The Importance Of Right Concentration

The Importance Of Right Concentration:
You may be a brilliant student full of knowledge but if during an important exam that you are anxious to do well, you panic (distracted, poor concentration), become confused and fail to recall many things you knew, you may not do well but even fail.

You may be very good (eg do not kill, steal, tell lies, speak harshly), very discerning (know smiling and stretching syllables are harmful, stressful not good) and very selfless (not concerned with what you shall wear or eat) but if you do not have right concentration, you can be provoked by others around to join in to smile, laugh and stretch your syllables and even if you refused, you will have to constantly apply force in a fabricated, stressful way to act not be independent, act solemn.

Most people if they have the time or the inclination to observe their minds, may find it is never passively or effortlessly calm and concentrated but it is often tensed, restless, stressed, filled with emotions (jealousy, anger, dislike, craving, desire) and only occasionally, when occasions demand (eg to impress others how in control they are of their faculties) they can force themselves to stay still or as if listening attentively during a speech and even then their attention is wandering, they are daydreaming during the speech. When they have a exam, they can usually force themselves to be forcefully concentrated to excel in the task at hand.

Concentration is of two types.

Forceful fabricated concentration that is stressful to maintain and can be disrupted aimed at material pursuits eg passing exams or excelling in sports and passive effortless noble concentration (or imperturbability or independence of mind) that arises in meditation as the inevitable result of a mind truly (not make believe) rid of all defilements (emotions eg fear, anger, like, dislike; getting rid of ill will, covetousness, sloth and torpor, restlessness and worries and doubt). Like a glass of turbid water that is permitted to stand gradually clears, passive noble concentration arises in a mind that is allowed to clear instead of being roiled by emotions and concerns regarding the world. Passive noble concentration is much deeper and unknown to ordinary people (even most mystics because it requires concomitant virtue, discernment and selflessness), comprises the four absorptions (noble rapture with discursive thoughts, noble rapture without thinking, equanimity, attentive and finally pure equanimity, neither pain nor pleasure. Passive noble concentration that is nurtured in meditation is carried over to daily life so that, as the Buddha said, whatever he does, sitting, standing, lying down, conversing, doing things, he does them all with ease.
When I was meditating recently I was aware of the intrusion of the creaking ceiling fan and no matter how I tried to shake off the irritating intrusion it would not but very soon, as my state of mind settled down, the irritation completely disappeared even though I was still aware of its creaking rotation. It appears it is possible to elevate one’s mental state both in meditation and in daily life so that one may interact with others without being annoyed or stressed by their harshness. Nowadays I can conduct conversations with testy people who pester me without being drawn in.

Why The Buddha Is No Fake:
For the discerning, there is much evidence that suggest the Buddha is not a fake, where many gurus that ordinary people instead foolishly chose to believe clearly are. There is an important caveat. It is only the Pali Canon that faithfully conveys what the Buddha taught. The rest of Buddhism is seriously corrupted.

For instance, he said the determinants of a person’s being are his virtue, discernment, concentration and selflessness. Can an ordinary person or a fake come up with such a perspicacious statement that is encompassing? Is there anything that the Buddha left out you can think of?

Just because you are very good (do not kill, do not harm, do not steal, do not tell lies, do not indulge in harsh speech) does not mean you are very discerning or concentrated or selfless. There are many people who call themselves good but reflecting their lack of discernment cannot see into the true nature of smiling or stretching syllables. Many are even unaware they stretch their syllables not occasionally but all the time and they still smile. If you are truly discerning, you will realize that smiling and stretching syllables are fabrications or fakes, stresses not benefit yourself and the recipient. It is because they are not discerning and cannot see the link between smiling and stretching syllables t their stress, restlessness and mad impulses that they continue to do so. Just because you are very good, very discerning (you know smiling is lying and stressful) does not mean you are very concentration (calm and clearly thinking) to be able to effortlessly withstand provocations by others to smile and stretch syllables. Just because you are good, discerning, concentrated does not mean you are selfless, not conceited or attached to your self.

