Buddho

General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
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Ceisiwr
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Re: Buddho

Post by Ceisiwr »

dhammarelax wrote:
befriend wrote:is repeating buddho, buddho... a form of concentration practice, vipassana or both?
If you consider right concentration as jhana, the right answer might be none.

smile all the time
dhammarelax

And yet, Jhana is absorption ;)
“Knowing that this body is just like foam,
understanding it has the nature of a mirage,
cutting off Māra’s flower-tipped arrows,
one should go beyond the King of Death’s sight.”
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mikenz66
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Re: Buddho

Post by mikenz66 »

jollybean
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Re: Buddho

Post by jollybean »

I'd just like to share my experience...

Over the years, I've experimented with using "buddho", "in" and "out", and counting the breaths from "1... 10" as mental repetitions.

What I found is that mentally repeating "buddho" doesn't feel nearly as smooth and comfortable, if you will, as counting "1... 10".

I don't know why that is, perhaps something to do with the tone/pronunciation in the mind. For example, I've even tried "buddha" instead of "buddho", and it's a lot more comfortable for me.

Of course, this is entirely personal, so I believe whatever works for someone else does not necessarily mean it will work best for you.

Eventually, mentally counting "1... 10" works best for me in quieting the mind, until I'm focused on the breath.
Richkierich
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Re: Buddho

Post by Richkierich »

Greetings,

I am sorry to have to bump an old thread, but I have a question regarding Buddho, so I thought I could ask in here.

I am practicing reciting Buddho not only during meditation to still and calm the mind, but also in daily activities, so that the mind stays with what I am doing, just one thing I would like to clarify though, do I focus on the word Buddho? Or the actual activity I am doing while reciting Buddho?

Like for example, in breath, Bud, out breath, Dho, here, do I place my focus on the word Bud...Dho itself? Or do I focus on the in and out breath? Same goes, while doing something, do I focus on the word Buddho, or the act of the chore itself?

I am sorry to ask this, but this got me real confused :? Any advise for me?

Much much thanks :anjali:
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massara
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Re: Buddho

Post by massara »

jollybean wrote:I'd just like to share my experience...

Over the years, I've experimented with using "buddho", "in" and "out", and counting the breaths from "1... 10" as mental repetitions.

What I found is that mentally repeating "buddho" doesn't feel nearly as smooth and comfortable, if you will, as counting "1... 10".

I don't know why that is, perhaps something to do with the tone/pronunciation in the mind. For example, I've even tried "buddha" instead of "buddho", and it's a lot more comfortable for me.

Of course, this is entirely personal, so I believe whatever works for someone else does not necessarily mean it will work best for you.

Eventually, mentally counting "1... 10" works best for me in quieting the mind, until I'm focused on the breath.

Interesting. The word Buddho simply doesn t work for me, but Buddha is pretty much more confortable to repeat. So I use it and the mind becomes calm. Sometimes I keep repeating Buddha to make myself aware that I am unaware. :jumping:
I tried to count the breaths but it didn t work well. So I use Buddha or just the silent aware of the in and out breath.
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

Post by bodom »

Richkierich wrote:Greetings,

I am sorry to have to bump an old thread, but I have a question regarding Buddho, so I thought I could ask in here.

I am practicing reciting Buddho not only during meditation to still and calm the mind, but also in daily activities, so that the mind stays with what I am doing, just one thing I would like to clarify though, do I focus on the word Buddho? Or the actual activity I am doing while reciting Buddho?

Like for example, in breath, Bud, out breath, Dho, here, do I place my focus on the word Bud...Dho itself? Or do I focus on the in and out breath? Same goes, while doing something, do I focus on the word Buddho, or the act of the chore itself?

I am sorry to ask this, but this got me real confused :? Any advise for me?

Much much thanks :anjali:
Hi Richkierich,

Sorry for the late reply. See my reply's in this thread here:

Methods for increasing mindfulness in daily life as a lay person
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=24280

I believe it may answer your question.

:namaste:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements 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. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
Richkierich
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Re: Buddho

Post by Richkierich »

bodom wrote:
Richkierich wrote:Greetings,

I am sorry to have to bump an old thread, but I have a question regarding Buddho, so I thought I could ask in here.

I am practicing reciting Buddho not only during meditation to still and calm the mind, but also in daily activities, so that the mind stays with what I am doing, just one thing I would like to clarify though, do I focus on the word Buddho? Or the actual activity I am doing while reciting Buddho?

