A Basic Instruction for Listening
A good way to begin meditation is by just listening. Just listen–listen to the sounds and try to move away from thought.
Walking Meditation 1
So, in walking meditation we try and sustain that same awake consciousness. For those of you who are unfamiliar with walking meditation, try to find a path that is 15-20 paces. Mark both ends of the path, start at one end and ground yourself in the sense of the body.… Read the rest
Basis for a Good Meditation
Good meditation is built on generosity and morality. If we live a generous life and an ethically impeccable life then there’s a foundation for liberation and for happiness.… Read the rest
Dhamma as a Mirror, Not as a Dogma
Perhaps I’ll just talk about the difference between contemplation and belief. The Buddhist teaching is very well laid out in an intellectual format. But, ovbiously if you keep the teaching as an intellectual structure, then it just becomes an artifact that everyone agrees upon that doesn’t really liberate the heart. It’s only when you take a teaching and internalize it–you make it alive within your own situation– that that teaching becomes a means of liberation.… Read the rest
The Way We Look
One way that we look is to look at things in order to get something from them – information or whatever. But then, your mind is agitated because you want something. In meditation, we’re really trying to cultivate a way of attention which is not bound by wanting anything out of this particular experience and not trying to get rid of it.… Read the rest
The Shrine Room
We can make suggestions to ourselves. So, what suggestions come up into consciousness? Are they skillful or unskillful. So, learning to listen, see thought as an object and observe the movements of the mind are very important. We’re trying to witness streams of consciousness right now, we’re not trying to solve the problems of the world.… Read the rest
Being Witness to Streams of Consciousness
We can make suggestions to ourselves. So, what suggestions come up into consciousness? Are they skillful or unskillful. So, learning to listen, see thought as an object and observe the movements of the mind are very important. We’re trying to witness streams of consciousness right now, we’re not trying to solve the problems of the world.… Read the rest
Defilements and Our Thoughts
Once aspect of consciousness that we usually don’t choose to notice is the aspect of consciousness which isn’t engaged with the objective world.… Read the rest
A Good Life
A good life is important for good meditation. A good life, of course, doesn’t mean a life where everything goes your way, but a life of good intention, good will.… Read the rest
A Letter From Luang Por Sumedho
The Sangha receives a letter from Luang Por Sumedho. Luang Por Viradhammo reflects that Luang Por Sumedho took the teaching and didn’t just keep it at an intellectual level – just accumulating information. He took the challenge of his extremely responsible life and used it for practice. … Read the rest