Preface
“If you want to understand your mind, sit down and observe it.” 5/3/25 8:45 PM
Note: Anagārika Munindra
Introduction
Maybe when the Buddha repeats certain phrases over and over again, he is trying to tell us something: that these are important qualities of mind to cultivate and strengthen in our practice and in our lives. 5/3/25 8:54 PM
The Four Qualities of Mind
1. Ardency: The Long-Enduring Mind
What are the four? Here, bhikkhus, in regard to the body a bhikkhu abides contemplating the body, ardent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. In regard to feelings he abides contemplating feelings, ardent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. In regard to the mind he abides contemplating the mind, ardent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. In regard to dhammas he abides contemplating dhammas, ardent, clearly knowing, and mindful, free from desires and discontent in regard to the world. 5/3/25 8:55 PM
Note: The Four Foundations
Ardent implies a balanced and sustained application of effort. But ardent also suggests warmth of feeling, a passionate and strong enthusiasm or devotion because we realize the value and importance of something. When the Buddha says that a bhikkhu (all of us on the path) abides ardently, he is urging us to take great care, with continuity and perseverance, in what we do 5/3/25 8:55 PM
One way to cultivate ardency is to reflect on the purpose of our practice, realizing that the Dharma is a jewel of priceless value. 5/3/25 8:56 PM
understanding the mind is the same as understanding the Dharma, and that realizing the deepest truths of the mind is the attainment of awakening. 5/3/25 8:56 PM
Ask yourself how many of the billions of inhabitants of this planet have any idea of how rare it is to have been born as a human being. How many of those who understand the rarity of human birth ever think of using that chance to practice the Dharma? How many of those who think of practice actually do? How many of those who start continue? . . . But once you see the unique opportunity that human life can bring, you will definitely direct all your energy into reaping its true worth by putting the Dharma into practice.2 5/3/25 8:57 PM
The third reflection that arouses ardor in our practice is the understanding of the law of karma. This is the fundamental and essential understanding that all of our volitional actions—of body, speech, and mind — bear fruit depending on the motivation associated with them. Actions rooted in greed, hatred, or ignorance bring unpleasant results. Actions rooted in nongreed, nonhatred, and nondelusion bring many different kinds of happiness and wellbeing. 5/3/25 9:00 PM
As we’re about to act, or when thoughts or emotions are predominant, do we remember to investigate and reflect on our motivation? Do we ask ourselves, “Is this act or mind state skillful or unskillful? Is this something to cultivate or abandon? Where is this motivation leading? Do I want to go there?” 5/3/25 9:02 PM
2. Clearly Knowing: Cultivating Clear Comprehension
With clear comprehension, we know the purpose and appropriateness of what we’re doing; we understand the motivations behind our actions. 5/3/25 9:03 PM
Note: SAMPAJAÑÑA
How does our practice benefit others? How does feeling our breath or taking a mindful step help anyone else? It happens in several ways. The more we understand our own minds, the more we understand everyone else. We increasingly feel the commonality of our human condition, of what creates suffering and how we can be free. 5/3/25 9:19 PM
3. Mindfulness: The Gateway to Wisdom
“the five spiritual faculties”: faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom 5/3/25 9:23 PM
Note: The Five Spiritual Faculties
Mindfulness makes us aware when any of them are deficient or in excess; for example, it balances faith and wisdom, energy and concentration. When we have too much faith, we can become dogmatic, attached to our own views. And we can see all too often how this blind belief leads to so much conflict and suffering in the world. When faith is not balanced with wisdom, we can also become overly enthusiastic about our meditation experiences. There is a state called “pseudo-nirvāna.” This is when our insight is developing, but in our enthusiasm we forget to be mindful, and then, because of our attachment to these very states, they become corruptions of insight. 5/3/25 9:24 PM
Note: Balancing the five spiritual faculties
our aim should be not to follow the heart but to train the heart. All of us have a mix of motivations; not everything in our hearts is wise or wholesome. The great power of mindful discernment allows us to abandon what is unwholesome and to cultivate the good. This discernment is of inestimable value for our happiness and wellbeing. 5/3/25 9:26 PM
In the Dzogchen tradition, this is called fabricated mindfulness, and is similar, perhaps, to what in the Theravāda Abhidhamma is called prompted consciousness. This is when, either by reflection or determination of the will, we deliberately endeavor to generate a certain state. There is another kind of mindfulness that is unprompted. When it is well cultivated, it arises spontaneously through the force of its own momentum. No particular effort is required. It’s all just happening by itself. In this state of effortless awareness, we can further discern the presence or absence of a reference point of observation, a sense of someone observing or being mindful. 5/3/25 9:29 PM
4. Concentration: The Collected Nature of Mind
“Free from desires and discontent” refers to samādhi, the qualities of concentration, composure, and unification of mind that occur when the mind is free of the desires and discontents that so often arise. 4/15/26 8:56 PM
Receiving joy is another way to say enjoyment, and samādhi is the act of refined enjoyment. It is based in skillfulness. It is the careful collecting of oneself into the joy of the present moment. Joyfulness means there’s no fear, no tension, no “ought to.” There isn’t anything we have to do about it. It’s just this 4/15/26 8:57 PM
Note: Ajahn Sucitto, from a talk given at the Insight Meditation Society on March 10, 1999.
When my first Dharma teacher, Munindra-ji, first visited America, he was struck with how people wanted to meditate and get enlightened, but seemed less concerned with this foundation of morality. He said that it is like trying to row a boat across a river, exerting a lot of effort in the process, but never untying the rope from the dock. It doesn’t go anywhere. 4/15/26 8:58 PM
CONTINUITY OF MINDFULNESS
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ESTABLISHING CONCENTRATION TAKES TIME
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The Buddha emphasized this when he said that respect for concentration is one of the things that leads to the longevity of the Dharma, to its nondecay and nondisappearance. 4/15/26 9:01 PM
The Satipaṭṭhāna Refrain
5. Contemplating the Four Foundations
• Contemplating our experience internally, externally, and both; • Contemplating the nature of impermanence—the arising, the passing away, and both the arising and passing away in regard to our experience; • Establishing enough mindfulness to recognize simply what is unfolding moment to moment — without mental commentary—and to remain mindful of what’s happening; • Abiding without clinging to anything that enters our realm of experience. 4/15/26 9:03 PM
INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY
4/15/26 9:04 PM
Contemplating the body externally can mean being mindful of the bodily actions of others when they draw our attention. 4/15/26 9:04 PM
Being mindful internally, externally, and both reminds us of the comprehensive nature of mindfulness practice—to be aware of whatever there is, whether it is within us or without. And, in the end, to go beyond this division altogether. 4/15/26 9:06 PM
ARISING AND PASSING AWAY
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CONTEMPLATING IMPERMANENCE
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A sustained contemplation of impermanence leads to a shift in the way we experience reality. We see through the illusions of stable existence, in both what is perceived and what is perceiving. It radically reshapes our understanding of ourselves and the world. How can we practice this contemplation? 4/15/26 9:08 PM
6. Bare Knowing and Continuity of Mindfulness
THE MOMENTUM OF MINDFULNESS
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PERCEPTION
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When perception is operative without strong mindfulness — which is the usual way an untrained mind navigates the world — then we know and remember only the surface appearance of things. 4/15/26 9:16 PM
MENTAL NOTING
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ABIDING INDEPENDENT
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we come to understand that all experience is just a show of empty appearances 4/15/26 9:30 PM
Mindfulness of the Body
7. Mindfulness of Breathing
“Bhikkhus, when anyone has not developed and cultivated mindfulness of the body, Māra finds an opportunity and a support. . . .”1 “Bhikkhus, when anyone has developed and cultivated mindfulness of the body, Māra cannot find an opportunity or a support. . . .”2 5/11/25 8:37 PM
In the midst of endless thought proliferation, of emotional storms, of energetic ups and downs, we can always come back to just this breath, just this step. So many times in my practice I was thankful that it was that simple. We can always just come back to the simplest aspect of what’s already here. 5/11/25 8:38 PM
Retiring to a physically secluded location, such as a retreat center or a cabin in the woods, would be ideal. But it could also mean establishing a place dedicated to practice right in our own home—a room, or even a corner of a room, where we create an environment of stillness and beauty. 5/11/25 8:39 PM
the form becomes both the container and the expression of the awakened state 5/3/25 9:34 PM
n both meditation and life, wise effort creates energy. We often think that we need energy to make effort. But the opposite can be just as true. Think of the times when you feel tired and sluggish and then go out for some exercise. Usually, you come back feeling alert and energized: effort creates energy. 5/3/25 9:35 PM
Note: Effort creates energy
It’s a moment’s reflection about our intention, rather than simply sitting down and settling into a perhaps familiar drift of thought and fantasy. 5/11/25 8:40 PM
[H]e seats himself cross-legged, sets his body erect, and establishes mindfulness in front of him. He does not occupy his mind with self-affliction, or the affliction of others, or the affliction of both; he sits with his mind set on his own welfare, on the welfare of others, and on the welfare of both, even on the welfare of the whole world.”6 5/3/25 9:37 PM
Note: Metta, Prayer
Bhikkhus, when mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, it is of great fruit and great benefit. When mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated, it fulfills the four foundations of mindfulness. When the four foundations of mindfulness are developed and cultivated, they fulfill the seven enlightenment factors. When the seven enlightenment factors are developed and cultivated, they fulfill true knowledge and deliverance. 5/11/25 8:42 PM
it is a stabilizing factor at the time of death 5/11/25 8:42 PM
Note: The Breath
an increasing level of intentionality in our practice as we broaden our awareness from the breath to the whole body. 5/3/25 9:41 PM
The second interpretation of “experiencing the whole body” is found in the Buddhist commentaries, which say that this phrase refers to the whole “breath body.” This means that we train experiencing the beginning, middle, and end of each breath 5/3/25 9:41 PM
8. Mindfulness of Postures
All of this is summarized in the dharma statement, “Movement masks dukkha.” It’s worth investigating this to see for ourselves what drives the many movements we make during the day. 5/11/25 8:54 PM
We see that there’s no one behind this process to whom it is all happening, only the pairwise progression of knowing and object rolling on. 5/11/25 8:56 PM
The purpose of all our practice is to purify the mind of obstructive, unskillful states—in the Buddha’s words, “to abandon ill will and hatred, and to abide with a mind compassionate for the welfare of all beings.” 5/11/25 8:59 PM
9. Mindfulness of Activities
“Clearly knowing,” the translation of the Pali word sampajañña, is sometimes translated as “clear comprehension.” Clearly knowing means seeing precisely or seeing thoroughly, with all of the five spiritual faculties (confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom) in balance. 5/11/25 9:02 PM
Note: Sampajanna and the Five Spiritual Faculties