Hence virtue, discernment, concentration and selflessness very different entities but they are all important in determining the fate of a being. Is there anything else you and think of that the Buddha has left out?
The Noble Eightfold Path is more profound than ordinary people detained in defilements are capable of discerning and therefore are able to do justice in appreciating it in its entirety. It is not the Noble Eightfold Path that is ho hum but people are ho hum, heedless and heading for punishment:
Magga-vibhanga Sutta:An Analysis of the Path
The Blessed One said, "I will teach & analyze for you the Noble Eightfold Path."
The Blessed One said, "Now what, monks, is the Noble Eightfold Path? Right view, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
"And what, monks, is right view? Knowledge with regard to stress, the origination of stress, the stopping of stress, the way of practice leading to the stopping of stress. (Right view with fermentation is that there is father and mother, this and other world, good and bad)
"And what is right resolve? Being resolved on renunciation, freedom from ill will. (Just because you resolve not to be angry in the future does not mean you will be, but to resolve to be so is an important first step that you must than put in practice with right effort)
"And what is right speech? Abstaining from lying, divisive speech, abusive speech, idle chatter (gossip). (Most people are kidding themselves because they are exaggerating and faking all the time, which is why they never derive any benefit from right speech)
"And what, monks, is right action? Abstaining from taking life, stealing, sexual intercourse.
"And what, monks, is right livelihood? A noble disciple, having abandoned dishonest livelihood, keeps his life going with right livelihood.(salesman trying to use his charm to make sales, butchers, selling guns)
"And what, monks, is right effort? (i) There is the case where a monk generates desire, activates persistence, & exerts his intent for the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen. (ii) He generates desire, persistence, for the sake of the abandonment of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen. (iii) He generates desire, activates persistence, for the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen. (iv) He generates desire, activates persistence for the maintenance, development, & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen. (A monk must generate desire, persistence and force to prevent evil or unskillful qualities eg lust from arising and eliminating them when they have arisen, he must generate desire, persistence and force to cause skillful qualities eg goodwill, non anger to arise and maintain them)
"And what, monks, is right mindfulness? (i) There is the case where a monk remains focused on the body in & of itself putting away greed & distress. (ii) He remains focused on feelings in & of themselves. (iii) He remains focused on the mind in & of itself -- putting away greed & distress. (iv) He remains focused on mental qualities in & of themselves. (Mindfulness is paying attention. You must pay attention to stress, smiling, stretching syllables in order to eliminate them)
"And what, monks, is right concentration? (i) There is the case where a monk -- quite withdrawn from sensual pleasures, unskillful (mental) qualities -- enters & remains in the first jhana. (noble joy with discursive thinking)(ii) With the stilling of directed thought & evaluation, he enters & remains in the second jhana. (iii) With the fading of rapture, he remains in equanimity, mindful & fully aware, and physically sensitive of pleasure. He enters & remains in the third jhana.' (iv) With the abandoning of pleasure & pain he enters & remains in the fourth jhana: purity of equanimity & mindfulness, neither pleasure nor pain.
Now Versus Then:
If you were discerning and compared the way people spoke and sang (listen to past recordings) previously to how they spoke now, you may detect a difference that reflects the change in consciousness.
Prior to the last few years, ordinary people’s speech may be characterized by being monotonously loud and harsh in a dragging way but today, reflecting the change, the vast majority of people talk (and do things) to a greater or lesser extent in a loud and explosively harsh way.
This explosive speech is characterized by a rapid acceleration in loudness and speed of speech followed by a rapid deceleration of loudness and speed where previously it was the loudness and dragging of syllables that made it harsh.
In the same way, what and the way people do things, react to things today is explosive compared to the harsh, dull, dragging way they did perhaps 5 years ago.
IN A NUTSHELL:
THE CURRENT CONSCIOUSNESS CHANGE THAT INVOLVED EVERYONE IS ESSENTIALLY ABOUT A COMPULSORY MODIFICATION OF ACTING BY EVERYONE (A REDUCTION IN INTENSITY AND SPEED OF ACTING) IN RESPONSE TO PERECEIVED CHANGES IN OTHERS TO REAP A REDUCTION IN BASELINE STRESS LEVELS THAT IS VISIBLE IN EVERYONE’S CHANGED APPEARANCE AND BEHAVIOR BUT REFLECTING THEIR TRUE NATURES THAT THEY ARE NOT AS GOOD AS THEY THINK THEY ARE, NO ONE I CAN HAS EXITED ACTING. THE REASON IS THAT EVEN THOUGH EXITING ACTING IS INCOMPARABLE RELEASE FROM STRESS, RESTLESSNESS, MADNESS AND DEPRESSION, PEOPLE ARE STUBBORN, PROUD, CONTINUING SLAVES OF EMOTIONS AND ILL WILL, THINK THEY ARE GOOD, IT IS DRIVEN OUT OF SELFISHNESS TO ALTER ONE’S ACTING TO REDUCE STRESS AND ANOTHER THING TO QUIT ACTING THAT INVOLVES QUITING PERSECUTION OF OTHERS AND EMBRACING TRUE NOT HYPOCRITICAL GOODWILL.
HAVING CHANGED IS NOT AN INDICATION OF GOODNESS BUT THE TRUE MEASURE OF GOODNESS IS THE AWAKENING TO HOW ONE ACTS AND EXIT ACTING. THERE ARE NO GOOD ACTORS BUT THEY ARE ALL SERIOUSLY TAINTED AND THERE ARE NO BAD NON ACTORS.

The acting today is more directed, purposeful, forceful, immediate even explosive where before it was more enervating, diffuse, ill directed, generalized and wasteful.

