GOOD OR BAD, WE NEED TO BE AWARE

Singapore Q&A 21.7.2023 (06:44-07:50)

Yogi: Sayadaw, is your mind affected by your illnesses?

Sayadaw: Not much because whatever happens just happens.

Good or bad, we need to be aware. It is better that we take care of the quality of our mind because good or bad is just the experience.

That is why I say not to judge the experience one way or the other. If we judge that it is good, we get attached to the experience.

For example, we forget to be aware and enjoy the experience when we’re happy because there is no pain; as a result, we complain a lot when we’re sick.

HOW TO MAINTAIN THE PEACEFUL MIND THROUGHOUT THE DAY

Singapore Q&A 10.7.2023 (42:23-44:00)

How do you maintain peacefulness in your life the whole day long?

I remind yogis to try to practice when they wake up in the morning and bring that peacefulness to their daily lives the whole day. If you’re skillful, you can maintain your peaceful mind all day. You have to try and practice.

Sometimes, I cannot maintain it too; at times, it’s gone by lunchtime. But we have to try every day.

When we wake up in the morning and the mind is calm and peaceful after sitting, be aware of this feeling and try to know every relationship that affects this peaceful mind; what you’re thinking and what you’re talking and how mental actions, verbal actions or physical actions affect your feeling and mental state. You need to learn and then you can know how to maintain your peacefulness and samadhi level.

PRACTICE WATCHING ALL FEELINGS IN DAILY LIFE

Singapore Q&A 10.7.2023 (41:04-41:40)

In daily life, try to be aware of your feelings because there are reactions all the time in daily life.

You can be more skillful in being aware in daily life because the mind feels pleasant or unpleasant and happy or sad. Every day, we have a lot of emotions, right? Use them to become more skillful in the practice.

It is important to watch all feelings.

STILL OKAY IS NOT OKAY

Singapore Q&A 7.7.2023 (12:04-13:15)

Sayadaw: Are you satisfied with your life?

Yogi: Okay; I’m quite satisfied. It is still okay. I can meet good teachers and with a stable job, my life is quite okay.

Sayadaw: Still okay is not okay; this okay is not okay. If there is a lot of moha, then it is also okay.

A lot of people think there is no problem with their lives.

PARAMATTHA (NATURE/REALITY) AND PANNATTI (CONCEPT)

Singapore Q&A 10.7.2023 (44:05 – 46:00)

Yogi: Sayadaw says when something disturbs the mind, we don’t follow the storyline.

When I see the storyline, I see that it is the thoughts. So, I should learn to see the nature of the thoughts and not follow the storyline?

Sayadaw: It depends on how much you understand paramattha and pannatti or nature and concept.

When you pay more attention to nature, the mind doesn’t think too much about the concept. You can see the thinking mind arising and gone, arising and gone – that’s nature.

When you pay more attention to the concept, there will be more thinking and more emotions.

You need to understand what is concept and what is nature.

Yogi: Storyline is concept? Thoughts are not concept?

Sayadaw: Yes. Thoughts are just arising, arising; just happening, happening. Happening is nature and storyline is the concept.

Whenever thinking arises, try to be aware of this.

Yogi: When I see the storyline, I don’t follow it and the story will drop? I should try to see the nature.

Sayadaw: Yes, pay more attention to the nature.

HOW TO MAINTAIN INTEREST IN BEING AWARE

Singapore Q&A 21.7.2023 (00:21-02:40)

Yogi: How do I maintain interest in the practice?

Sayadaw: If you recognize the benefit of awareness, you’ll want to practice.

Do you understand the difference between being aware and not being aware? You’ll be interested if you can see the advantages of the practice.

The benefit is more obvious when people are suffering.

If you can notice the difference in the quality of mind when you’re aware and when you’re not aware, then you’ll be more interested in practicing.

Yogis try to meditate because they’ve already experienced something good from practicing.

KNOW THE OBJECT AND THE AWARENESS MIND

Singapore Q&A 7.7.2023 (01:37-2:44)

When we’re aware there must be awareness and some understanding together.

What kind of awareness do you have? Is it awareness alone or awareness with some understanding? Do you recognize that when you’re aware?

When we practice, we check if the awareness is present. If we know that awareness is present, then we check again what else we know.

Basically, we need to know the object and the awareness mind.

HOW DO WE PROGRESS BY JUST KNOWING AND BEING AWARE?

