Concentration is not something exclusive to Buddhism. Even in mundane activities, people use concentration. No matter what work you do, if you’re not intent on it, you won’t succeed. Even our ordinary everyday expressions teach concentration: “Set your heart on a goal.” “Set your mind on your work.” “Set yourself up in business.” Whoever follows this sort of advice is bound to succeed. But apart f…

Just as all phenomena are rooted in desire, consciousness localizes itself through passion. Passion is what creates the “there” on which consciousness can land or get established, whether the “there” is a form, feeling, perception, thought-construct, or a type of consciousness itself. Once consciousness gets established on any of these aggregates, it becomes attached and then proliferates, feeding…

…Practising mindfulness means trying to be more present either to the particular aspects of our experience that we have chosen as themes for mindfulness practice, or to whatever is happening right now, if we choose to be unspecific with our focus. In the example you gave of having the mind quieten down so that you experience emotional neutrality, to be mindful would be to really notice this, to st…

We have to get used to letting go of craving for certainty, and come to terms with what uncertainty actually feels like in the whole body-mind. The temptation to turn away from such unpleasant feelings can be strong. But if we inhibit our reactions, again using mindfulness, sense restraint and skilful reflection, it is possible that we won’t have to turn away, but instead enter into a realistic re…

There probably isn’t a parent anywhere who can insist that loving his or her children brings only happiness. It is rather that the suffering that arises as a consequence of parental love is considered to be redeemed by the joys of parenthood. Whenever their children suffer, be it physically from an illness or emotionally from a disappointment or not being able to get what they want, loving parents…

Student: I’ve heard that in the beginning, Luang Por Chah used to lock the doors of the Dhamma hall during the all-night sits. Luang Por Pasanno: I wasn’t there back then. But he did have us sit in meditation right after the meal in all three of our robes—in the hot season! Over time, however, he came to rely more on wisdom than brute force. Student: What caused him to make this change? Luang Por…

The subject of sila, or virtuous, beautiful conduct, is a very tricky area which people often misunderstand. It is therefore an area where we can benefit from some guidance and instruction – some understanding about how best to conduct ourselves in the manner in which we relate both to our own life and to other people. Often, we are attracted to the Buddha’s teaching because it cuts right to the v…

The Buddha, as a teacher, was adamant about the power of action and focused special attention on what skillful actions could accomplish in bringing about a true and unchanging happiness. So it’s only natural to want to know what he himself did and what he was able to accomplish through his actions. An account of his life allows people who are not yet convinced of his awakening to assess him as a t…

“Cessation” is an important word in Buddhism, and it’s one that I like to define as the fading away of the sense of self. The sense of self fades away when we don’t attach to an experience. Cessation occurs when we learn to look at experience objectively. For instance, if I’m becoming irritated while I’m talking with someone, I can notice my reactions as objects in the mind and feelings in the bod…

We have to keep challenging this ‘I’m a separate entity’ paradigm by which we tend to operate. If you were asked, ‘Where are you really?’, most of you would probably experience yourselves as living somewhere behind your eyes. This is the ‘me’ bit, somewhere up in the head, with all the rest underneath it. In other words, I don’t regard my head as being on top of me; I regard my feet as being under…