Why is full awareness important?

flat,550x550,075,f bodhi leaves

…Mindfulness trains us to do everything we do with full awareness.

…Why is full awareness important? As anyone who tries mindfulness practice quickly discovers, the more aware we are of our actions and of the feelings, thoughts, and perceptions that give rise to them, the more insight we have into why we are doing what we are doing. Awareness allows us to see whether our actions spring from beneficial or harmful impulses. Beneficial motivations include generosity, friendliness, compassion, and wisdom; harmful actions are caused primarily by greed, hatred, and delusion. When we are mindful of the deep roots from which our thoughts, words, and deeds grow, we have the opportunity to cultivate those that are beneficial and weed out those that are harmful.

The Buddha is very clear that the primary aim of all his teachings is the “end of suffering”. Mindfulness helps us to recognize that beneficial actions bring peace of mind and happiness to our everyday lives. …

Bhante Henepola Gunaratana  –  The 4 Foundations of Mindfulness.

 

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