Transformation And Healing: The Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Buddhims)

we cut flowers from our garden to place on the altar, that is because we acknowledge the beauty of those flowers. All we can say is, “Although these flowers are beautiful, their beauty is fragile. When, in a few days time, these flowers die, their beauty will die with them.” We understand this, and when the flowers wilt in a few days, we will not s

From time to time, you feel tired, and everything you do or say seems to come out wrong and create misunderstanding. You may think, “Today is not my day.” At times like this, it is best simply to return to your body, cut off all contact, and close the doors of the senses. Following your breathing, you can collect your mind, body, and breath, and th

By the process of conscious breathing, smiling, walking meditation, sitting meditation, by our way of looking, listening and mindfully observing, we help the seeds of happiness flourish. The realms of love, compassion, joy, and letting go are the realms of true joy and happiness. If we have joy and can let go, we can share happiness with others and

That is why we have to be in contact with the peaceful and positive aspects in and around us and be able to enjoy them. We need to teach our children how to appreciate these wondrous and precious things. If we know how to appreciate them, we will know how to protect them. This basic practice will protect our happiness and our children’s happiness a

“Bhikkhus, how does a practitioner remain established in the observation of the mind in the mind? “When his mind is desiring, the practitioner is aware, ‘My mind is desiring.’ When his mind is not desiring, he is aware, ‘My mind is not desiring.’ When his mind is hating something, he is aware, ‘My mind is hating.’ When his mind is not hating, he is

When there is oneness of body and mind, the breathing serves as “harmonizer,” and we realize peace, joy, and ease, the first fruits of meditation practice.

These Nine Contemplations help us see the preciousness of life. They teach us how to live lightly and freshly, without being caught by attachments and aversions.

But being in love can be transformed, so that blind attachment, selfishness, and domination are replaced by the capacity to understand and bring happiness to the person we love, without demanding specific conditions and expecting something in return. To transform being in love in this way is to transform an internal formation.

As we have already seen, the function of this exercise is to nourish us with joy and happiness and to heal the wounds within us. But we have no doubts about letting go of this joy in order to embark on the work of observation. Joy and happiness come about because of physical and psychological conditions, and are as impermanent as all other physical

Anything from wine, tobacco, or opium to beautiful forms, good food, music, or words of praise can produce a knot in us, an internal formation that begins as a pleasant feeling. Once we have a such a knot, we are tied tightly by it, and we are forced to seek out the object of sense again and again in order to repeat the pleasant feeling.