1451. HOW TO PRACTISE KNOWING OF SEEING CONSCIOUSNESS
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 26 November 2023 (25:40-27:24)
Yogi: When I’m seeing, the mind keeps looking into the object. I don’t know why.
Sayadaw: You want to know something more. That is why you focus more on the object.
You want to know more things about the object. That is why when people talk, they lean toward the other person and focus too much.
It is better that you practise knowing because knowing is more aware of seeing consciousness. When you try to be aware of seeing consciousness, the tendency is to look at the object because the mind more easily thinks about concepts.
1452. WISDOM MUST MANAGE OUR ACTIONS
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 21 November 2023 (20:30-22:07)
Yogi: I went to a nunnery that was in a bad state – I had planned to donate a certain amount, but my mind said “I want to help them more and more’. What state of mind is this?
Sayadaw: Maybe karuna motivates, but you must have wisdom otherwise a lot of problems arise. You have already fixed the amount, but then you want to give them more and many problems arise. Maybe wholesome mind motivates this intention, but wisdom must manage the situation.
Another example is: we know meditation is good, but why do some people go crazy during meditation. It is because of craving – this is not wholesome.
Just because we sit to meditate is not necessarily wholesome; it is the quality of mind that is important.
1453. WE ASK A QUESTION TO BRING INTEREST TO WATCHING
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 22 November 2023 (42:00-42:42)
Yogi: I couldn’t find out why this feeling happened and told myself not to pay attention to it.
Sayadaw: When we ask a question during meditation, the answer is not important. You do not try to get an answer immediately.
The question is used to bring interest to being aware. If you look for the answer, you’ll start to think.
1454. DON’T LOOK FOR THE ‘NO I’, RECOGNIZE THE ‘I’
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 24 November 2023 (32:45-34:05)
Yogi: I notice that there is an ‘I’ observing and thinking of everything.
Sayadaw: Now, you can see the idea of self working, right? And, you believe that all mental states are ‘me’.
First, you begin to see the ‘I’ happening.
Yogi: I tell myself that there is no ‘I’.
Sayadaw: Forget about the ‘no I’; don’t look for the ‘no I’. Just recognize every time the mind says ‘I’.
Yogi: Recognize the ‘I’?
Sayadaw: Yes, recognize repeatedly that the ‘I’ is there.
The instruction is if ‘I’ is there, recognize that the ‘I’ is there. When the ‘I’ is not there, also recognize that the ‘I’ is not there. Just watch; you cannot make it happen.
Yogi: Should I investigate more about the ‘I’?
Sayadaw: That’s enough; your mind is already working. If you investigate more, a lot of thinking will come.
1455. EVERY MENTAL PROCESS IS NEW; ONLY THE CONCEPT IS OLD
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 26 November 2023 (19:00-20:25)
Yogi: The mind had right attitude and I was feeling okay, but when the mosquito landed on me, I immediately slapped it. Was dosa already there even when the mind was stable?
Sayadaw: No. It only happened in that moment. It was new; not an old dosa.
Every mental process is new, never an old one returning. If you think it is old, it is a concept.
Reality comes and goes totally. Reality never comes back again.
The idea is old – an idea that the mosquito is no good. Idea is idea, but the mind is mind.
Because of this old idea, dosa arises repeatedly.
You hold on to this idea and whenever you pay attention to the mosquito, anger arises very quick and very fast. It is like automatic.
1456. THE TEACHER AND STUDENT ARE BOTH IN OUR MIND
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 24 November 2023 (05:20-07:08)
Every defilement has wrong thoughts and you need to notice the thoughts – when the defilement disappears and the mind changes, the idea will also change.
This is the right thought; you need to learn from your right thinking.
Notice that the teacher and disciple are both in our mind – because of an understanding, the next mind follows this understanding.
You have a teacher; your wisdom is the teacher. The important thing to remember is that wisdom can only come when the defilement disappears. You need to learn from this.
I don’t know too much in my daily life; I just learn from my experience.
When defilement comes, the mind says one thing and when the defilement goes off, the mind says another thing. Later, I learn how to think the right way. With more experience, we have more understanding and the wisdom becomes more complete.
Our view becomes wider as more understanding comes in different ways.
It is important to let wisdom arise in the mind. The right information to guide our thinking is also helpful; we use it to learn and let wisdom arise within us.
