Buddho

General discussion of issues related to Theravada Meditation, e.g. meditation postures, developing a regular sitting practice, skillfully relating to difficulties and hindrances, etc.
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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When entering concentration so as to relax the mind, in order to give strength to discernment in its continuing explorations, you should go ahead and really rest — rest in concentration. Enter the calm. Completely stop all thoughts and explorations in the area of discernment. Let the mind settle in and relax. It doesn't have to think or contrive anything at all related to its work. Let the mind rest comfortably by giving it a single preoccupation. If the mind happens to be extremely engrossed in its investigations so that you can't rein it in, use 'buddho'as a means to drag it in. Make the mind stay with 'buddho, buddho, buddho.'Even though the meditation word 'buddho'may be a mental contrivance, it's a contrivance in a single focal idea. Contriving a single focal idea can cause the mind to settle down.
Maha Boowa

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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For example, if while we are repeating, 'buddho, buddho, buddho,'the mind flashes back to its work because it is engrossed in its unfinished business, we should repeat the meditation word even faster so as not to let the mind go back to its work. In other words, when the mind is at the stage where it is engrossed in its work, we could say that we can't let down our guard, although on this level it's hard to say that the mind lets down its guard. To get nearer the truth, we should say that we can't loosen our grip. To put it simply, we can't loosen our grip. Otherwise the mind will jump back out to work. So at this point we have to be firm with our meditation word. Force the mind to stay with its single preoccupation 'buddho'as a means of reining the mind in. Repeat 'buddho, buddho, buddho'in really close frequency; then 'buddho'and the mind will become one. The heart will be firm and calm down, calm down, relaxing, relaxing, setting aside all its work. The mind will become cool and peaceful.
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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We are taught to meditate, which is a step higher in refinement. This effort to train ourselves in meditation is a way of self-reliance that is steadily taken onto a firmer and more dependable level. We use a meditation-word as the means to direct and control the heart. For, as the mind is not yet able to sustain itself, we have to rely on the meditation-word as the object to soothe and bring peace and calm. The settling of the mind in "buddho buddho buddho..."is one example of this. It is an object for the heart to occupy itself with, which is correct and right and appropriate to finding refuge in Dhamma.
Ajaan Maha Boowa

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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Questions and Answers with Ajahn Maha Boowa

Q7 M5: Doing the repetition of “Buddho”, must we do it just on its own or together with
the in-and-out breaths?


A: It is up to each person to do it as he likes. It can be done in three ways:

1) Simply repeat “Buddho, Buddho...” etc., until the citta remains still with Buddho.
2) Repeat “Buddho...” in time with the in-and-out breaths.
3) Meditate “Bud” with the in-breaths and “dho” with the out-breaths. It is important
to depend on mindfulness to know and attend to the work that you have set your citta to
do, and to avoid anticipating the results which you may get from doing the practice.
When mindfulness and the work go along together, the result will come of itself steadily
from the practice of meditation....

If you use one of the parikamma words (Buddho, Dhammo or Sangho) to establish
mindfulness in the citta, your attention must be kept firmly on that parikamma word. If the
mind slips away to think about all sorts of things, you should try to understand what has
happened, and use various techniques, such as rapidly repeating the parikamma word, to
bring your attention back again. Whatever technique or method that enables your heart
to gain peace and calm, and to arouse various skilful means internally, may be considered
to be a right method of training yourself. If the citta becomes calm, then concerns about
time and place do not enter and make contact with the citta. There is just knowing and
dwelling alone, and this is happiness (sukha). Whether you sit for a long time or not,
nothing comes to cause disturbances. Wherever you sit and for however long, nothing
comes into relationship with the citta as long as the citta does not go out and get
entangled with things — and as long as it has Dhamma as the object of attention
(ãrammaõa). This is a state of calm that dwells alone, and there is “self-knowing” right
there at that time. This is called “knowing” by way of meditation (bhãvanã) — or
“knowing” by means of guarding the citta. There is a boundary to knowing and
understanding in this way. This is the initial method for progressing in meditation.

