Very impressive. Happy to stumble upon someone who truly understands the Dhamma.

Instant subscribe. This is truly what our great teacher taught. It is all make sense now.

Excellent, clear and straight forward explanation of a subject ! Absolute joy to listen. Thank you sir for doing this, it's very very rare to find so clear and comprehensive explanation of this difficult subject anywhere on Internet. Needless to say I did subscribe. I loved it, my mind not so much and I think that's really good sign. Thank you

So inspiring for me. Because it feels so practical and consistent with the path.

Just wonderful Florian! I do appreciate all the effort you have made to put this video together. Wonderful dhamma. Very honest, transparent and courageous for stating the true dhamma . Your words remind me of @hillsidehermitage with Ajahn Thero. His channel is one of finest exponents of dhamma as well. Keep up the great work.

Twenty years practicing off and on in my room and still I haven’t reached the first Jhana . I need a teacher in the worst way. I live in a small town in southwest Colorado. The nearest Dharma center is 50 miles away so I’ve been studying, and I mean reading extensively almost daily for that twenty years. I have a library most Buddhists would do anything for and still here I am trying to overcome social anxiety, and suffering. This Chanel is a Buddha send. I have picked up more jewels here than any other Chanel. I’m tired of being an intellectual Buddhist, and would be happy to just attain Stream entry and reach the first Jnana. They say when the student is ready the teacher will come but twenty years is a pretty long wait. My degree in metaphysics hasn’t done much good either. Anyway thank you for the detailed information, perhaps I can grasp it and make some progress. ☸️☯️☯️

@galaxymetta5974

2 ай бұрын

Check out the Thailand forest meditation tradition to see how they train for jhana. One hour a day of meditation is not sufficient. Cheers.

@noself7889

2 ай бұрын

@@galaxymetta5974 Thanks 🙏 right now I am doing two to four hours a day of meditation. I have heard of the forest tradition but never looked into the meditation. I will definitely check it out. Thanks again ☸️☯️☸️

@noself7889

2 ай бұрын

@@galaxymetta5974 In your opinion how many hours per day of meditation does one need for spiritual growth and attainment?

@galaxymetta5974

Ай бұрын

@@noself7889 Not measured that way. Just as how many hours required to train a swimmer or baker? Those who built up sufficient paramis in past lives are known to even enter jhana on their first sitting. Key is to maintain mindfulness even when out of meditation, because meditation is a form of mindfulness. Evaluate whether you are developing well and adjust as you go along. If you observe and evaluate, no need to ask others whether you need to put more sugar in your cake. Cheers.

@LILY-ic8pe

Ай бұрын

Remember your childhood pure memories and how it felt to just exist, meditate as normal. I always try to be mindfull of my bones and relax all my muscles, I only occasionally think about my breath. I also weirdly sense when a living being is near me even with my eyes closed, and focus on sensing them and where they are located. At first you won't be able to keep your mind in that state for long, and that's normal unless you are a prodigy, just keep a post it in that feeling and try to always feel it again and beyond, good luck! Read thanissaro bikkhu books, I find them very insightful.

Really cool video! On the last bit about trying to do nothing, not even meditate, it reminds me of how Dogen talks about Zazen as not being a type of meditation--it's simply sitting. And that's it. One of the hardest things to do...

@TheDhammaHub

6 ай бұрын

It is! And I might add that that "doign nothing" I am refering to aims at "doing nothing that is motivated by _craving_ - doing nothing at all is just a nice "method" for uncovering that

@ryanhastings6465

4 ай бұрын

@@TheDhammaHub I would also add that it's possible to think you're 'doing nothing', when you've actually just turned 'doing nothing' into doing something. if you think you're 'doing nothing' but not having that breakthrough to nibbāna, you're not doing nothing, and you have to not even do nothing. And yes, the point that almost no one talks about (I was lucky to have a teacher who emphasized this), is that for the first three fetters you need to get right view, and I'm glad to see so many of your videos highlight this. The first three fetters are all about views. And while the renunciation and mindfulness practices can be good overall to tame craving, I would say the best thing they can do is bring out your views. So many of our views are hidden from us, and it's not until we're confronted with something that confronts them that we can see them. And we can't do anything about them until we can see them. You can't cut through the first three fetters if you don't really know what they are! And once you get that cleared out, and lose all that baggage, an immense amount of space and clarity is available to really start getting the actual work done. It really is a dramatic difference!

Fabulous

Funny and talented teacher.