1457. WATCH THE REACTION IN THE MIND
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 26 November 2023 (07:45-08:45)
Sayadaw: Can you know when the mind reacts to the object? To react means liking or disliking the object.
Yogi: Yes, sometimes I see something and I like it.
Sayadaw: Yes, at that time, you need to be aware of the liking first.
This is the formula: when the mind notices any object and liking or disliking arises, watch the liking or disliking first.
Make it a habit that when you see something, hear something, or sense some sensation like pain, watch the reaction and pleasant or unpleasant feeling first. When the mind becomes neutral, then you go back to the object. Ok?
1458. DEEPER UNDERSTANDING WHEN AWARENESS IS CONSISTENT
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 24 November 2023 (24:54-25:43)
Yogis are very happy when they watch the defilement and at some point, it disappears. This is not real learning yet.
When the awareness becomes automatic, we don’t have to try to be aware but awareness is already present in the mind. At that time, a deeper understanding can arise when a defilement comes because the defilement does its job, and awareness also does its job of seeing the process naturally. That state is a real learning process.
1459. CONSISTENT AWARENESS BRINGS MORE UNDERSTANDING
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 24 November 2023 (11:00-12:10)
Yogi: When there is interest to learn but not watch the mind, it is easy for me to get tired.
Sayadaw: What should you do if you want to understand more?
Yogi: Be aware more.
Sayadaw: Watch the process because the continuity of awareness is important; do not go to the object.
And you need more overview, not only focus on one object. If the mind can observe many objects, it can see the relationship between many objects.
If you observe only one object your view and understanding will be narrow.
1460. WHEN AWARENESS IS ABSENT, THE MIND IS DELUDED
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 26 November 2023 (16:23-17:16)
Yogi: If what is happening is not seen as the object, then the happening is identified with the one that is seeing.
Each time we don’t notice it as an object, that thing suddenly looks like me.
Sayadaw: Yes, if you pay attention to the concept, identification is already there.
Yogi: Each time there is no awareness, the mind identifies with the concept.
Sayadaw: If you don’t know the awareness or the knowing mind, identification is already there.
1461. WE DON’T TRY TO GET THE ANSWER IMMEDIATELY
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 26 November 2023 (38:48-39:48)
Yogi: When I ask if it is necessary, the immediate answer is that it is not necessary. But sometimes the answer feels wrong.
Sayadaw: That is why I say not to get the answer immediately, but to let the answer come.
The answer that it is not necessary needs more wisdom; there must be more complete understanding before the mind can say: It is not necessary.
You do not say that it is not necessary immediately because the mind has not learned yet.
1462. VIPASSANA WISDOM IS UNDERSTANDING NAMA-RUPA
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 24 November 2023 (13:00-13:32)
Yogi: I notice there is worldly wisdom and the wisdom of knowing how the mind works.
Sayadaw: Worldly wisdom is not true wisdom; wisdom is understanding mental or physical process. We call this vipassana wisdom.
Vipassana object is only nama-rupa.
1463. CONSCIOUSNESS (VIÑÑANA) IS BARE KNOWING OF THE OBJECT
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 24 November 2023 (42:20-43:09)
Yogi: I notice the mind seeing things, but not the seeing.
Sayadaw: I often ask if you know what the mind is knowing. Knowing mind and awareness are different.
Sound and knowing, we call hearing. Sound is the object while knowing is the mind.
Knowing is consciousness – sound and consciousness we call hearing. Sound and knowing is hearing.
Sometimes, yogis know only the knowing. This is a stupid mind; it just knows the object.
Viññana or consciousness does not understand; it only knows the object. Awareness has wisdom.
1464. HOW TO REALLY RELAX?
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 24 November 2023 (07:48-08:40)
Yogi: When we’re free of lobha and dosa, we are truly relaxed?
Sayadaw: Yes, if we’re free from defilement, no lobha and dosa, defilement is not in our mind, then we’re relaxed.
All stress or tension comes from the defilement, right? If there is no defilement, there’s no stress and the mind is relaxed.
But how does the defilement go away? When your awareness+wisdom is present, the defilement reduces and sometimes disappears.
1465. WHAT IS SEEING?
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 26 November 2023 (10:30-11:00)
If you close your eyes, you don’t see. When you open your eyes, seeing is happening.