The first way of training is clearly knowing the purpose of doing an action before we do it, understanding whether or not it is of benefit to ourselves and others. 5/11/25 9:03 PM
Note: Pace is critical
Because our motivations are often subtle and hard to see—they are often mixed or are a series of conflicting motivations—it takes a lot of honesty, clarity, and mindfulness to see them clearly, to know the inner purpose behind our actions. 5/11/25 9:03 PM
We might be feeling tired or frustrated, and then this kindly voice arises in the mind: “I’ve done enough. I’ve been working really hard. Let me take a little rest.” Sometimes we do need rest, but sometimes the kindly voice is just that aspect of sloth and torpor that retreats from difficulties. 5/11/25 9:05 PM
This aspect of clear comprehension—seeing the purpose of our actions and whether they are of benefit or not—rests on our understanding the ethical dimensions of mindfulness. This is the discernment of wholesome or unwholesome mind states and actions, which lead respectively to happiness or suffering. 5/11/25 9:06 PM
The famous thirteenth-century Japanese Zen master Dogen expressed it this way in the Genjo Koan: “What is the way of the Buddha? It is to study the self. What is the study of the self? It is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be Enlightened by all things.” 5/11/25 9:08 PM
10. Mindfulness of Physical Characteristics
In meditation, we move from the concept of body to the awareness of the body as a changing energy field. On this level, the sense of the body as being something solid and substantial disappears. 5/11/25 9:15 PM
Note: The Etheric body
Dry out that which is past, let there be nothing for you in the future. If you do not grasp at anything in the present you will go about at peace. One who, in regard to this entire mind/body complex, has no cherishing of it as “mine,” and who does not grieve for what is non-existent truly suffers no loss in the world. For that person there is no thought of anything as “this is mine” or “this is another’s”; not finding any state of ownership, and realizing, “nothing is mine,” he does not grieve.7 5/11/25 9:20 PM
Those who believe in things can be helped through various kinds of practice, through skillful means—but those who fall into the abyss of emptiness find it almost impossible to re-emerge, since there seem to be no handholds, no steps, no gradual progression, nothing to do 5/11/25 9:22 PM
Note: The Abyss of Emptiness
Mindfulness of Feelings
11. Liberation through Feelings
“Bhikkhus, that one shall here and now make an end to suffering without abandoning the underlying tendency to lust for pleasant feeling, without abolishing the underlying tendency to aversion towards painful feeling, without extirpating the underlying tendency to ignorance in regard to neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling . . . this is impossible.” 5/25/25 3:33 PM
Note: Ñāṇamoli and Bodhi, The Middle Length Discourses, 1134–35
As we see the transitory nature of whatever feelings arise, we become less identified with them, less attached to the pleasant ones, less fearful of the unpleasant ones. 5/25/25 3:35 PM
We can also train in mindfulness of feelings with external situations. There is a story of Ajahn Chaa going on retreat by himself in a little hut in the forest, but not far from a village. One night, the villagers were having a celebration with loud music playing on loudspeakers. At first, Ajahn Chaa became annoyed, thinking, “Don’t they know I’m here on retreat?” But after a few moments of consideration, he realized the problem was in his own mind, not in the sound. He thought, “Well, they’re just having a good time down there. I’m making myself miserable up here. No matter how upset I get, my anger is just making more noise internally.” And then he had this insight: “Oh, the sound is just the sound. It’s me who is going out to annoy it. If I leave the sound alone, it won’t annoy me. It’s just doing what it has to do. That’s what sound does. It makes sound. This is its job. So if I don’t go out and bother the sound, it’s not going to bother me.” 5/25/25 3:48 PM
Note: @`Sense Desire / Craving / Aversion`
Whatever feeling one feels, whether pleasant, unpleasant or neither-painful-nor pleasant, one abides contemplating impermanence in those feelings, contemplating fading away, . . . contemplating relinquishment. Contemplating thus, one does not cling to anything in this world. When one does not cling, one is not agitated. When one is not agitated, one personally attains Nibbāna. 5/25/25 3:49 PM
Note: Choice @`Nibbana / Nirvana / Enlightenment / Awakening`
12. Worldly and Unworldly Feelings
Worldly feelings arise from contact with the senses: these are feelings dependent on sights and sounds, smells and tastes, touch sensations, and also thoughts connected with these objects. 5/25/25 9:05 PM
Note: Worldly v Unworldy overview
The Buddha highlighted this understanding when he said, “What the world calls happiness, I call suffering; what the world calls suffering, I call happiness.” 5/25/25 3:56 PM
We may not yet know the happiness of full enlightenment, but all along the path, we do experience clear times of nonsensual joy, the unworldly pleasant feelings. We experience them in times of generosity, when we are renouncing mind states of greed and stinginess. Think of times when you were generous with someone, giving something out of love or compassion, respect or gratitude. Practicing generosity is an easily accessible gateway to the happy, unworldly feelings based on renunciation, and it is the reason the Buddha usually begins his progressive teachings speaking of generosity. 5/25/25 8:52 PM
Note: @Paramis @`Generosity / Dana`
We feel nonsensual joy when we practice qualities like love and compassion. The great Zen master and poet Ryokan summed up the expression of this feeling when he wrote, “Oh that my monk’s robes were wide enough to gather up all the people in this floating world.” 5/25/25 8:54 PM
We feel a nonsensual joy when we practice the renunciation involved with following the precepts. We renounce harmful actions, and this renunication brings the unworldly pleasant feeling of nonremorse. 5/25/25 8:54 PM
Note: @`Renunciation / Nekkhama`
We experience nonsensual joy of unworldly pleasant feelings in states of concentration, where the mind is secluded from unskillful states. 5/25/25 8:54 PM
Note: @Concentration
We experience an even higher nonsensual joy in the various stages of insight and awakening. Here it is not the absorption in the unworldly pleasant feelings of concentration, but the special happiness of clear seeing — that is, seeing deeply and vividly the changing, selfless nature of all that arises. 5/25/25 8:56 PM
Note: @Anatta
When a pleasant feeling arises, know it as worldly or unworldly; when an unpleasant feeling arises, know it as worldly or unworldly; and the same with neutral feelings 5/25/25 8:58 PM
Note: Discerning worldly and unworldly as a key faculty
mindfulness fosters empathetic joy when others experience pleasant feelings, and it fosters compassion when others are in pain. When we’re not mindful of feelings — pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral; worldly and unworldly—and we don’t contemplate them internally, externally, and both, then we easily become identified with these feelings, taking them to be self. 5/25/25 9:00 PM
Note: @Anatta @Mudita
Mindfulness of Mind
13. The Wholesome and Unwholesome Roots of Mind
These three roots are greed or lust; hatred, which includes ill will and anger; and delusion or ignorance, which encompasses bewilderment and confusion. 6/15/25 5:45 PM
Note: The Three Poisons
It’s important to understand which mind states are skillful and which are unskillful, not in order to judge ourselves or be reactive to them, but in order to see which lead to happiness and should be cultivated in our lives, and which lead to suffering and should be abandoned 6/15/25 5:48 PM
There is a verse in the Dhammapada that succinctly describes how these unwholesome states manifest: “There is no fire like lust, no grip like anger, and no net like delusion.” In practicing mindfulness of mind, we need to see for ourselves how we experience each of these states. We might feel that fevered excitability of wanting or greed; we might experience the tightness, contraction, and alienation of anger and hatred; we might feel the confused entanglement of delusion. The Thai master Buddhadasa describes these tendencies yet another way: “pulling in, pushing away, and running around in circles.” 6/15/25 5:49 PM
“Luminous, bhikkhus, is this mind, but it is defiled by adventitious defilements. The uninstructed worldling does not understand this as it really is; therefore I say that for the uninstructed worldling there is no development of the mind. “Luminous, bhikkhus, is this mind, and it is freed from adventitious defilements. The instructed noble disciple understands this as it really is; therefore I say that for the instructed noble disciple there is development of the mind.”2 6/15/25 5:51 PM
CONTRACTED AND DISTRACTED MIND 6/15/25 5:53 PM
Contracted here refers to the inner withdrawal of the mind due to sloth and torpor. There’s little or no energy to meet the object; we experience dullness and heaviness, collapsing inward. This state is contrasted with the mind distracted by externals and pursuing different sense objects due to restlessness. 6/15/25 5:53 PM
Be Aware of Moods and Emotions
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GREAT AND NARROW, SURPASSABLE AND UNSURPASSABLE 6/15/25 5:56 PM
In the last part of the instructions on mind, the Buddha says to know the great mind as great, and the narrow mind as narrow; a surpassable mind as surpassable, and an unsurpassable mind as unsurpassable; a concentrated mind as concentrated, and an unconcentrated mind as unconcentrated; and finally, a liberated mind as liberated, and an unliberated one as unliberated. 6/15/25 5:57 PM
Great and narrow refer to how far the concentration pervades. For example, in the brahmavihāra practices of love and compassion, they refer to whether we are radiating these feelings toward all beings or just one person. Surpassable and unsurpassable refer to the level of absorption and whether the higher levels are attainable or not. (As an interesting footnote, unsurpassable refers here to the fourth jhāna, because the higher formless absorptions have the same degree of concentration, simply more refined objects.5) The third pair, concentrated and unconcentrated, emphasizes being mindful of whether stable one-pointedness in both samatha (concentration) and vipassanā (insight) meditation is present or not. 6/15/25 5:58 PM
Liberated here means both full awakening, when all the unwholesome tendencies have been uprooted, and also the mind temporarily free of defilements, a state we often experience in vipassanā practice. 6/15/25 5:58 PM
14. The Refrain: On Feelings and Mind
PRACTICING MINDFULNESS INTERNALLY AND EXTERNALLY 6/15/25 8:19 PM
there is one common interpretation that clearly applies to all four foundations of mindfulness: internal refers to one’s own experience, and external refers to the experience of others. 6/15/25 8:20 PM
Just as pleasant feelings condition desire, unpleasant ones condition aversion, and neutral feelings condition ignorance when we’re unmindful internally, so too might seeing painful feelings in others trigger grief, sorrow, or denial in ourselves when we’re unmindful externally 6/15/25 8:21 PM
Arousing Wholesome Mind States
6/15/25 8:22 PM
We might feel joy for the pleasant feelings of others, rather than envy, and compassion for their painful feelings, rather than fear or apathy 6/15/25 8:22 PM
I started doing the meditation on muditā, or empathetic joy. This is the practice of wishing the happiness and success of others to continually grow and increase. 6/15/25 8:23 PM
Reactivity in the Mind
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In practicing mindfulness internally, externally, and both internally and externally, we begin opening to the understanding of anattā, the empty, selfless nature of feelings and all experience. We shift our understanding from “I’m having a pleasant feeling” or “She is having a pleasant feeling” to “There is a pleasant feeling.” As Anālayo points out, in this contemplation, the boundaries of “I” and “others,” of separate selves, are left behind. It is the experience of phenomena independent of any ownership. 6/15/25 8:25 PM
ARISING AND PASSING AWAY 6/15/25 8:25 PM
What does this say about what we value and work for in our lives, and about the liberating effect of seeing directly, in the moment, the truth of change? The refrain reminds us, with regard to body, feelings, and mind, to be mindful of them internally, externally, and both, and to contemplate their arising and passing away. 6/15/25 8:27 PM
