… As Ajaan Maha Boowa likes to say, when we talk about the Middle Way,
it’s not a matter of putting in a middling effort. “Middle” means an
effort appropriate for whatever comes up. Sometimes you have to be
very delicate and very subtle in what you’re doing, because there are
delicate and subtle problems in the mind. Other times, as he said …
… Let the breath at the base of the throat spread down the central nerve at the front of the body, past the lungs and liver, all the way down to the bladder and colon.
Inhale the breath right at the middle of the chest and let it go all the way down to your intestines.
Let all these breath sensations spread so that they …
… If a middle-aged royal elephant dies untamed & untrained, it is reckoned as a middle-aged royal elephant that has died an untamed death. If a young royal elephant dies untamed & untrained, it is reckoned as a young royal elephant that has died an untamed death.
“In the same way, if an elder monk dies with his effluents unended, he is reckoned as an …
… One of its favorite arguments, of course, is the middle way: “Don’t put too much effort in. Don’t push yourself too much.” But as Ajaan Maha Boowa said, the middle way of craving is right in the middle of a pillow. And it just keeps taking us back to the same old places we’ve been to before—whereas if we take …
Pleasure & Pain
July 31, 2012
We’re practicing the middle way—between indulgence in sensuality on one side and self-torture on the other—but it’s best to think of the middle way as not lying on a continuum halfway between those two points. In other words, we’re not here doing a little bit of pain, a little bit of pleasure, pursuing …
… And you, monks, are very helpful to brahmans & householders, as you teach them the Dhamma admirable in the beginning, admirable in the middle, admirable in the end; as you expound the holy life both in its particulars & in its essence, entirely complete, surpassingly pure. In this way the holy life is lived in mutual dependence, for the purpose of crossing over the flood, for …
… When you breathe out, the beginning of the breath is at the navel, the middle of the breath is at the heart, the end of the breath is at the tip of the nose. Feel it in this way. The beginning of the breath, one—nose; two—heart; three—navel. Then one—navel; two—heart; three—nose. Focus on these three stages and let …
… Then King Pasenadi Kosala went to the Blessed One in the middle of the day and, on arrival, having bowed down to him, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, the Blessed One said to him: “Well now, great king, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?”
“Just now, lord, I was engaged in the sort of royal …
… In this way, all the factors of the path come together. It’s not a
lopsided path, it’s not a path straying off to the left or to the
right. It’s a middle path: balanced, appropriate for whatever is the
situation.
When we talk about right effort, it’s not so much a middling effort,
it’s the effort appropriate for what …
… The way to practice is this: In the area of the Vinaya, watch their example, the example set by the ajaan. Don’t deviate in any way from what he does. In the area of the Dhamma, keep watch right at your own mind. Practice right at the mind. When you understand your own mind, that, in and of itself, will make you understand …
… Let the breath at the base of the throat spread down the central nerve at the front of the body, past the lungs & liver, all the way down to the bladder & colon.
Inhale the breath right at the middle of the chest and let it go all the way down to your intestines.
Let all these breath sensations spread so that they connect & flow …
… Let the breath at the base of the throat spread down the central nerve at the front of the body, past the lungs & liver, all the way down to the bladder & colon.
Inhale the breath right at the middle of the chest and let it go all the way down to your intestines.
Let all these breath sensations spread so that they connect & flow …
… Another way of developing this quality of being clearly focused is to go through the whole body in a lot of detail. Again, this is another way of dealing with that middle zone, as the mind is beginning to settle down. Go through the whole body taking a very precise survey—the tip of each finger, then the next joint of each finger, and …
… Then King Pasenadi Kosala went to the Blessed One in the middle of the day and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there the Blessed One said to him, “Well now, great king, where are you coming from in the middle of the day?”
“Just now, lord, a money-lending householder died in …
… Avoiding both of these extremes, the middle way realized by the Tathāgata—producing vision, producing knowledge—leads to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to unbinding.
“And what is the middle way realized by the Tathāgata that—producing vision, producing knowledge—leads to stilling, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to unbinding? Precisely this noble eightfold path: right view, right resolve, right speech …
… What’s
just right for you?
This is why the “middleness” of the middle way is primarily a function
of your discernment. You start out by evaluating what works for you
and what doesn’t work, when something’s too much, when something’s too
little. Sometimes we hear about the middle way being halfway between
pleasure and pain, but that’s not the …
… It’s the ones that are
right in the middle of the river: Those are the ones that are hard to
establish, but they’re the ones that are really necessary. The
concentration is the middle of the three trainings. That’s the one
that corresponds to the foundations in the middle of the river. It
takes time and effort to get those established …
… There are other ways, though, of thinking of concentration: that you’re not focused on a spot outside of your center of who you think you are. The center’s supposed to be right inside where you think you are—like a lens whose focal point is zero, inside the lens itself. It’s a different kind of concentration. Just think of it as …
… But there’s also the voice
that says, “Well, you know the middle way says not to push things too
hard.” Watch out for that one, too. Because as Ajaan Maha Boowa says,
our defilements have their middle way as well. It’s right in the
middle of the pillow. The Buddha’s middle way means that you approach
pain and pleasure in the …
Appendix: The Seven Steps | Awareness Itself
… Let the breath at the base of the throat spread down the central nerve at the front of the body, past the lungs and liver, all the way down to the bladder and colon. Inhale the breath right at the middle of the chest and let it go all the way down to your intestines. Let all these breath sensations spread so that they …
MN 125 Dantabhūmi Sutta | The Level of the Tamed
… If a middle-aged royal elephant dies untamed & untrained, it is reckoned as a middle-aged royal elephant that has died an untamed death. If a young royal elephant dies untamed & untrained, it is reckoned as a young royal elephant that has died an untamed death. “In the same way, if an elder monk dies with his effluents unended, he is reckoned as an …
