EXAMPLES OF NATURAL AWARENESS

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 8 (1:00:34-1:03:22)

First example: A yogi was waiting for the train to pass by before meditating. He was aware of the train sound and knew that his mind was anxious as he waited. The yogi didn’t know that natural awareness was already happening; he only thought that if he observed a certain object, then he was meditating. But that would be personal awareness.

Natural awareness already sees the mental process, what is really happening; but the yogi tries to meditate only on the object he has chosen.

Trying to meditate is extra; meditation is already happening.

Second example: For example, a yogi chose to observe the breath – he was targeting this object to be aware. While he was aware of the in-breath and out-breath, suddenly the mind naturally goes to a sensation in the hand.

Check these two objects – the breath object carries the idea ‘I am aware; I choose this object and I’m trying to be aware of it’. In this process, ‘I’ is already there. But for the sensation in the hand, the mind is aware of it naturally; there’s no ‘I’ there. Different idea.

| (1:31:31-1:31:59)

Wisdom can arise with natural awareness. If I can control personal awareness, the wrong view is already there. That’s why wisdom cannot arise with personal awareness.