3-3 Don't Escape If You're Really Suffering
One popular human strategy for dealing with difficulty is autosuggestion: when something nasty pops up, you convince yourself it is pleasant rather than unpleasant. Rather than hide it or disguise it, you need to examine it to death. This is not the spirit of Ah Q, not that kind of self-deception. Instead, it's about directly […]
2-4 Fill the minds of your enemies with loving-kindness
For all practical purposes, if all of your enemies were well, happy, and peaceful, they would not be your enemies. If they were free from problems, pain, suffering, affliction, neurosis, psychosis, paranoia, fear, tension, anxiety, etc., they would not be your enemies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_5QYBmEb3Q&list=PLG59GFmZzsi5_M67QcRHXrv2Z2nORqAYg&index=5&pp=gAQBiAQB Your practical solution to your having enemies is to help them overcome […]
11-4 Only With Wisdom Can We Face Everything Smilingly
I vow to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings! I vow to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings! I vow to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings! Dear Guru and the Three Jewels, please bless me! Please help me eliminate self-attachment and all selfish habits, and […]
2-3 Psychological illness to be healed by psychological medicine
Psychological illness is to be healed by psychological medicine. You can use one idea to cancel another. You can balance a negative emotion by instilling a positive one. Giving is the opposite of greed. Benevolence is the opposite of hatred. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsMfRnGz0u4&list=PLG59GFmZzsi5_M67QcRHXrv2Z2nORqAYg&index=4&pp=gAQBiAQB Understand clearly now: this is not an attempt to liberate yourself by autohypnosis. This […]
2-2 Extinguish ego with mindfulness
Vipassana meditation is an exercise in mindfulness: egoless awareness. It is a process in which the ego will be eradicated by the penetrating gaze of mindfulness. This is Vipassana, namely, insight meditation. Of course it is based on concentration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kxuln_dillc&list=PLG59GFmZzsi5_M67QcRHXrv2Z2nORqAYg&index=3&pp=gAQBiAQB The practitioner begins this process with the ego in full command of mind and body. […]
2-1 Meditation is a solitary activity
Vipassana meditation is a delicate psychological activity. The mental set of the practitioner is crucial to its success. The technique works best in an atmosphere of calm, benevolent confidence. Keep this in mind. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3J63y_h6EI&list=PLG59GFmZzsi5_M67QcRHXrv2Z2nORqAYg&index=11&pp=gAQBiAQB Calm requires concentration. For example, we chant before evening classes begin. On one hand, it will guide you into a good […]
1-0 Attitude
The attitudes essential to succeed in practice 1. Don’t expect anything. During meditation, first—don’t expect anything. Just like a scientist observing nature, he is not expecting anything, but simply observing it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ1cFTwhZcc&list=PLG59GFmZzsi5_M67QcRHXrv2Z2nORqAYg&index=10&pp=gAQBiAQB Treat the whole practice as an experiment. 2. Don’t strain. Don’t force anything or make exaggerated efforts. Effort is still needed. For example, […]
11-3 How to Make Meditation Joyful: 2
You can make of the place where you meditate a simple paradise, with one flower, one stick of incense, one candle, ... You can make of the place where you meditate a simple paradise, with your favorite flower, one stick of incense, one lamp, one photograph of an enlightened master, or one statue of a […]
11-2 How to Make Meditation Joyful: 1
There are so many ways of making the approach to meditation as joyful as possible. You can find the music that most exalts you and use it to open your heart and mind. Sometimes, when you are in a low mood, you can play your favorite music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qV-ufeczf7I&list=PLG59GFmZzsi6y0rppKahVNKdTocWEQizP&index=38&pp=gAQBiAQB Sometimes we also use this method. While […]
11-1 Meditation Requires Inspiration and Creativity
No matter what you do, you should have inspiration. Inspiration and creativity are so important. Don't be rigid and inflexible. What I've taught you is just a method, while the method needs you to flexibly learn through practice and then master it. If you truly master it, it becomes the right method. What I've taught […]