Just recognizing this seeing is enough; it is not seeing things. If you close your eyes, you don’t see; when you open your eyes, you see.
1466. RECOGNIZE THE DEFILEMENT AND CONTINUE TO BE AWARE
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 21 November 2023 (44:40-45:41)
Yogi: I notice that something is not right with my meditating mind, but I don’t know what is wrong. I don’t know what to do.
Sayadaw: What is meditation? What are you doing?
Yogi: I want to know what is happening.
Sayadaw: If you don’t know, just watch. You already know that something is wrong, right? That is enough; that is enough. Just be interested in the process.
The problem is trying to get the result. You need to take care of your expectation; you want to know why, right?
1467. DON’T EXPECT TO BE AWARE CONTINUOUSLY
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 26 November 2023 (27:46-28:29)
Yogi: The most difficult part for me is the continuity of awareness. I really can’t do it.
Sayadaw: Yes, nobody can do it; no matter how much you try, you cannot.
Yogi: I don’t know why I can’t do it; maybe I don’t really want to be aware.
Sayadaw: No, no, no. It is because of moha. When you stay with moha, moha doesn’t want to know – and we have stayed with moha for a long, long time.
1468. DON’T FOLLOW OR LOOK FOR THE OBJECTS
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 26 November 2023 (04:00-5:27)
Yogi: Today, I observe more objects but I’m not sure if I feel better.
Sayadaw: We’re not trying to follow many objects; let the objects come to us naturally.
Don’t follow; just notice if you’re aware or not.
You can also check what objects you can know – just asking, but not following.
If you follow, you become tense and tired; just ask yourself what objects you can know. The important thing is to check if awareness is present.
1469. SAYING IT IS OKAY IS TRYING TO ACCEPT
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 21 November 2023 (44:00-44:22)
Yogi: Today, I don’t feel well but the mind isn’t reacting much and it says ‘Okay, okay’.
Sayadaw: Okay, okay means it’s not okay. Why do you say: Okay, okay? It means that it is not okay. You are just trying to accept, right?
1470. THE MIND IS EQUANIMOUS ALTHOUGH THE OBJECT IS SUFFERING
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 21 November 2023 (41:20-43:23)
Yogi: You say not to meditate with aversion in the meditating mind. If the aversion comes up, we need to give priority to watching the aversion.
My mum is confused about this.
Sayadaw: There is the experience and there is the awareness. If there is the defilement object and there is the awareness with right view, then you can watch. We cannot practice with craving or aversion; it is not the right practice.
There are 2 ways of watching: the defilement is the object or the defilement is with the awareness.
Many yogis have reported that the meditating mind is equanimous to the defilement object even though the experience is suffering.
They are surprised that they can see both and they ask: How can this happen?
When you have the right view and right attitude, the watching mind is equanimous although the object is suffering.
1471. THE AWARENESS PRACTICE PURIFIES THE MIND, NOT THE EXPERIENCE
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 22 November 2023 (27:02-28:28)
A yogi who is a psychiatrist attended my retreat. After 3 days, she asked: Are you sure this practice purifies the mind?
She had practiced samatha meditation previously; the mind would calm down with this practice. Now, whenever she watches her mind, all unwholesome minds are seen and she becomes confused.
Yes, I’m very sure this practice purifies the mind because which mind is purified? It is not the experience mind, but the awareness mind that is purified.
If we have the right attitude with the awareness, this mind is purified. The object mind is the experience; this mind cannot be purified yet. But the awareness and right view purify your mind because of more and more understanding.
1472. THE TRANQUIL EXPERIENCE IS ALSO DUKKHA
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 24 November 2023 (18:40-19:47)
Sayadaw: Yogis don’t know that the tranquil samadhi experience is also dukkha.
Yogi: How do we see it as dukkha?
Sayadaw: Practice; practice. I cannot tell you how to understand this.
If you’re not thinking about the samadhi, if the mind watches this nature arising and disappearing, it is easier to see that samadhi is also dukkha.
If the mind thinks more about the samadhi, then, lobha comes.
Reality just happens and disappears; but if you think about it, it is a concept.
Reality and concept have their own nature, but the mind pays more attention to the arising and passing away of reality.
1473. IF THERE IS RIGHT VIEW, AWARENESS IS ALREADY PRESENT
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 21 November 2023 (36:00-37:20)
Sayadaw: Many yogis practice, they focus and are mindful, but they don’t have right view.
