Dharma Seed - Dharma Talks given at Metta Forest Monastery

2006-04-29 Appropriate Attention 69:12

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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According to the Buddha, appropriate attention is the most important mental factor for attaining Awakening. So what does he mean by attention, and what kind of attention is appropriate? How do the factors of appropriate attention apply to our meditation practice, how do they apply to our lives?

Metta Forest Monastery

2005-11-20 Disruptive Emotions 69:29

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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The problems and distractions in the present are not something you simply want to push your way through or get out of the way. You have to understand how they happen, for that understanding forms the essence of insight.

Metta Forest Monastery

2005-10-10 Karma 1:21:07

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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The act of 'doing' Right Concentration is what allows you to understand what it means to 'do' so well that you actually learn how to stop doing. That's the karma that puts an end to karma, the intention that allows you to understand intention until you finally get to the point where you can stop.

Metta Forest Monastery

2005-10-03 Mindfulness 1:11:37

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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Mindfulness is where things start, but it can't do all the work. It's only one of the spices on your meditation shelf. This is why it's important to understand precisely what 'mindfulness' means, and how to supplement it with other skillful qualities in the mind.

Metta Forest Monastery

2005-09-24 Faith & Doubt 1:18:48

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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Truths of the observer require you simply to observe things and try to figure them out. Truths of the will, which cover relationships are skills, are things you have to bring into being or they never become a reality. In this area faith, confidence, and conviction make all the difference.

Metta Forest Monastery

2005-09-09 Death 60:21

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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Coming to terms with the inevitability of your own death and the death of those you love. If you wait until the time of death in order to think about these things, it's a huge shock. This is one of the reasons the Buddha has you contemplate if before death.

Metta Forest Monastery

2005-09-06 Committee Mind 63:55

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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Using the analogy of the 'committee mind' to free yourself from the tendency to identify with every thought that comes into the mind; using the breath as a secure place to extract yourself from the committee discussions and gain a new perspective on them.

Metta Forest Monastery

2005-08-21 Skillful Emotions 61:04

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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The path involves learning how to marshal various emotions--grief, joy, desire, disgust, gladness, dispassion--some of which are normally regarded as negative. But they have their uses, so learn how to cultivate them all along the way. Without these emotions, the practice doesn't go anywhere. With them it can take you to release.

Metta Forest Monastery

2005-08-12 The Body 1:19:12

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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Awareness filling the body is the foundation of your meditation. It provides a sense of solidity throughout the interactions of life, and ultimately is the means for encountering the Deathless.

Metta Forest Monastery

2005-08-07 Suffering 1:20:17

Thanissaro Bhikkhu

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The mind is always creating thought worlds that make us suffer. To get beyond this suffering, you have to confront the fears that force the mind to keep creating these worlds.

Metta Forest Monastery