MEDITATION 9
MAIN CONTENT
Meditation 9
Dhamma Talks
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
(Geoffrey DeGraff)
Copyright
copyright 2019 thanissaro bhikkhu
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported. To see a copy of this license visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. “Commercial” shall mean any sale, whether for commercial or non-profit purposes or entities.
questions about this book may be addressed to
Metta Forest Monastery
Valley Center, CA 92082-1409
U.S.A.
additional resources
More Dhamma talks, books and translations by Thanissaro Bhikkhu are available to download in digital audio and various ebook formats at dhammatalks.org.
printed copy
A paperback copy of this book is available free of charge. To request one, write to: Book Request, Metta Forest Monastery, PO Box 1409, Valley Center, CA 92082 USA.
cover
Point Reyes, California
Contents
- Copyright
- Introduction
- The Language of the Heart (1)
- The Language of the Heart (2)
- No One in Charge
- Take Good Aim
- The End of the World
- Ajaan Suwat’s Gift
- Spread Goodness Around
- The Lessons of Good Kamma
- Turning Anxiety into Heedfulness
- Respect for the Precepts
- Wisdom for Dummies Revisited
- Defilements Are Real
- Insight Is a Judgment Call
- The Train Trestle
- The Burning House
- Breath vs. Distraction
- Centered
- Tapping into the Breath
- What Is One
- Remorse
- Wake Up from Addiction
- Mindfulness 2.0
- Mindfulness Like a Dam
- The Use of the Present
- The Kamma of Concentration
- Cut, Cut, Cut
- A Poker Mind
- Focused on Results
- Look after Your Baby
- Vitakka & Vicara
- When it’s Hard to Settle Down
- Building Character
- The Gift of Spiritual Materialism
- Patience & Tenacity
- The Heart to Keep Going
- Success Through Maturity
- Look after Your Mind with Ease
- In Harmlessness Is Strength
- Metta Through Samvega
- Right Resolve in Real Life
- The Noble Truths Come First
- The Power of Truth
- To Suffer Is an Active Verb
- Rooted in Desire
- The Core of Experience
- Self View & Conceit
- Dispassion
- Dhamma Is a Quality of the Heart
- Glossary
Introduction
The daily schedule at Metta Forest Monastery includes a group interview in the late afternoon and, later in the evening, a chanting session followed by a group meditation period. The Dhamma talks included in this volume were given during the evening meditation sessions, and in many cases covered issues raised at the interviews—either in the questions asked or lurking behind the questions. Often these issues touched on a variety of topics on a variety of different levels in the practice. This explains the range of topics covered in individual talks.
I have edited the talks with an eye to making them readable while at the same time trying to preserve some of the flavor of the spoken word. In a few instances I have added passages or rearranged the talks to make the treatment of specific topics more coherent and complete, but for the most part I have kept the editing to a minimum. Don’t expect polished essays.
The people listening to these talks were familiar with the meditation instructions included in “Method 2” in Keeping the Breath in Mind by Ajaan Lee Dhammadharo; and my own book, With Each & Every Breath. If you are not familiar with these instructions, you might want to read through them before reading the talks in this book. Additional Dhamma talks are available at www.dhammatalks.org.
* * *
As with the previous volumes in this series, I would like to thank Bok Lim Kim for making the recording of these talks possible. She, more than anyone else, is responsible for overcoming my initial reluctance to have the talks recorded. I would also like to thank the following people for transcribing the talks and/or helping to edit the transcriptions: James Babbitt, Deanna Burkett, Satarupa Das, Judi Faabeng, Amala Ghosh, Melissa Greben, Grace Keiru, Grace Kepler, Andrea Kessler, Virginia Lawrence, Addie Onsanit, Barbara Pereira, Isabella Trauttmansdorff, Emily Walker, and Antony Woods; Vens. Balaggo Bhikkhu and Vijjakaro Bhikkhu. May they all be happy.
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Metta Forest Monastery
February, 2019
