The Positive Side of Heedfulness
December 25, 2015
If you could boil the practice down to one word, the word would be heedfulness, appamada. As the Buddha said, all skillful qualities have their foundation in heedfulness. They’re rooted in heedfulness. And even the Buddha’s last words were to obtain completion through heedfulness. When we hear the word—appamada could also be translated as being uncomplacent—we tend to think of its negative side: a warning that there are dangers out there and in here, in the mind, and you’ve got to be really careful. If you make a misstep, you could get yourself into really deep trouble. That’s one side of heedfulness.