BARE KNOWING 6/15/25 8:28 PM
“Bare knowledge” here means observing or knowing objectively what is arising, without getting lost in associations, reactions, judgments or evaluations, or, if we do get lost, to then become aware of those states themselves. 6/15/25 8:28 PM
CONTINUITY OF MINDFULNESS 6/15/25 8:29 PM
ABIDING INDEPENDENT 6/15/25 8:30 PM
Mindfulness of Dhammas—The Five Hindrances
15. Desire
I had studied philosophy in college, but found it ultimately frustrating because there was no exploration of how to apply the various philosophies to life, to our moment-to-moment experience. 1/27/26 5:47 PM
FIVE STEPS TO WORKING WITH THE HINDRANCES
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Step 1: Recognize Desire When It Is Present
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Step 2: Know When Desire Is Absent
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Step 3: Know What Conditions Underlie the Presence or Absence of Desire
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Step 4: Know What Conditions Underlie the Removal of Desire
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Step 5: Avoid Future Arisings of Desire
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16. Aversion
They are all different aspects of the condemning mind and include a wide range of aversive states: violent rage and hatred, anger, ill will, animosity, annoyance, irritation, fear, and in very subtle ways, sorrow and grief. 1/27/26 7:49 PM
Unpleasant Thoughts
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KNOW WHAT CONDITIONS THE REMOVAL OF AVERSION
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Practice Mindfulness When Aversion Is Present
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The first and most direct approach is simply being mindful of it, without judging the aversion or ourselves for having it. 1/27/26 8:08 PM
Note the Relationship of Mind to Emotion
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If you keep breathing on your anger, shining your compassion and understanding on it, your anger will soon crack and you will be able to look into its depths and see its roots. 1/27/26 8:11 PM
Use Wise Reflection to Weaken Aversion
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17. Sloth and Torpor
This sleepiness or dullness is very common for people at the beginning of a retreat, especially when they are coming from busy, hectic lives. In our lives, we largely run on the energy of stimulation — from interactions with other people, cups of coffee, or the interface with the Internet. When people enter the silence and undistractedness of a retreat, there are often the withdrawal symptoms of dullness and sleepiness. But slowly we connect with a deeper source of energy within us, and the mind becomes increasingly wakeful and alert without the need for external stimulation. 1/27/26 8:26 PM
SLOTH AND TORPOR IN MEDITATION PRACTICE
1/27/26 8:26 PM
This is not merely the feeling of sleepiness, but rather the deeper pattern or tendency of withdrawing from difficulties. This is the habit of retreating from challenges rather than arousing the energy and effort to engage with them. 1/27/26 8:26 PM
This pattern of retreating from difficulties strengthens the tendencies toward laziness and inactivity, passivity and lethargy. 1/27/26 8:26 PM
KNOW THE CAUSES OF SLOTH AND TORPOR
1/27/26 8:28 PM
Discontent, Boredom, Laziness, and Drowsiness
1/27/26 8:29 PM
“There are, bhikkhus, discontent, lethargy, lazy stretching, drowsiness after meals, sluggishness of mind: frequently giving careless attention to them is the nutriment for arising of unarisen sloth and torpor and for the increase and expansion of arisen sloth and torpor.” 1/27/26 8:29 PM
Difficult Emotions
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There might be a strong, and even traumatic, emotion arising, and sometimes sloth and torpor arise as a defense against feeling it. 1/27/26 8:32 PM
Overeating
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An Imbalance of Concentration and Energy
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KNOW WHAT CONDITIONS THE REMOVAL OF SLOTH AND TORPOR
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Practice Mindfulness
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Develop Mental Clarity
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First, it develops through a careful noting of a greater number of objects as a way of brightening awareness. 1/27/26 8:53 PM
Sound is a good object because we’re usually quite effortlessly aware of it arising. 1/27/26 8:53 PM
Open Your Eyes or Change Posture
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sleepiness is not some monolithic, unchanging state requiring us to go to sleep, but rather a changing energy pattern that we can be with and allow to pass through. 1/27/26 8:55 PM
Practice Wise Reflection
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One such reflection is considering this precious human birth and the profound transiency of our lives. At the time of our death, our minds may well be in a weakened state, our bodies enfeebled, and our senses dull. How will we want to be in this condition? It’s easy to say that we want to die with awareness, seeing the whole process clearly, conscious of our dying moments. But how do we train for this? Each time sloth and torpor arise and we’re mindful of them, can we take it as a practice opportunity for dying? 1/27/26 8:56 PM
Engage with Good Friends and Profitable Talk
1/27/26 8:56 PM
Profitable talk, in addition to conversations with dharma friends or teachers, in the context of a retreat might mean reading dharma books and texts for fifteen or twenty minutes as a way of raising energy and again arousing the motivation to practice. Likewise, for those inclined, chanting can also inspire the mind, increasing our faith and confidence in the practice. 1/27/26 8:57 PM
Take Rest
1/27/26 8:57 PM
I have found that lying down until everything lets go and we’re about to fall asleep, and then getting up at just that moment, is usually sufficient to rejuvenate us. 1/27/26 8:58 PM
PREVENTING THE FUTURE ARISING OF SLOTH AND TORPOR
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18. Restlessness and Worry
HOW RESTLESSNESS AND WORRY MANIFEST
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Yogi Mind
1/28/26 7:32 PM
On another retreat, one yogi asked the managers to please write the airlines to reroute the flights overhead because they were disturbing his practice. Sometimes, in the throes of the restless mind, we get so lost in our own obsessive thoughts that we lose touch with the reality of what is really going on. 1/28/26 7:32 PM
Subtle Kinds of Restlessness
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General Anxiety
1/28/26 7:50 PM
it’s helpful to reflect that the worry has absolutely no bearing on the outcome 1/28/26 7:51 PM
Comparing Mind
1/28/26 7:51 PM
KNOW THE CAUSES OF RESTLESSNESS AND WORRY
1/28/26 7:52 PM
An Imbalance of Concentration and Energy
1/28/26 7:58 PM
A basic framework for understanding the causes for the arising of restlessness is seeing it as an imbalance of concentration and energy. 1/28/26 7:58 PM
Unwise Attention
1/28/26 7:59 PM
Mental agitation contributes nothing but more confusion 1/28/26 7:59 PM
Too Much Talk
1/28/26 7:59 PM
Dwelling on Past Unskillful Actions
1/28/26 8:00 PM
“ten unwholesome actions.” These are actions that cause harm to others, lead to remorse in ourselves, and bring unwanted karmic results. There are three unwholesome actions of body: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct. There are four unwholesome actions of speech: lying, harsh talk, backbiting, and useless talk. And there are three unwholesome actions of mind: covetousness, ill will, and wrong view of self. We can reflect on these and become mindful of how each one becomes the cause for mental disturbance. 1/28/26 8:01 PM
Judging One’s Own Progress on the Path
1/28/26 8:01 PM
KNOW WHAT CONDITIONS THE REMOVAL OF RESTLESSNESS AND WORRY
1/28/26 8:01 PM
Practice Mindfulness
1/28/26 8:02 PM
Be Precise with Your Attention
1/28/26 8:03 PM
The second approach in balancing energy and concentration is to use the mental zoom lens. In this instance, we focus the mind more precisely on a particular object like the breath, or we become quite precise in moving about, strengthening the quality of composure in our movements. Both of these actions help to calm all the obsessive thinking in the mind. 1/28/26 8:03 PM
Open Your Eyes
1/28/26 8:03 PM
Practice Wise Reflection
1/28/26 8:04 PM
Guilt is an unwholesome factor of mind that simply reinforces the sense of self with negative self-judgment: “I’m so bad,” with an emphasis on the “I.” Guilt is simply an ego trip of the mind. Remorse, on the other hand, acknowledges the action, understands its unwholesomeness, makes amends when possible, and then moves on. This is an act of self-forgiveness, which is honest in its assessment and wise in its understanding of impermanence and selflessness. 2/3/26 7:57 PM
Know That Awareness Is Already Present
1/28/26 8:05 PM
understanding that the mind’s empty, aware nature is already here. From this perspective, it’s not something we need to get or develop, but rather something we need to recognize and come back to. I’ve used two reminders to great benefit in my practice: “Already aware” and “It’s already here.” 1/28/26 8:05 PM
19. Doubt
ann Martel, in his wonderful book Life of Pi, expresses the effect of doubt very well: “To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.” 1/28/26 7:37 PM
MANIFESTATIONS OF DOUBT
1/28/26 7:38 PM
Doubt in the Relevance of the Teachings
1/28/26 7:38 PM
Doubt in the Path of Practice
1/28/26 7:39 PM
Doubt in Our Ability to Practice
1/28/26 7:41 PM
Doubt Disguised as Wisdom
1/28/26 7:41 PM
Know When Doubt Is Present and Not Present
1/28/26 7:42 PM
KNOW THE CAUSE OF DOUBT AND HOW TO REMOVE IT
1/28/26 7:44 PM
Wholesome vs. Unwholesome
1/28/26 7:45 PM
Another far-reaching aspect of unwise attention that gives rise to doubt is not knowing what is wholesome and what is unwholesome. 1/28/26 7:45 PM
Without an understanding of what is skillful and what is unskillful, we end up doing a lot of things that either don’t bring their promised results or actually bring harm to others and ourselves. 1/28/26 7:46 PM
Mindfulness of Dhammas—The Five Aggregates of Clinging
20. Material Elements, Feelings, and Perceptions
five aggregates” (khandhas, in Pali) of experience: material elements, feelings, perceptions, formations, and consciousness. 2/25/26 5:46 AM
These teachings open up new levels of understanding, similar to, and even more transformative than, the great discoveries of the atom or the quantum realities that underlie our conventional perceptions of the world. 2/25/26 5:47 AM
MATERIAL ELEMENTS
2/25/26 5:59 AM
Whenever we are mindful of a physical sensation — hardness, softness, pressure, vibration, heat, cold, lightness, heaviness — we are contemplating the first aggregate. 2/25/26 5:59 AM
FEELINGS
2/25/26 5:59 AM
The feeling tone is so important because it is the conditioning factor of our reactions. 2/25/26 5:59 AM
PERCEPTION
2/25/26 5:59 AM
perception is the factor that picks out the distinguishing marks of an object, names it, then remembers this word or concept and applies it the next time we experience that particular object. 2/25/26 6:00 AM
The Perception of Solidity
2/25/26 6:01 AM
We believe in the solidity of material phenomena, in the solidity or stability of relationships, of societies. But as long as this perception of solidity and stability is fixed, we don’t deeply understand the impermanent and insubstantial nature of all phenomena. 2/25/26 6:01 AM
They seem solid only from one limited perspective. For this reason, the view of solidity is called a hallucination of perception. 2/25/26 6:02 AM
Kalu Rinpoche, one of the great Tibetan masters of the last century, clearly expressed this understanding: “You live in confusion and the illusion of things. There is a reality. You are that reality. When you know that, you will know that you are nothing and, in being nothing, are everything. That is all.” 2/25/26 6:02 AM
Concepts
2/25/26 6:03 AM
Place and Ownership
2/25/26 6:03 AM
Time
2/25/26 6:04 AM
Perception recognizes certain kinds of thoughts—memories, recollections, plans—creates the concepts of past and future, and then takes these concepts to have some intrinsic reality. But what is actually happening is simply different thoughts arising and passing in the moment. When we begin to see that our experience of past and future is just a thought in the moment, a huge burden is lifted from our lives. 2/25/26 6:05 AM