This is brilliant, i enter jhana in this same way and therfore interpret the suttas in the same way. Unfortunately, traditional buddhism has distorted the worda of the buddha and so many dont have access to Jhana.

Would love to listen to your content on spotify

@TheDhammaHub

Жыл бұрын

I must admit that I have no clue how Spotify works... and I also use illustrations sometimes that would not work there ;D

The exercise you mention of sitting in an empty room and doing nothing sounds very much like the Zen practice of "just sitting" or Shikantaza.

@TheDhammaHub

7 ай бұрын

I would say that there is a subtle difference as in "non-activity" one tries to discern non-self and is not actively trying to "do nothing". Non-activity is about remembering to be watchful for greed, aversion, and delusion.

Ganz hervorragend, ein bisschen Sprechtempo rausnehmen würde das Zuhören erleichtern. ✨🙏🏻✨

@TheDhammaHub

Ай бұрын

Ich schau mal ob ich das leisten kann... ist eine tiefe Gewohnheit. Alternativ kann man auf 0.75% geschindigkeit schauen! Das sollte helfen

Really appreciate your work on clarifying Jhana by listing relevant Suttas. However, one more point, for virtue to be ripen into Jhana, we have to practice Sammasati - Right Mindfulness by establishing mindfulness on 4 aspects: Body, Feelings, Mind and Dhamma. Hope you and everyone would do very well and soon attain the final goal - Nibbana!

@TheDhammaHub

3 ай бұрын

As the Suttas say, those who wish to practice Jhana should cultivate the 4 foundations of mindfulness as their basis. Yet, _Right_ Samadhi can only arise based on the Right View, as the "Right" of Sammasati is the very "Right" of the Right View!

I'm really interested in these things. Besides reading sutta, what kind of meditation practice actually is your practice? Can i have that in details?

@TheDhammaHub

Жыл бұрын

Hey! I have written most of that down in the meditation booklet I linked in the comments and in the channel banner. Technically the entire book is "my practice" but I explain it a bit more graspable in chapter 9

@hadisoewoyo8739

Жыл бұрын

@@TheDhammaHub nice, thank you so much . I will take a look at that and practice it.

So how would the jhanas ahead of this one look like in this method/interpretation can you please throw some light on that ?

@TheDhammaHub

Жыл бұрын

You mean the Jhanas 2,3 and 4? if that is the question, then exactly as the Suttas describe them.The experience becomes more and more "neutral" and thus less and less "pressuring" over time. The mind is trained to a degree where the practitioner (the arahanet is also sometimes called "master of thought") can "comamnd" the mind to drop bothersome topics. While a highly tamed mind does not suffer, sense-imrpessions still "attack" the mind and experience would be more sublime without. When asked why what would be "nice" about the Jhanas, the Suttas answer "it is preceisely because nothing is felt". Feeling is pressure. In the second Jhana, verbal thoughts no longer assail the mind and "taint" the peace etc. But just as the stock phrases say, even the joy and peace will eventually fade to peak in perfect equanimity of the Foruth

@raajuuteddd2202

Жыл бұрын

@@TheDhammaHub Thank you so much for that quick response sir and yes i get it now... I think maybe most people have gotten the first jhana wrong that is why there are very few people attaining real jhana because they were practicing all wrong!

And also I wanted to ask why is this type of jhana not popular and taught by monks to everyone? Is this something forgotten or lost or is it that the people have misinterpreted the suttas?

@TheDhammaHub

Жыл бұрын

The natural inclination of the human mind is always in the direction of "sense objects" and "pleasure". it is deeply unnatural to go against that "pull" and it is quite uncomfortable initially. If the mind of a practitioner is too immersed in sensuality, they will misinterpret the Suttas to make them "fit" to their practice raher than the other way around. If I had to guess, I would say that 99% of practitioners, including monks, would rather go for techniques that are mor "tanglible", produce quicker results, require fewer "sacrifices" (in terms of pleasures) and less reliant on initial faith. The more people go for the "pleasure kind" of Jhana, the more the other kind is forgotter

@raajuuteddd2202

Жыл бұрын

@@TheDhammaHub oh okay now i see it ... Truly finding true dhamma in this age is very hard and i am really grateful to you for uncovering the real true dhamma to everyone all i want to say to you is keep doing the good stuff this is really helpful to lay practitioners like me and nowadays i only follow people like you and the teachings of ajahn nyanmoli (sorry if i misspelt) as you two are the few people who emphasize more on the morality and virtue first rather than straight meditation which to me makes much more sense now and this is what the buddha intended too

Listened on a slower speed … much easier

@TheDhammaHub

14 күн бұрын

Luckily, KZread gives us the options to consume content how we like it best!