Sometimes, there is awareness, but there is no right view. For example, lobha can also recognize the taste. It recognizes the taste disappears, which is why it wants more. It doesn’t understand impermanence.
Yogi: There is no awareness because of no right view of the happening.
Sayadaw: If there is right view, awareness is already present.
1474. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MIND AND CONCEPT
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 22 November 2023 (9:18-11:20)
Sayadaw: The process exists, but ‘me’ is only an idea and does not exist. Self or ‘me’ is only an idea. The process happens but we believe it is ‘me’.
Yogi: Who recognizes?
Sayadaw: Recognition or awareness is a function of the mind; that is why we try to be aware of the mind process.
There’s no ‘me’ in the experience, but the awareness still has ‘me’, right? You believe that ‘I’m aware’, right? Actually, awareness is a function of the mind.
Now, you still believe that you’re meditating or you have a doubt, ‘Who is this’. That’s enough.
Object is a process and likewise, awareness is a process.
Yogi: I don’t see that, but I’ll try.
Sayadaw: It is like this for beginners – experience comes and goes, but because awareness is inside the person, they still believe it is ‘me’.
1475. LEARNING THE EXTREMES TO UNDERSTAND THE MIDDLE WAY
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 21 November 2023 (22:20-23:33)
Yogi: I start off with wholesome intention to do dana, but along the way dosa takes over. But still I don’t stop doing dana because I want to learn.
Sayadaw: It is like this in the beginning. The more you learn, the more it becomes right.
In the beginning, we don’t get it right; we’re not skillful. But with more experience, we learn.
We need to learn, for example, the two extremes; slowly we learn and with understanding we become balanced. The two extremes are lobha and dosa; wisdom is the middle way.
We need to know the extremes so that slowly we can come to the middle.
1476. PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE AWARENESS AND NOT THE PLEASANT OBJECT
Dhamma Vibhaja Q&A 24 November 2023 (18:14-19:47)
Sayadaw: Moha thinks samadhi is sukha or dukkha?
Yogi: Sukha.
Sayadaw: (That is why yogis enjoy and get attached to tranquility.) If it is dukkha, how can enjoyment come?
Yogis don’t see that tranquility samadhi is dukkha. They don’t realize that it is dukkha.
Yogi: And, how do we see it as dukkha?
Sayadaw: Practice, practice, practice. I cannot make you understand.
Don’t think about the samadhi; be aware of nature arising and disappearing. If the mind thinks about what is happening, then lobha comes because you pay more attention to the concept.
Reality just happens and disappears although the minds have their own nature but we pay more attention to the rising and passing away.
1477. YOU’RE AWARE IF WHAT YOU SAY IS WHAT YOU’RE EXPERIENCING IN THE MOMENT
Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Long Retreat Q&A Group A 6 January 2024 (1:15:45-1:18:23)
Yogi: I read from the notes that I can practice telling myself ‘I am walking, I am eating and I am drinking’ and saying to myself ‘seeing is happening’ and ‘listening is happening’.
But, am I truly aware or just telling myself I’m aware? Also, do I continue to do this?
Sayadaw: Are you saying those words when you’re actually experiencing what your words are describing?
Yogi: Like now, I’m seeing you; yes, seeing is happening.
Sayadaw: Okay, then, you’re aware and not dreaming.
If you’re just reciting things to yourself without any basis in reality, then you’re not aware. If you’re actually experiencing and naming your experience, then you’re aware.
If you name what you experience; that’s fine.
1478. STRONG FAITH (SADDHA) ARISES WITH UNDERSTANDING
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 24 November 2023 (15:17-15:50)
Yogi: Are saddha and wisdom closely connected?
Sayadaw: Yes, saddha increases because of wisdom. When we understand, real saddha will come.
Previously, my faith wasn’t strong, but because of understanding, faith really increased.
1479. PAIN IS A GOOD MEDITATION OBJECT
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 25 November 2023 (45:42-46:15)
Sometimes, I have pain, but I don’t want to make it disappear because this pain for me is an object; and also, if you feel good and are happy, you’ll forget to meditate.
When the body is in pain and the mind suffers, the mind will always remind us that it is a meditation object.
So, sometimes I don’t want the feeling to disappear, because it can be used as an object.
