Time - The importance of effectively managing it.
There is a new Dhamma (reality – the way things really are) article here:
- A Buddhist Approach to Time Management
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Article: A Buddhist Approach to Time Management
July 23, 2008 – 8:16 pm
Avoid Aimless Thinking
July 22, 2008 – 11:04 am
Avoid aimless thinking.
The importance of avoiding thinking during meditation can never be over-emphasised. Aimless and pointless thinking, especially when ill-will (vyapda), aversion (dosa), greed/desire (lobha), delusion (moha) and other such negative forces are involved, clouds the mind and makes it diffused. To gain a state of concentration and peace (samadhi) during meditation, all thinking must be ceased. Whatever skillful thinking/analysis that needs to be done, should be done at the end of the meditation.
Putting all aimless thinking aside even in daily life while going about work, study, travel, etc. goes a long way towards our happiness and peace of mind. This way the mind will be clear of all defiling thoughts and be light, happy and peaceful.
May you put all (aimless) thinking aside and be at peace.
AIMLESS THINKING IS UNSKILLFUL
Aimless, pointless thinking,[1]
is unskillful,
while applied thinking to gain wisdom,
or to solve a problem,
is skillful,
so only think skillfully,
or not at all.
[1] See AN 1:16 – 321 Ekadhammapali, here http://www.mettanet.org/tipitaka/2Sutta-Pitaka/4Anguttara-Nikaya/Anguttara1/1-ekanipata/016-Ekadhammapali-e.html
321. [Lord Buddha:] Bhikkhus, just as a little bit of urine, … re … saliva, … re … pus,… re … blood smells and should be got rid of, I do not specify thinking* even for the fraction of a second.
* I do not specify thinking even for a short second. ‘appamattakampi bhavam na vannemi’ Always thoughts seek connections in the past, for the future or in the present. The bhikkhu who aims extinction should not advocte thinking, as thoughts prolong the journey in existence.
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Balancing Kindness
July 19, 2008 – 8:45 am
Balancing - The importance of balancing everything to gain the most peace and happiness!
It is important to balance kindness (metta) with wisdom (panna) when living among others. Otherwise one may find one’s kindness being taken advantage of and abused leading one to great suffering (dukkha). So know whom, when and how best to help, and also when its best not to help at all.
Buddhism (Dhamma) is not blind religion. There is no blind anything in Buddhism, whether it be faith (saddha), kindness (metta), or anything else for that matter. On the contrary its very much a seeing religion, being able to see and understand (panna) things with one’s own eye of wisdom (the unpolluted mind), where one reflects on the situations, problems and issues encountered with a clear mind and then formulates a skillful response.
So always balance everything including kindness (metta), with understanding and wisdom (panna). This way, whatever is done will give the best result.
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Let the Body Breathe on its Own
July 17, 2008 – 9:35 am
Let the body breathe on its own!
Let the body breathe on its own. Have you realized how tense the stomach is/can be and how we try to regulate/control the breath? This can be best noticed when doing the awareness of breath (ana-pana-sati) meditation. So rather than trying to breathe, relax the body and especially the stomach and let the body breathe on its own, in its own time, in its own way.
It will be less painful and more pleasant this way.
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Article: An Introduction to Buddhist Meditation
July 17, 2008 – 9:34 am
An introduction to Buddhist meditation.
There is a new Dhamma (reality – the way things really are) article here:
- An Introduction to Buddhist Meditation
In PDF and HTML formats
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Thought Addictions
July 15, 2008 – 2:23 pm
It is possible to get addicted to thoughts! Some are addicted to sensual (lobha) thoughts, memories of past sensual activties conducted (e.g. going to a party and pleasing the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body and mind). Others get addicted to angry (dosa) thoughts, where they think of some malicious thing they did/want to do over and over again, while deriving pleasure from it (very costly to oneself). Others may be addicted to delusional thoughts (moha); useless, unrealistic, profitless thinking – flights of fantasy.
There is a price to pay for these addictions, especially for a person who is addicted to angry thoughts (see the ill-effects of anger by reading the Kodhana Sutta). Most serious of all, these addiction reduce wisdom (panna) by reducing levels of concentration (samadhi).
So the best thing to do is to become established in mindfulness (sati) throught the day. May you be free of your thought addictions and be happy and well!
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Avoiding Re-Runs
July 15, 2008 – 10:15 am
Don’t re-run past episodes of mistakes in the mind. This is like re-living that moment over and over again; its not good for the mind, or for happiness and well-being.
Learn from whatever mistakes have been made, throw out the memory from the mind and move forward. Meditation helps a lot with this.
During the day it helps to become established in mindfulness (sati) over the body (ana-pana-sati, awareness of breath is great for this), feelings, mind or phenomena in order to stop the mind from re-playing past events.
So avoid re-runs by staying in the and be happy as a result.
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New Dhamma Articles
July 12, 2008 – 7:49 am
There are two new Dhamma (reality – the way things really are) articles here:
- A Buddhist Approach to Problem Solving
In PDF format and HTML formats - A Buddhist Approach to Mental Health
In PDF format and HTML formats
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Easy Metta
July 11, 2008 – 11:42 pm
Here is an easy way to practice the metta (loving-kindness) meditation:
In your thoughts or out loud, whether walking, standing still, sitting or lying down, while concentrating on the meaning behind these words, repeat 3 times:
May I be happy and well
Then repeat for as long as you like:
May all beings be happy and well
See, easy!
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