I would prefer to go by the tried and tested way to jhanas by the Thailand forest meditation tradition. Cheers.

@TheDhammaHub

10 ай бұрын

Everybody is free to choose what they wish to practice. Yet, long before the Thai traditions emerged, renunciates already practiced non-sensuality the way te Buddha explained and had great success with it^^

@outsaneoutsane2747

7 ай бұрын

And do you enter jhana that way?

sadhu sadhu sadhu

Does TM take you to the Jhanas?

@TheDhammaHub

3 ай бұрын

That depends on what TM is, I am not aware of such an abbreviation.... yet the likelihood is very very small if I had to guess

Curious for your thoughts on two points: First, there is the famous story of the Buddha attaining the first jhāna under the rose-Apple tree as a child. This was long before he went forth and when he was still engaged in the very sensual lifestyle of his youth. How could he then attain the jhāna you describe here, which requires an extended period of physical withdrawal of sensuality? Second, could you please explain what mental content exists after vitakka and vicāra has been abandoned in the second jhāna? This part of the Hillside Hermitage jhānas has frankly always seemed incoherent and handwavey to me, despite the many things I admire about the general approach. You briefly cite MN111 here but that is very clearly a late text

@TheDhammaHub

8 ай бұрын

Hey! While well-cutivated Jhanas are indeed states that can last for a very long time, you can still have moment where you "stop doing your suffering" so to speak. At least for a time, you can see through the value we typically see in sensual engagement and instead "just be" without at greed aversion and delusion (on the elvel of views). This is especially true for a Bodhisattva who lives life after life in great purity. Such a mind has basically "pre-cultivated" virtue and very little dust and it is difficult to compare such a mind to that of a common person nowadays. Most people nowadays need such long periods of seclusion to thoroughly undermind the value of sensuality and see/experience thta there is something much better. If you did that work before, Jhana can indeed be attained from time to time. Buuut, who has that nowadays, where the lives of most people revolve around sensuality? Concerning the second question, what fades in the first Jhana is grief and delight for the world. So what is left is thinking and pondering on Dhamma, which is precisely _transcending_ the world. It is a state of non-pressure where you can just sit (with open or closed eyes), walk, stand or recline and be at ease, experiencing the most sublime lightness. In the second Jhana, it is simply that very thinking and pondering (or "explaining the Dhamma to yourself") that fades. just as you see the drawback of grief/delight to enter the first Jhana, you see the drawback and danger in the _first Jhana_ to enter the second and withdraw the mind even further. Or in short, to enter the first Jhana you undermine and dismantle the fundamental value you see in sensuality and drop it like hot coals. To enter the second Jhana, you apply the same principle to the first Jhana that you previously applied to sensuality and are able to withdraw further. What remains is still everything that is _not_ verbal thinking. You can still examine things etc without using you head-voice^^ Does that help? PS: Concerning MN111, the general theme is repeated everywhere in the Suttas, no matter what way of training you look at^^ Even word by word, countless Suttas talk about the different factors of Jhana, it is just that MN111 is most detailed, hence I chose it.

@1hullofaguy

8 ай бұрын

Thank you for your quick and thoughtful reply. I will take some time to process your answer-there are also many other things that make me skeptical of this approach I didn’t mention bc I was simply looking for your thoughts on these two issues and not to have a whole debate or anything. Regarding the second point, could you clarify what the value of dropping vitakka and vicāra is? Why is engaging in this kind of contemplation with verbal thoughts less skillful than without doing so?

@TheDhammaHub

8 ай бұрын

@@1hullofaguy Technically, you do not even engage in thinking and pondering in the first Jhana, it is just that there is a "more refined" escape from suffering so to speak. Even the first Jhana, as I understand it, is entirely whoesome and the Buddha called it the "foundation for liberation". More than that is strictly speaking not necessary for full liberation. That said, it is possible to "withdraw" the mind even further and gain even greater distance. Thinking and pondering _is_ stressful and it would be a more peaceful,more sublime abiding without. Further, from a certain point onwards it is simply no longer necessary to even ponder the Dhamma, as even such a refined thing can be something that "slows down" further progress. In the end, you even have to leave behind the Right View of yours so to speak. Does that help? Also, if you want some thoughts on the other points feel free to share the points that seem unclear^^

@1hullofaguy

8 ай бұрын

Ah very interesting thanks for having this conversation with me!

