General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
When the mind has been trained like this it will constantly recollect Buddho, Buddho, Buddho . . . which is knowing. Knowing what? Knowing what is right and what is wrong at all times. Yes, this is possible. This is getting down to the real practice. That is, whether standing, walking, sitting or lying down there is continuous sati.
Ajahn Chah
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.
We must all be determined from this point onwards to make our minds peaceful. We focus our awareness upon knowing the in-breath and the out-breath together with the mantra 'Buddho'. Developing these basic meditation themes of Buddhanussati (the recollection of the qualities of the Buddha) and anapanasati (mindfulness of breathing) are a way of cultivating sati, that is, 'mindful recollection'. We practise Dhamma in order to train ourselves, to further the development of our hearts and minds. We practise meditation for the purpose of elevating our hearts to loftier, nobler heights, making it more excellent and sublime.
The way to practice is to awaken the mind and make it “that which knows”, waiting and watching over itself. Whenever a visitor approaches, you must wave your hand to forbid them from coming in. Where could they sit, when the whole day long you occupy the only seat available, your awareness being right in the centre, receiving all the visitors who come? This is what “Buddho” means: a firm and unshakeable awareness. If you can sustain this awareness, it will guard the mind. You simply sit down and establish awareness on this one spot, because this is where all the visitors have come to, right from the time you were just a baby throughout you entire life until the present. So you must get to know them all and this is how. You simply sustain “Buddho”.
Ajahn Chah
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.
We are taught to meditate, which is a step higher in refinement. This effort to train ourselves in meditation is a way of self-reliance that is steadily taken onto a firmer and more dependable level. We use a meditation-word as the means to direct and control the heart. For, as the mind is not yet able to sustain itself, we have to rely on the meditation-word as the object to soothe and bring peace and calm. The settling of the mind in "buddho buddho buddho..."is one example of this. It is an object for the heart to occupy itself with, which is correct and right and appropriate to finding refuge in Dhamma.
Ajahn Maha Boowa
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.
Mindfulness can also be developed through walking meditation. We should walk with composure, the hands clasped lightly in front, right over left. The head should be neither raised too high nor hung too low. The eyes should be focused forward to an even distance and stray neither left nor right, neither behind nor too far ahead. While walking back and forth, we coordinate the movement of our feet with the mantra, 'Buddho'. As we step forward, leading with the right foot, we internally recite 'Bud -' and with the left foot, '- dho'.
Ajahn Akincano
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.
Luang Pu Chah taught that while walking in meditation, we must be aware of the beginning, middle and end of the path. While reciting 'Bud -' with the right foot and '- dho' with the left, we should also fix our mindfulness on knowing our movements in relation to these three points along the path, that is, as we begin, as we pass the middle and a we reach the end. Upon reaching the end of the path, we stop and establish mindfulness anew before turning around and walking back reciting, 'Bud - dho', 'Bud - dho', 'Bud - dho' as before.
Ajahn Akincano
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.
When listening to others, we can also focus on reciting 'Buddho' in our heart while mindfully noting that we are listening. We should strive to be mindful whatever our activity, be it sitting, talking or listening. Luang Pu Chah greatly stressed the practice of mindfulness.
Ajahn Akincano
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.
When we see how really serious and harmful the defilements are, we should make our minds forthright and our confidence solid and strong, telling ourselves that we've let ourselves be deceived into believing the defilements for many lifetimes; it's time now that we be willing to believe the Buddha's teachings and take buddho as our refuge. We then make mindfulness solid and fix the mind firmly in buddho. We give our lives to buddho and won't let our minds slip away from it. When we make this sort of commitment, the mind will drop straight into one-pointedness and enter concentration.
Ajahn Thate
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.
"When we make up our mind to repeat 'Buddho,' the act of making up the mind is in itself the act of establishing mindfulness. When we keep thinking 'Buddho' and are not willing to let the mind slip away from 'Buddho,' our mindfulness and alertness are already healthy and strong, always watching over the mind to keep it with 'Buddho.' As soon as our attention slips away, so that we forget to think 'Buddho' and go thinking of something else, it's a sign that there's a lapse in our mindfulness. But if we can keep our mindfulness under control and can think 'Buddho, Buddho' continuously, with no gaps, our mindfulness is already strong, so there's no need to go 'establishing mindfulness' anywhere. To think of an object so that it is coupled with the mind is, in and of itself, the act of getting mindfulness established."
Phra Ajaan Sao
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.
How did Phra Ajaan Sao teach? If it so happened that someone came to him, saying, "Ajaan, sir, I want to practice meditation. How should I go about it?" he would answer, "Meditate on the word 'Buddho.'"If the person asked, "What does 'Buddho' mean?" Ajaan Sao would answer, "Don't ask.""What will happen after I've meditated on 'Buddho'?""Don't ask. Your only duty is simply to repeat the word 'Buddho' over and over in your mind."That's how he taught: no long, drawn-out explanations.
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.
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?' When I used to travel around the North-East of Thailand on 'tudong' I liked to go and stay at the monastery of Ajahn Fun. The main part of his teaching was to not just mechanically repeat 'Buddho' but to reflect and investigate, to awaken the mind to really look into the 'Buddho', the 'one who knows', really investigate its beginning, its end, above and below, so that one's whole attention was stuck onto it. When one did that, 'Buddho' became something that echoed through the mind. One would investigate it, look at it, examine it before it was said, after it was said and eventually one would start listening to it and hear beyond the sound until one heard the silence.
Sumedho
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.
Now, one of the epithets for the Buddha is lokavidu-knower of the world. Don't leave that up to some kind of abstract Buddha up there-I mean, you're taking refuge in Buddha. Our refuge in Buddha, then, is the Buddho-knowing the world as the world....So the Buddho - or Buddha- is the knower, is the knowing. We call it Buddha, but I'm not saying, "Oh, I'ma Buddha!" because then it's getting back into me as a person again. We're not trying to convince ourselves that we've got a little Buddha inside us, or anything like that. We're not trying to conceive anything about Buddha; we're being that knowing, being that awareness.
Ajahn Sumedho
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.
Practising the Dhamma is to learn concentration; practise "Buddho" regularly. If we cannot say "Buddho", just "Bud" when inhaling, and "Dho" on exhaling, what else can we do ? Where else can we seek happiness? Nowhere. If we cannot even say "Buddho ",what chance is there to hope for happiness ?"Bud" breathing in, "Dho" breathing out, for only five or ten minutes; if we still cannot do it, and we still cannot control our minds, how can we create happiness in our minds ? If we cannot concentrate, it shows that we cannot be calm. If we cannot be calm , we will never be happy. It is like plants which produce no fruit - where can we get fruit to eat? Similarly, it is like fruit which drops off the branch before it has grown and ripened - where can we get fruit to eat? Our minds are not trained to concentrate, cannot practise "Buddho" , cannot be calm at all.
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.
When we cannot control our minds, we cannot seek happiness, for there will not be any to be found. If one cannot " Buddho ", and cannot be calm in the temple, one will not find any happiness in this world- or outside it - even though one is a multi-millionaire, can fly around the world or go to the Moon, because one cannot even control one's own breathing with "Bud" and "Dho" If we cannot even control the mind and stop thinking, where can we find happiness? There will be no hope for it, if everyone is like that, no one will find happiness in this world. This is because we do not know how to say "Buddho", do not know how to concentrate and be calm. It shows that we do not have enough wisdom to find the way to extinguish suffering. Disappointments will always occur: disappointments in family life, with children, or marital partner, in business, or way of life; why? Because our minds have never stopped wandering.
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.