Besides the constructs of place and time, we also live in the mind-created world of self-image or role. This is the idea of ourselves that we present to others, that we believe of ourselves. As soon as we identify with any role or image, it is already a limitation. 2/25/26 6:06 AM
One of our deepest conditionings and the source of so much suffering in our lives comes from one basic misguided perception, which is the mind-created concept of self. 2/25/26 6:09 AM
when we look more closely at what we are calling “self,” we see a constellation of rapidly changing elements, each one of which is itself momentary and insubstantial. 2/25/26 6:10 AM
21. Formations and Consciousness
FORMATIONS
2/25/26 6:11 AM
“all formations are impermanent, all formations are unsatisfactory, all formations are selfless.” 2/25/26 6:10 AM
The Four Categories of Mental Factors
2/25/26 6:11 AM
The first category of mental factors is called “the universals,” 2/25/26 6:12 AM
The seven common mental factors are contact, feeling, perception, attention (which is different and more superficial than mindfulness), one-pointedness, volition, and something called “life faculty.” 2/25/26 6:12 AM
The second category is called “the occasionals,” because they are sometimes present and sometimes not. They include such factors as initial and sustained application of mind, decision, energy, rapture, and “desire to do.” 2/25/26 6:13 AM
The third category are the fourteen unwholesome factors of mind: greed, hatred, delusion, shamelessness, fearlessness of wrongdoing, restlessness, worry, wrong view, conceit, envy, avarice, sloth, torpor, and doubt. 2/25/26 6:13 AM
four of them are always present in every unwholesome consciousness: delusion, shamelessness, fearlessness of wrongdoing, and restlessness 2/25/26 6:15 AM
Some are familiar to us, such as the factors of faith, mindfulness, nongreed, nonhatred, tranquility, conscience (fear of wrongdoing), pliability, and lightness of mind. Others we might not immediately recognize—for example, wieldiness, proficiency, and rectitude of consciousness. When we recognize beautiful qualities as being present, especially the more obvious ones, we can nurture them, knowing that we are cultivating wholesome states in the moment and happy results in the future. 2/25/26 6:17 AM
Contemplating the Mental Factors
2/25/26 6:17 AM
What helps us contemplate all these mental factors with wisdom and insight is seeing what conditions the arising of different emotions and mind states. 2/25/26 6:18 AM
The Factor of Volition
2/25/26 6:19 AM
The energy of intention is like the potential of a seed. A seed is so small, yet a small seed can become a huge tree. Moreover, just as each seed can bear many fruits, so too each of our volitional actions can produce myriad results. 2/25/26 6:24 AM
Note: Upstream and downstream effects, first, second and third order effects
one of three wholesome or three unwholesome roots; the wholesome ones are nongreed, nonhatred, and nondelusion, and the unwholesome ones are greed, hatred, and delusion. Because motive plays such a determining role in how our lives unfold, one teaching says that “everything rests on the tip of motivation.” 2/25/26 6:24 AM
How can we begin seeing directly this crucial factor of volition? Although it is a common factor, arising in each moment, it is not always the predominant one. So it is best to begin noticing it before obvious physical movements. 2/25/26 6:24 AM
We can notice this in various ways. We might get a forewarning of intention in the mind through being aware of a thought to do something. 2/25/26 6:25 AM
we sometimes feel a certain gathering of energy in the mind — the impulse or command moment 2/25/26 6:25 AM
CONSCIOUSNESS
2/25/26 6:27 AM
The Conditioned Nature of Consciousness
2/25/26 6:28 AM
The great challenge here is both to understand consciousness as a magical display and at the same time to live a life of wisdom and compassion, engaged with the world. 2/25/26 6:33 AM
Investigating Consciousness
2/25/26 6:34 AM
Instead of noting our experience from the viewpoint of an observer, we can shift from an active voice to a passive voice: “a sound being known,” “a thought being known,” “a sensation being known.” 2/25/26 6:36 AM
Purification of View
2/25/26 6:36 AM
One is called Purification of View, in which we experience each moment as the paired progression of consciousness and its object, understanding that there is no one lurking behind the process. We see that everything we are calling “self” and “I” is simply the interplay of mental and physical phenomena, knowing and object arising and passing away moment after moment. 2/25/26 6:37 AM
At some point the mind becomes so clear and balanced that whatever arises is seen and left untouched, with no interference. One ceases to focus on any particular content and all is seen as simply mind and matter, an empty process arising and passing away of its own . . . a perfect balance of mind, with no reactions. . . . There is no longer any doing . 2/25/26 6:39 AM
22. Contemplating the Five Aggregates
INSIGHT INTO IMPERMANENCE
2/25/26 6:41 AM
THE UNSATISFYING NATURE OF EXPERIENCE
2/25/26 6:43 AM
VIEWING THE AGGREGATES AS NON-SELF
2/25/26 6:44 AM
“Bhikkhus, whatever is not yours, abandon it. When you have abandoned it, that will lead to your welfare and happiness. . . . “Suppose, bhikkhus, people were to carry off the grass, sticks, branches, and foliage in this Jeta’s Grove, or to burn them, or to do with them as they wish. Would you think: ‘People are carrying us off, or burning us, or doing with us as they wish?’” “No, venerable sir. . . . Because, venerable sir, that is neither our self nor what belongs to our self.” “So too, bhikkhus, form is not yours, [feeling is not yours, perception is not yours, volitional formations are not yours,] consciousness is not yours. Abandon it. When you have abandoned it, that will lead to your welfare and happiness.”3 2/25/26 6:45 AM
Abandon here means abandoning the sense of ownership, of identifying with the aggregates as being “I” or “mine.” 2/25/26 6:45 AM
The Composite Nature of the Body
2/25/26 6:45 AM
How much of our sense of self comes from the superficial perception we have of the body? 2/25/26 6:46 AM
Identification with Thoughts and Emotions
2/25/26 6:47 AM
One of the most freeing insights of meditation practice is realizing that the only power thoughts have is the power we give them. 2/25/26 6:47 AM
DECONSTRUCTING THE CONCEPT OF SELF
2/25/26 6:49 AM
The idea of an enduring self has kept you wandering helplessly . . . for countless past lifetimes. It is the very thing that now prevents you from liberating yourself and others from conditioned existence. If you could simply let go of that one thought of “I,” you would find it easy to be free, and to free others, too. If you overcome the belief in a truly existing self today, you will be enlightened tomorrow. But if you never overcome it, you will never gain enlightenment. . . . Use any practice you do to dissolve this idea of “I” and the self-oriented motivations that accompany it. Even if you do not succeed in the beginning, keep trying. 2/25/26 6:53 AM
Note: Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Mindfulness of Dhammas—The Six Sense Spheres
23. How We Experience the World
THE CONDITIONED ARISING OF CONSCIOUSNESS
4/15/26 9:34 PM
We see that each experience is simply just what it is, and that the “I” and “mine” are extra. 4/15/26 9:35 PM
THE DEPENDENT ARISING OF DEFILEMENTS
4/15/26 9:36 PM
Practicing with the Defilements
4/15/26 9:38 PM
Don’t push the river.” The breath, like the river, is flowing on fine by itself. But we are often trying to fix things, wanting to make things a little better. There is a world of difference between the wanting mind, when there is a leaning into experience, and the true openness of nonpreference 4/15/26 9:40 PM
24. The Wheel of Saṃsāra
DEPENDENT ORIGINATION
3/30/26 4:01 PM
Breaking the Chain of Dependent Arisings
3/30/26 4:02 PM
if we are mindful of contact and feeling, then we cut the chain of dependent arisings right there, and it doesn’t lead on to the further links of desire, clinging, becoming, and the cycle of birth and death 3/30/26 4:02 PM
Here, there is less effortful directing of the mind to the object; rather, there is the practicing of a more receptive awareness, the ease of simply knowing whatever appears 3/30/26 4:03 PM
Mindfulness of Desire
3/30/26 4:04 PM
Why not have the second (or third) cookie? It will give me more energy,” “Be good to yourself.” These are ways by which we rationalize clinging rather than observing it. 3/30/26 4:07 PM
THE CONDITIONED NATURE OF PERCEPTION
3/30/26 4:07 PM
In this sequence, contact at the sense spheres is the basis for feeling and perception. And it is the factor of perception that can then lead to conceptual proliferation. 3/30/26 4:08 PM
On one level, the way we see things is based on our karmic predispositions 3/30/26 4:08 PM
Bankei, a sixteenth-century Japanese Zen master, summed up this willingness to let go of attachment to our perceptions, knowing them to be relative and limited, when he said, “Don’t side with yourself.” 3/30/26 4:10 PM
we see how all sides are conditioned and then bring as much wisdom as we can to determine the best course of action. 3/30/26 4:10 PM
The Four Hallucinations of Perception
3/30/26 4:11 PM
Taking What Is Impermanent to Be Permanent 3/30/26 4:11 PM
Taking What Is Unattractive to Be Attractive 3/30/26 4:11 PM
Taking What Is Unsatisfactory to Be Happiness 3/30/26 4:11 PM
And cutting through our own hallucinations can become the fuel for bodhichitta, the wish to awaken in order to help beings find a truer happiness. 3/30/26 4:15 PM
Taking What Is Non-Self to Be Self 3/30/26 4:11 PM
The presence of sati [mindfulness] directly counteracts automatic and unconscious ways of reacting that are so typical of habits. By directing sati to the early stages of the perceptual process, one can train cognition and thereby reshape habitual patterns. 3/30/26 4:16 PM
Note: Bhikkhu Analayo
The final training in this noble supernormal power of mastery over one’s perceptions is abiding in equanimity, mindful and fully aware of whatever arises. In all of these ways of training perception, we are making choices out of wisdom rather than out of habitual reactivity. 3/30/26 4:18 PM
REVISITING THE REFRAIN
3/30/26 4:19 PM
The more we understand our own process of conditioning, how our perceptions are influenced and colored by deeply rooted habits of mind that are often unconsciously activated, the more we can understand how other people come to their own points of view. 3/30/26 4:20 PM
Mindfulness of Dhammas—The Seven Factors of Awakening
25. Mindfulness
What are these seven factors? They are mindfulness, discrimination of states, energy, rapture, calm, concentration, and equanimity. 12/13/25 10:09 AM
Note: Discrimination of States is a more exacting translation than inquiry
The Buddha said that just as the dawn is the forerunner and precursor of the arising of the sun, so too, good friendship, association with the wise, and careful attention are the forerunners and precursors of the arising of the factors of enlightenment. 12/13/25 10:11 AM
THE FOUR QUALITIES OF MINDFULNESS
12/13/25 10:15 AM
Not Forgetting
12/13/25 10:15 AM
When the momentum of mindfulness is well developed, it works like a boomerang; even if we want to distract ourselves, the mind naturally rebounds to a state of awareness. 12/13/25 10:13 AM
Presence of Mind
12/13/25 10:16 AM
The Genjo Koan, a well-known teaching in the Zen tradition, says, “To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.” 12/13/25 10:15 AM
Remembering
12/13/25 10:16 AM
Here, mindfulness calls to mind, or remembers, what is skillful and what is not, what is inferior and what is refined, what is beneficial and what is harmful. 12/13/25 10:16 AM
Mindfulness thus becomes a key factor in strengthening our inner moral compass 12/13/25 10:16 AM
This particular facet of mindfulness is closely related to the arising of two mental states the Buddha called “the guardians of the world.” In Pali, they are called hiri and ottappa, often respectively translated as “moral shame” and “fear of wrongdoing,” or sometimes as “self-respect” and “conscience.” 12/13/25 10:17 AM
Moral shame is the feeling of repugnance at bodily and verbal misconduct. We feel remorse and are ashamed of it. Fear of wrongdoing is a wise fear with respect to future consequences and to the opprobrium of the wise. 12/13/25 10:18 AM
In this beautiful manifestation, they arise out of mindfulness and a deep caring and respect for ourselves and others. This understanding manifests as holding a standard of behavior that can inspire restraint at critical moments or renewal in the many times we fall short. 12/13/25 10:18 AM
Close Association with Wisdom
12/13/25 10:20 AM
The power and strength of bare attention come not from special experiences but from a sustained continuity of awareness. 12/13/25 10:21 AM