1480. WHAT IS SAMVEGA?
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 23 November 2023 (24:32-24:37)
You can say that saṃvega (spiritual urgency) is any wisdom pushing you to practice.
1481. SEE WHICH MIND IS MOTIVATING THE THOUGHT
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 23 November 2023 (41:20-42:02)
Yogi: I notice that how the mind thinks will produce that experience.
The mind could think that he’s angry at me, and that is different from he’s angry.
When the mind thinks that he’s angry at me is a very different experience from thinking that he’s angry.
Sayadaw: It is because of ‘me’. ‘I, me, myself’ is the problem.
1482. DON’T EXPECT HOME PRACTICE TO BE THE SAME AS RETREAT PRACTICE
Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Long Retreat Introduction Talk 5 January 2024 (58:00-1:01:00)
Yogi: I find it difficult to be mindful when I’m with my family. How do I bring mindfulness into my family life?
Sayadaw: It is just our expectation – we expect to have a kind of awareness that is like when we’re on retreat instead of appreciating the kind we have at home.
Awareness feels different at home and comes in different frequency but we don’t appreciate it. We don’t think it’s great every time we have a bit of awareness; we don’t think it is interesting or fulfilling whenever there is awareness because we don’t appreciate the awareness we have.
If we’re content with the little bits we manage to do, we’ll do more and more because it becomes fulfilling.
1483. TWO WAYS OF STEPPING BACK FROM THE OBJECT
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 23 November 2023 (36:20-37:45)
Yogi: I can notice 4 objects at the same time.
Sayadaw: How do you do this? How do you step back?
If you use less energy to notice each object, that is one way to step back. If you don’t focus on a particular object, you can then see more objects.
Another way of backing up is if you know your awareness or knowing mind. If you know the mind that is aware of the object, then that is the real stepping back.
The first way of stepping back is just reducing the energy of watching or less focusing.
The second way of stepping back is knowing the object through the awareness.
1484. IT IS ONLY NECESSARY TO BE AWARE, ACKNOWLEDGE AND RECOGNIZE
Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Long Retreat Q&A Group A 6 January 2024 (1:30:00-1:31:38)
Yogi: I can see that my mind is quite nervous from the beginning, and when I recognize it, the mind calms down. But, I don’t know why it calms down. I ask why, but can’t find the answer. What should I do?
Sayadaw: Just take note of it every time it happens. ‘Ok, I’m nervous now.’ When the mind calms down, ‘Now I’m not nervous anymore’. ‘I’m nervous now and now I’m not nervous.’ That’s it. You don’t have to do anything with it.
It is not important to have an answer. It is only important to be aware, to acknowledge, and recognize this is happening.
1485. WISDOM STEPS BACK FROM THE EXPERIENCE
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 22 November 2023 (28:42-29:31)
Sayadaw: Each time we concentrate, the mind will calm down, but then when we open up the mind, we can see all the defilements.
Yogi: It is because we focus on the experience rather than the mind that watches the experience.
Sayadaw: You must see both sides happening; if you see only one side, your view is not enough. When there’s incomplete picture, there’ll be incomplete understanding.
When yogis pay more attention to the experience, liking and disliking arise. When they pay more attention to the mind, they understand more how the mind works and become more skillful in the practice.
1486. STRONG DETERMINATION COMES FROM UNDERSTANDING
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 23 November 2023 (20:04-22:03)
Yogi: How do I make consistent practice as an aditthana (strong determination)?
Sayadaw: This is from my own experience – once, I realized freedom from suffering and that was my motivation to practice.
I tried very hard to practice because I was suffering all the time from depression. I only understood that whenever I practiced, I got some relief from suffering.
I tried to practice consistently for 3-4 months; then, for a short while this suffering disappeared.
Because of this understanding, it pushed me to practice.
There was realization that this was the only way to freedom although the suffering came back soon after.
That understanding and faith pushed me to practice non-stop.
1487. THE ‘I’ INTENSIFIES THE SUFFERING
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 23 November 2023 (27:50-28:25)
My depression became more intense because I believed that it was happening to me. And, that made me suffer even more.
I already noticed the suffering, but it was more dukkha when I believed it was happening to me.
If I had understood that the experience was an object, then it wouldn’t be a problem. At that time, I didn’t understand the meaning of an object.
I knew that it was depressing, and on top of that, I believed that it was happening to me.
