Mindfulness—The Heart Of The Practice

In these seven short teachings, we learn how to cultivate mindfulness—the very heart of our practice. It's the ability to keep the mind aware and centered in the present moment, knowing what's going on. Initially appearing as just individual drops, over time these join together into a steady stream that brings clarity into our lives and minds, helping us to resolve any difficulties we may be dealing with. Mindfulness is a safe haven that we can always return to and abide in.

Transcript

Mindfulness,

The heart of the practice.

A collection of short Dharma teachings by Venerable Ajahn Anand.

Present Moment Awareness The reason it's difficult for us to maintain awareness of the present moment is that since we've been born,

We've been trained in thinking and remembering.

And this use of the thinking mind takes us away from the present moment.

This is where the problem lies,

Where the crux of the matter is,

Because we've been trained in not being in the present moment.

And the result is confusion and discontent.

What's more,

All of this associative thinking based on different memories and concepts creates an identity to attach to,

Worsening the problem.

So developing enough awareness to really stay in the present moment,

We have to be patient and give it time.

One year,

Ten years,

Maybe even longer.

The important thing is to start practicing.

From Moments to Minutes Remember that mindfulness always begins with brief,

Separate moments.

It's like when we turn on a tap.

At first the water slowly drips out,

Drop,

Drop,

Drop.

But soon those drops join together to become a steady flow of water.

Likewise,

At first there might be just occasional flashes of mindfulness,

But if we work at it,

These moments will join up and become a continuous stream.

We can achieve this by putting effort into being mindful of physical things,

Our posture,

Our activities,

Our breathing,

Or whatever else we're presently doing.

At any time,

In any posture,

We can develop the same qualities as in formal meditation.

The main thing when practicing mindfulness is restraining the mind,

Not letting it fall into the usual mental proliferation or distraction that takes it away from the present moment.

This means letting go of thoughts about the future,

Planning,

Worrying,

And letting go of different thoughts about the past.

When we're doing a job and practicing mindfulness,

We just bring our mind to focus on that job.

And if we learn to do this in daily life,

We'll find that we're bringing up mindfulness at all times.

When we come to set meditation,

Our mind will already be calm,

Composed,

Prepared.

Our formal meditation will go better as a result.

Bringing it back,

Again,

And again.

We must always be developing mindfulness.

When problems arise,

Either at work or home,

The tenor will be to start proliferating about that,

Becoming upset and agitated.

So when we see ourselves getting lost in different thoughts and worries,

We have to bring the mind back to the present moment as quickly as we can,

Focusing on the task at hand.

And maybe we wait until the mind is calm and concentrated again,

Reestablished with present moment awareness,

Before considering the aspects of whatever went wrong.

Why did that happen?

If I made a mistake,

What was it?

How can I keep it from happening again?

These kinds of reflections can be brought up once the mind is calm.

But we probably don't want to do that straight away,

While we're still wound up in the whole situation.

At first,

Our job is just to bring the mind back to awareness of the present moment,

And not get caught into too much stress about it.

If we practice like this,

We'll see that our real task is to learn how to quickly establish mindfulness.

When we notice we've lost mindfulness,

Getting caught into different moods and emotions,

The practice is about recognizing that,

And then re-establishing awareness in the present moment.

And how skillfully we do that,

That's how well our practice is going.

Like training water buffaloes.

When we attach to thoughts that arise in the mind,

These become karma.

Sometimes,

When we're practicing,

Unskillful thoughts come into the mind.

They come quickly,

And they seem to be uncontrollable.

So what can we do?

We must keep re-establishing mindfulness to catch them as they arise.

We must try to stay on top of what we're thinking.

The mental state we're currently experiencing,

Is it skillful or unskillful?

If we know that it's skillful,

Then let it go.

Use that awareness to realize that it will bring harm and suffering,

And then let it go.

It hasn't made any bad karma yet.

Actually,

It's good karma,

In that we're establishing mindfulness and letting it go.

Ajahn Chah would compare this to a farmer and his water buffalo.

The farmer knows he has to keep a close watch over the buffalo at all times,

Because if he doesn't,

It'll head straight for the rice plants and ruin his crop.

If the farmer loses mindfulness,

The buffalo will destroy the whole field.

It's the same with the mind.

If we don't keep a close guard over it,

It'll chase after all the mental impressions that arise.

So whatever we do,

Whether in daily life or in the monastery,

The task is to maintain mindfulness,

To keep on watching and knowing any impressions that come into the mind.

