carecodeconnect/jhana-sentences · Datasets at Hugging Face

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Some people think of morality as restrictions on freedom, but in fact, these precepts liberate us.
They free us from the suffering we cause ourselves and others when we act unkindly.
These guidelines train us to protect others from harm and, by protecting others, we protect ourselves.
The precepts caution us to abstain from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from speaking falsely or harshly, and from using intoxicants that cause us to act in an unmindful way.
Developing mindfulness through the practice of meditation also helps us relate to others with loving friendliness.
On the cushion, we watch our minds as liking and disliking arise.
We teach ourselves to relax our mind when such thoughts arise.
We learn to see attachment and aversion as momentary states, and we learn to let them go.
Meditation helps us look at the world in a new light and gives us a way out.
The deeper we go in our practice, the more skills we develop.
When we are angry with someone, we often latch on to one particular aspect of that person.
In our minds, the rest of that person drops away.
All that is left is the part that pushed our buttons.
When we do this, we are isolating one miniscule fraction of the whole person as something real and solid.
We are not seeing all the factors and forces that shaped that person.
We focus on only one aspect of that personthe part that made us angry.
Over the years, have received many letters from prisoners who are seeking to learn the Dhamma.
Some have done terrible things, even murder.
And yet they see things differently now and want to change their lives.
There was one letter that was particularly insightful and deeply touched my heart.
In it, the writer described how the other inmates shouted and jeered whenever the guard appeared.
The inmate tried to explain to the others that this guard was also a human being, but the others were blinded by hatred.
All they could see, he said, was the uniform, not the man inside it.
When we are angry with someone, we can ask ourselves, Am angry at the hair on that persons head Am angry at his skin His teeth
His generosity His smile When we take the time to consider all the many elements and processes that make up a person, our anger naturally softens.
Through the practice of mindfulness, we learn to see both ourselves and others more clearly.
Understanding helps us to relate to others with loving friendliness.
In some, as in the case of Angulimala, we cannot see this true nature.
Understanding the concept of no-self softens our heart and helps us forgive the unkind actions of others.
We learn to relate to ourselves and others with loving friendliness.
But, what if someone hurts you What if someone insults you You may want to retaliatewhich is a very human response.
But, where does that lead Hatred is never appeased by more hatred, it says in the Dhammapada.
An angry response only leads to more anger.
If you respond to anger with loving friendliness, the other persons anger will not increase.
An enemy of the Buddha named Devadatta concocted a scheme to kill the Buddha.
Having enraged an elephant with alcohol, Devadatta let him loose at a time and a place
Devadatta knew the Buddha would be.
Everyone on the road ran away.
Everyone who saw the Buddha warned him to run away.
But the Buddha kept on walking.
His devoted companion, the Venerable Ananda, thought he could stop the elephant.
When Ananda stepped in front of the Buddha to try to protect him, the Buddha asked him to step aside Anandas physical strength alone surely could not stop this elephant.
When the elephant reached the Buddha, his head was raised, his ears were upright and his trunk was lifted in a mad fury.
The Buddha simply stood in front of him and radiated loving, compassionate thoughts toward the animaland the elephant stopped in his tracks.
The Buddha gently raised his hand up with his palm toward the beast, sending him waves of loving friendliness.
The elephant knelt down before him, gentle as a lamb.
With the power of loving friendliness alone, the Buddha had subdued the raging animal.
The response of anger to anger is a conditioned response it is learned rather than innate.
If we have been trained from childhood to be patient, kind, and gentle, then loving friendliness becomes part of our life.
But even as adults, we can change our habitual responses.
We can train ourselves to react in a different way.
There is another story from the Buddhas life that teaches us how to respond to insults and harsh words.
The Buddhas rivals had bribed a prostitute named Cinca to insult and humiliate the Buddha.
Cinca tied a bunch of sticks to her belly underneath her rough clothes in order to look like she was pregnant.
While the Buddha was delivering a sermon to hundreds of people, she came right out in front of him and said, You rogue.
You pretend to be a saint preaching to all these people.
But look what you have done to me am pregnant because of you.
Calmly, the Buddha spoke to her, without anger, without hatred.
With his voice full of loving friendliness and compassion, he said to her, Sister, you and are the only ones who know what has happened.
Cinca was taken aback by the Buddhas response.
She was so shocked that on the way back she stumbled.
The strings that were holding the bundle of sticks to her belly came loose.
All the sticks fell to the ground, and everyone realized her ruse.
Several people in the audience wanted to beat her, but the Buddha stopped them.
That is not the way you should treat her.
We should help her understand the Dhamma.
After the Buddha taught her the Dhamma, her entire personality changed.
She too became gentle, kind, and compassionate.
When someone tries to make you angry or does something to hurt you, stay with your thoughts of loving friendliness toward that person.
person filled with thoughts of loving friendliness, the Buddha said, is like the earth.
Someone may try to make the earth disappear by digging at it with a hoe or an ax, but that is a futile act.
No amount of diggingnot in one lifetime or many lifetimesmakes the earth vanish.
Like the earth, a person full of loving friendliness is untouched by anger.
In another story from the Buddhas life, there was a man named Akkosina, whose name means not getting angry.
But in fact, this man was exactly the opposite he was always getting angry.
When he heard that the Buddha never got angry with anyone, he decided to visit him.
He went up to the Buddha and scolded him for all sorts of things, insulting him and calling him awful names.
At the end of his tirade, the Buddha asked this man if he had any friends and relatives.
When you visit them, do you take them gifts Of course, said the man.
What happens if they dont accept your gifts, the Buddha asked.
And likewise, said the Buddha, You have brought me a gift today that dont accept.
You may take that gift home to your family.
With patience, wit, and loving friendliness, the Buddha invites us to change how we think about the gift of angry words.
If we respond to insults or angry words with mindfulness and loving friendliness, we are able to look closely at the whole situation.
Perhaps that person did not know what he or she was saying.
Perhaps the words were not meant to harm you.
Perhaps it was your frame of mind at the time the words were spoken.
Perhaps you did not hear the words clearly or misunderstood the context.
It is also important to consider carefully what that person is saying.
If you respond with anger, you will not hear the message behind the words.
Perhaps that person is pointing out something you need to hear.
We all encounter people who push our buttons.
Without mindfulness and loving friendliness, we respond automatically with anger or resentment.
With mindfulness, we can watch how our mind responds to certain words and actions.
Just as we do on the cushion, we can watch the arising of attachment and aversion.
Mindfulness is like a safety net that cushions us against unwholesome actions.
Mindfulness gives us time time gives us choices.
We dont have to be swept away by our feelings.
We can respond with wisdom rather than delusion.
Loving friendliness is not something we do sitting on a cushion in one place, thinking and thinking and thinking.