What Essentially Surprised Me:
Many people I interacted with over recent years have expressed uncommon pleasure or aversion but I could not see and did not expect everyone to follow suit and change consciously again like I was but I expected some of those who listened to me to understand and therefore exit acting as I have done. Even much earlier, I had detected changes in those who interacted with me but I could not be certain and did not see everyone changing.
Instead, everyone including the most evil has changed probably because the new way of existing must clearly and indisputably be superior in terms of stress reduction but those who interacted with me daily, those who have been told what acting is all about still stubbornly exhibit acting.
That everyone has changed again reflects that despite the change in 1978 they were under significant stress and the recent change is a further redress to stress triggered by observing changes in others they never imagined existed. They fact that they have all not exited acting suggests people are very stubborn, not as good or discerning as they imagine and to exit acting is something far harder to achieve for people even though it offers incomparable release from stress, restlessness, mad/silly/violent thoughts and depression.
Why I Am The Trigger Of The Current Change:
This recent change is not a change in morphology (eg growing horns on their heads or a tail), not a change in perceptions (greater intelligence or supernatural powers) but is essentially a consciousness change in everyone causing change in their appearances, speech and behavior.
Because the change is a change in behavior and acting is universal involving the constant forceful exaggerating or faking of everything and how everyone perceives, thinks, does and speaks, this recent change is essentially a change in how people act, not a change from acting to non-acting. Although everyone has visibly changed, they continue to act but in a changed way.

Unless one postulate there are multiple independent triggers of this change in people’s acting (how and what they act) then I must be the trigger of recent consciousness changes because I was independently changing myself over the years; altering myself behaviorally in ways that went against ALL norms in unprecedented ways through a combination of incremental personal & religious insights, increasingly proficient meditation and behavior change that were aimed at eradicating all acting and thence stress in me.
Because I was changing gradually by myself, I was not influenced by anyone I saw or heard, without other coincident unknown triggers, I have to be the only trigger of recent changes.

The basis of my own independent extraordinary change is my progressive, relentless awakening or insights as to how people act and are falsely nice not good to each other. By putting into practice these insights I progressively exited my (shallow) acting to achieve a revolutionary permanent consciousness change wherein I was effortlessly serene, freed from the previous restlessness, mad/violent thoughts and episodic depression that I never dreamt possible for a person to exist in. Unless there are multiple triggers who independently realized the nature of acting themselves, put a stop to acting themselves and thereby became catalysts for change in others, I am the trigger yet again.

Because the recent changes is entirely out of the norm, unexpected, I doubt anyone (though I had experienced two previous episodes of being totally incapable of suffering, I never dreamt beforehand that existence in current consciousness state today is possible) could have imagined before hand they would exist consciously as they do today, the person who triggers this change must be truly unique or it would be very extraordinary or impossible for many independent unique triggers to arise simultaneously because as Jesus said, the world cannot accept the truth, for it neither sees him or knows him. This recent consciousness change is a about a reduction in suffering that can only ensue from an attenuation (not exit) of sinful acting and it may not be possible for beings from this world and enmeshed in this world to trigger this change.

Because I have definitely changed permanently to effortlessly not act nowadays resulting in freedom from stress, restlessness, mad/violent thoughts and depression that would be unthinkable, incredible if there had not been a consciousness change in me and I changed spontaneously as a result of my own endeavors I must be the trigger unless there are other independent centers of change.

Is there anybody else apart from me who has said: Driven by emotions, stress and restlessness, ordinary people constantly forcefully go against themselves in a controlled manner to exaggerate and fake whatever and how they speak, do, think and perceive in the name of deceiving, impressing, pleasing, dominating and intimidating others creating stress, restlessness, violent/mad violent thoughts and depression?

I did not copy this insight from anyone and my current serene self assured transformation to exit acting is based on that insight. Hence unless it is possible to be the original trigger of this consciousness change in everyone else without attaining insight in oneself of acting and exiting acting or there are unknown others who also came to the same realization, I am the trigger of the current change.

Again that I developed complete insight into the nature of acting where no one else seems to have done and acting being encompassing to embrace what and how ordinary people perceive, think, do or say things, that I have effortlessly exited acting whilst others though they have changed yet again remain detained in acting reflects that there be a vital difference in my nature compared to others.

Living Way Beyond One’s Means:
In theory America has paid for the oil it imports but because it is paid in USD and tends to be reinvested in the US, the money is recycled for Americans to use and if there is a devaluation by the time it is repatriated, foolish oil producers will get much less for their oil. In the same way Asian exporters like Japan & China keep proceeds from exports in USD (treasuries) and when they finally want it back, they may get much less for their exports should the USD plunge.
Oil-rich nations keep profits away from US
US assets not so attractive this time compared to during 1970s oil shock
THE influx of money into the US during the oil shock of the 1970s shows no signs yet of being repeated.
Both the US government and financial institutions benefited from rising oil prices in the 1970s as oil-exporting countries invested their profits in dollar-denominated assets.
Recent purchases of US assets by oil-producing countries are hard to track, but it is likely at least some oil money is going into US bonds.
However, any buying has not been heavy enough to have a noticeable effect on US markets.
Analysts say low US interest rates and a fall in the US dollar relative to the euro have made dollar-denominated investments less popular among oil producing nations.