Hor Tuck Loon
ATTITUDE IS ALSO CONDITIONED
Hor Tuck Loon
MEDITATING TO REDUCE ANXIETY
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HANDLING GRIEF
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THE FEELING AGGREGATE – VEDANA KHANDA
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SAMSARA AND THE NEXT LIFE

KEEPING IT SIMPLE WITHOUT PROLIFERATING CONCEPTS

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 8 (1:36:25-1:37:53)

Yogi: It appears that thoughts are from the brain and hearing is coming from outside to inside.

Sayadaw: Just happening. Hearing is happening. That’s enough – finished. Direction and place are concepts, they are not real. Hearing is real.

[Yogi’s note: Simply being known is defined as an object. One shouldn’t focus - without focusing one can know. When we focus, the mind is paying attention to the concept. When the mind pays attention to concepts, liking and disliking arise.]

SEEING MEDITATION

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 11 (1:01:12-1:03:44)

Yogi: Seeing meditation – what to be aware of? Should I fix attention on one point, or can I look around?

Sayadaw: Open the eyes and see naturally; don’t purposely look around. Be more aware of body sensations with the eyes open. Naturally, the mind will look, but you bring your attention back to the body. Don’t pay particular attention to the things seen – pay attention inside.

Know what is nature and concept – be more aware of bodily process because bodily process is nature. If you see things, it is a concept – if the mind goes out and pays attention to concepts, defilements will arise.

If the mind knows that it’s paying attention (to outside things), it is still reality. Paying attention is the mind.

NATURAL AWARENESS CAN KNOW MANY OBJECTS WITHOUT FORCING

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 4 (4:40-8:45)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLHceWd8reA

I don’t encourage yogis to focus and concentrate too much energy on one object. If the mind focuses on one object, it cannot know many things. The mind cannot be fast.

So, just relax and be aware (i.e. light awareness) – make this a habit. This awareness can know many objects; only then, you can practice in daily activities.

Many yogis start with concentration practice – this has become a habit. Why do yogis use so much energy? They want to make the mind stronger. But strength comes from maintaining the awareness over a long time, not from forcing. It is the nature of the mind to grow stronger from continued application.

When the awareness becomes stronger, naturally it can receive more objects, it can know more things.

It is the nature of the mind to arise and pass away, but each mind leaves the energy to the next mind. So, if any mind is allowed to repeat – good mind or bad mind – naturally this quality increases.

So, what is important is to maintain the awareness continuously – then naturally awareness will grow slowly; no need to force. Remember that what is important is to maintain the awareness over a long time.

SLEEPING PROBLEM DURING RETREATS

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 10 (43:55-45:15)

Yogi: If I practice too much I have problem sleeping during retreats.

Sayadaw: You cannot sleep not because you practice too much. It’s due to wrong practice that the mind cannot sleep. The mind used too much energy.

Another reason is that when the awareness is very sharp, the mind sleeps less. Because the mind is being aware all the time, it becomes awake; so, the mind doesn’t want to sleep too much. It sleeps a little and then it wakes up.

If you use a lot of energy, the mind gets restless and cannot sleep. That’s not good.

If the awareness is sharp and the mind is calm, and as a result, it cannot sleep, then, there’s no problem.

When you cannot sleep, you can stay on the bed and just keep checking if the mind is relaxed and peaceful. If it is tense, then it is not good.

WHEN LOBHA IS PRESENT, AWARENESS-WISDOM CANNOT BE PRESENT

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 14 (1:48:22-1:49:35)

Yogi: When there is good memory or good feeling, because it is not causing dukkha, the mind doesn’t want to let go of the experience and also forgets to be aware.

Sayadaw: That is because of lobha. Suffering, there is anger; if it is pleasant, lobha will come. It is because lobha is present, awareness and wisdom cannot be there.

People don’t like suffering/unpleasant objects; they like pleasant objects; but when there are pleasant objects, the mind forgets to be aware because it gets involved.

That’s why yogis get stuck with pleasant objects.

WISDOM DOES WHAT IS NECESSARY BECAUSE OF UNDERSTANDING

| Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat 2013 Guided Meditation Part 1 (49:27-50:20)

What we should do, need to do, just do it.

Previously, if we like it, we do; if we don’t like it, we stop. They are two extremes. Because of liking, we continue; because of disliking, we stop.

But wisdom is not like this – wisdom considers: should or not, need or not, necessary or not. Understanding this, the mind just does it.

Not attached, not resisting – because of understanding, the mind does it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ6VbFwPf04&t=909s (13:13-13:30)

The deluded mind sees equanimity as very boring; but for the wisdom eye, equanimity is freedom. The 2 minds view equanimity (the neutral mind) differently.

UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT VEDANA

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 14 (1:49:50-1:51:43)

Yogi: How to understand that pleasant feelings and pleasant thoughts are also dukkha?

Sayadaw: If you can understand that feelings are always changing – if you can understand that feeling reality in the mind is always changing – then you know that pleasant feelings are also dukkha.

Don’t pay attention to the pleasantness or unpleasantness; pay attention to just feeling. We need to understand more about vedana, about the mind, not domanassa (displeasure) or somanassa (pleasure).

Be more aware of just feeling because if you pay attention to the pleasantness, the mind becomes attached.

How long can you be happy?

A FEELING IS JUST A FEELING

| Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat 2013 - Guided Meditation Part 2 (40:26-41:30)

When the mind is peaceful, know that peacefulness is just peacefulness. It is not good, not bad – just an experience. Is the mind liking, or not? If you understand that it is only an object, the mind is not attached. You understand as it is – feeling is just feeling. If you understand like this, suffering is also the same, i.e. feeling is just feeling.

HOW TO STAY AT THE MIND DOOR

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 13 (1:45:33-1:47:02)

This is an understanding that comes from habitual practice. Only wisdom can pay attention to the mind door. If you understand the mind, then you can continue to be aware at the mind door.

Because the mind is not at any place – the mind is nowhere, no shape, no place – therefore, you don’t have to focus, but you can know. If you know many times that this is happening, this is happening, this is happening, then slowly the mind understands how to observe the mind as an object.

Now you know that the mind is thinking, right? That is the mind door. Do you know your intention to do something? This is also the mind. If you know the mind, that is the mind door.

NOTICE THE ATTITUDE WHENEVER THERE IS SENSE CONTACT

| Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya English Dhamma Discussion Part 1 21-1-2018 (05:14-05:54)

Every contact between the mind and its objects brings up some attitude or stance (reaction or judgment), some way the mind is going to approach what it is contacting.

As you practice and the understanding grows, that understanding will allow wisdom to be the attitude that we bring to the moment – whatever it is we have right now, that’s what we notice.

NOTICE THE IDEAS THAT ARE SPURRING YOU

| Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2017 Vassa English Interviews File:170811 (14:55-16:35)

Sayadaw: We have lots of ideas; they are already there whenever we do anything. If you notice, you can see what ideas push you to do whatever you do. If you can see your mind nature, then you can change your mind. If not, whatever you do, the same response pattern arises.

Yogi: All my life, I thought that it was normal to respond with stress, anxiety, and anger.

Sayadaw: If you don’t notice the subtle mind, then the defilements grow bigger and bigger. If the mind notices the beginning of the small situation, then the defilement cannot grow. It is important to be aware of our subtle thoughts. If the thoughts have become big, then it’ll take an hour or two to calm down; but if the mind notices the beginning of the thoughts – the beginning of the defilement – then when the mind notices, it subsides.

Defilement starts small – it cannot be ‘’big’’ immediately. If awareness and wisdom is sharp, the mind can see subtle levels easily.

Subtle level means the beginnings of a thought. Westerners call it unconscious mind.

THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS AND THE SIX QUALITIES OF DHAMMA

| Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary 2013 Retreat Opening Talk

The Four Foundations of Mindfulness:

Watching body sensations is kayanupassana. Watching feelings – pleasant, unpleasant, neutral – is vedananupassana. Being aware of skilful or unskilful mind, any mind, is cittanupassana. When body sensations, feelings and mind become impersonal or nature, that is dhammanupassana.

The Six Qualities of Dhamma as taught by the Buddha:

1. Svakkhato – The Dhamma is well explained, well expounded. It is the universal law of nature. So it is complete being excellent in the beginning (Sila), excellent in the middle (Samadhi) and excellent in the end (Panna).

2. Sanditthiko – Dhamma is in the here and Now. The Dhamma can be practised and known by direct practice.
3. Akaliko – Dhamma is timeless and never changes. We can practise anytime, anywhere. The Dhamma gives immediate results.

4. Ehipassiko – Come and Investigate. This is an invitation for one who seeks the Truth to discover for himself through direct experience.

5. Opanayiko – Leading Inwards. The Dhamma is capable of being entered upon and one has to realize for oneself.

6. Paccattam veditabbo vinnuhiti – The Dhamma may be perfectly realized only by the wise each for himself. Here the wise does not mean one with high education but rather one with little dust in their eyes.

When the meditator recollects these special qualities of the Dhamma, his mind is invaded neither by greed, nor by hate, nor by delusion. One will be uplifted by the Dhamma.