… Avoiding both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathagata—producing vision, producing knowledge—leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to unbinding.
“And what is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that—producing vision, producing knowledge—leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to unbinding? Precisely this noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech …
… In his first talk, the Buddha introduced this path of practice as the Middle Way because it avoids two extremes: (1) indulgence in the pleasures of sensuality, and (2) devotion to the pain of self-torment. Yet this does not mean that the path pursues a course of middling pleasures and pains. Instead, it fosters the pleasures of concentration, along with insight into the …
… the middle of the head, the palate, the base of the throat, the middle the chest, just above the navel—-because they tend to be trigger points. Once a trigger point has been engaged, everything else seems to seize up as well. If you keep the trigger point relaxed, open, at ease, then the other physical reactions don’t happen. That way your body …
… What was the path was the middle way,
starting with understanding the truths about suffering, its cause, its
cessation, and the path to its cessation. The reason it’s called a
wheel is because each of those truths has a duty, and then there’s the
stage of having completed the duty, so you have three stages
altogether: One is understanding what the truth …
Educating Compassion
If you have any friends or family members who are sick or dying, I know of no one who would tell you to treat them in a hardhearted way. Everyone would agree that you should be as compassionate as you can. The problem is that there’s little agreement on how compassion translates into specific actions. For some people, compassion means extending …
… It’s called the root because it’s a good quality that runs deep and tenacious right down the middle of the heart. It’s called the heartwood because it’s solid and resilient, like the heartwood of a tree that insects can’t burrow into and destroy. Even though insects may be able to nibble away at the tree, they can go only …
… This is what’s special about the Buddha’s teachings in the middle way.
It’s not a middle way between pain and pleasure—in other words a
neutral feeling tone. It’s the realization that you can use pain and
pleasure as means rather than as ends. For example, there’s the pain
of knowing that “There’s work to be done.” But …
… Then King Pasenadi of Kosala approached the Blessed One in the middle of the day and, on arrival, having bowed down, sat down to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him: “Well now, your majesty, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?”
“Just now, lord, I was engaged in the sort of royal affairs …
… The Buddha complied with the request and defined the outlying districts in such a way that there is nowhere in the world outside of the middle Ganges Valley where this rule applies.
Offenses
For those who live in the middle Ganges Valley, the offenses for bathing more frequently than once a fortnight outside of the proper occasions are these: a dukkaṭa for every time …
… When the Buddha talks about the right effort of the middle way, it’s
not just a halfway effort or a mediocre effort. It’s an effort
appropriate to whatever is needed. Sometimes it’s a very gentle
effort; sometimes it requires a lot more willpower and strength. But
you have respect for whatever is required and you do your best to
fulfill the …
… He comes to the conclusion, ‘That’s the big bull elephant.’
“In the same way, brahman, there is the case where a Tathāgata appears in the world, worthy & rightly self-awakened. He teaches the Dhamma admirable in its beginning, admirable in its middle, admirable in its end. He proclaims the holy life both in its particulars and in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure …
… If you want to change the image, you may say the island may be your
way-station on the way across the river, but you finally get across
the river on high ground and you’re safe. This is where total security
lies. It’s doesn’t lie in things outside or people outside, because
those things can get washed away. And they are …
… These are the qualities that the Buddha in his previous lifetimes had
been developing, and it was in dependence on these that he was able to
practice in such a way as to gain his awakening. These are qualities
that all of us have in a potential form, all of us can develop them,
so we can find a way of giving meaning to …
… This way, you
don’t have to think of pulling the breath in from outside. You just
think of opening things up so that the energy can spread smoothly from
those spots: from around the navel, or just below the breastbone, in
middle of the chest, the base of the throat, or the middle of the
head. Think of the breath as originating there …
… he was to be left to his own ways without anyone to teach or correct him. According to Cv XI, news of this punishment so shocked Ven. Channa that he fainted. He then went off into seclusion and practiced diligently to the point of attaining arahantship. As Ven. Ānanda later told him, his attainment nullified the punishment. This sutta tells a different version of …
… And then meditate in
appropriate way, so that you can bring the mind into balance.
For example, if things are too active, try to find something that’s
really soothing. You can think thoughts of goodwill, thoughts of
compassion, thoughts of equanimity: These are soothing. You can work
with the breath in a way that feels good for the body, relaxing the
tension in …
… Be in the
middle.
When you hold things back, there are big blind spots in the mind.
Those blind spots are ignorance, and it’s precisely because of the
ignorance that we suffer. So as you begin to settle down and the
breath begins to feel good, allow yourself to plunge into the body.
Put the breath on. Wear it. Remember that image of …
… This way you can be at peace and at ease both within and without. As the Buddha said, ‘Happy is the person content in seclusion.’
When this kind of seclusion arises in the mind, all sorts of worthwhile qualities will come flowing in without stop. The heart will keep growing higher and higher, until it no longer wants anything at all. If you used …
… At the same time, when you learn how to get more separated from the pleasure and pain, and not be so affected by them, this is how practice in concentration puts you on the middle way. As you may remember, the middle way avoids the pain of self-torture and also the extreme of sensual pleasure. Now, the fact that it’s in the …
… So, either way, the solution to the problem is to settle the mind down. Think in this way if you’re having trouble getting the mind to stay with the breath. Ajaan Maha Boowa once compared meditators to two types of trees. One type of tree is standing alone out in the middle of a field. If you want to cut it down, it …
The Doctor’s Diagnosis | Beyond Coping: A Study Guide on Aging, Illness, Death, & Separation
… Avoiding both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathagata—producing vision, producing knowledge—leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to unbinding. “And what is the middle way realized by the Tathagata that—producing vision, producing knowledge—leads to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to unbinding? Precisely this noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech …
MN 27 Cūḷa Hatthipadopama Sutta | The Shorter Elephant Footprint Simile
… He comes to the conclusion, ‘That’s the big bull elephant.’ “In the same way, brahman, there is the case where a Tathāgata appears in the world, worthy & rightly self-awakened. He teaches the Dhamma admirable in its beginning, admirable in its middle, admirable in its end. He proclaims the holy life both in its particulars and in its essence, entirely perfect, surpassingly pure …
