gratitude we have towards others, And frequently listening to the Buddha’s teachings. These are the highest blessings.’ So this verse from the Mangala Sutta is my particular teaching for today. A…
When you’re persistent in contemplating to see your inconstancy, stress and not- selfness, the mind feels ease because you’ve loosened your attachments. This is the marvel of the Dhamma: an ease of body and mind completely free from entanglement in the defilements. It’s truly special. Before, the ignorance obscuring the mind caused you wander about spellbound by sights, sounds, and so forth, so th…