When doing meditation, try to let the citta confine its imagining to the work that you want to promote, such as
“Buddho...Buddho...”, which is the kind of work that causes the citta to become calm.
When you try to do this with interest and with mindfulness in control of the citta, you will
be able to attain a state of calm without being troubled by emotionally disturbing objects.
A heart devoid of disturbing things is happy, calm and peaceful. Calm and happiness of
heart devoid of all emotionally disturbing things is the kind of happiness and security that
we long for the most.

Q2 W1: I understand that the meditation practice of repeating “Buddho” should only be
used when sitting in meditation. Can we use it at other times or not?


A: When you do your work, do you have to use your mind to think about things or not? If
you meditate repeating “Buddho” but the citta goes away thinking about other things,
then no kind of meditation is of any use. So in doing any kind of meditation, if
mindfulness is present with the heart so that you can keep the meditation object in mind
the whole time, you will be able to use that meditation object any time. In this regard,
there is no prohibition for those who are interested in training themselves.

Q2 W1: When we meditate using “Buddho”, is it necessary to be seated in meditation?

A: You can do it in all postures. The Lord Buddha did not teach people in order to put
them into a tight fix when they are struggling with their kilesas. He taught people to use
skill and cleverness so as to always be victorious. We should therefore search for clever
ways to be the victor, following the Lord.

The Dhamma that I have explained to you here is ninety-five percent Forest Dhamma.
I have explained the importance of meditation as a means of keeping the focus of the citta
within, so please don’t let the citta go out externally. By nature the citta likes to focus
outwardly. Constantly doing the “Buddho” meditation can help a great deal in curing this
problem.
:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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Ajaan Sao's Teaching



In our day and age, the practice of going into the forest to meditate and follow the ascetic dhutanga practices began with Phra Ajaan Sao Kantasilo, the teacher of Phra Ajaan Mun and, by extension, Phra Ajaan Singh and Phra Ajaan Lee. Phra Ajaan Sao was inclined to be, not a preacher or a speaker, but a doer. When he taught his students, he said very little. And those who studied directly under him are now elders who speak very little, who rarely preach, having picked up the habit from their teacher. Thus, as Phra Ajaan Sao was not a preacher, I would like to tell you a little of the way in which he taught meditation.

How did Phra Ajaan Sao teach? If it so happened that someone came to him, saying, "Ajaan, sir, I want to practice meditation. How should I go about it?" he would answer, "Meditate on the word 'Buddho.'"

If the person asked, "What does 'Buddho' mean?" Ajaan Sao would answer, "Don't ask."

"What will happen after I've meditated on 'Buddho'?"

"Don't ask. Your only duty is simply to repeat the word 'Buddho' over and over in your mind."

That's how he taught: no long, drawn-out explanations.

Now, if the student was sincere in putting the Ajaan's instructions into practice and was persistent in practicing the repetition, if his mind then became calm and bright from entering into concentration, he would come and ask Ajaan Sao: "When meditating on 'Buddho' my state of mind becomes such-and-such. What should I do now?" If it was right, Ajaan Sao would say, "Keep on meditating." If not, he would say, "You have to do such-and-such. What you're doing isn't right."

For example, once when I was his attendant novice, a senior monk of the Mahanikaya sect came and placed himself under his direction as a beginning student in meditation. Ajaan Sao taught him to meditate on "Buddho." Now, when the monk settled down on "Buddho," his mind became calm and, once it was calm, bright. And then he stopped repeating "Buddho." At this point, his mind was simply blank. Afterwards, he sent his attention out, following the brightness, and a number of visions began to arise: spirits of the dead, hungry ghosts, divine beings, people, animals, mountains, forests.... Sometimes it seemed as if he, or rather, his mind, left his body and went wandering through the forest and wilderness, seeing the various things mentioned above. Afterwards, he went and told Ajaan Sao, "When I mediated down to the point were the mind became calm and bright, it then went out, following the bright light. Visions of ghosts, divine beings, people, and animals appeared. Sometimes it seemed as if I went out following the visions."