“clear comprehension.” This means seeing something precisely, thoroughly, from all sides. Clear comprehension broadens the practice of bare attention from a narrow focus to one that sees things in context. 12/13/25 10:21 AM
Mindfulness of Activities discussed in some detail the four aspects of clear comprehension: knowing the purpose or motivation of an action, knowing the suitability of the action, knowing the proper domain for mindfulness, and understanding nondelusion. 12/13/25 10:22 AM
26. Investigation of Dhammas
“Does a sword placed in its sheath and not grasped in the hand succeed in cutting what needs to be cut? In exactly the same way, Your Majesty, one cannot awaken by means of the awakening-factor of dhamma-discrimination without the [other] six awakening factors.”3 12/13/25 10:24 AM
CULTIVATING INVESTIGATION
12/13/25 10:25 AM
Discerning What Is Skillful and What Is Not
12/13/25 10:25 AM
he wisdom factor in our minds is like an investigative reporter who digs deep to get to the bottom of things — in this case, understanding the very causes of our suffering and their end. 12/13/25 10:26 AM
Conceit is that factor of “I was this, I am this, I will be this,” and then, at times, compares this sense of self with others—better than, worse than, equal to. In this case, even though I was already on a meditation retreat, I was projecting a sense of self, and what that self would be wearing, into future retreats. 12/13/25 10:33 AM
Recognizing Habit Patterns of Suffering
12/13/25 10:34 AM
in times of emotional turbulence, we can first investigate what is actually going on—that is, the nature of the emotion itself — and then see how we are relating to that emotion. Are we claiming it as being “I” or “mine”? 12/13/25 10:39 AM
Seeing Personality as Not Self
12/13/25 10:41 AM
The greedy or desirous type mostly sees what it likes, what it wants. Through wisdom, this quality is transformed into faith and devotion, where there is a movement toward the wholesome. 12/13/25 10:42 AM
Aversive types typically see what is wrong with their world and with everyone in it. In its positive transformation, aversion becomes discriminating intelligence. 12/13/25 10:43 AM
deluded types generally don’t notice much of anything. But in its enlightened aspect, delusion transforms into great equanimity. 12/13/25 10:43 AM
Exploring the Processes of Mind and Body
12/13/25 10:50 AM
we see that what we call “self” is simply the pairwise progression of knowing and object 12/13/25 10:50 AM
“Thus you should think of this fleeting world: A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream; a flash of lightning in a summer cloud, a flickering lamp, a phantom and a dream.” 12/13/25 10:51 AM
27. Energy
Abiding thus mindful [of body, feelings, mind, and categories of experience — the four satipaṭṭhānas], one investigates and examines that state with wisdom, and embarks upon a full inquiry into it. In one who investigates and examines that state with wisdom and embarks upon a full inquiry into it, tireless energy is aroused. On whatever occasion tireless energy is aroused . . . on that occasion the energy enlightenment factor is aroused . . . ; and one develops it, and by development it comes to fulfillment.1 12/13/25 10:52 AM
how we understand this quality of mind and how we apply it can determine whether it is the source of joyful interest, which is the next factor of awakening, or the source of frustration and discouragement. 12/13/25 10:52 AM
In the Abhidhamma, energy is called a “variable mental factor,” which means that it can be associated with either wholesome or unwholesome states 12/13/25 10:53 AM
ENERGY AS THE POWER TO DO
12/13/25 11:01 AM
Strength
12/13/25 11:02 AM
And what is the faculty of strength? Here, the noble disciple dwells as one who has produced strength; for the sake of abandoning unskillful dhammas and arousing skillful dhammas one is firm, of steady valor, un-relinquishing in purpose with regard to skillful dhammas.3 12/13/25 11:03 AM
Courage
12/13/25 11:04 AM
the nature of sloth and torpor is to retreat from difficulties, the nature of courage is the opposite. Courage is energized by challenges; it is inspired by difficult tasks and even seeks them out 12/13/25 11:05 AM
We also often see this factor of courageous energy in the work of people in the front lines of social action. Think back to the beginning of the civil rights movement in this country. I remember seeing film clips of Martin Luther King, Jr. leading freedom marches in both the North and the South, surrounded by people filled with hatred and violence. Yet in the face of all that, King inspired the nation with his commitment to nonviolence and love. 12/13/25 11:06 AM
BALANCING THE QUALITY OF EFFORT
12/13/25 11:06 AM
Effort can become unskillful when there is a forcing of mind—what I call “efforting”—rather than a relaxation of mind. Effort becomes unskillful when there’s some idea of gain and a mind full of expectations, rather than an openness and receptivity to what is already there. 12/13/25 11:14 AM
The Cycle of Effort and Energy in Our Practice
12/13/25 11:15 AM
we might want to emphasize the courageous side of viriya, seeing where we limit ourselves and becoming inspired to play at the edges of our comfort zone 12/13/25 11:16 AM
if the mind feels too tight, if there is too much efforting and we’re filled with self-judgment, then the softer side of viriya can be cultivated. These are the aspects of perseverance and constancy. 12/13/25 11:16 AM
THE CAUSES FOR ENERGY TO ARISE
12/13/25 11:18 AM
Spiritual Urgency
12/13/25 11:18 AM
We can reflect on the preciousness of our present circumstances. Whether we think of it in the context of many lives or just in this life, we can see and appreciate how rare it is for all the conditions to come together in order for us to hear the Dharma, and, even more so, for us to have the interest, motivation, and opportunity to practice. 12/13/25 11:24 AM
Reflecting on death is another powerful reminder to use the time of our lives in a way that benefits ourselves and others. Each day, life just gets shorter; day-by-day, life is running out. Can we hold this truth in our awareness as a way of arousing spiritual urgency? Does it inspire us? Does it frighten us? The Buddha would often exhort the bhikkhus, “There are trees and the roots of trees. Meditate now lest you regret it later.” 12/13/25 11:24 AM
Reflecting on Saṃsāra
12/13/25 11:30 AM
28. Rapture
THE FIVE GRADES OF RAPTURE
12/13/25 11:35 AM
The Buddha spoke of five grades or levels of rapture. The first is called “minor rapture.” When this is present, there is a lifting of the spine, and we can hold the posture effortlessly. There might be feelings of goose bumps or a trembling of the body. The second is called “momentary rapture,” which is felt as a sudden jolt of energy, like a flash of lightning. It might feel like when an elevator we’re in suddenly makes a short drop. At one point in my practice, I was doing lying-down meditation, and as a jolt of this momentary rapture became strong, I was suddenly thrust into an upright position. The third kind of pīti is called “wavelike or showering rapture.” This manifests as thrilling kinds of sensations coming over the body again and again, like waves lapping the shore. Sometimes, with each wave, the feeling of rapture becomes stronger and stronger. The fourth kind is “uplifting rapture.” When this kind of pīti is present, it feels like the whole body has risen up into the air and is no longer touching the ground. It’s as if we are seated on a cushion of air or floating up and down. I reported one kind of experience like this to Sayadaw U Paṇḍita, saying that it felt like I was on a magic carpet. Because he likes meditation reports to be accurate descriptions of what is actually being felt in terms of the body elements, and not so interested in our poetic descriptions of it, his only comment to me was, “Have you ever been on a magic carpet?” His comment did help to deflate my unnoticed attachment to this pleasant state. Another manifestation of this kind of rapture can happen in walking meditation, when we might feel we are sinking into the earth or walking on an elastic rubber membrane. In the Buddhist texts, there are many stories of people levitating in the air. Although this may be outside the range of our own experience, according to the teachings and from actual accounts of advanced yogis, this can happen either as a spontaneous manifestation or through mastery of this uplifting rapture. During a three-month retreat at the Insight Meditation Society, one meditator reported to me that as he was doing lying-down meditation in his room, he felt his body actually rise a couple of inches off the bed. I didn’t know whether it was just a perception of floating or if it really happened, so in the end I just said, “Did you note it?” The fifth kind of pīti is called “pervading rapture.” Mahasi Sayadaw described it this way: “a sublime feeling of happiness and exhilaration filling the whole body with an exceedingly sweet and subtle thrill.” 12/13/25 11:36 AM
The Imperfections of Insight
12/13/25 11:37 AM
When insight is adorned with these qualities, attachment arises which is subtle and peaceful, and it clings to that insight and is not able to discern the attachment as being a defilement. 12/13/25 11:38 AM
UNDERSTANDING AND WORKING WITH RAPTURE
12/13/25 11:41 AM
We understand that all these states are impermanent and selfless, that they don’t belong to anyone. They are all conditioned by various causes and simply arise expressing their own nature. 12/13/25 11:43 AM
CAUSES FOR THE ARISING OF RAPTURE
12/13/25 11:42 AM
We see that boredom does not have anything to do with the object; it simply has to do with the quality of our attention 12/13/25 11:44 AM
WAYS TO STRENGTHEN RAPTURE
12/13/25 11:45 AM
Reflect on the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha
12/13/25 11:45 AM
“I take refuge in the Buddha and the awakened mind. I take refuge in the Dharma and the noble path. I take refuge in the Sangha of realized beings. By the merit of generosity and the other paramitas (perfections), may my heart and mind be purified of all defilements and may I quickly attain liberation for the welfare and benefit of all beings.” 12/13/25 11:47 AM
Contemplate Sīla
12/13/25 11:48 AM
Reflect on Acts of Generosity
12/13/25 11:53 AM
we might confuse this wholesome recollection with pride or conceit. 12/13/25 11:53 AM
Reflect on the Devas
12/13/25 11:54 AM
Reflect on Peace
12/13/25 11:56 AM
As the Buddhist scholar Rupert Gethin points out, it is rapture, or dhamma happiness, and the next awakening factor of calm that are at the heart of the positive emotional effects of the path. 12/13/25 11:57 AM
29. Calm
IN DISCUSSING THE SEVEN FACTORS of enlightenment, we might reflect on how rare it is in spiritual teachings to have such a clear understanding of the precise qualities that lead to awakening. This understanding takes our journey out of the realm of mysticism, unquestioning faith, or accident and into the realm of how the mind works: what conditions create suffering and what qualities lead to freedom. 12/13/25 12:58 PM
When there is a continuity and momentum of awareness, a face-to-face encounter with experience, then we’re present enough to investigate and understand what is going on. 12/13/25 12:59 PM
“If you have one hundred per cent dedication and confidence in the teachings, then every living situation can be part of the practice. You can be living the practice, instead of just doing it.”1 12/13/25 1:08 PM
Note: Sixteenth Gyalwa Karmapa
“Rapture is the joy and happiness that appears when the power of seeing and knowing increases.” 12/13/25 1:08 PM
Note: Ledi Sayadaw “The Manuals of Buddhism”
THE QUALITIES OF CALM
12/13/25 1:09 PM
It is what a tired worker feels upon sitting down in the cool shade of a tree on a sweltering day, or what a child feels when her mother lays a cool, soothing hand on her feverish forehead. 12/13/25 1:10 PM
Passaddhi encompasses both physical composure and mental tranquility. It is this quality of calm that keeps the mind composed and unruffled in times of difficulty. Buddhist psychology describes how it brings along with it other wholesome states, such as lightness, wieldiness, proficiency, and sincerity. 12/13/25 1:10 PM
It is mindfulness that knows whether tranquility is present or not. And investigation, energy, and interest—what we might call “meditative intelligence”—lead onward to its development and fullness, but without becoming identified with or ensnared by it. 12/13/25 1:12 PM
WAYS TO DEVELOP CALM
12/13/25 1:12 PM
Mindfulness of Breathing
12/13/25 1:13 PM