Like for example, in breath, Bud, out breath, Dho, here, do I place my focus on the word Bud...Dho itself? Or do I focus on the in and out breath? Same goes, while doing something, do I focus on the word Buddho, or the act of the chore itself?

I am sorry to ask this, but this got me real confused :? Any advise for me?

Much much thanks :anjali:
Hi Richkierich,

Sorry for the late reply. See my reply's in this thread here:

Methods for increasing mindfulness in daily life as a lay person
http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?t=24280

I believe it may answer your question.

:namaste:
Thank you very much Bodom, that was really useful and pretty much answered my confusion. Bookmarked the page for future references.

:anjali:
Laurens
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Re: Buddho

Post by Laurens »

I use Buddho sometimes if my mind is particularly unfocused. The issue I have is that the instructions tend to state "repeat untill no longer needed". I will use Buddho until the attention seems fixed on the breath but then when I drop it I go back to square one.

Does anyone with a bit more experience have any suggestions as to whether there are any signalling factors that suggest buddho is no longer needed? Do I just carry on until it fades away on its own or keep dropping it and picking it up until I dont need to pick it up again?
"If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
jollybean
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Re: Buddho

Post by jollybean »

Laurens wrote:I use Buddho sometimes if my mind is particularly unfocused. The issue I have is that the instructions tend to state "repeat untill no longer needed". I will use Buddho until the attention seems fixed on the breath but then when I drop it I go back to square one.

Does anyone with a bit more experience have any suggestions as to whether there are any signalling factors that suggest buddho is no longer needed? Do I just carry on until it fades away on its own or keep dropping it and picking it up until I dont need to pick it up again?
Hi Laurens,

One of the most descriptive experiences of Buddho meditation can be found in the words of Ajahn Maha Boowa from The Path to Arahantship:

"MY CHOICE WAS BUDDHO MEDITATION. From the moment I made my resolve, I kept my mind from straying from the repetition of buddho. From the moment I awoke in the morning until I slept at night, I forced myself to think only of buddho. At the same time, I ceased to be preoccupied with thoughts of progress and decline: If my meditation made progress, it would do so with buddho; if it declined, it would go down with buddho. In either case, buddho was my sole preoccupation. All other concerns were irrelevant.

Maintaining such single-minded concentration is not an easy task. I had to literally force my mind to remain entwined with buddho each and every moment without interruption. Regardless of whether I was seated in meditation, walking meditation or simply doing my daily chores, the word buddho resonated deeply within my mind at all times. By nature and temperament, I was always extremely resolute and uncompromising. This tendency worked to my advantage. In the end, I became so earnestly committed to the task that nothing could shake my resolve; no errant thought could separate the mind from buddho.

Working at this practice day after day, I always made certain that buddho resonated in close harmony with my present-moment awareness. Soon, I began to see the results of calm and concentration arise clearly within the citta, the mind’s essential knowing nature. At that stage, I began to see the very subtle and refined nature of the citta. The longer I internalized buddho, the more subtle the citta became, until eventually the subtlety of buddho and the subtlety of the citta melded into one another and became one and the same essence of knowing. I could not separate buddho from the citta’s subtle nature. Try as I might, I could not make the word buddho appear in my mind. Through diligence and perseverance, buddho had become so closely unified with the citta that buddho itself no longer appeared within my awareness. The mind had become so calm and still, so profoundly subtle, that nothing, not even buddho, resonated there. This meditative state is analogous to the disappearance of the breath, as mentioned above.

When this took place, I felt bewildered. I had predicated my whole practice on holding steadfastly to buddho. Now that buddho was no longer apparent, where would I focus my attention? Up to this point, buddho had been my mainstay. Now it had disappeared. No matter how hard I tried to recover this focus, it was lost. I was in a quandary. All that remained then was the citta’s profoundly subtle knowing nature, a pure and simple awareness, bright and clear. There was nothing concrete within that awareness to latch on to.

I realized then that nothing invades the mind’s sphere of awareness when consciousness—its knowing presence—reaches such a profound and subtle condition. I was left with only one choice: With the loss of buddho, I had to focus my attention on the essential sense of awareness and knowing that was all-present and prominent at that moment. That consciousness had not disappeared; on the contrary, it was all-pervasive. All of the mindful awareness that had concentrated on the repetition of buddho was then firmly refocused on the very subtle knowing presence of the calm and converged citta. My attention remained firmly fixed on that subtle knowing essence until eventually its prominence began to fade, allowing my normal awareness to become reestablished.

