… Starting in the middle of the chest right at the heart and
then going down through the stomach and the intestines. This is good
nourishment, because you don’t have to fight anybody for it. It’s
right there, it’s free, and it’s very immediate. When you get familiar
with the breath and the different ways of breathing, you find that you …
… middle, admirable in the end. But the best is saved for last.
In the beginning, you’re making a gamble. You don’t know if the
Buddha’s right or wrong about things like rebirth or karma. But you do
know that they’re good things to believe, in the sense that they
affirm your power to shape your life in a good way …
… impact on the
breath—because that’s another way of adjusting the breath: simply
changing your perception of it.
Visualizing the body as a sponge is one perception that can be helpful
in opening up the breath energy. Or as Ajaan Fuang once recommended,
you can visualize a column of breath energy in the middle of the body,
from the head on down. Then …
… You have your ways of shaping this experience and if you’re
not paying careful attention to what you’re doing, middle-level
management takes over—in other words, your old habits. You can find
yourself tensing up over a little pain here and there without even
realizing that it’s happening. It’s almost like somebody else is
giving the orders. Part of …
… Try long
breathing, short breathing, or longer or shorter, or more middling,
deeper or more shallow. heavy or light or faster or slower. There are
lots of ways of experimenting with the breath, which not only makes it
more comfortable but also makes it more interesting to sit here. Here
it is, this energy in your body that keeps you alive. It has a …
… So when you think in these ways, holding these perceptions in mind, you can develop a more and more genuine feeling of goodwill, a feeling that’s not threatened by the fact that other people are going to continue to act in sometimes really outrageous and horrible ways. Because when you see them acting in horrible ways, you’ve got to have compassion for …
… That’s one way of thinking about death.
The other way is to realize that there are things you can do to
prepare. In other words, there are skillful and unskillful ways of
living, skillful and unskillful ways of dying. I’ve seen this in my
own life. I’ve seen two teachers of mine approach death, and I’ve also
seen my father …
… That’s one way you have to look for a balance so that contentment and being unburdensome follow the middle way of moderation.
Another set of balancing qualities are contentment on the one hand, and shedding pride and being modest on the other. Some people like to make a show of how frugal they are. This, the Buddha said, is the danger of developing …
… After all, the path is one that’s admirable in the beginning,
admirable in the middle, admirable in the end—admirable not just in
the sense that it’s noble, but also in the sense that it’s a good path
to follow. Even when you don’t get all the way to happiness, you
realize that being on this path is a good …
… Exactly
how much renunciation is involved? Where is that Middle Way right now?
That takes experience to see. You experiment and then see what results
you get. Everybody wants to hear the quick and easy formula for
figuring out how much is enough. Well, there is no quick and easy
formula. You have to experiment; you have to be willing to try
different approaches …
… If you lack that
conviction, then no matter what, you get stuck in someplace and think,
“Well this is it! No way out.” And you give up. You’re lost.
But if you’re convinced there must be a way out, that gives you the
chance to find it. In that way, in spite of your setbacks, you learn.
If you’ve been through …
… And then you move up to the next section, say, the solar plexus, and then the middle of the chest, the base of the throat, the head, down the back, out the legs. Starting again at the back of the neck, go down the shoulders and out the arms until you’ve covered the whole body. You can go through the body this way …
… But if you learn how to settle in here well in advance, you have a sense of how the awareness in the present moment can relate to the body in such a way that it doesn’t have to suffer from the issues in the body. That way, aging, illness, and death are not much of a problem. They’re simply issues of the …
… whatever perceptions you have of the breath, whatever ways you have of conceiving the breath. That’s an effective way of getting the mind to settle down: simply by holding that perception in mind. You pay attention, which is another element of form. You’ve got the intention to stay. And then you’ve got the feeling that arises when you try to create …
… You can look at the Buddha’s teachings as advice on how to
fabricate all these three kinds of fabrication in skillful ways.
He even gives you instructions on how to breathe: Breathe in a way
that makes you sensitive to rapture, sensitive to pleasure; breathe in
a way where you’re aware of the whole body; breathe in a way where you
gladden …
… It basically lays things out, and in an honorable way.
As the Buddha said, it’s admirable in the beginning, admirable in the middle, admirable in the end. In other words, the words of the Dhamma are inspiring. The practice is a noble practice, one in which we engage in developing the noble qualities of our own minds. And the end result is total …
… They can dress themselves up and
disguise themselves in all kinds of ways. Laziness in particular can
dress itself up like the Dhamma and say, “Well, the Buddha said for
you to follow the middle way. It’s leads to a sense of ease, so the
path itself should be easeful, too.” But then you think of all the
paths you’ve encountered in …
… And in whatever way the Teacher or a fellow person leading the holy life teaches the Dhamma to the monk, in just that way the monk, with regard to that Dhamma, is sensitive to the meaning, is sensitive to the Dhamma. In him—sensitive to the meaning, sensitive to the Dhamma—joy is born. When he is joyful, rapture is born. In one who …
… So think of it relaxing and staying
relaxed all way through.
You have to be very watchful here. If your attention slips away,
things will tense up again immediately if that’s your normal way of
doing things.
So you’re reeducating the body in how to breathe, and at the same time
reeducating your mind, getting the mind to stay in the present …
… down through the head, down through the neck, the
torso, and right in the middle of the body. As you breathe in, the
breath goes into that line from all directions, and as you breathe
out, it goes out from that line in all directions.
So see what way of conceiving or perceiving the breath energy is
helpful for you right now. The breath …
Non-Reactive Judgment
… They can dress themselves up and disguise themselves in all kinds of ways. Laziness in particular can dress itself up like the Dhamma and say, “Well, the Buddha said for you to follow the middle way. It’s leads to a sense of ease, so the path itself should be easeful, too.” But then you think of all the paths you’ve encountered in …
DN 34 Dasuttara Sutta | Progressing by Tens
… And in whatever way the Teacher or a fellow person leading the holy life teaches the Dhamma to the monk, in just that way the monk, with regard to that Dhamma, is sensitive to the meaning, is sensitive to the Dhamma. In him—sensitive to the meaning, sensitive to the Dhamma—joy is born. When he is joyful, rapture is born. In one who …
