Inner Refuge Through Inner Strength
June 11, 2016
When we were in Brazil, someone asked why sitting along with a guided meditation got much better results than sitting there meditating on your own—even in a group, in the presence of the teacher. My answer was basically that the person giving the guided meditation is doing a lot of your work for you. In other words, the instructions are doing what your mindfulness should be doing. That’s why although it may be useful to have a couple of guided meditations every now and then, there comes a point where you have to do the work yourself. Nobody else can make you mindful. No one can make you awakened. Someone once asked the Buddha, “Please remove my doubts.” And the Buddha said, “I can’t remove anybody’s doubts. You have to remove your own doubts.” So we’ve got the instructions, and it’s up to you to remember the instructions and to carry them out.