WE’RE INTERESTED NOT IN THE EXPERIENCE BUT THE MIND’S REACTION

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 13 (06:18-7:38)

Yogi: Do I need to compare the aversion when aversion arises towards different objects?

Sayadaw: All the time, watch the aversion. That’s enough.

We are not interested in the experience; we’re interested in the anger.

Object is not very important; the mind’s reaction is more important. We try to learn why the mind is doing this.

You already know that there are different reactions to different objects. That’s good enough.

BE CONSISTENT IN BEING AWARE

| Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2018 Vassa Q&A English Interviews 20180925 (26:54-28:12)

If you’re aware continuously for 10, 15 or 20 minutes, how does the mind feel?

If you know that your awareness is weak, just start or try again. 

(Yogi’s note: Awareness will gain momentum with repeated application.)

Superficial awareness is okay; as long as awareness is present. Awareness does not have to be deep because continuity of awareness is more important.

FINDING BALANCE IN HOW MUCH ENERGY THE MIND USES

|Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2018 Vassa Q&A Chinese Interviews 20180920 (19:22-20:56)

Yogi: I used too much energy trying not to move in the night sit and couldn’t sleep thereafter.

Sayadaw: Too much energy is not right. It’s not important whether you move or not during the sit. You need to know how much energy the mind uses. Only then can you apply the right amount of energy – not too much and not too little.

Posture is not very important; whether you move or not is also not very important. What is important is how much energy the mind uses. If you have too much energy and the mind notices, that’s good. Then, the mind can let go.

Over or less, these are two extremes. But you need to learn that this is too much and that’s too little; slowly, you can find the middle way, the balance. Only understanding can see the balance.

First, awareness sees ‘This is too much and that’s too little.’ After you learn from many experiences, slowly, the mind understands.

WALKING MEDITATION: LET THE OBJECT BE A NATURAL PROCESS

|Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 1 (37:50-40:42)

Yogi: Some yogis walk fast and some walk slowly, what should I do?

Sayadaw: Stay with yourself and walk naturally. It is better to relax and practice naturally – then, as much as you can, be aware of yourself.

No need to control your action to make walking either fast or slow. Walk naturally – let nature happen and then try to be aware. If awareness is present, naturally, you cannot walk too fast. If you walk too slowly, you control too much, and your mind will be tense.

Our meditation object must be a natural process. This is the best way.

We want to understand nature, right? So let nature be.

Yogis learn in many ways, and some walk very slowly, but I don’t encourage slowing down. Walk naturally, and when the mind becomes stronger and stronger, the mind becomes faster. If you slow down to practice, because of habit, the mind cannot be fast.

If you practice walking slowly – and you don’t walk slowly in daily life – then, you cannot maintain your awareness in daily life.

NOTICING THE INTERACTION TO PAIN

|Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 7 (1:53:35-1:57:25)

Yogi: The pain is very obvious because awareness is good.

Sayadaw: Obvious is not the problem; but the problem is when the mind interprets it as pain. If the pain is subtle and changing, that’s not a problem – if the pain is gross, it is a problem. If you can see the pain changing and the mind is not resisting, it is okay.

If you want to change your posture, then there is reaction in the mind. If the pain is obvious, come back to the mind (watch the resistance). Does the mind really accept the pain? Be open, don’t try to accept.

Pay more attention to your mental state and your feeling. Just check.

If your awareness (the 5 faculties) is very strong, the pain disappears. You won’t feel the pain. The sensation will just be happening and changing, and the mind will not see it as pain. If the mind interprets it as pain, it means that there is anger.

If there is no anger, it is just some sensation happening, that’s all. If you feel the pain, then anger is still there.

ATTACHMENT GROWS WHEN NOT KNOWING THE LOBHA MIND

| Czech 2013 Retreat Concluding Talk (9:29-10:25)

Every time you have the lobha mind, again and again, if you don’t know, then attachment grows stronger and stronger.