Some people think of morality as restrictions on freedom, but in fact, these precepts liberate us.

They free us from the suffering we cause ourselves and others when we act unkindly.

These guidelines train us to protect others from harm and, by protecting others, we protect ourselves.

The precepts caution us to abstain from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from speaking falsely or harshly, and from using intoxicants that cause us to act in an unmindful way.

Developing mindfulness through the practice of meditation also helps us relate to others with loving friendliness.

On the cushion, we watch our minds as liking and disliking arise.

We teach ourselves to relax our mind when such thoughts arise.

We learn to see attachment and aversion as momentary states, and we learn to let them go.

Meditation helps us look at the world in a new light and gives us a way out.

The deeper we go in our practice, the more skills we develop.

When we are angry with someone, we often latch on to one particular aspect of that person.

In our minds, the rest of that person drops away.

All that is left is the part that pushed our buttons.

When we do this, we are isolating one miniscule fraction of the whole person as something real and solid.

We are not seeing all the factors and forces that shaped that person.

We focus on only one aspect of that personthe part that made us angry.

Over the years, have received many letters from prisoners who are seeking to learn the Dhamma.

Some have done terrible things, even murder.

And yet they see things differently now and want to change their lives.

There was one letter that was particularly insightful and deeply touched my heart.

In it, the writer described how the other inmates shouted and jeered whenever the guard appeared.

The inmate tried to explain to the others that this guard was also a human being, but the others were blinded by hatred.

All they could see, he said, was the uniform, not the man inside it.

When we are angry with someone, we can ask ourselves, Am angry at the hair on that persons head Am angry at his skin His teeth

His generosity His smile When we take the time to consider all the many elements and processes that make up a person, our anger naturally softens.

Through the practice of mindfulness, we learn to see both ourselves and others more clearly.

Understanding helps us to relate to others with loving friendliness.

In some, as in the case of Angulimala, we cannot see this true nature.

Understanding the concept of no-self softens our heart and helps us forgive the unkind actions of others.

We learn to relate to ourselves and others with loving friendliness.

But, what if someone hurts you What if someone insults you You may want to retaliatewhich is a very human response.

But, where does that lead Hatred is never appeased by more hatred, it says in the Dhammapada.

