Summary of Ajahn Brahm's Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The four initial stages of meditation are: making the groundwork and foundations solid, then moving on to the bliss states of meditation. You should spend a lot of time making the groundwork and foundations solid, then move on to the higher stories when they are ready.

#2 When you work with your mind, you find that it is so strange. The mind can do wonderful and unexpected things. When you think during your meditation, How many more minutes are there to go. How much longer do I have to endure this. that is just wandering off into the future.

#3 When you anticipate the future by thinking, How many more minutes until the bell rings. you torture yourself. So be very careful not to pick up the heavy burden of How many more minutes to go. or What should I do next. If that is what you are thinking, you are not paying attention to what is happening now.

#4 The second stage of meditation is silent present-moment awareness. It is the silent awareness of the present moment, and it is more important than any thought.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Apr 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669387879

IRB Media

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Insights on Ajahn Brahm's Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The four initial stages of meditation are: making the groundwork and foundations solid, then moving on to the bliss states of meditation. You should spend a lot of time making the groundwork and foundations solid, then move on to the higher stories when they are ready.

#2

When you work with your mind, you find that it is so strange. The mind can do wonderful and unexpected things. When you think during your meditation, How many more minutes are there to go. How much longer do I have to endure this. that is just wandering off into the future.

#3

When you anticipate the future by thinking, How many more minutes until the bell rings. you torture yourself. So be very careful not to pick up the heavy burden of How many more minutes to go. or What should I do next. If that is what you are thinking, you are not paying attention to what is happening now.

#4

The second stage of meditation is silent present-moment awareness. It is the silent awareness of the present moment, and it is more important than any thought.

#5

Silent awareness of the present moment is a skill that you can develop over time. It is easy to turn that awareness onto the breath, as the two major obstacles to breath meditation have been overcome.

#6

The fourth stage is when your attention expands to take in every single moment of the breath. You know the in-breath at the very first moment, when the first sensation of inbreathing arises. You observe as those sensations develop gradually through the course of one in-breath, not missing a moment of the in-breath.

#7

The fourth stage is full sustained attention on the breath, and it is called the springboard of meditation because from it you may dive into the blissful states. When you simply maintain this unity of consciousness by not interfering, the breath will begin to disappear. The breath will appear to fade away as the mind focuses instead on what is at the center of the experience of breath, which is awesome peace, freedom, and bliss.

#8

A technique for developing inner silence is recognizing the space between thoughts, or between periods of inner chatter. As you become accustomed to that silence, it will last longer. You will begin to enjoy the silence, and it will grow.

#9

The second stage of meditation is silent present-moment awareness. We should spend a lot of time developing this, because if we can reach this point, we have come a long way in our meditation. In this silent awareness, we experience peace, joy, and wisdom.

#10

Choosing to fix your attention on one thing is giving up diversity and moving towards its opposite, unity. As your mind begins to unify and sustain attention on just one thing, the experience of peace, bliss, and power increases significantly.

#11

The two major obstacles to breath meditation are the mind’s tendency to go off into the past or future and