There’s a passage where [the Buddha] contrasts his way of teaching with what he calls training in bombast. Training in bombast is where you’re taught… - Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
" "There’s a passage where [the Buddha] contrasts his way of teaching with what he calls training in bombast. Training in bombast is where you’re taught things that are very poetic, that sound very high, very lovely, very inspiring, but no one is encouraged to ask what, precisely, they mean. After all, in bombast there really is no precise meaning. It’s all just vague, high-sounding words. But, as the Buddha said, he taught cross-questioning. Your training with him was in cross-questioning. When there was a teaching you didn’t understand, he encouraged you to ask, “What’s the meaning of this? What’s the purpose of that? How far should this word be taken?” That way, wherever there are any doubts or uncertainties, you can clear them up.
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About Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, born 28 December 1949, also known as Ajaan Geoff (born 1949), is an American Theravada Buddhist monk of the Thai forest kammatthana tradition.
Also Known As
Alternative Names:
Ajahn Ṭhānissaro
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Ajahn Geoff
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Geoffrey Furguson DeGraff
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Ṭhānissaro, Bhikkhu
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DeGraff, Geoffrey
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Thanissaro Bhikkhu
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Geoffrey Furguson De Graff
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Ṭhānissara Bhikkhu
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Additional quotes by Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu
Maybe you can't make the whole body comfortable, but make at least part of the body comfortable and stay with that part. As for the pains, let them be in the other part. They have every right to be there, so make an arrangement with them. They stay in one part, you stay in another. But the essential point is that you have a place where the mind feels stable, secure, and comfortable in the present moment. These are the beginning steps in meditation.
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Society tends to slough off the problems of aging, illness, and death, tends to push them off to the side because other things seem more pressing. Making a lot of money is more important. Having fulfilling relationships is more important. Whatever. And the big issues in life — the fact that you're headed for the sufferings and indignities that come with an aging, ill, or dying body — get pushed off, pushed out of the way. "Not yet, not yet, maybe some other time." And of course when that other time does arrive and these things come barging in, they won't accept your "not yet," won't be pushed out anymore. If you haven't prepared yourself for them, you'll really be up the creek, at a total loss.
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