In the third stage, when the perception of the long and short out-breaths and in-breaths has been mastered, every breath occurring within the body must be experienced in its entirety, right from its starting point within the body through its middle to the point where it ends within the body, the extremities of the breath (start or end as the case may be) being at the tip of the nose and at the navel. In the fourth stage . . . the coarse or rough breaths must be calmed down and allayed by degrees, making them more and more gentle and delicate, until ultimately the stage is reached when one thinks that one’s out-breaths and in-breaths have entirely disappeared.5 12/13/25 1:14 PM
Note: – Ledi Sayadaw
Settling Back into Experience
12/13/25 1:15 PM
Repeatedly reminding ourselves to relax, to calm the formations of body and mind, actually brings about a letting go, a settling back into a more tranquil state, free of wanting, of getting. 12/13/25 1:18 PM
THE ROLE OF CALM ON THE PATH TO AWAKENING
12/13/25 1:19 PM
“And what, Venerable One, is the reward and blessing of tranquility?” “Happiness, Ānanda.” “And of happiness?” “Concentration, Ānanda.” “What, Venerable One, is the reward and blessing of concentration?” “Vision and knowledge according to reality.” “And of vision and knowledge according to reality?” “Turning away and detachment, Ānanda.” “And of turning away and detachment?” “The vision and knowledge with regard to deliverance, Ānanda.” 12/13/25 1:18 PM
I often give more emphasis to the development of concentration; however, this is sometimes accompanied by a kind of striving and efforting that actually get in the way. In my efforts to concentrate, I was sometimes unknowingly practicing desire and the wanting mind, which are exactly what hinder concentration. 12/13/25 1:19 PM
30. Concentration
THE TWO ACTIVITIES OF THE MIND
12/13/25 1:20 PM
The Mental Factor of One-Pointedness
12/13/25 1:20 PM
A strong one-pointedness directed to changing objects moment after moment leads to momentary concentration, the second type of samādhi. When there is continuity of mindfulness, this momentary samādhi remains steady, and as it strengthens over time, we begin to feel a natural, easeful momentum in practice. This kind of one-pointedness does not lead to absorption, but it is the basis for different vipassanā insights. 12/13/25 1:22 PM
The Meditative States of Concentration
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JHāNA AND THE FOUR DEVELOPMENTS OF CONCENTRATION
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jhāna. The term literally means “to meditate,” 12/13/25 3:36 PM
Pleasant Abiding
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Knowledge and Vision
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The second development of concentration leads to the attainment of what is called “knowledge and vision.” This refers to the special power of the divine eye, 12/13/25 3:37 PM
Insight and Wisdom
12/13/25 3:37 PM
Uprooting the Defilements
12/13/25 3:38 PM
MOMENTARY CONCENTRATION AND ABSORPTION
12/13/25 3:38 PM
One Form Does Not Exclude the Other
12/13/25 3:39 PM
WAYS TO AROUSE CONCENTRATION
12/13/25 3:42 PM
Know When Concentration Is Present and When It Is Not
12/13/25 3:43 PM
Reflect on Your Sīla
12/13/25 3:44 PM
Why is morality the basis for concentration, and how can we refine this understanding in our lives? As mentioned in earlier chapters, sīla is the cause for nonremorse, nonremorse the condition for happiness, happiness the cause for concentration, and concentration the condition for liberating wisdom. 12/13/25 3:44 PM
Develop and Strengthen Concentration
12/13/25 3:45 PM
As the writer Wei Wu Wei expressed it, “What you are looking for is what is looking.” 12/13/25 3:47 PM
WORKING WITH THOUGHTS THAT ARISE IN THE MIND
12/13/25 3:48 PM
How the Factors of Enlightenment Work Together
12/13/25 3:50 PM
If we’re mindful as thoughts appear, and we see how they self-liberate in the moment of awareness, then there’s nothing more we need to do. 12/13/25 3:51 PM
Impurities of Thought
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As we become aware of these kinds of thoughts, understanding them for what they are and letting them go, the mind then becomes inwardly steadied, composed, and unified. This is the enlightenment factor of concentration that is calm and refined, achieving increasing levels of mental purification. 12/13/25 3:52 PM
31. Equanimity
Equanimity, as one of these beautiful universals, is the mental factor called “neutrality of mind.” Bhikkhu Bodhi said that the Pali term could literally be translated as “there in the middleness.” Although this is an awkward construction in English, it does convey the balancing power of equanimity. Its characteristic is evenness, and when it is highly developed, it manifests as unshakeable balance of mind. It serves to prevent either deficiency or excess in the other mental factors. 12/13/25 3:54 PM
EQUANIMITY AS A QUALITY OF BALANCE
12/13/25 3:54 PM
Gain and Loss
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Praise and Blame
12/13/25 3:56 PM
As a solid mass of rock Is not moved by the wind, So a sage is not moved by praise and blame. 12/13/25 3:57 PM
Fame and Disrepute
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Pleasure and Pain
12/13/25 3:57 PM
EQUANIMITY AS A DIVINE ABODE
12/13/25 3:59 PM
It is impartiality, equanimity’s ability to hold all equally, that gives the other brahmavihāras their boundless capacity. 12/13/25 3:59 PM
THE WISDOM ASPECT OF EQUANIMITY
12/13/25 4:00 PM
The wisdom aspect of equanimity is beautifully expressed in the famous opening lines of “On the Faith Mind,” by the Third Zen Ancestor: “The great way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. When attachment and aversion are both absent, the way is clear and undisguised. Make the smallest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart.” 12/13/25 4:00 PM
EQUANIMITY AS A PARAMI
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The ten paramis are generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, diligence, patience, truthfulness, resolve, lovingkindness, and equanimity 12/13/25 4:04 PM
HOW TO DEVELOP AND STRENGTHEN EQUANIMITY
12/13/25 4:04 PM
Forego Attachment
12/13/25 4:05 PM
there is a powerful teaching in the Bhagavad Gita, the great Hindu text, that says we should act without attachment to the fruit of the action. We can do what we do with full commitment, but the outcome is often beyond our control. When we act without attachment to the outcome, then our minds remain peaceful no matter how things unfold. 12/13/25 4:05 PM
Associate with Wise, Equanimous People
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Practice Its Brahmavihāra Aspect
12/13/25 4:06 PM
Practice Wise Attention and Continuous Mindfulness
12/13/25 4:06 PM
Mindfulness of Dhammas—The Four Noble Truths
32. The First Noble Truth: Dukkha
So while “suffering” as the often-used translation of dukkha might sometimes be appropriate, it can also be misleading. It doesn’t always resonate with our own lived experience. We might begin to get a better sense of its meaning by remembering its etymological derivation. The word is made up of the prefix du and the root kha. Du means “bad” or “difficult.” Kha means “empty.” “Empty,” here, refers to several things—some specific, others more general. 7/10/25 8:55 PM
Note: Empty difficulty – ironic
Words like unsatisfying, unreliable, uneaseful, and stressful all convey universal aspects of our experience. Anālayo clarifies an important point regarding these various translations: Thus, “suffering,” unlike “unsatisfactoriness,” is not inherent in the phenomena of the world, only in the way in which the unawakened mind experiences them. This is indeed the underlying theme of the four noble truths as a whole: the suffering caused by attachment and craving can be overcome by awakening. For an arahant, the unsatisfactory nature of all conditioned phenomena is no longer capable of causing suffering.4 7/10/25 8:56 PM
Note: Only in the way the unawakened mind experiences them
There is the obvious suffering caused by war, violence, hunger, natural disasters, political and social oppression, and injustice. 7/10/25 9:16 PM
33. The Second Noble Truth: The Cause of Dukkha
We sometimes use the words craving and desire synonymously, but this can sometimes be confusing in a Dharma context, because the word desire in English has a wide range of meanings. Sometimes it is the thirst of craving that is rooted in greed. But sometimes desire simply means the motivation to do something, the desire to accomplish some aim, which could be skillful or unskillful depending on the motivation associated with it. In the context of this chapter on the origin of dukkha, I’ll be using these two terms — desire and craving — interchangeably, understanding that in this case, desire refers to desire bound up with greed and leading to clinging and grasping. 8/19/25 9:29 PM
THE FIRST DOMAIN OF CRAVING: THE DESIRE FOR SENSE PLEASURES 8/19/25 9:36 PM
During the day, notice the gratification that comes from different sense pleasures. It might be from very simple things like a hot shower, or the tastes of enjoyable food, or that moment when we first lie down at night after a busy day; or it might be the enjoyment of pleasant fantasies and the desire for them to continue. See what you become enamored of and the desire and craving that often follow. At some point of investigation and self-reflection, we might resonate with the Buddha’s words, “Whatever gratification there is in the world, that I have found.” Or are we still holding out hope for some new and unexpected gratification of the senses? 8/19/25 9:32 PM
THE DRAWBACKS OF SENSE PLEASURES 8/19/25 9:36 PM
Craving Can Lead to Suffering
8/19/25 9:36 PM
The Buddha talked of nine things rooted in craving: pursuit; acquisition; decision; desire and lust; selfish tenacity; possessiveness; avarice; concern for protection; and quarrels, strife, dissension, offensive talk, slander, and lies. We can see how craving gives rise to these things on both a personal level and also a national level, thus seeing how craving leads directly to different kinds of suffering. 8/19/25 9:35 PM
So even when we are considering concentration, one factor of awakening, we should remember that the essence of the path is nonclinging — to anything. The next time you feel frustrated or agitated in your practice, look to see if expectation is operative, and notice the craving behind it. 8/19/25 9:38 PM
Because something is unpleasant, we desire its nonexistence, which leads to a craving for something pleasant, or wanting to experience a future existence different from what is happening. 8/19/25 9:43 PM
34. The Third Noble Truth: The Cessation of Dukkha
As a simple experiment, the next time you have some wanting or desire in the mind, investigate what the wanting feels like and then notice how it feels when the wanting passes away. 8/19/25 9:44 PM
WAYS TO ABANDON CRAVING 8/19/25 9:46 PM
Focus on the Drawbacks of Conditioned Experience
8/19/25 9:48 PM
On this particular retreat, I was noticing that phenomenon very clearly. Then, later in the day, in times of walking meditation, I began to notice more clearly how often there is a thin layer of background thoughts, images, fragments of stories, floating like a thin layer of clouds across the mind. This stream of thoughts is really the hardly noticed but ongoing creation of the world we inhabit. And almost always the thoughts were self-referential in one way or another: memories, plans, likes and dislikes. What struck me forcibly at that time was that the experience of slipping into and out of these background thought worlds was the same experience of slipping back into a dream state after being awake. I realized that we are simply dreaming the self into existence. And I found that occasionally repeating that phrase during the day—“dreaming myself into existence”—reinforced the strong aspiration to stay awake and to notice more carefully the dream 8/19/25 9:48 PM
The dialogue takes place between Bodhidharma, who is credited with bringing Buddhism to China in the fifth or sixth century, and Daizu Huike, who was to become his Dharma heir. Legend has it that Bodhidharma had meditated in a cave for nine years when Huike came to him for teachings. Huike said to Bodhidharma, “My mind is anxious. Please pacify it.” To which Bodhidharma replied, “Bring me your mind, and I will pacify it.” Huike said, “Although I’ve sought it, I cannot find it.” Bodhidharma then said, “There, I have pacified your mind.”4 8/19/25 9:51 PM
NIBBāNA: THE UNCONDITIONED 8/19/25 9:52 PM