@TheDhammaHub

8 ай бұрын

@@1hullofaguy no problem, you are welcome!

Do you think Buddha stayed in permanent Jhana?

@TheDhammaHub

Жыл бұрын

Except for the times he spoke/taught others, he very likely was permanently in Jhana, yes - or at least that's what the suttas suggest!

Regarding your metaphor at around 8:00, it doesn't really seem to me like you are free, if by engaging in the hindrances you can essentially be "sent back to prison". Such requirements are a binding of your choices, you have to limit your own freedom in order to be free. I'll admit my bias that I don't really believe such asceticism could last eternally. To me, it seems like the purpose of existence is to experience all that is, and as such, it seems like one necessary part of being ultimately free is to also not resist desire either. Don't desire the absence of desire. I guess that's my perspective, though I don't dispute the practical utility of self-restraint. Do you have any thoughts to enlighten my perspective? Thanks!

@TheDhammaHub

3 ай бұрын

Well, technically "desires" remain standing for someone who has attained the Path, it is just that they lose (a lot) of their pressuring nature. And what is a desire without pressure? If you stop resisting urges, they kinda cease to be what you normally think of as urges. The point is, desires are inherently painful, oppressive, and un comfortable unless you give in to them. Yet, that "!giving in" makes you dependent oln them so that you are even more subject to being pressured in the future. That truly is not what freedom looks like if you are only at ease if you do what your feelings command^^ Yet, when you tame your mind, you can notice that there is a freedom beyond desire. In noticing that even desires themselves were _never yours to begin with_ their prior pressuire ceases and you may or may not act based on them. Yet, that giving in would be pain and someone who has seen the Dhamma knows that, such an action becomes inconceivable

I used to say, half jokingly "Close your eyes! You god damn hedonist!"

This is not true that you can not speak in the Jhana.

@TheDhammaHub

10 ай бұрын

Well, according to the Suttas it is^^ They explicitly state that you no longer "break into speech". You can still speak with a "mind of non-activity" so to speak, but not in a full Jhana.

I mean, it's pretty clear that seeking jhanas and doing ANYTHING isn't jhana.. or at least it should be clear from the suttas. It straight up is basically, "freedom from desire, any desire" I've meet monks that have you do metta practice to get into jhana and all sorts of other practices and I'm like, "huh?" It's also pretty clear to me how the lower ones lead to the higher ones of equanimity and how the joy just lessens and why it happens. It's all based on non reaction and disinterest really. The point is to STOP seeking joy and even stop engaging in joy. When joy comes, fine, but you know it goes so why interact with it? Just let it go.

theres a reason buddha uses the word quite. what you are explaining is one of the later jhanas. the absence of good and bad happens later. the first jhana is just about enjoying the pleasure caused by quite a bit of seclusion from sensual pleasures/unwholesome states. not complete. this is elitism.

@TheDhammaHub

14 күн бұрын

The way I explain it, at least from my point of view, is only "quite secluded" or "thoroughly secluded" but not _fully_ secluded. There are still the underlying fetters/views that can lead to the re-engaging with sensuality. Yet, there are quite a number of Jhana formulations from the Suttas that state that a person gives up "delight and grief for the world" by entering the first Jhana. I just focused on other explanations here. And btw, I do not say anything about good and bad here, that is indeed something that happens in the fourth Jhana, if you think of it in terms of pleasure and pain.

Have to disagree with you on this. If attaining a Jhana is to be compared to the act of one becoming a king, the “absorption” experience is to be compared to the act of coronation and enjoying royalty while sitting on their throne, and there are particular things that you are only able to enjoy as a king even while you are not on your throne, just as the suttas explain some of the jhanic experiences while not being absorbed into the “kusala nimitta”. This is why it is explained that if you die without “losing” the jhana you have attained, you’d be reincarnated as a brahma - also exemplifying the fact that you can “lose” a jhana you have attained.

@TheDhammaHub

Жыл бұрын

Hey! I am not completely sure what part you are disagreeing with, could you explain further? Also, I am not aware of any king comparison when it comes to Jhana in the Suttas. I only remember a statement where the Buddha compares his Jhanas to king Bimbisara's pleasures. The same is true for "absorption into nimittas" - I simply haven't encountered something along those lines in any of the Nikayas - could you point me to some Sutta on this?