As soon as Ajaan Sao heard this, he said, "This isn't right. For the mind to go knowing and seeing outside isn't right. You have to make it know inside."

The monk then asked, "How should I go about making it know inside?"

Phra Ajaan Sao answered, "When the mind is in a bright state like that, when it has forgotten or abandoned its repetition and is simply sitting empty and still, look for the breath. If the sensation of the breath appears in your awareness, focus on the breath as your object and then simply keep track of it, following it inward until the mind becomes even calmer and brighter."

And so the monk followed the Ajaan's instructions until finally the mind settled down in threshold concentration (upacara samadhi), following which the breath became more and more refined, ultimately to the point where it disappeared. His sensation of having a body also disappeared, leaving just the state in which the mind was sitting absolutely still, a state of awareness itself standing out clear, with no sense of going forward or back, no sense of where the mind was, because at that moment there was just the mind, all on its own. At this point, the monk came again to ask, "After my mind has become calm and bright, and I fix my attention on the breath and follow the breath inward until it reaches a state of being absolutely quiet and still -- so still that nothing is left, the breath doesn't appear, the sense of having a body vanishes, only the mind stands out, brilliant and still: When it's like this, is it right or wrong?"

"Whether it's right or wrong," the Ajaan answered, "take that as your standard. Make an effort to be able to do this as often as possible, and only when you're skilled at it should you come and see me again."

So the monk followed the Ajaan's instructions and later was able to make his mind still to the point that there was no sense of having a body and the breath disappeared more and more often. He became more and more skilled, and his mind became more and more firm. Eventually, after he had been making his mind still very frequently -- because as a rule, there's the principle that virtue develops concentration, concentration develops discernment, discernment develops the mind -- when his concentration became powerful and strong, it gave rise to abhiñña -- heightened knowledge and true insight. Knowledge of what? Knowledge of the true nature of the mind, that is, knowing the states of the mind as they occur in the present. Or so he said.

After he had left this level of concentration and came to see Ajaan Sao, he was told, "This level of concentration is fixed penetration (appana samadhi). You can rest assured that in this level of concentration there is no insight or knowledge of anything at all. There's only the brightness and the stillness. If the mind is forever in that state, it will be stuck simply on that level of stillness. So once you've made the mind still like this, watch for the interval where it begins to stir out of its concentration. As soon as the mind has a sense that it's beginning to take up an object -- no matter what object may appear first -- focus on the act of taking up an object. That's what you should examine."

The monk followed the Ajaan's instructions and afterwards he was able to make fair progress in the level of his mind.

This is one instance of how Phra Ajaan Sao taught his pupils -- teaching just a little at a time, giving only the very heart of the practice, almost as if he would say, "Do this, and this, and this," with no explanations at all. Sometimes I would wonder about his way of teaching. That is, I would compare it with books I had read or with the Dhamma-talks I heard given by other teachers. For example, Phra Ajaan Singh wrote a small handbook for the practice of meditation, entitled, Taking the Triple Refuge and the Techniques of Meditation, and in it he said that in practicing meditation you must, before all else, sit with your body straight and establish mindfulness directly in front of you. That's how he put it, but not how Ajaan Sao would put it. Still, the principles they taught were one and the same, the only difference being that Ajaan Sao was not a preacher, and so didn't make use of a lot of rhetoric.

As he explained to me: "When we make up our mind to repeat 'Buddho,' the act of making up the mind is in itself the act of establishing mindfulness. When we keep thinking 'Buddho' and are not willing to let the mind slip away from 'Buddho,' our mindfulness and alertness are already healthy and strong, always watching over the mind to keep it with 'Buddho.' As soon as our attention slips away, so that we forget to think 'Buddho' and go thinking of something else, it's a sign that there's a lapse in our mindfulness. But if we can keep our mindfulness under control and can think 'Buddho, Buddho' continuously, with no gaps, our mindfulness is already strong, so there's no need to go 'establishing mindfulness' anywhere. To think of an object so that it is coupled with the mind is, in and of itself, the act of getting mindfulness established." That was how he explained it to me.