This deeper freedom, the end of craving, comes through a profound inner shift of understanding, in which the strongly held view of self is purified through the experience of what is unconditioned, unborn. It’s not surprising that different Buddhist traditions, even within Theravāda, express this experience in different ways. In many texts it is described as the cessation of conditioned consciousness. As practice matures, we reach a stage of perfect equanimity, where all the factors of enlightenment ripen. At this time, there are no cravings or yearnings, even for the next breath or the next moment of experience. There is not the slightest impulse toward either becoming or not becoming. As the mind settles into this perfect balance of noncraving, the flow of consciousness conditioned by changing objects suddenly stops. The mind then opens to and alights upon nibbāna, the unconditioned, the unborn. “There is, monks, an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned. If, monks, there were no unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, no escape would be discerned from what is born, become, made, conditioned. But because there is an unborn, unbecome, unmade, unconditioned, therefore an escape is discerned from what is born, become, made, conditioned.”5 8/19/25 9:53 PM
Ajahn Maha Boowa teaches about this consciousness when he speaks of the conventional mind and the mind released. The conventional mind is ruled by the tides of proliferating thought and conditioned by ignorance and craving. When these defilements disappear through mindfulness and wisdom, then the true mind, or the mind released, appears to its full extent. All that remains is simple awareness, utterly pure. The aggregates, or conditioned phenomena, still function according to their own nature, but they do not in any way affect the mind released. This mind, this pure awareness, does not partake of any feeling apart from the ultimate ease, the highest peace, which is its own nature. Ajahn Maha Boowa, like the Buddha, emphasized that the defilements, the path, and enlightenment are all right in the heart. In several suttas the Buddha describes this experience of the mind released: “’Consciousness without feature, without end, luminous all around: Here water, earth, fire, & wind have no footing. Here long & short coarse & fine fair & foul name & form are all brought to an end. With the cessation of [the activity of] consciousness each is here brought to an end.’”6 8/19/25 9:55 PM
35. The Fourth Noble Truth: The Way Leading to the Cessation of Dukkha
STREAM-ENTRY 8/19/25 9:59 PM
As mentioned in the last chapter, this is the path moment that uproots the first three of the ten fetters that bind us to conditioned existence: doubt, belief in rites and rituals as a path to freedom, and most fundamentally, the belief in self. 8/19/25 9:59 PM
Realization of Stream-Entry
8/19/25 10:01 PM
Walking the path transforms every aspect of our lives. And, as Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche reminds us, we each need to walk the path by ourselves: The potential for realization is universal and present for all of us. True benefit will come from your own efforts and realization. For your efforts to bring benefit, you must take your life into your own hands and examine your mind and experience. From this point of view, nobody could be kinder to you than yourself. Nobody could have a greater effect on you or actually do more for you than yourself. The Buddha said, “I have shown you the path of liberation. Now liberation depends on you.” This is really true. If you don’t take your life into your own hands, not even the buddhas can make a difference. It’s up to you.6 8/19/25 10:03 PM
Mindfulness of Dhammas—The Noble Eightfold Path: Wisdom Factors
36. Right View: Worldly Ease
Worldly right view very pragmatically acknowledges that for those of us who are not yet fully liberated, our wholesome actions are often in the realm of desire, of acquiring merit, of aiming for particular happy results in our lives. Even though these acts are wholesome (for example, acts of generosity), they may still be in the realm of acquisition — that is, making good karma for good results, rather than in the abandonment of desire. This aspect of right view is especially relevant for those of us who are laypeople, living our lives engaged with the world. It shows how we can live in the world in a way that brings happiness and ease rather than stress and difficulties. 8/20/25 8:38 PM
MUNDANE RIGHT VIEW AND THE LAW OF KARMA 8/20/25 8:40 PM
The Practice of Generosity
8/20/25 8:40 PM
A question for us then is how, in our fast-paced, individualistic culture, can we actually make generosity a practice? One way that I’ve found very helpful is to act on each of those moments of generous impulse 8/20/25 8:41 PM
Every time we give, we’re strengthening associated factors of mettā and renunciation; in those moments, we have friendly, loving feelings toward the recipient at the same time that we’re letting go. 8/20/25 8:41 PM
Motivations and Their Consequences
8/20/25 8:42 PM
These ten unwholesome actions are killing, stealing, committing sexual misconduct, lying, speaking harshly, backbiting, engaging in useless speech, covetousness, ill will, and wrong view 8/20/25 8:42 PM
Rebirth and Other Planes of Existence
8/20/25 8:44 PM
In this same vein, in our first teacher-training program at the Insight Meditation Society, we had a young Sri Lankan man whom I had first met in Sri Lanka when he was a child. At age two or three, before he could even read or write, he started spontaneously chanting long, complex Buddhist suttas and chanting them in an ancient melody no longer heard in Sri Lanka. As he got a little older and started meditating, he began remembering some of his past lives, and in one he was one of a group of chanting monks in the entourage of the fifth-century great Buddhist commentator Buddhaghosa. He said that the spontaneous chants he’d experienced as a very young boy came from the practices of that life. 8/20/25 8:45 PM
The last part of this opening to potentials beyond my own field of experience was the growing meditative insights into the nonmaterial nature of awareness. As we become mindful of the experience of awareness itself, it’s possible to intuit it without any physical limitations. 8/20/25 8:45 PM
Regardless, though, of our present relationship with our parents, the Buddha is pointing out that there is a karmic debt for the great gift of our precious human birth. He said that the best possible repayment of that debt is to somehow connect our parents with the Dharma or at least to try and plant a few seeds of these understandings within them. 8/20/25 8:46 PM
The greatest communication is usually how we are rather than what we say. If there is already an open, loving communication, then there are real possibilities for dharma discussion and maybe even an encouragement to practice. 8/20/25 8:47 PM
Many years later, as Sāriputta was contemplating his own passing away, he reflected on his mother who, although she was the mother of seven arahants, still had no faith in the Buddha, Dharma, or Sangha. Through his eye of wisdom, he also saw that she had the necessary supportive conditions for stream-entry, but that only he would be able to bring this about. So Sāriputta returned to his mother’s home, to his own birth chamber, and it’s said that on the last evening of his life, gods from all the heavenly realms appeared in order to pay homage to this great enlightened being. This finally seemed to impress his mother: “[I]f all these celestial beings are paying homage to my son, what great virtues must the Buddha have.” Her heart softened, and Sāriputta gave a final discourse establishing his mother in the fruit of stream-entry, bound for full awakening. 8/20/25 8:49 PM
Realization through Direct Experience
8/20/25 8:50 PM
Our egalitarian values can sometimes diminish the understanding that there actually are people wiser than ourselves, people from whom we can genuinely learn about the Dharma, the truth, the way things are. 8/20/25 8:51 PM
We learn to listen for that voice of genuine experience, rather than being influenced, positively or negatively, by personality or position. Recognizing that there are genuinely wise and awakened beings in the world helps us reaffirm the understanding that wisdom and awakening are possible for us as well. 8/20/25 8:51 PM
Of course, as we begin to explore the noble or supramundane right view, we see that real freedom lies in letting go of all craving, all desire for acquisition, for becoming, and cutting through the great Gordian knot of self. 8/20/25 8:52 PM
37. Right View: Liberation
ENHANCING RIGHT VIEW OF NON-SELF 8/22/25 8:49 PM
Observe the Changing Nature of the Aggregates
8/22/25 8:49 PM
We can practice a sustained mindfulness of the fourth aggregate, mental formations, as well. This is becoming aware of all the moods, emotions, reactions, and even refined meditative states that arise. All of them are not self, not “I,” not “mine.” All are arising out of conditions, and all pass away when conditions change. Although they seem so important when we’re lost in them, they are as ephemeral as clouds forming and dissolving in the sky. Based on right view, we can practice not identifying with either the wholesome or unwholesome formations as self. 8/22/25 8:53 PM
See Which Aggregate Is Predominant in the Moment
8/22/25 8:58 PM
THE THREE DISTORTIONS OF EXPERIENCE 8/22/25 8:57 PM
As Ledi Sayadaw pointed out, once we have established right view within ourselves, we no longer will commit any weighty, unwholesome actions that lead to misfortune. 8/22/25 8:57 PM
38. Right Thought: Renunciation
RECOGNIZING OUR OWN ADDICTIONS 8/22/25 9:04 PM
WISE RESTRAINT 8/22/25 9:07 PM
We can practice developing a wise restraint, where we settle back and allow the desires to arise and pass away without feeling the need or compulsion to act on them 8/22/25 9:07 PM
39. Right Thought: Lovingkindness
DESIRE: THE NEAR ENEMY OF LOVINGKINDNESS 8/22/25 9:24 PM
CULTIVATING LOVINGKINDNESS 8/22/25 9:25 PM
Focus on the Good Qualities in People
8/22/25 9:29 PM
40. Right Thought: Compassion
AWAKENING COMPASSION IN OURSELVES 8/22/25 9:31 PM
Compassion arises out of our willingness to come close to suffering 8/27/25 5:32 PM
There are strong tendencies in the mind that keep us defended, withdrawn, indifferent, or apathetic in the face of suffering. This indifference is often unacknowledged and is a great barrier to a compassionate response. 8/22/25 9:32 PM
Compassion requires both openness and equanimity. It requires learning to let things in without drowning in the difficulties and without being overcome by sorrow. It means learning to simply be with the truth of things as they are. This is the great gift of mindfulness that opens us to compassion. Being with the truth of what is present is what we do every time we open to our own pain or difficulty. As we practice opening to and coming close to the suffering in our own lives with compassion, we then have greater strength and courage to be with the suffering of others. 8/22/25 9:44 PM
Empathy Is the First Step
8/22/25 9:44 PM
Empathy is the beginning of compassion. Empathy happens when we take a moment to stop and feel what is really going on with another person before we rush on with our lives. 8/22/25 9:44 PM
Cultivating Wholesome Responses to Suffering
8/22/25 9:46 PM
“Hatred never ceases by hatred; it only ceases by love.” 8/22/25 9:48 PM
The Field of Compassion Is Limitless
8/22/25 9:48 PM
His aspiration was not just to alleviate the suffering of a particular situation, but to understand the root causes of all suffering—the forces of greed, hatred, and delusion—and how to be free of them. Twenty-six hundred years later, we are still benefiting from the power of his compassion and wisdom. 8/22/25 9:49 PM
THE PRACTICE AND EXPRESSION OF COMPASSION 8/22/25 9:49 PM
If we jump into situations without proper understanding and motivation, we often only add to the confusion. 8/22/25 9:49 PM
For all those ailing in the world, Until their every sickness has been healed, May I myself become for them The doctor, nurse, the medicine itself. Raining down a flood of food and drink, May I dispel the ills of thirst and famine. And in the ages marked by scarcity and want, May I myself appear as drink and sustenance. For sentient beings, poor and destitute, May I become a treasure ever plentiful, And lie before them closely in their reach, A varied source of all that they might need. My body, thus, and all my goods besides, And all my merits gained and to be gained, I give them all away withholding nothing, To bring about the benefit of beings. . . . Like the earth and the pervading elements, Enduring like the sky itself endures, For boundless multitudes of living beings, May I be their ground and sustenance. Thus, for everything that lives, As far as the limits of the sky, May I provide their livelihood and nourishment Until they pass beyond the bonds of suffering.4 8/22/25 9:51 PM
Note: Shāntideva, The Way of the Bodhisattva, trans. Padmakara Translation Group (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1997), 50–52.
