A Stick Meditation is like a stick. Insight lies on this end of the stick. Tranquility lies on that end of the stick. If you lift this stick up, will one end of the stick come up with it, or will both ends come up? If you lift it up, both ends will come up with it. Whatever's insight, whatever's t
The Child & the Adult Concentration and discernment have to go together. In the first stage, the mind will go into peace and quiet through the methods of concentration. The mind will be able to stay quiet only when you sit with your eyes closed. That's tranquility. You have to depend on concen
Learning How to Write Make sure you practice every day, every day. When you feel lazy, keep doing it. When you feel diligent, keep doing it. Practice the Dhamma whether it's day or night. When the mind is at peace, keep doing it. When it isn't at peace, keep doing it. It's like when you were a chi
The Knife Exercising the body to strengthen it and exercising the mind to strengthen it are the same sort of thing, but the methods are different. In exercising the body, you have to move the different parts, but in exercising the mind you make it stop and rest, as when you do concentration. Try t
Falling Out of a Tree ...It's the same with dependent co-arising. "Ignorance is the condition for fabrications. Fabrications are the condition for consciousness. Consciousness is the condition for name and form." We've studied this and memorized it, and it's true, the way the Buddha has
Written Words Stop. Put your scholarly knowledge in a bundle or a trunk. Don't bring it out to speak. You can't bring that kind of knowledge into here. Here it's a new kind of knowledge. When things actually arise, it's not the same sort of thing. It's like writing the word, "greed." Wh
The Hand Those who study the texts and those who practice the Dhamma tend to misunderstand each other. Those who study the texts tend to say, "Monks who do nothing but practice simply speak in line with their views." They say that without any evidence of any kind. There's actually a way
Studying vs. Going into Battle There have been some scholarly monks who've researched in the texts, who have studied a lot. I tell them to give the meditation a try. This matter of going by the book: When you study, you study in line with the texts, but when you go into battle, you have to go outs
The Poisoned Banana I came to live in a monastery, ordained as a novice, when I was nine. I kept trying to practice, but I didn't understand much of anything in those days. I came to understand only when I was ordained as a monk. Oho! I saw the fear in everything. I looked at the sensuality with w
Putting Down the Glass Practice by letting go. Don't hold on. Or if you hold on, don't hold on tight. Do you understand not holding on? This glass here: We hold on to it to pick it up and look at it. When we know all about it, we put it down. That's called not holding on — in other words, holding
Fires & Floods The Buddha taught that this is the way the mind and body are. This is the way they'll continue to be. They won't be any other way. In other words, at first they arise, then they grow old, then they hurt, and then they die. This is such a genuine truth, grandma, that you're exper
In the Shape of a Circle In practicing, don't think that you have to sit in order for it to be meditation, that you have to walk back and forth in order for it to be meditation. Don't think like that. Meditation is simply a matter of practice. Whether you're giving a sermon, sitting here listening
The Fence As for the practice, start out by establishing your powers of endurance and then contemplate. Contemplate your activities, your comings and goings. Contemplate what you're up to. Whatever arises, the Buddha has us know all around. Whatever direction things come in from, he has us know al
Eating Sugarcane Have you ever eaten sugarcane? When you eat from the tip to the base, what is it like? The closer you get to the base, the sweeter it becomes — to the point where even when there's only an inch left, you don't want to throw it away. It seems such a waste. The ants want to eat i...
Work First, Wages Later Some people come and practice to get nothing but pleasure. But what does pleasure come from? What is its cause? All forms of pleasure have to come following from pain. Only then can there be pleasure. Whatever we do: We have to work first before we get the wages to buy thin
The Cat Defilements are like cats. If you give a cat something to eat whenever it wants, it'll keep coming back more and more often. But the day will come when it'll scratch you if you don't feed it. So you don't have to feed it. It'll keep meowing and meowing, but if you don't feed it for a day o
Against the Flow To practice is to go against the flow: against the flow of the currents in our heart, against the flow of defilement. Anything that goes upstream against the flow is bound to be hard. If you row a boat upstream, it's hard. To build goodness and virtue is a little bit hard because
Hot & Cold ...It's the same as wherever fire is burning, wherever it's hot, that's where it goes out. Wherever it's hot, you make it cool right there. In the same way, nibbana lies in the same place as samsara, the round of wandering-on; samsara lies in the same place as nibbana. Just as hot
The Key of Meditation Practice is like a key, the key of meditation. It doesn't matter what the lock is like, for we have the key to the lock in our hand. We don't care how tight the lock may be, for whenever we turn the key to open the lock we accomplish our purpose. If the lock doesn't have a ke
Rubbing Fire Sticks The practice is like a man rubbing fire sticks together. He's heard people say, "Take two pieces of bamboo and rub them together, and you'll get fire." So he takes two pieces of bamboo and rubs them together. But his heart is impatient. After rubbing them together a b