This was one instance of how I saw and heard Phra Ajaan Sao teaching meditation, and should be enough to serve us all as food for thought.
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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"One who is aroused to practice is one of conviction, not without conviction. One aroused to practice is one with persistence aroused, not lazy. One aroused to practice is one of established mindfulness, not muddled mindfulness. One aroused to practice is centered in concentration, not uncentered. One aroused to practice is discerning, not undiscerning.

"Established in these five qualities, you should further develop six qualities:

"There is the case where you recollect the Tathagata: 'Indeed, the Blessed One is worthy and rightly self-awakened, consummate in knowledge & conduct, well-gone, an expert with regard to the world, unexcelled as a trainer for those people fit to be tamed, the Teacher of divine & human beings, awakened [Buddho], blessed.' At any time when a disciple of the noble ones is recollecting the Tathagata, his mind is not overcome with passion, not overcome with aversion, not overcome with delusion. His mind heads straight, based on the Tathagata. And when the mind is headed straight, the disciple of the noble ones gains a sense of the goal, gains a sense of the Dhamma, gains joy connected with the Dhamma. In one who is joyful, rapture arises. In one who is rapturous, the body grows calm. One whose body is calmed experiences ease. In one at ease, the mind becomes concentrated.

"Mahanama, you should develop this recollection of the Buddha while you are walking, while you are standing, while you are sitting, while you are lying down, while you are busy at work, while you are resting in your home crowded with children.
http://www.dhammawheel.com/posting.php? ... =17&t=2552" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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Question: Could you speak about walking meditation please?

Luang Por : When you do walking meditation establish mindfulness at the soles
of the feet, and repeat "Bud-dho", "Bud-dho" together with the left or right foot. It
doesn’t matter which foot, I don’t think this has to be determined, whatever you feel
suits you. But try to keep to your style – one side "Bud" – the other side "dho", and
keep doing this over and over. Try not to go to other things, only keep to "Buddho",
even if there is some kind of thinking that comes up in your mind – it doesn’t matter,
just keep up mindfulness merely knowing "Buddho". If it’s the case that you have
kept "Buddho", going all along, but eventually you start thinking, and "Buddho" disappears,
it means that you have been lacking mindfulness. Then you need to go back
and re-establish mindfulness again. Sooner or later your mind won’t go astray and
the thinking will become less. If you do "Buddho", on and on, and you keep up only
"Buddho", everything else will be gradually cut off by itself.

When you loose "Buddho", it means that the other thoughts you had at that point
were very weighty. Then you need to give Buddha more weight and all the other
thoughts will become very light and finally disappear. It all depends on how we think.
It’s not that we cut out thinking competely while doing "Buddho". There is still some
thinking. Our brain keeps having thoughts of some kind, but we try to have mindfulness
with it.
http://www.tisarana.ca/docs/e-books/pra ... opping.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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Tan Moshe: What shall we do, if we practice anapanasati together with "Buddho",
and after some time "Buddho" disappears ?


Luang Por: If "Buddho" fades away, keep meditating. When "Buddho" disappears,
look at where it disappears. You don’t need to think any more, simply keep watching.
If you start thinking, peace of mind won’t be able to arise. It is right at this point
[where the word fades away], that peace is just about to develop. Be aware and look
at this point. No need to worry. If the breath disappears, it doesn’t matter. Carefully
observe. If you haven’t reached this point yet, then there will still be the sensation of
the breath. Then look at the breath. lf the breath is gone, then just look at where it’s
gone. It goes at the point it wants to go. Wherever this point is, look at where there is
no more breathing, where there is nothing.

