All kinds of other things can happen in the world and you don’t feel affected. You feel a sense of well-being that comes from within that’s not touched by those things.

"If you’re sitting here, and the breath feels really good coming in, really good going out, all kinds of other things can happen in the world and you don’t feel affected. You feel a sense of well-being that comes from within that’s not touched by those things. As Ajaan Lee says, they can come and curse your mother, and it doesn’t really affect you. You don’t get angry. It’s as if the mind is well fed. If you’re hungry and tired, people can say even the slightest thing that’s critical, and you lash out. But if you’re feeling well fed and in a good mood, you can take the criticism and actually laugh along with them, actually agree with them: “Yeah, that’s right.” Then maybe you can do something about what you’ve been doing wrong.

This is why it’s good to have the breath as an ally. When feelings of greed or anger come welling up from the mind, instead of feeling that restraint bottles them in, you can think of allowing whatever pressure you feel in the body as a result of the emotion to dissipate out your hands, out your feet. There’s an extent to which this path we’re following depends on your ability to keep your hands and feet relaxed in all situations. What that means is that you’re able to keep mindful, alert, with a sense of the whole body, and you can keep the breath in the whole body really still, full, pleasant, refreshing, no matter what’s happening. That way, restraint doesn’t feel like you’re being imprisoned. You just dissipate the pressure, and you realize you really wouldn’t want to follow on that action when you’ve had a chance to look at it from a calmer point of view."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Stop Weaving"

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