An angry response only leads to more anger.

If you respond to anger with loving friendliness, the other persons anger will not increase.

An enemy of the Buddha named Devadatta concocted a scheme to kill the Buddha.

Having enraged an elephant with alcohol, Devadatta let him loose at a time and a place

Devadatta knew the Buddha would be.

Everyone on the road ran away.

Everyone who saw the Buddha warned him to run away.

But the Buddha kept on walking.

His devoted companion, the Venerable Ananda, thought he could stop the elephant.

When Ananda stepped in front of the Buddha to try to protect him, the Buddha asked him to step aside Anandas physical strength alone surely could not stop this elephant.

When the elephant reached the Buddha, his head was raised, his ears were upright and his trunk was lifted in a mad fury.

The Buddha simply stood in front of him and radiated loving, compassionate thoughts toward the animaland the elephant stopped in his tracks.

The Buddha gently raised his hand up with his palm toward the beast, sending him waves of loving friendliness.

The elephant knelt down before him, gentle as a lamb.

With the power of loving friendliness alone, the Buddha had subdued the raging animal.

The response of anger to anger is a conditioned response it is learned rather than innate.

If we have been trained from childhood to be patient, kind, and gentle, then loving friendliness becomes part of our life.

But even as adults, we can change our habitual responses.

We can train ourselves to react in a different way.

There is another story from the Buddhas life that teaches us how to respond to insults and harsh words.

The Buddhas rivals had bribed a prostitute named Cinca to insult and humiliate the Buddha.

Cinca tied a bunch of sticks to her belly underneath her rough clothes in order to look like she was pregnant.

While the Buddha was delivering a sermon to hundreds of people, she came right out in front of him and said, You rogue.

You pretend to be a saint preaching to all these people.

But look what you have done to me am pregnant because of you.

Calmly, the Buddha spoke to her, without anger, without hatred.

With his voice full of loving friendliness and compassion, he said to her, Sister, you and are the only ones who know what has happened.

Cinca was taken aback by the Buddhas response.

She was so shocked that on the way back she stumbled.

The strings that were holding the bundle of sticks to her belly came loose.

All the sticks fell to the ground, and everyone realized her ruse.

Several people in the audience wanted to beat her, but the Buddha stopped them.

That is not the way you should treat her.

We should help her understand the Dhamma.

After the Buddha taught her the Dhamma, her entire personality changed.

She too became gentle, kind, and compassionate.

When someone tries to make you angry or does something to hurt you, stay with your thoughts of loving friendliness toward that person.

person filled with thoughts of loving friendliness, the Buddha said, is like the earth.

Someone may try to make the earth disappear by digging at it with a hoe or an ax, but that is a futile act.

No amount of diggingnot in one lifetime or many lifetimesmakes the earth vanish.

Like the earth, a person full of loving friendliness is untouched by anger.

In another story from the Buddhas life, there was a man named Akkosina, whose name means not getting angry.

But in fact, this man was exactly the opposite he was always getting angry.

When he heard that the Buddha never got angry with anyone, he decided to visit him.

He went up to the Buddha and scolded him for all sorts of things, insulting him and calling him awful names.

At the end of his tirade, the Buddha asked this man if he had any friends and relatives.

When you visit them, do you take them gifts Of course, said the man.

What happens if they dont accept your gifts, the Buddha asked.

And likewise, said the Buddha, You have brought me a gift today that dont accept.

You may take that gift home to your family.

With patience, wit, and loving friendliness, the Buddha invites us to change how we think about the gift of angry words.

If we respond to insults or angry words with mindfulness and loving friendliness, we are able to look closely at the whole situation.

Perhaps that person did not know what he or she was saying.

Perhaps the words were not meant to harm you.

Perhaps it was your frame of mind at the time the words were spoken.

Perhaps you did not hear the words clearly or misunderstood the context.

It is also important to consider carefully what that person is saying.

If you respond with anger, you will not hear the message behind the words.

Perhaps that person is pointing out something you need to hear.

We all encounter people who push our buttons.

Without mindfulness and loving friendliness, we respond automatically with anger or resentment.

With mindfulness, we can watch how our mind responds to certain words and actions.

Just as we do on the cushion, we can watch the arising of attachment and aversion.

Mindfulness is like a safety net that cushions us against unwholesome actions.

Mindfulness gives us time time gives us choices.

We dont have to be swept away by our feelings.

We can respond with wisdom rather than delusion.

Loving friendliness is not something we do sitting on a cushion in one place, thinking and thinking and thinking.