Every time you meet the same people, you use the same things, if you don’t know that lobha is happening, then attachment grows bigger and bigger. Like the hot shower – every day you use it, but you don’t know with what mind you’re taking the shower. You think that you’re mindful! There’s attachment there, and you let the attachment continue.

Defilements can happen anywhere – defilements have a chance to arise through any of the 6 sense doors. If defilements don’t get weaker, then wisdom cannot grow. So, you have to be aware all the time.

UNDERSTAND HOW THE MIND CREATES CONCEPT

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 14 (30:55-32:52)

If you don’t know concepts, you cannot walk. Distance is a concept – how far you step when you walk is also a concept. Don’t try to get rid of concepts.

If the mind doesn’t think about concepts, the body cannot move. How far and how high are also conceptual. The mind needs to think about concepts.

Concept is not a problem during meditation. Yogis try to get rid of concepts when they meditate – only paying attention to reality, reality.

If the mind only understands reality, that’s not enough. It must also understand concept; then, we can use them both in daily life.

You cannot get rid of concept – without concept you cannot walk, you cannot eat, and you cannot do anything.

I need to explain this because yogis think that concept is not good, they only focus on reality. If you really understand reality, you also understand concept.

What is reality? It means that it is not concept. You need to understand what is concept, how the mind creates concept and how the mind pays attention to concept – you need to understand all these.

Wisdom understands what concept is and what reality is. Concept is sanna working – sanna is also a function of the mind.

WHEN THE MIND REALLY UNDERSTANDS, REALIZATION OCCURS

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 13 (1:06:30-1:09:55)

When yogis experience rising and passing away, they think that they understand impermanence. But it is only the sign of impermanence, not understanding impermanence yet.

Every time you see rising and passing away, don’t conclude that you understand impermanence. When the mind really understands, realization appears in the mind.

For example, a yogi may say that he truly understands impermanence, but when his slippers go missing, he still panics. That shows that the understanding is not strong. When you observe impermanence over and over again, then slowly realization arises.

Many yogis see rising and passing away, but their defilements have not changed – the mind still has much craving and anger. It meaning that wisdom is not yet working.

RECOGNIZE THE WISDOM THAT IS ALREADY WORKING

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 13 (1:31:00-1:34:40)

Many yogis don’t know if they are applying wisdom when they meditate. Because they don’t understand what is wisdom. They are not familiar with wisdom – they simply use lots of effort.

Wisdom is understanding how to do. Without understanding you cannot do anything. 

Wisdom comes from knowledge. That’s why we listen and read to get knowledge. With some intelligence, we then apply the information in our practice, that’s also wisdom.

Without this wisdom, how can we practice?

Also, we need right view – that whatever we observe is nature, cause and effect process and therefore impersonal. Although we don’t understand nature very well, we apply this knowledge first. Slowly with practice, more and more understanding comes to the mind.

Each person’s wisdom nature is different. In whatever they do, they are already using their wisdom, but they don’t realize that. They are already applying their wisdom – e.g. how to do something better.

If you pay attention, awareness is there and wisdom is already there too. Even when you cook, you are using your wisdom. So, now you know what wisdom is.

CHECKING ATTITUDE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN BEING AWARE OF OBJECTS

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 9 (01:00-03:00)

Yogi: I can be aware of many objects but I cannot notice my attitude.

Sayadaw: Checking attitude is more important than being aware of objects. It is only when the attitude is right that everything the mind does is right because if the attitude is wrong, whatever you do is wrong.

Checking that the attitude is right or wrong is the most important thing in meditation.

[Yogi’s note: Also, don’t be in a hurry to meditate. First, remember the right view, e.g. this is nature; this is cause and effect; impersonal, neither good nor bad; there is nobody there; this is Dhamma; or this is Anatta.]

Yogi: When I’m aware of the body movement during walking meditation, I cannot be aware of looking at the ground.

Sayadaw: You focus too much. Naturally, the mind already knows that it is looking at the ground and the body movement. We just need to check if the mind is aware or not. That’s enough.

