Insight Meditation: A Psychology of Freedom (Shambhala Classics)

kilesa, which means afflictive emotions, the torments of the mind, such as greed, envy, hatred, anger, fear. These states and others torment us and create suffering.

Next time you are caught up in a strong, painful emotional state, try asking yourself these three things: “What is the external situation?” “What is my reaction to it, the emotion I am feeling?” “What is my relationship to this emotion? How am I getting hooked?” Step by step, situation by situation, we learn how it feels to be free.

The Pali word parami refers to ten wholesome qualities in our minds and the accumulated power they bring to us: generosity, morality, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, resolve, lovingkindness, and equanimity.

The Third Noble Truth teaches that there can be an end of suffering, a putting down of the burden.

The Buddha taught five training precepts as a great protection from these kinds of harmful acts: not killing, not stealing, not committing sexual misconduct, not lying, and not taking intoxicants that cloud the mind. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone followed just part of one of these precepts—not to kill other human beings.

idea. Every time we become aware of a thought, as opposed to being lost in a thought, we experience that opening of the mind.

Crazy Wisdom, Wes Nisker writes: Our language behaves as

way. If liberation is the central aspiration of your life, periods of intensive meditation practice can be of inestimable value. They generate tremendous energy, power, and insight. But there are also cycles of living actively in the world, developing generosity, morality, truthfulness, and compassion, qualities more easily expressed in daily life

The Fourth Noble Truth of the Buddha’s awakening gives the full development of the path leading to liberation.