Whatever you value, whatever you think is really important, that is what will develop and grow. ~Ajahn Brahm
Lonely Rose: Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt
He who drinks in the law lives happily with a serene mind: the sage rejoices always in the law, as preached by the elect (Ariyas). —The Dhammapada
Instead of having a fault-finding mind, develop the beautiful attitude of gratitude. ~Ajahn Brahm
Lotus Water Lily. Photo credit: Randy Neufeldt
Merit is not something you store up for a future life, it’s what you put into your heart for now. ~Ajahn Brahm
Bhikkhu Buddha Saddha Vey Ve and Novice Ananda on June 30, 2019.
Within each of us there is a silence as vast as the universe. We long for it. We can return to it. — Jack Kornfield
Who is your enemy? Mind is your enemy. No one can harm you more than a mind untrained. Who is your friend? Mind is your friend. Nothing can help you more than a trained mind, not even your loving parents. —Buddha
Jack Kornfield
What do we see when we look at our mind? Constant change. The untrained mind spins out thoughts, emotions, images, stories, likes, dislikes, plans, regrets and reactions to it all. There is ceaseless movement, filled with words, ideas, and memories. Clearly seeing this stream of inner dialogue is one of the first insights in meditation practice. It is called “seeing the waterfall,” experiencing the evanescent nature of mind. Mind’s constant changes are like the weather; today it rains, tonight it may snow, earlier the sun was out. It is muddy in the spring, and then the summer heat appears. In the fall the winds arise and the leaves go; in winter the ice forms. We’re like that; we’re part of nature.
Mindfulness meditation isn’t directed to creating and holding some special state; it’s learning to steady our attention on the present moment, finding a wise and compassionate relationship to this organic change of body and heart and mind that we are. We can then embody this loving awareness in every season.
For the mind to become steady, settled in the present moment in the midst of so much change, it is helpful to develop a degree of stability; that is called concentration. Concentration is the art of calming and steadying our attention, like a candle flame in a windless place. One way we can practice this is with attention to our breath, or with a body scan. As we gently train ourselves to become mindful of breath and body, we can see more clearly, and become more balanced and more deeply present. We experience a unity of our body, spirit, and mind. To live this way is wonderful. Continue reading
Letting go takes a lot of courage sometimes. But once you let go, happiness comes very quickly. You won’t have to go around search for it. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything. ~Shunryu Suzuki
In spiritual life there is no room for compromise. Awakening is not negotiable; we cannot bargain to hold on to things that please us while relinquishing things that do not matter to us. A lukewarm yearning for awakening is not enough to sustain us through the difficulties involved in letting go. It is important to understand that anything that can be lost was never truly ours, anything that we deeply cling to only imprisons us. ~Jack Kornfield
As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind. As rain does not break through a well-thatched house, passion will not break through a well-reflecting mind. ~The Dhammapada
