To attain liberation, we need higher training in wisdom. For wisdom, we need higher training in concentration, and finally for concentration, we need higher training in ethical conduct. Ethical conduct involves the development of two mental factors that are particularly important for concentration, the first is mindfulness, and the second is vigilance. Mindfulness is what keeps your mind on the object of meditation, while vigilance checks to see if you are still on the object or if your mind has gotten distracted or fallen asleep. Regarding the practice of ethical conduct, mindfulness involves remembering our precepts and holding in mind how we want to behave. Vigilance then checks to see if we are keeping our precepts well and what is going on with our body, speech and mind. By developing these two mental factors while keeping ethical conduct, we build a foundation for concentration, which aids us to develop the wisdom leading to liberation.

“365 Gems of Wisdom” e-book is out now!