What exactly do you want to know? If you tell more how far you’ve come, I can
explain more accurately. Like this, I don’t really know what to say, so it’s in accordance
with the beginning steps. So, when the breath gets lost, is it still there, is it only very
soft and refined?
http://www.tisarana.ca/docs/e-books/pra ... opping.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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In order to clearly know these three characteristics of aniccam,dukkham, and anatta the mind must be firm. Thus the effort to bring the mind to a secure and steadfast tranquillity, not allowing it to become fascinated by forms, sounds, odors, flavors, physical sensations and mental phenomena is the essence of meditation techniques, and something we must all develop. Take care when the eyes see forms not to let the mind waver: keep up the inner recitation of Buddho. Take care not to be deluded when hearing sounds: beautiful or ugly sounds are all just worldly conditions. Maintain the mind's firmness. The pleasant and offensive odors that contact the nose — know them, don't be deceived by them. No matter how delicious the taste of the food on the tongue — remain equanimous. Be impassive to the various physical sensations whether hot or cold, hard or soft. This is the supreme practice in Buddhism. So gather your energies and establish the mind in the present moment. - Boo Simm
:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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To produce this firm and enduring tranquillity you must go against the stream and enter within. Then you will understand the practice of Dhamma with the mindfulness and wisdom that are present in the heart. If there is no countering the stream and no entry within, the search for virtue externally is an endless one. Truth and virtue do not lie beneath the land or sea, or in the sky or in space. They lie in volitions, the mind that makes effort to give up evil and do good. When the mind converges right here it becomes spacious, cool and easeful, it is established in Dhamma practice. Sitting there is meditation in the sitting posture, standing there is meditation in the standing posture, walking there is meditation while walking and lying down there is meditation until one falls asleep. As soon as we wake we continue the inner recitation of "Buddho," making "Buddho" our constant concern. Wherever the mind goes we don't follow it. We give up all the going and settle for dwelling. - Boo Simm
:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
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Re: Buddho

Post by Viscid »

In a lot of these quotes, it seems as if 'Buddho' can be replaced with other types of meditation objects.. the breath, your posture, your state of mind, etc. So even if you're not specifically using 'Buddho,' a lot of this advice is still quite relevant and useful.
"What holds attention determines action." - William James
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bodom
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Re: Buddho

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Viscid wrote:In a lot of these quotes, it seems as if 'Buddho' can be replaced with other types of meditation objects.. the breath, your posture, your state of mind, etc...
Indeed. The word "Buddho" has no real special significance in itself, other than being an epithet for the Buddha. What is most important, as with any meditation technique, is the resulting awareness, concentration and wisdom. "Buddho" is a means to the end.
"Once the mind stays with the breath, you don't have to repeat buddho in the mind. It's like calling your water buffalo. Once it comes, why keep calling its name?" - Ajahn Fuang Jotiko

Do not be attached to the object of meditation such as a mantra. Know its purpose. If you succeed in concentrating your mind using the mantra "Buddho," let the mantra go. It is a mistake to think that to stop repeating "Buddho" would be laziness. Buddha means "the one who knows" -if you become one who knows, why repeat the word? - Ajahn Chah


:anjali:
Liberation is the inevitable fruit of the path and is bound to blossom forth when there is steady and persistent practice. The only requirements for reaching the final goal are two: to start and to continue. If these requirements are met there is no doubt the goal will be attained. This is the Dhamma, the undeviating law.

- BB
daverupa
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Re: Buddho

Post by daverupa »

It's helpful that it's two syllables. IN-OUT --> BUD-DHO

Also, if the term was, say, CHEESE-CAKE, the mind would be able to use it as a springboard into all manner of papanca. With Buddho, the proliferations are more likely to come across a reminder to be mindful, and snap the mind back to the object.
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
Kenshou
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Re: Buddho

Post by Kenshou »

Coo-kies, T-V, inter-net, nap-time... Yeah, feeling pretty awakened.
Nicro
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Re: Buddho

Post by Nicro »

Kenshou wrote:Coo-kies, T-V, inter-net, nap-time... Yeah, feeling pretty awakened.

in-ter-net
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