Investigate what kind of state the mind is in.

Is it experiencing happiness,

Sadness,

Displeasure,

Restlessness?

Whether it's rapture,

Calm,

Or wisdom,

We just keep on watching,

Knowing whatever is present in the mind.

Whatever we experience,

We should repeatedly remind ourselves that it isn't permanent,

It's not sure.

Whenever we experience feelings of suffering,

Hatred,

Anger,

Stress,

Fear,

The task is exactly the same.

We must teach to remind ourselves,

Even admonish ourselves sometimes,

Hey,

Suffering,

You're not permanent.

I'm not the owner of you.

If you're going to suffer,

Well,

Go ahead and suffer.

Follow your own course.

I'm not getting involved.

This is having present moment awareness to continually guard and train the mind.

Committing to Mindfulness It's important to get the right attitude and motivation with practice.

Often this means just trying to begin the day in the right way.

When you get up in the morning,

Really say to yourself,

Today,

I want to practice,

Doing all my duties and activities in a mindful way.

I want to try to develop mindfulness as much as I can.

If I meet with any difficult situations,

Difficult people who test my patience,

Bringing up moods of irritation,

Anger,

Or aversion,

I'm not going to give in to those moods.

I'll be patient and practice mindfulness with whatever difficulties I encounter.

Find set up this attitude ahead of time so that when you get to work you have the right frame of mind.

Also,

Be looking for times and occasions when you can practice mindfulness in a more direct way,

While working,

During little breaks,

In the lunch hour,

At different times.

You might find it helpful to occasionally take a few minutes just to compose the mind and bring it back to the breathing before you carry on again with your duties.

Ajahn Chah always emphasized that the main thing is not to stop,

Not to give up.

Keep going.

Keep practicing.

Developing mindfulness in every posture,

Every moment.

The development of mindfulness is very similar to building a dam.

Once we build a dam,

Then we can prevent water from flowing all over the place and channel it to be of use.

In the same way,

Mindfulness helps to restrain the unwholesome tendencies of the mind and assist the practice of meditation.

You'll find that when you're sincerely committing yourself to the practice,

You'll become more aware of what you're saying and doing throughout the day.

Both in work and family,

You'll be able to observe your mind better from moment to moment,

Sending results out through the rest of your life.

The wisdom of patience.

When we've heard about the attainments that come from the practice,

This can make us very impatient to see results.

But we have to see that it's like planting a tree.

If we plant a tree and just keep looking at it,

Wondering when it's going to grow up,

Then of course we're not going to be very peaceful.

We have to realize that these things take time.

They have to grow and develop in their own way.

Keep practicing.

Keep putting in wholesome effort.

And don't be disheartened if at times you're not peaceful.

Sometimes we may feel that,

Ugh,

The mind isn't very concentrated or mindful.

I'm not getting anywhere.

I might as well just give up.

This is just the tricks of the mind.

As we keep putting effort into mindfulness,

It's like giving water to that tree to support its growth.

When we have faith in the teachings and put time into the practice,

The mind will soon become peaceful and our doubts will drop away.

Living Home A house is a place for rest and shelter.

We go out,

Work,

And do things,

But then we come back to our house,

To our home.

It's a place where we can rest that protects us from the elements outside,

From the sun and wind,

The rain and cold.

But we also have our inner home,

And that is the heart.

It also needs its place of rest,

Protection from the mental heat of stress and suffering that we experience as human beings.

For this reason,

We need the shelter of the Dhamma.

This is the truth we develop in our heart,

Our protective shade from the effects of living in the world.

The way we do this is by putting the teachings into practice on a daily basis,

Developing our self in generosity,

Virtue,

Mindfulness,

And wisdom.

And with the calm and peace that these qualities bring,

We can reflect on our experience to see why we suffer and how we can let it go.

Reviews

🙏🏻🕊

Brilliant talk
Thank you very much

Excellent suggestions for practice and in daily activities. Thank you!

Inspiring.

Thank you for a great reminder about practicing mindfulness. 🙏🙏🙏

Loved this talk

Thank you 🙏

Very well explained. Thank you.

An excellent description of mindfulness, much more than just a definition. Ajahn Anan brings clarity and simplicity to this foundational practice. I will listen again and again to be reminded of my intention to live mindfully.

I very much enjoy the teachings

Excellent..great voice 👌 thank you 🙏

To the heart of every moment
I will listen

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