@user-sv2fc6mu4w

Жыл бұрын

@@TheDhammaHub Oh the “kings comparison” is not from the buddha himself but my own reading of the Jhana state. But, the suttas are clear about the absorption = jhana state as in, the buddha says that the 1st jhana = vitakka, vicara, piti, sukha and ekaggata, where those 5 states can only exist in an absorption kind of state. Especially “ekaggata” which literally means “one pointed/ended”.

@TheDhammaHub

Жыл бұрын

@@user-sv2fc6mu4w If you go by for example MN 111, there are quite a few more qualities named. As an example, there are: "thinking and pondering and rapture and bliss and unification of mind; contact, feeling, perception, intention, mind, enthusiasm, decision, energy, mindfulness, equanimity, and attention". Especially the factor of mindfulness is very much in contradiction with the absorbed state of mind. Whenever the Buddha explained mindfulness, he explained it as a state of awareness of whatever is going on at any given time (when a monk is walking, he knows he is walking, breathing, he knows he is breathing etc...). Those statements are btw not limited to MN111, but everywhere in the suttas. Why would the Buddha explain that all the Jhanas are with 100% awareness of the entire body as a whole, as an example? When the Buddha explained ekaggata, he explained it more akin to a "stable point of reference" and not so much as absorption in just one thing. The latter interpretation is much newer and not in line with the suttas as far as I can tell.

@TheDhammaHub

Жыл бұрын

@@George_Smith Hey! It is certainly possible to be in a state where attention favors one thing over another, and thereby certain things are "shut out". That said, the overall awareness of whatever is _currently attended to_ cannot really be missing as I understand it. And even if you exclude for example MN 111, there are many other suttas that suggest that there is very strong bodily awareness and mindfulness in any of the Jhanas. I mean, the Buddha even called one of them "mindfulness purified by equanimity" - it is hard to be more upfront with it ;D In fact, people who attain the Jhanas are even called "body-witnesses" by the Buddha, as they experience and contact those states _with the body_ completely without any missing spot that is excluded. If I had to guess, I could likely link you a few dozen of texts that (at least to me) clearly indicate a open and clear awareness. You could just think of the second part of the stock phrase of the first Jhana as an example! Why would the Buddha even bother to incldue that every time, if it wasnt important? " There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with rapture and bliss born of seclusion. It’s like when a deft bathroom attendant or their apprentice pours bath powder into a bronze dish, sprinkling it little by little with water. They knead it until the ball of bath powder is soaked and saturated with moisture, spread through inside and out; yet no moisture oozes out. In the same way, a mendicant drenches, steeps, fills, and spreads their body with rapture and bliss born of seclusion. There’s no part of the body that’s not spread with rapture and bliss born of seclusion." - That entire quality could never be discerened if the entire body would not be included in awareness... I find it difficult to bring that into harmony with the classical absorption interpretation otherwise. One could even argue that the Buddha tries to make the _limits_ of the sensual domain very clear with this simile, where he emphasizes that the ball "does not ooze" and that the monk who practices Jhana clearly knows the "boundaries" that he should not overstep, where he would otherwise suffer. His mind does not "flow out" into the sensual domain! And finally - I guess to a certain extent, my "work" is also to discuss and convince a bit ;D - even though I do this on the side!

@outsaneoutsane2747

7 ай бұрын

This is true, I experience this also, its exactly like the buddha describes it in the suttas, not how commentaries or later teachers or Monks describe it. You don't need an object of mediation. You just need to be secluded from craving (which is the minds desire to move away from its natural pure state (citta))

There are some misconceptions circulating. Like here: Argumatations against sutta cherry picking with sutta cherry picking. The primary purpose of practicing jhana (absorption states) is not to eliminate hindrances or achieve happiness. These are simply byproducts. The true goal is to develop mental acuity. Jhana refines the mind, making it capable of deeper meditative practices. It's important to avoid "sutta fundamentalism," the belief that only meditation methods explicitly mentioned in the suttas are valid. The Suttas are vahue and interpretable. But absorbtive Jhana states are demonstrably attainable through practice, leading to a temporary yet profound transformation of the mind. This is samadhi, an essential aspect of the path. While sensuality is indeed an obstacle, a complete absence of craving for jhana itself isn't necessarily true. The momentum of dedicated practice can gradually erode even subtle cravings. This leads to a state of mind consistent with descriptions in the suttas. As mastery of jhana deepens, any doubts about its benefits dissolve. Jhana practice can be integrated into daily activities like walking and eating. Samadhi, the state cultivated through jhana, doesn't have to be confined to formal meditation sessions. With consistent practice, it can become your primary mental state.