As normal awareness returned, buddho manifested itself once more. So I immediately refocused my attention on the repetition of my meditation-word. Before long, my daily practice assumed a new rhythm: I concentrated intently on buddho until consciousness resolved into the clear, brilliant state of the mind’s essential knowing nature, remaining absorbed in that subtle knowing presence until normal awareness returned; and I then refocused with increased vigor on the repetition of buddho.

It was during this stage that I first gained a solid spiritual foundation in my meditation practice..."
Javi
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Re: Buddho

Post by Javi »

I am interested in Buddho as Vipassana, are there more instructions on how it can be used in this sense?
In the mental recitation method for one-pointedness of the citta notice "who" is reciting "Buddho". One should look at the citta when it is calm. Let mindfulness watch the base and when any sense object arises let the object go and continue watching the citta. - Luang Pu Atulo

Many forest bhikkhus in North-East of Thailand use the word 'Buddho' as their meditation object. They use it as a kind of koan, firstly they calm the mind by following the inhalations and exhalations using the syllables 'Bud-dho' and then begin to contemplate 'What is Buddho, the "one who knows"?' 'What is the knowing?' - Sumedho
In most of the quotes here, it seems like Bud-dho is being used as a basis for samatha, and once it fades away one is in a deep jhana state. However it also seems like Bud-dho can be used for insight practice as per the above quotes.
Vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā — All things decay and disappoint, it is through vigilance that you succeed — Mahāparinibbāna Sutta

Self-taught poverty is a help toward philosophy, for the things which philosophy attempts to teach by reasoning, poverty forces us to practice. — Diogenes of Sinope

I have seen all things that are done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a chase after wind — Ecclesiastes 1.14
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acinteyyo
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Re: Buddho

Post by acinteyyo »

Javi wrote:I am interested in Buddho as Vipassana, are there more instructions on how it can be used in this sense?
In the mental recitation method for one-pointedness of the citta notice "who" is reciting "Buddho". One should look at the citta when it is calm. Let mindfulness watch the base and when any sense object arises let the object go and continue watching the citta. - Luang Pu Atulo

Many forest bhikkhus in North-East of Thailand use the word 'Buddho' as their meditation object. They use it as a kind of koan, firstly they calm the mind by following the inhalations and exhalations using the syllables 'Bud-dho' and then begin to contemplate 'What is Buddho, the "one who knows"?' 'What is the knowing?' - Sumedho
In most of the quotes here, it seems like Bud-dho is being used as a basis for samatha, and once it fades away one is in a deep jhana state. However it also seems like Bud-dho can be used for insight practice as per the above quotes.
The mere technique of reciting mentally the syllables "Bud-dho" while simultaneously directing mindfulness to that very process of reciting leads to a calm mind which eventually becomes a basis for samadhi. The insight practice begins, when the mind is calmed, with the contemplation of "the one who knows" (that is the meaning of "Buddho"), i.e. the citta or in other words what is the "knowing", that knows the knowing?

Luang Pu Atulo once said,
Gifts he left behind wrote:"The mind seeing the mind is the path.
The result of the mind seeing the mind is the cessation of suffering."
To develop insight one shifts from merely being mindful of the meditation object, here the syllables "Bud-dho", to contemplating the mind itself, the citta, that which knows the meditation object. When one is able to be mindful of and to contemplate what knows the meditation object (the syllables "Bud-dho"), then one can shift ones attention to what knows the knowing of the meditation object. There the syllables "Bud-dho" have completed their task. One contemplates the citta only and develops insight from there.

best wishes, acinteyyo
Thag 1.20. Ajita - I do not fear death; nor do I long for life. I’ll lay down this body, aware and mindful.
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

Post by bodom »