1488. SUFFERING AS THE MOTIVATION FOR CONSISTENT PRACTICE
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 23 November 2023 (30:40-31:55)
Sayadaw: You don’t want to practice consistently because of insufficient motivation. How to be more motivated?
I should wish every day for yogis to suffer more – that’s the motivation.
Actually, suffering is already there, but yogis don’t realize that they’re suffering.
You don’t understand yet what dukkha is.
Yogi: Enough suffering, Sayadaw.
Sayadaw: It is not enough because the suffering is not leading you to practice consistently yet. That is why I say that it is not enough.
1489. NOTHING UPSETS THE MIND IF WE HAVE SUFFICIENT WISDOM
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 25 November 2023 (42:23-44:33)
My teacher taught me that it was my own weakness whenever I suffered; then, one won’t blame other people.
For normal people, they’ll think that other people make them suffer. If so, then the whole world becomes the problem.
The weakness lies in not enough wisdom or we don’t think the right way. So, take care of yourself by building up your strength, then this object cannot make you angry.
In daily life, if a surrounding made me nervous, I’d go there and watch my mind. If I could get peacefulness, then I had overcome the difficulty.
This means that the surrounding cannot agitate me or make me nervous because I can maintain my samadhi there.
So, it means that the place is not important if we take care of our mind.
1490. UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF AN OBJECT
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 25 November 2023 (44:38-45:40)
Yogi: The object cannot make us meditate or stop us from meditating. It is the mind that is meditating.
Sayadaw: The object is different from you; only wisdom can use the object to meditate.
Meditation is the work of the mind, not the work of the object.
Yogi: This morning the body was uneasy and the thought came that the uneasy body had nothing to do with meditation. Uneasy is just the object; it cannot stop me from meditating.
Sayadaw: Yes, but many people don’t want to use the suffering object as an object. They like neutral or pleasant objects.
1491. WHEN WE NOTICE A DEFILEMENT, ACKNOWLEDGE THE AWARENESS
Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Long Retreat Q&A Group A 6 January 2024 (51:21-56:21)
Yogi: I have a problem with delusion – I cannot identify it and therefore cannot investigate it. Where can I start?
Sayadaw: Now, you don’t know what to do – that is moha. It is already staring you in the face.
Yogi: The problem is that I cannot recognize it.
Sayadaw: Delusion comes in many forms like our habit of making assumptions or outright believing what is not true.
When we recognize the delusion, we must also recognize our awareness that is at work. We can notice the delusion only because of the awareness – the awareness is more important and the delusion is just an object.
Don’t get lost in the delusion; recognize the awareness.
1492. SEEING NATURE MEANS NOT IDENTIFYING WITH WHAT WE NOTICE
Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Long Retreat Introduction Talk 5 January 2024 (26:25-29:04)
We easily get identified with the mind and often see lots of negativity in the mind because there are lots of unwholesome qualities popping up.
If we don’t just recognize these minds, that there is awareness of these qualities, if we don’t focus in the right direction of the awareness, we easily get identified with ‘I am this way and why is my mind doing this’, then we get depressed or lose confidence in our practice.
In the practice of the Dhamma, this is the basic layer where we have to learn to appreciate the awareness and not get caught in judging the experience or we cannot progress in the practice.
Whatever we experience, we need to view it as the nature of the mind. Even when we’re having an unpleasant experience, we don’t push it away because for us it is a learning experience that can be interesting.
1493. INVESTIGATING IS NOT THINKING OR REFLECTING
Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Long Retreat Q&A Group A 6 January 2024 (12:50-18:05)
Yogi: When there is awareness, everything changes fast and there’s no time to investigate when something appears. I’ll reflect and investigate afterward.
Is it the same if I investigate at that time or later?
Sayadaw: When it happens fast and there’s no time to investigate, leave it. It is gone and there is no need to go back to try to solve it or figure it out.
To investigate is not thinking about it. It is knowing whatever is factual in the experience in the moment – the thoughts and the way the mind and body react, for example. Investigation is checking with awareness.
Taking time to reflect on it afterward is just thinking.
1494. HOW TO KNOW LOBHA?
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 24 November 2023 (30:08-31:24)
Many yogis ask me how to know lobha.
When you don’t have the meditating mind, moha is always present. Without wisdom, moha is already present.