(Elsewhere: Too much concentration without awareness-wisdom is dangerous.)

[Yogi’s note: If we’re not looking, how else can we know where to put our feet? If the body is not moving, how can we get from here to there?] 

YOGI ASKING HOW TO DEAL WITH UNPLEASANT FEELINGS

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 7 (1:21:54-1:23:28)

Just be aware and keep watching the unpleasant feelings. Stay with the emotion and continue knowing.

Yogi: But the feelings are very unpleasant.

Sayadaw: First, you need to have right attitude – that whatever is observed is Dhamma or nature and not personal. Pleasant or unpleasant, object is object. If you want it to be pleasant, that is the problem. If you want the unpleasant feeling to go away, that is also wrong attitude.

If you can watch calmly, then the mind already knows how to practice.

Yogis need to learn how to watch both unpleasant and pleasant feelings with equanimity.

KEEP NOTICING WRONG ATTITUDE; DON’T TRY TO CHANGE TO RIGHT ATTITUDE

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 7 (1:17:50-1:20:02)

Yogi: The mind notices wrong attitude; that’s why there is anxiety. What to do?

Sayadaw: There’s nothing to do. It is already very good because if you know what is wrong, wisdom is already present. Don’t try to change to right attitude; it is more important to understand what is wrong because if you notice what is wrong, the mind will not want to be wrong again.

The yogi thinks that he can only meditate when the mind calms down, but he’s already meditating when the mind notices the wrong attitude and anxiety. That’s why he knows what the mind is doing.

The yogi needs to understand the nature of awareness. Sometimes trying to be aware is not necessary because awareness is already present. Don’t try to be aware too much – if awareness is present, meditation is already happening.

Simply recognize the wrong attitude and continue to be aware.

ACKNOWLEDGING ANY MIND THAT ARISES

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 11 (6:50-10:20)

Yogi: Every time unpleasant experiences arise, I feel that they are incorrect in meditation. And the mind will say ‘Stop this and stop that’. There is a lot of self-judgment.

Sayadaw: Experiences are not the yogi’s responsibility – they have their own cause and effect processes. Experience does not indicate whether meditation is right or wrong. Whether meditation is right or wrong depends on the quality of the meditating mind. Is the meditating mind wholesome or unwholesome? Is the meditating mind liking or disliking the experience?

Experience is sometimes good and sometimes bad; we cannot have what we want. When the mind complains it is because it is not contented with oneself. It is also because the mind has made a habit of judging, time and time again; that’s why this cause and effect process comes. That is why you cannot stop the defilement from happening.

Don’t say “It’s okay” whenever the mind rejects the experience. Every time this mind arises, just be aware, aware, aware. Don’t let it continue to talk. Continue to be aware, aware, aware. When awareness comes, the defilements stop. And continue to watch, they get weaker and weaker. Next time they come, continue to be aware. Later they will have no chance to arise.

Defilements get to be so strong because of habit – come, come, come. You need to be aware and learn. Every time you are aware, slowly the mind understands something about this defilement nature. Because of understanding, the defilement gets weaker. Don’t try to say “It’s okay.”

RIGHT ATTITUDE GENTLY WATCHES THE COMPLETE PICTURE

| Taiwan Retreat 2018 Q&A 1 (50:11-51:40)

Don’t jump in to watch the pain. Watch the pain slowly, slowly, because if you try to watch too hard the pain will increase.

Handling the pain is not important yet. It is more important to learn how to watch the mind because when the mind becomes relaxed and strong again, then you are ready to watch the pain.

So, when you watch pain, take care of your mind first – check if the mind is reacting or not. If the mind reacts, you shouldn’t watch the pain. You should watch the reaction instead.

If the pain increases, you should change your posture; if the pain decreases, you can go back to watching the pain.

(56:00-57:00)

Yogi: I notice the tension and the mind not resisting the tension. Also, there are 2 objects: one is the tension and the other is the mind that notices the tension.

Sayadaw: That’s very good. This is called the complete picture; the mind sees the whole picture.