One of the things that people often comment on at the beginning of their practice is that as they start to practise, they start to change, and their friendships are not the same as they were before. What their friends want to do is not necessarily what they want to... read more
“The best discipline is taming your mind stream.” The fourth cause of afflictions that arise is detrimental influence, which chiefly refers to “bad friends”. It does not necessarily have to be friends, but whoever negatively influences you. It could even be a... read more
You are sitting and meditating a million miles and 20 years away from what somebody in grade school said to you that hurt your feelings tremendously. But suddenly you remember Suzie Jones or Bobby Smith in fifth grade said, “Dada dada,” to me, and, “Ahhhhh! I’m so... read more
There is a third factor that makes the afflictions arise in addition to the seed of the afflictions and contact. It is called inappropriate attention. This is a mental factor that exaggerates the good qualities, and the bad qualities, or projects qualities that are... read more
You may be going along completely fine, but as soon as you smell those chocolate chip cookies, an attachment arises. Today I did not smell them, no attachment. Yesterday I smelled them, attachment. Contact with the object.This is one of the reasons why, when you are... read more