Singapore Q&A 10.7.2023 (1:01:00-1:01:56)

Yogi: How do we improve if we’re just knowing and being aware?

Sayadaw: If you continue to be aware, this is already progress.

Moment to moment, if you try to maintain the awareness, it is already improving.

If you stop being aware, then awareness will go down.

If you want to improve, try to maintain the awareness consistently.

ASKING WHAT IS THE MIND KNOWING IS RECOGNIZING THE MIND

Singapore Q&A 14.7.2023 (01:50-02:23)

You can start being aware of the body sensations, but later, come to the awareness.

If you’re aware of the awareness, you can also recognize the body.

That is why when I remind yogis ‘What is the mind aware of?’ and ‘Do you recognize awareness is present?’ it is also attention to the mind. The body sensation is already with the awareness, right? That’s enough.

BE AWARE OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE MIND AND BODY

Singapore Q&A 14.7.2023 (10:10 -10:52)

Yogi: Just now, I was watching my breathing. When I breathe in and I breathe out, in between there’s a gap.

Sayadaw: Who is breathing in and breathing out?

Yogi: My body is breathing in and breathing out.

Sayadaw: Really? I just said breathing happens because of the intention to breathe. But you said, I’m breathing in and breathing out. This is an idea, the idea that I’m breathing in and I’m breathing out.

DON’T MERELY TRY TO MAKE THE MIND ACCEPT AND LET GO

Singapore Q&A 4.7.2023 (01:00-02:25)

Yogi: I have a lot of anger and was told to accept it and let go. But I cannot; how do I change my view about anger to accept and let go?

Sayadaw: First, you need to think that anger is not yours; anger is anger, and anger is nobody’s anger. This is the first attitude when watching anger.

We’re not trying to accept; we’re trying to think the right way about anger – anger is nature. That’s enough.

Secondly, we try to be aware of this feeling, not the storyline, just the feeling, understand?

LEARN HOW TO WATCH SO THAT UNDERSTANDING CAN ARISE

Singapore Q&A 10.7.2023 (1:07:38-1:09:40)

Yogi: How can we understand the cause of our greed, anger, and delusion through meditation?

Sayadaw: Because your mind is suffering when you practice with craving, your mind cannot be peaceful; you use a lot of energy to focus and the mind becomes tense, right? The effect of defilement nature is suffering. You can know your feelings and mental state.

You watch every time craving and aversion arise – again, again, and again until understanding comes. That’s all.

You learn from your own experience this way.

Yogi: Many yogis observe, but still they don’t have the wisdom.

Sayadaw: Wisdom cannot come immediately. They need to learn how to watch so that understanding can come. That’s the difficult part. I cannot give you this wisdom.

I can only share some experience; that’s all I can do.

HAPPY BECAUSE OF KNOWING EVEN IF THE EXPERIENCE IS PAINFUL

Singapore Q&A 14.7.2023 (21:00-21:44)

Yogi: I’m happy when I see pain because I see it rather than be angry there’s pain in the body. Pain is natural; when there is a body, pain is bound to arise.

Sayadaw: Why are you happy when pain arises?

Yogi: Because I see it.

Sayadaw: Because of knowing, you’re happy. You’re happy because of knowing, not because of the object.

THE PAUSE BETWEEN THE IN-BREATH AND OUT-BREATH IS ALSO AN OBJECT

Singapore Q&A 14.7.2023 (10:04-11:56)

Yogi: When I breathe in and out, there’s a pause in between the two. And, in the gap, the mind will look for another object or wander off.

Sayadaw: You can be aware of the gap because it is also an object. The mind can know it because the meaning of an object is being known.

If you can understand that the gap is an object, the mind cannot wander off – the object and the awareness are there.

Because you think that the gap is not an object, you try to look for something else.

UNDERSTANDING WHY NOT TO JUDGE THE OBJECT AS GOOD OR BAD

Singapore Q&A 10.7.2023 (25:08-34:55)

It is better not to judge the object as good or bad because if you think that it’s good, the mind gets attached, and if you think that it’s bad, the mind resists.

How not to think that it is good or bad? It is when the mind understands the meaning of an object. The meaning of object is something that is being known by the mind – it means it is not good or bad and when there is this understanding, the mind becomes equanimous to the experience.

Knowing is the mind and being known is the object. Do you understand this when you practice?