Now that you’ve done this, do your hearts have a sense of well-being? Do your hearts have a sense of ease? Look. You’ve already done good. If your mind has a sense of well-being, a sense of ease, cool and at peace, without any suffering, without any disturbance, then you have a Buddho heart: a peaceful heart, a happy heart, a heart at ease. This provides a sense of well-being and prosperity, now in the present and on into the future.
What is a meritorious mind like? It’s a good mind, a mind with a sense of well-being, of being at ease. Peaceful and undisturbed, untroubled, Buddho,a blossoming mind at ease, free from difficulties, free from irritation: That’s what merit is. So many people do merit but then complain that they can’t see what kind of thing merit is. But how can it be a thing, merit? People want to know what kind of thing merit is. If it’s a thing, it’s the human body—every human body sitting here, with your black hair and bent necks. Each human body sitting here is a body of merit: You’ve done good, you feel happy, you feel at ease. Your heart and mind are blooming. This is what Buddho is like—free from difficulties, free from irritation.
So the Buddha taught us to meditate: Buddho, Dhammo, Saṅgho,then Buddho, Buddho. Be mindful, and you won’t be deluded. When you’re not deluded, you won’t do evil. You’ll be afraid of evil, afraid of doing bad kamma, afraid of the difficulties these things cause. When you aren’t deluded, then when you sit, you’ll have Buddho:awareness. You’ll be alert. When you lie down, you’ll be alert. When you walk, you’ll be alert. When you stand, you’ll be alert. Wherever you go, you’ll be alert. While you’re sitting right here, right now, you’re alert to the fact that your heart is serene. Buddho—your heart is at peace, your heart is happy, your heart is at ease. Be aware of this.
Why be mindful in your heart? Wherever you’re aware of Buddho,your awareness, establish mindfulness right there. Look right there. Listen right there. We want to hear what happiness is like. We want to see what happiness is like. So how about knowing yourself right there? Take your measure right there. Is your heart meritorious or the opposite? If it’s meritorious, what’s that like? Is your heart good or bad? What’s goodness like? When the heart is good, it’s good and peaceful—happy, at ease. Cool. Not hot and troubled. Not disturbed or in turmoil. Buddho: a cheerful heart. At ease. Buddho: The heart is bright. Buddho: The heart is clear—free from stress, free from harmfulness, free from danger, free from animosity, free from everything evil and vile, free from poverty, free from disease. Look at it.
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/ComeA ... n0006.html

:namaste:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements 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. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

Post by bodom »

Don’t place your mind anywhere else. Place it with Buddho, i.e., awareness itself. Wherever your awareness is located, focus your mind right there in Buddho, the awareness. Don’t place it anywhere else. If you focus it over there at this place or that, it’s going to suffer. Don’t place it with your children or grandchildren. Don’t place it with your home or your workplace. Place it right at your mind. Try to see how it’s functioning, what it has. Know and understand. If it starts any becoming or birth, try to see it.
Place your heart in the Buddha, in Buddho, as your refuge. Be constantly alert—sitting, standing, walking, lying down. Be mindful. Abyākatā dhammā: Make your mind Buddho. Make your mind serene, happy, and at ease.
Buddho is a mind fully serene. Bright. Clear. One who knows all knowable things, thoroughly and throughout; one who knows birth, aging, illness, and death; one who knows all suffering; one who knows kamma and animosity.
Do you understand yet? Do you understand? I’m teaching these things for you to listen to. Don’t keep on being worried or concerned about this, that, or the other thing. Your worries are a waste of time. They’re fruitless. Throw them all away. Don’t be worried about this, possessive of that. If you place your heart with this or that, you suffer. If you place it here, it doesn’t suffer. So place it with Buddho—awareness itself—and it won’t suffer. Understand?
https://www.dhammatalks.org/books/ComeA ... n0007.html

:namaste:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements 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. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
arkaprava
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Re: Buddho

Post by arkaprava »

bodom wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2010 1:09 pm
jcsuperstar wrote:
“BUDDHO is something cool and calm.
It’s the path for giving rise to peace and contemned —
the only path that will release us from
the suffering and stress in this world.”
ajaan thate
:thumbsup:

Just ordered Buddho from Wave. I wanted his other books, Flavor of the Dhamma and Steps Along the Path but they were out.

:anjali:
Have you found the book Flavor of the Dhamma ? I was looking for it all over the internet.
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

Post by bodom »

arkaprava wrote: Wed Mar 09, 2022 10:16 pm
bodom wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2010 1:09 pm
jcsuperstar wrote: ajaan thate
:thumbsup:

Just ordered Buddho from Wave. I wanted his other books, Flavor of the Dhamma and Steps Along the Path but they were out.

:anjali:
Have you found the book Flavor of the Dhamma ? I was looking for it all over the internet.
No unfortunately I wasn't ever to find a hardcopy or pdf online.

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements 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. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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