The Skillful Teachings of Thanissaro Bhikkhu

The Skillful Teachings of Thanissaro Bhikkhu

All too often we hear that meditation is just about watching pleasure come and go, watching pain come and go, watching things and getting out of the way to let these things happen on their own. But, as the Buddha said, that’s not the role of mindfulness. The role of mindfulness is that if you see something is skillful, you remember to give rise to it. You don’t just let it come and go. And if it seems like it’s going to go, you remember to do what you can to prevent it from going. If it’s not arising, you remember to do what you can to make it arise. That’s when he says mindfulness becomes a governing principle in the practice.

So in this case, in order to keep the mind from running out after pleasures outside, you have to give it a strong sense of pleasure within. At the same time, as you have that sense of pleasure within, you find it becomes a good foundation for more skillful actions. If you have sense of irritation inside, it’s very easy to speak and do things through that irritation, and all too often those are things that you later regret. So you owe it to yourself and to other people to learn how to give rise to this inner sense of pleasure and how to maintain it.

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu 

"A Home & a Mobile Home"

https://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/CrossIndexed/Published/Meditations9/151022AHome&aMobileHome.pdf?fbclid=IwAR1HVY1_F0QGn9gMwA9rsuvrYGJdB1mRCdt5DuWvG_Lh8sUMPat_mKvBguU