You gain insight also into this whole question of what does it mean to intend, what is an intention, what is this karma we are doing all the time?

"You feed the mind with these thoughts of goodwill [mettā], thoughts of the sublime attitudes and you exercise its mindfulness and alertness. Try to develop its concentration in that way, to develop its discernment into what’s going on in the mind: what you choose to do, what you choose not to do. And you gain insight also into this whole question of what does it mean to intend, what is an intention, what is this karma we are doing all the time?

Once you see that clearly, then you are in a much better position to act on that basic motivation for goodwill. You can get the mind to do what you want it to do, and it’s strong enough to do what you want it to do. You’ve got that desire for true happiness. For true happiness you need a well-trained mind, a mind that’s not afraid to comprehend suffering, let go of its cause, develop the factors of the path, so it can realize the end of suffering. Otherwise even though we all desire happiness, we just keep creating more and more suffering, which is the big irony of life. But it’s possible to train the mind. So keep at it. Keep remembering your intention, try to maintain that intention and try to develop the skills that are needed to keep acting on that intention. So you can test whether the Buddha is right: there is an end to suffering, and it can be attained through human effort."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "Goodwill All Around"

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