When the state of happiness is really present, the joy of the mind settles down to allow happiness to become steadier and deeper. For as long as the joy is still there, there goes with it, to a greater or lesser extent, conceptualization and excitement. “Joy” is a translation of the Sanskrit word, piti, and “happiness” is a translation of sukha. Th

“Breathing in, I know that an unpleasant feeling has arisen within me. Breathing out, I know that this unpleasant feeling is present in me.” Whenever there is a pleasant or a neutral feeling, she practices mindful observation in accordance with that feeling. She knows that her feeling is her, and that for the moment she is that feeling. She is neit

The cause of ill-being is our ignorance. Because we are not able to see that the true nature of life is impermanence, selflessness, and interdependence, we become attached to things, believing that they are permanent. From this thinking arise the roots of affliction and the internal formations, or knots: craving, hatred, pride, doubt, and so forth.

Our anger, anxiety and fear, for instance, are the ropes that bind us to suffering. If we want to be liberated from them, we need to observe their nature, which is ignorance, the lack of clear understanding. When we misunderstand a friend, we may become angry at him, and because of that, we may suffer. But when we look deeply into what has happened

Mindfulness nourished by conscious breathing takes the feelings in its arms, becomes one with them, calms and transforms them.

We should remember that when the lamp of mindfulness is lit up, the mental formation under observation will naturally transform in a wholesome direction.

The first Establishment of mindfulness is the body, which includes the breath, the positions of the body, the actions of the body, the parts of the body, the four elements of which the body is composed, and the dissolution of the body.

“Bhikkhus, how does a practitioner remain established in the observation of the mind in the mind? “When his mind is desiring, the practitioner is aware, ‘My mind is desiring.’ When his mind is not desiring, he is aware, ‘My mind is not desiring.’ When his mind is hating something, he is aware, ‘My mind is hating.’ When his mind is not hating, he is

And if we look more deeply, we will see that neutral feelings can become joyful feelings, and that suffering and happiness are interdependent. Suffering is, because happiness is; and happiness is, because suffering is.