Episode Details

Jhana or frustration? The choice is yours.

See the video version of this call on YouTube.
►YouTube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtP5sHvJnjY

Find the full video chats on the Dhammarato Dhamma YouTube channel.
►YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/DhammaratoDhamma

Weekly Sangha calls, everyone is welcome!
►The Sangha US - https://join.skype.com/uyYzUwJ3e3TO
►The Sangha UK - https://join.skype.com/w6nFHnra6vdh

To meet Dhamma friends or volunteer to help spread the Dhamma, join our discord.
►Discord - https://discord.gg/epphTGY

To unite the growing interest in Buddhism with the hundreds of Buddhist wats in the West, we are in the process of starting the Open Sangha Foundation. If you want to learn more or volunteer to help, join the discord link above and navigate to the "open-sangha" text channel.

We are in the process of timestamping and organizing the 1000+ Dhammarato skype calls on this channel. If you would like to help with the process, find more information here - https://bit.ly/3H1EWSA

What do the numbers in the title mean? The number by the name of the student indicates the total amount of recorded calls with Dhammarato. The date in the title indicates the date the call was recorded.

0:00:00 - Timestamps start at 1 hour and 23 minutes
1:23:00 - What’s the tiniest, subtlest 0.01% better you can make this moment with practically no effort, by thinking a thought that is barely wholesome (but more wholesome than what came before)? Anti-perfectionism measure: it’s still more wholesome.
1:28:00 - You’re already ok with it, you’re just afraid of not being ok with it in the next moment.
1:30:00 - Notice that you’re enjoying the self-pity of being miserable and appreciate the perverse pleasure that it’s giving you instead of rejecting yourself for finding enjoyment in it (at least you’re enjoying something! Notice that!)
1:32:00 - It’s like you’re training in a sport and the coach is saying “you just need to run” and you’re saying “nah, i’ll just walk”
1:34:30 - If you are upset that you are failing, ask yourself: is it ok that you’re a failure? And if the answer’s “no it’s not”, well then let it be ok that you’re a failure, you’re working so darn hard to prove it to yourself after all.
1:38:00 - When we discuss your problems, we’re not talking about your mind (you’re not a special snowflake with unique problems), we’re talking about the human mind.
1:43:50 - Don’t use perfectionism as an excuse to stunt your progress
1:48:45 - Notice, when you’re thinking unwholesome thoughts, that you’re continuously referring back to the past or future e.g. “i did it, i just took a breath, i just gladdened my mind just now” ← but notice how that’s still just going back into the past again!
1:50:00 - Notice, when you’re thinking unwholesome thoughts, that you’re continuously wanting something.
1:51:00 - Try to stop practicing all day and just do 10-20 minutes first thing in the morning instead, using the rest of your day as a kind of ‘recovery time’/’rest break’ from your little daily ‘workout’.
1:54:00 - I was frustrated in the past and I’ll be frustrated again, but right now, everything’s ok (because it can be).
1:55:00 - Have a “problem” with procrastination? Try: nevermind, i’ll frustrate later.
1:56:30 - Your concern for the past hinges on your obsession with the future - consider if you’re so worried about the past because you’re worried the future will always be the (unwholesome) way that the now is. It’s just as important to let go of the future as the past, and to help you do this: notice that it never turns out the way you expect it to.
1:58:00 - It’s ok to be doubtful bc you have been doubtful SO many times (and look you’re still alive and well) so it’s just an “old familiar part of the family” [“hello doubt, my OLD friend, I don’t have to get rid of you or be angry about you, I can enjoy you