@TheDhammaHub

Ай бұрын

Feel free to point out the wrong things and I will gladly comment on them if you wish. I have explicitly picked those Sutta passages that are _most often_ repeated by modern schools and have used them as a basis for discussion - not the "rare" ones. Edit: You have edited your post so often that I am no longer sure what I have initially commented on xD

@TheDhammaHub

Ай бұрын

Since you have edited your post so fundamentally, let me comment on it again. In the future, it would be good to leave your post as it is so that other can follow a discussion as it evolves without getting confused. My problem with modern Jhana is not that it has no benefits or that they do not produce "results", my "problem" is that people try to map it to the Suttas in a way that supports their agenda without the Suttas supporting that. What I merely point out is that those attempts to "justify" modern practices through the Suttas are not covered by the Suttas and offer an alternative interpretation that is. There _is_ your type of Samadhi, it just does not match the Sutta descriptions well. It does not have to either - practice whatever you wish! What people want to make of it is their business. This has nothing to do with fundamentalism, I merely point out contradictions. One of those contradictions would be that people usually depict Samadhi/Jhana as an exercise that you cultivate relatively early in practice while the Suttas uniformly portray Right Samadhi as the _last element on the Path_ that the practice converges upon. I do not deny that sensuality is gradually eroded away, that is exactly how I explain it. I just do not call it Jhana. Neither do I say that "only Sutta methods work". What I say is that the Suttas portray the "heartwood" of the practice that whatever working method exist must implement. There are countless specific ways do do that. The Suttas also portray the relationship between Jhana in the opposite way. Practicing Virtue/Samadhi long enough culminates in Jhana and not the other way around.

@metamurk

Ай бұрын

@@TheDhammaHub It is difficult. The suttas are vague. The practice of early diciples is vague and highly condensed. The high absorbtion methods can be pinned down in the suttas relativly good, as well as long parts of the visudimaggi. So they are not "modern". They have a several thousand years old tradition. In theravada and mahayana they are the base for higher yogas. There is no reasonable meditation without taming of the mind. Virtue, sense-resareint is good, but it is the prerequisite to practice mindfulness and samdahi. And these practices are working. they can be trained. You can construct a way of argumentation against it, but I think it is more difficult, constructed and cherry-picking than the opposite.

@metamurk

Ай бұрын

​@@TheDhammaHub"Practicing Virtue/Samadhi long enough culminates in Jhana and not the other way around." In my experience, practising the jahnas leads to virtune quite practically, because people are no longer interessted in bullshit, but in path. So, they practice virtue, which helps their samadhi, which helps their mindfulness, which cullimates in wisdom. That is what i have seen and experienced. I have never seen a mahasi noter getting anywhere but in psychic breakdown, which they call a "vipassana nana". The more important point is, jahna is a starting point in the practice. It is a method for practicing higher yogas, not a goal. So I would suggest, practice the vishudimaggi, it's the mot amazhing yogic system which you can follow from the beggining to the end. Every question will solve itself on the way. And there is a lot of joy and bliss. So yes, people should start concentration relativly early, parallel to to changing their lives acordung to the precepts. This is very easy supportable by early suttas... Everything else - in my opinion - simply does not lead anywhere.

@TheDhammaHub

Ай бұрын

@@metamurk I would not say that the Suttas are vague at all. In fact, they are as precise as you can get without losing "generality". They can _appear_ vague if you understanding goes against their core message in one way or another. But the more your understanding aligns with the Dhamma, the more the Suttas appear pretty much on point. Further, the practices of restraint and virtue and all those things _are_ precisely the training/taming of the mind. That way you gradually remove all the unwholesome aspects and cultivate the wholesome ones. There is no more direct way than that^^ Further, according to the Suttas, mindfulness is not a method or a practice and neither is concentration! Concentration is a _result_ of practicing rightly for a long time and mindfulness just means "remembering" the teachings. The idea to interpret mindfulness as anything apart from that is much much newer. If you sit down to meditate and the Suttas say "to bring forth mindfulness" (which is a bad translation) it just means to bring the teachings/instructions back to mind to deepen your practice. This kind of interpretation does not need patchwork everywhere and just suits all the Suttas I know. There is no construction or cherry-picking necessary at all - it is a super simple way to read the Suttas that precisely requires _no_ additional rationalization.