It’s better to be kind to yourself simply by the way you breathe. As you start feeling a greater sense of well-being, it’s a lot easier to be kind to other people.

"It’s better to be kind to yourself simply by the way you breathe. Learn how to take advantage of this free resource you’ve got, because otherwise it goes unused. And it’s a renewable resource. It’s not the case that the more you use it, the more you train it, the more you use it up. Actually the better you train it, the better it gets.

As you start feeling a greater sense of well-being, it’s a lot easier to be kind to other people. It’s a goodwill that comes out of a goodwill [mettā] for yourself and naturally overflows without your having to worry about who you’re kind to and what your motivation is. If there’s not this internal sense of well-being, there’s going to be a sense of calculation, “Well, if I help these people, they’ll help me, or at least they’ll respect me as a good person.” All kinds of issues of self-image and expectations start getting mixed up in all this. But if there’s simply a sense of well-being in the present moment, it just flows out naturally."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "How to Save the World"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Breathe in a way that feels refreshing, soothing and comfortable to find a deep and lasting happiness

"So spend some time right here. Breathe in, breathe out, in a way that feels refreshing, that feels soothing, that feels comfortable — whatever the body needs right now, whatever the mind needs right now. Give it some good breathing. That way, you’ll be able to find the peace that comes when you’re not constantly being pulled into paying attention outside. And from that peace comes a deep and lasting happiness." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Paying Attention Inside"
Read more

The pleasure we're working toward when we're meditating is a noble, worthwhile pleasure

"Everything we do is for the sake of pleasure, physical or mental. So when we’re meditating, we’re doing it for pleasure, too. And it’s good to think about what kind of pleasure we’re working toward and why this is a worthwhile activity — why the Buddha says the pursuit of this pleasure, or the use of this pleasure, is part of a noble path, whereas a lot of other pleasures in the world are anything but noble. We work with the breath, trying to find a comfortable breath, and then we learn how to use that sense of comfort, that sense of ease, and spread it around the body. We’re working with pleasure here that’s both mental and physical. The breath feels good when you allow it to find a good rhythm and when you allow it to spread around. And there’s a mental pleasure that comes as well. The mind has a good place to stay. It feels at ease. It can rest. It can put down a lot of its guard, a lot of its tendency to be ready to jump of at any moment — because that’s what it’s learned fro...
Read more

You can handle fear by fortifying your inner adult with breath knowledge

"One of the most powerful elements of fear is your unwillingness to think of what you can do. You don’t even want to think of the situation. But if you actually sit down and think about it patiently, step by step, you realize you can handle it. You might have to muddle through, and things might get difficult, but you can handle it. And as you’re thinking this, it’s helpful to have the breath coming in, going out really comfortably. So learn how to use the breath, reclaim your breath. Get in touch with your inner adult and fortify the inner adult with what you now know about the breathing. That’ll change the balance of power in the mind." ~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Nurturing Your Inner Adult" (Meditations7)
Read more