One of the great turning points in my practice, one that for me gave strength to this aspiration, was realizing that wisdom and compassion were expressions of each other. Compassion is the very activity of emptiness of self. This is compassion not as a stance of the ego, or even as a particular practice, but as the spontaneous expression of a heart and mind free of self-reference. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, a great Dzogchen master of the last century, pointed to this directly when he reminds us that when we recognize the empty, selfless nature of phenomena, “the energy to bring about the good of others dawns uncontrived and effortless.” 8/22/25 9:54 PM
Mindfulness of Dhammas—The Noble Eightfold Path: Morality Factors
41. Right Speech
TRUTHFULNESS 9/23/25 8:26 PM
I came to the place of recognizing, “Yes, my mind can dissemble.” There was a great freedom in that recognition, a letting go of the previously unnoticed pretense that I would never tell a lie, particularly to my teacher. When we’re willing to see ourselves more honestly, it becomes much easier to recognize those impulses, which gives us more opportunity to refrain from them. 9/23/25 8:12 PM
SLANDER AND GOSSIP 9/23/25 8:26 PM
I would not speak about a third person; I would not speak to someone about someone else. There were some striking results. First, a large percentage of my speech was eliminated. I was surprised to realize how much of my speech revolved around this kind of talk. Second, as I stopped verbalizing my various thoughts, comments, and judgments of other people, I saw that my mind became much less judgmental, even about myself. This care with speech resulted in a much more peaceful mind. 9/23/25 8:17 PM
When we have the interest and alertness to look at it, we see that speech is a mirror of our minds. 9/23/25 8:17 PM
EMOTIONAL TONE 9/23/25 8:26 PM
The intent here is not to suppress whatever feelings we may have, but to communicate them in a way that fosters connection rather than divisiveness. 9/23/25 8:19 PM
MINDFUL LISTENING 9/23/25 8:26 PM
USELESS AND FRIVOLOUS TALK 9/23/25 8:26 PM
“Bhikkhus, possessing five factors, speech is well spoken, not badly spoken; it is blameless and beyond reproach by the wise. What five? It is spoken at the proper time; what is said is true; it is spoken gently; what is said is beneficial; it is spoken with a mind of lovingkindness.”7 9/23/25 8:24 PM
42. Right Action and Right Livelihood
As Shāntideva said, “We’re like senseless children who shrink from suffering but love its causes.” 9/23/25 8:24 PM
RIGHT ACTION 9/23/25 8:26 PM
Abstaining from Physical Harm
9/23/25 8:28 PM
Abstaining from Taking What Is Not Given
9/23/25 8:29 PM
Just as the positive side of nonkilling is cultivating loving care for all living beings, the positive expression of nonstealing is contentment, which the Buddha called “our greatest wealth.” And in this time of overconsumption of resources, this expression of nonstealing might mean not taking or using more than we need. Of course, what we need is always a subjective evaluation, but we can at least begin to examine our lives from this reference point: do I really need this? 9/23/25 8:34 PM
Abstaining from Sexual Misconduct
9/23/25 8:36 PM
The Karmic Consequences of Actions
9/23/25 8:36 PM
Always, the unwholesome karma is proportional to the force and strength and duration of the defilements. 9/23/25 8:36 PM
Sudden Awakening, Gradual Cultivation
9/23/25 8:41 PM
The great twelfth-century Korean Zen master Chinul framed his teachings in terms of what he called “sudden awakening, gradual cultivation”: Although he has awakened to the fact that his original nature is no different from that of the Buddhas, beginningless habit energies are extremely difficult to remove suddenly.5 Hindrances are formidable and habits are deeply ingrained.6 So how could you neglect gradual cultivation simply because of one moment of awakening? After awakening you must be constantly on your guard. If deluded thoughts suddenly appear, do not follow after them. . . . Then and only then will your practice reach completion.7 9/23/25 8:39 PM
RIGHT LIVELIHOOD 9/23/25 8:41 PM
How can we approach Right Livelihood on a subtler and more integrated level? 9/23/25 8:42 PM
Right Livelihood, in its broadest application, can be seen as the expression of bodhichitta. The Dalai Lama captured this truth when he said, “To take responsibility for others gives us the power of a radiant heart, a responsive and heroic heart.”8 9/23/25 8:44 PM
Mindfulness of Dhammas—The Noble Eightfold Path: Concentration Factors
43. Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration
The mental factor underlying effort is viriya, or energy, one of the factors of enlightenment. 11/18/25 2:22 PM
the most pragmatic description of nibbāna is the mind that is free from the root defilements of greed, hatred, and delusion. 11/18/25 9:45 PM
We’ve discussed in detail the many ways of working with the five hindrances (see Mindfulness of Dhammas — The Five Hindrances). Mindfulness of them is always the first strategy; if we’re not even aware that they are present, there’s not much possibility of abandoning them. Sometimes mindfulness itself is enough. We see the unwholesome states, and, in an expression from Tibetan teachings, they self-liberate. 11/18/25 9:50 PM
At times, though, the hindrances may be tenacious, and we need additional strategies for abandoning them 11/18/25 9:50 PM
The first is using its opposite as an antidote. 11/18/25 9:50 PM
The second means for removing unwholesome states already arisen is through the factors of hiri and ottappa, often translated respectively as “self-respect” and “respect for the wise.” These wholesome factors of mind bring a heightened sense of conscience and responsibility. 11/18/25 9:50 PM
The third method for dispelling unwholesome mind states already arisen is a deliberate diversion of attention 11/18/25 9:51 PM
we can shift our attention to some other object until those mind states have weakened or passed away. 11/18/25 9:50 PM
The fourth method of dispelling distracting thoughts is just the opposite: looking directly at them, investigating their source and their hold on the mind. 11/18/25 9:51 PM
And in the fifth method, when all else fails, the Buddha suggests forcibly suppressing the unwholesome thought. 11/18/25 9:51 PM
The fourth and last of the great endeavors is to maintain and strengthen those wholesome states that have already arisen. 11/18/25 9:53 PM
Malcolm Gladwell references many studies showing that the mastery of any given discipline depends less on some innate talent and genius and more on the number of hours devoted to practice 11/18/25 9:54 PM
RIGHT MINDFULNESS
11/18/25 9:54 PM
RIGHT CONCENTRATION
11/18/25 10:00 PM
When mindfulness is directed toward stabilizing the attention on a single object, it leads to deepening states of calm and tranquility, culminating in what are called the jhānas, or meditative absorptions. 11/18/25 10:00 PM
In the Buddha’s words, “A bhikkhu who is concentrated understands things as they really are,” we see that this last step of the Path, Right Concentration, leads us back to the first step, Right View. With ever-deepening levels of understanding, we see that the Noble Eightfold Path comes full circle again and again, spiraling upward toward liberation. 11/18/25 10:01 PM
THE REFRAIN: ON DHAMMAS
11/18/25 10:01 PM
The more we understand ourselves, the more we understand each other. When we investigate the nature of suffering in our own lives, the more compassionate we are in seeing the suffering of others. And as we understand more deeply the possibility of freedom in ourselves, the more we understand that all beings share in this possibility. 11/18/25 10:03 PM
44. The Realization of Nibbāna
Emptiness concentration is when we see and understand all things as being empty of self. Signless concentration, sometimes called vipassanā samādhi, abandons the sign of permanence through the contemplation of change. And undirected concentration arises when we contemplate the unsatisfying nature of conditioned phenomena and so no longer lean toward that which is impermanent, unreliable, and selfless. 3/30/26 4:26 PM
We get glimpses of something beyond our ordinary, conventional reality, touching a space that transforms our vision of who we are and what the world is. And we understand that there is a direct and clearly articulated path to this end. These intimations give passionate meaning to questions of ultimate truth, because although we may not always be living in that space, we understand it to be the source of everything we value. 3/30/26 4:28 PM
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requisites for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met, there is no doubt the goal will be attained. 3/30/26 4:28 PM
