… desire for things to be this way or that at times when they can’t be the way we want them; wanting things to be a certain way outside of the proper time or occasion. This is called ‘being hungry’ – like a person who hungers for food but has no food to eat and so acts in a way that shows, ‘I’m a …
… When you think in these ways you see that it really is in your interest to develop the brahmavihāras in all situations. So the question is, how do you do that? This is where another aspect of the Buddha’s teachings on causality plays a role: his teaching on fabrication, or the way you shape your experience.
Fabrication is of three kinds: bodily, verbal …
… The Vinaya-mukha, in discussing this rule, makes the following point: “In terms of present-day customs, receiving a lot of food in a way that demonstrates greed is unacceptable. There is nothing wrong, however, in receiving a lot in a way that demonstrates compassion. For instance, when a newly-ordained bhikkhu goes to receive alms at his family home, if he accepts only …
… of light inside the body, extending down from the middle of the head, down through the spine. As you breathe in, think of the breath coming in from all directions into that pole of light, and as you breathe out think of it going out in all directions from that pole of light. This way, you’re not staying with just one spot. You …
… If the Community wants to, it may also authorize an area in front of the uposatha hall, marked with boundary markers, specifically for this purpose, but this is an optional step. (The markers are to be determined in the same way as the markers for a territory. See Chapter 13. Also, see Appendix I for the statements used in the transactions for authorizing and …
… motor, but sometimes you’re out in the middle of a forest and you don’t have any parts, so you use wire and paper clips in order to get back home. In other words, deal with the problems that come up and are pressing, but otherwise put them aside. It’s in this way that your discernment begins to develop. But when you …
… How can I inflict on others what is displeasing & disagreeable to me?’ Reflecting in this way, he refrains from taking life, gets others to refrain from taking life, and speaks in praise of refraining from taking life. In this way his bodily behavior is pure in three ways.
“And further, he reflects thus: ‘If someone, by way of theft, were to take from me …
… A more skillful way to regard past misdeeds would be to recognize that they were wrong, to resolve not to repeat them, and to develop attitudes of immeasurable goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity to reinforce one’s resolve not to treat anyone in an unskillful way.
AN 3:101 adds that the results of past misdeeds can be mitigated both through the practice …
… But our ‘slaves’ & ‘workers’ & ‘servants’ behave one way with the body, a different way with their speech, and their mind is different from that. It’s amazing, lord. It’s astounding—how, with so much human convolution, so much human muck, so much human deception going on, the Blessed One knows the welfare & harm of beings. For human beings are a convolution, lord, while …
… This is the second ground on which he can be praised.” [emphasis added] — SN 42:12
The last example shows that ascetic practices, in and of themselves, are not necessarily contrary to the middle way. It is possible to follow them all the way to the noble attainments.
As for Ven. Mahā Kassapa’s refusal to give up his practices: Anālayo is here clearly …
… This is the second ground on which he can be praised.” [emphasis added] — SN 42:12
The last example shows that ascetic practices, in and of themselves, are not necessarily contrary to the middle way. It is possible to follow them all the way to the noble attainments.
As for Ven. Mahā Kassapa’s refusal to give up his practices: Anālayo is here clearly …
… In the area where devas of middling influence occupied
sites, there the minds of the king’s royal ministers of middling
influence were inclined to build their homes. In the area where
devas of low influence occupied sites, there the minds of the
king’s royal ministers of low influence were inclined to build
their homes.
The Blessed One, with the divine eye—purified …
… Now, when he said play,
he didn’t mean playing around in a desultory way. It’s more like the
way, say, Michael Jordan would play basketball. In other words, you
keep doing it, keep trying to figure out new ways of tackling problems
but at the same time enjoying what you’re doing, making a game out of
it.
This relates particularly to …
… One further reflects that total formlessness would open the way to greater peace than the level of form; and that the cessation of becoming would open the way to greater freedom than formlessness. These last observations in no way prove that there is total formlessness or total cessation of becoming, but they do incline the mind to view those possibilities favorably.
The second part …
… Find the Middle Way that’s just right. While you’re practicing in this way, you’ll be able to observe what the mind is like when it has mindfulness and discernment in charge, and then you make the effort to maintain that state and keep it constant. That’s when the mind will have the opportunity to stop and be still, to be …
… Both of these views, from the Buddha’s point of
view, stood in the way of awakening. This is why—to show that
the similarity between his teachings and that of the Nigaṇṭhas
was only superficial—he actually sought out Nigaṇṭhas to refute
their views.
“Monks, there are some contemplatives & brahmans who teach in
this way, who have this view: ‘Whatever a person
experiences …
… the nose, the middle of the head, the base of the throat, the tip of the breastbone, above the navel—but there are other possible spots as well. Focus attention on wherever the breath seems to originate, and think of breath energy radiating from that spot. If there are any feelings of tension that seem to get in the way of that radiating energy …
… They hung (the cloth) by the middle. The dye dripped down both sides.
bhagavato etamatthaṁ ārocesuṁ.
They reported the matter to the Blessed One.
anujānāmi bhikkhave kaṇṇe bandhitunti.
“Monks, I allow that it (the cloth) be tied at the corners.”
kaṇṇo jīrati.
The corners got worn.
bhagavato etamatthaṁ ārocesuṁ.
They reported the matter to the Blessed One.
anujānāmi bhikkhave kaṇṇasuttakanti.
“Monks, I allow a …
… Do this all the way down the spine. Focus your attention at your tailbone. Then visualize the breath going down the spine—again, both during the in-breath and during the out—and then flowing through your tailbone into the air.
If the pressure is in the middle of the chest, visualize opening the energy channels going out your arms through the palms of …
… The first one doesn’t see, the middle one doesn’t see, the last one doesn’t see. In the same way, the statement of the brahmans turns out to be a row of blind men, as it were: The first one doesn’t see, the middle one doesn’t see, the last one doesn’t see. So what do you think, Bhāradvāja? This …
III. The Foul: Tranquility Meditation | Basic Themes
… desire for things to be this way or that at times when they can’t be the way we want them; wanting things to be a certain way outside of the proper time or occasion. This is called ‘being hungry’ – like a person who hungers for food but has no food to eat and so acts in a way that shows, ‘I’m a …
MN 41 Sāleyyaka Sutta | (Brahmans) of Sāla
… A more skillful way to regard past misdeeds would be to recognize that they were wrong, to resolve not to repeat them, and to develop attitudes of immeasurable goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity to reinforce one’s resolve not to treat anyone in an unskillful way. AN 3:101 adds that the results of past misdeeds can be mitigated both through the practice …
A Trojan Horse
… This is the second ground on which he can be praised.” [emphasis added] — SN 42:12 The last example shows that ascetic practices, in and of themselves, are not necessarily contrary to the middle way. It is possible to follow them all the way to the noble attainments. As for Ven. Mahā Kassapa’s refusal to give up his practices: Anālayo is here clearly …