If we’re not aware, we don’t know that most of the time we have lobha.
If awareness is present, whatever mind appears, the yogi can recognize it. That is why consistency of awareness is very important.
If awareness is present, we can see whatever mind appears and learn from the mental process.
1495. TRY TO LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT LOBHA WHEN WE WATCH IT
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 26 November 2023 (32:00-33:15)
Yogi: I know that I’ve not learned much about lobha.
Sayadaw: Do you know that lobha is happening?
Yogi: Yes.
Sayadaw: Then, continue to watch the lobha. That’s all.
When lobha comes, how do you feel and what does the mind think. You want to know everything about lobha. How do you feel in the mind and body?
We want to know everything related to craving. Every time the craving comes, be aware. Craving is sometimes weak and other times, strong.
Do you recognize that craving is tiring?
1496. ANGER ARISES BECAUSE OF CRAVING OR IGNORANCE
Dhamma Vibhajja Q&A 25 November 2023 (47:05-47:35)
Yogi: Whenever there is anger, can we say that surely lobha is present?
Sayadaw: It is either lobha or moha. Sometimes dosa arises because of lobha; sometimes dosa arises because of moha.
If we think the wrong way and anger arises, then dosa arises because of moha; it is not because of lobha.
1497. AWARENESS RECOGNIZES ALL THAT IS HAPPENING
Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Long Retreat Q&A 8 January 2024 Group B (21:33-27:20)
Yogi: There is stress in the mind to ask the right question because of fear of being judged. When I checked, it was due to the need for recognition. Even though I realize the cause and am aware, I’m still distressed and there is aversion; how should I meditate then?
Sayadaw: When we’re aware and awareness recognizes all that is happening, the only thing awareness can do is recognize what is happening.
Awareness is like a stepping stone and, the more stones we lay, eventually we’ll step our way to some wisdom that changes the experience.
Awareness doesn’t do anything except recognize everything that is happening to you. You can’t hope for something to change when you’re being aware.
Being aware of it is actually enough. When the stress goes away is not something we have to worry about. Our questions often come up because we expect something to change when we’re aware.
Just come back to recognizing there is awareness and when you get the answer you will – in the meantime, just be aware.
1498. WHEN WATCHING THE OBJECT, REMEMBER THAT WE’RE AWARE
Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Long Retreat Q&A 10 January 2024 Group A (34:15-39:47)
Yogi: When I meditate, especially with unpleasant feelings, the sense of ‘I’ is strong because I feel it is happening to me. How do I understand or investigate the ‘I’?
Sayadaw: You already notice that the “I” comes up, right? All you can do is notice it.
Noticing it is not going to make it go away, but what it will do is to help you build your awareness.
When the awareness grows enough, when it is time, it’ll help build understanding.
You can also notice the dukkha itself when the experience is unpleasant; you can recognize the suffering that comes with it and also acknowledge the awareness of the suffering every time it arises.
Don’t forget that in pleasant experiences, there is also the ‘I’ and the pleasant feeling, right? You can be aware of those states.
You can notice that in the presence of the ‘I’, the pleasant and unpleasant emotions increase.
In whatever situation, you try to remember that you’re aware.
1499. KNOWING BOTH THE MIND AND THE BODY GIVES A FULLER PICTURE
Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Long Retreat Q&A 8 January 2024 Group B (19:15-21:00)
Yogi: Does it matter if we’re aware of the mind or body as long as we’re aware?
Sayadaw: We should know both nama and rupa, mind and matter together if we want a complete picture of the Dhamma.
Yogi: Can I stay with the sensations and if the mind comes up, I can go there, but I don’t have to look for it?
Sayadaw: Yes, that is correct, but you should know that when you’re watching a sensation, the mind is also there, the mind that is aware. So, you’re knowing mind and body at the same time.
Yogi: Ah, the watching mind is the mind I can be aware of. That is enough?
Sayadaw: Yes, yes.
1500. EXPERIENCE THE TWO EXTREMES TO UNDERSTAND THE MIDDLE
Dhamma Vibhajja 2023 Q&A 7 November 2023 (19:40-20:12)
Yogi: When I first practiced being aware, the mind became very tense. Later, I relaxed and found out that I could still be aware.
Sayadaw: That’s the better way. Without trying, you wouldn’t have discovered this. You have to experience the two extremes to find the middle.