451. THE RIGHT WAY TO PRACTISE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Vassa 2018 Chinese Interviews 20180920 (13:40-13:46)
Keep going – practice day by day, normally and regularly. There’s no need to try too hard – just be aware regularly, again and again.
You don’t have to be aware in detail; just be regular.
452. HOW TO IMPROVE IN MEDITATION?
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Vassa 2018 - Nun’s Q&A 0905 (12:20-14:45)
Yogi: When I sit I observe the breath but when I see the image of clouds, I think of the clouds.
Sayadaw: Don’t continue to look at the image, go back to the breath. Clouds are a concept; the mind creates the image.
If you continue to think of the image, the story continues to happen (and the mind is not present).
Go back to the body – breath, body sensations, sound, touch, or body temperature. (In this way, the mind can be present.)
453. HOW TO LEARN FROM PAIN
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (1:04:57)
Every time there is some pain in the body, check if the mind resists or not.
454. THE PRACTICE GETS DIFFICULT WHEN THERE’S NO RIGHT ATTITUDE
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 1 (57:27-57:50)
Many yogis, when bad quality of mind comes, the mind resists. This makes the practice difficult.
That’s why we need to use right attitude: bad quality of mind is bad quality of mind; it is not a big problem. Restlessness and sleepiness are just mental states (they have their own nature and arise due to causes and conditions).
If the yogi thinks this way, the resistance subsides and the yogi can continue to be aware.
455. YOGIS GET UPSET WHEN FORGETTING THAT IT’S AWARENESS THAT NOTICES DEFILEMENTS
China 2018 Retreat File: 119-128-2018 (50:00-51:04)
Every time you notice a defilement, are you happy or upset?
Most yogis get upset because you only notice the defilement, but you forget the awareness that notices the defilement. Awareness is more important.
Yogis when they meditate, they try to be aware, aware, aware, but they always complain about the experience. They forget that they’re aware, that we’re trying to do just this.
(Whenever the mind gets upset when you see a defilement, you’re paying attention to the object, not the awareness. So, if you notice a defilement and get upset, remember this: If the mind pays attention to the object, you get upset; but if it pays attention to the awareness, the mind is equanimous.)
456. BE PATIENT WHEN ATTENDING TO CRAVING
China 2018 Retreat File: 119-128-2018 1190527 Q&A 2 (00:00-03:00)
Yogi: The mind can be peaceful and calm, but it lacks interest because wisdom is not coming
Sayadaw: You need to be patient. Not interested means that already you want something and when you cannot get what you want, the mind becomes bored. This is the nature of craving.
Just try to practice; think about the practice. If the mind has craving for understanding and it cannot get it immediately, the mind becomes bored and not interested.
You need to pay attention to how to practice the right way. You need to learn more; if you practice the right way continuously, slowly wisdom can arise. This is due to conditioning, not that you want it.
You can use questions to investigate – but they are not for getting answers, but to create interest in the process. That’s enough.
There’s no need to hurry; the practice is life-long.
457. AWARENESS AND RIGHT VIEW CAN CHANGE UNWHOLESOME HABITS
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Vassa 2018 English Interviews 20180925 (1:03:00-1:03:59)
Changing old habit means that every time the emotion arises, you try to be aware, try to be aware, and try to be aware.
When you do that, you’re not continuing to cultivate the old habit pattern. You’re trying to change to a new habit.
How? We think the right way and try to be aware; then, the mind cannot go back to the old habit.
Slowly, when awareness gets better and better and wisdom is stronger, some understanding could arise and that’ll change the idea.
Only when awareness gets stronger, then wisdom may be able to see the cause of the defilement.
You need to cultivate the awareness, samadhi, and wisdom – that’s what you need to do.
If wisdom has grown, it’ll do its job (see the cause of the defilement).
458. DO WHAT IS NECESSARY TO MAINTAIN THE AWARENESS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 2 (1:46:00-1:55:55)
Yogi 1: When the mind is very tense, and I cannot continue to be aware, I’ll switch to loving kindness meditation.
Sayadaw: You can use whatever to calm down and then face the tension, not to avoid the object.
Yogi 2: The mind still continues to think about food and eating.
Sayadaw: Change to another object because the mind is still thinking about food (and cannot be aware).
Yogi 3: When mindfulness has no momentum, I use right reflection to encourage the mind to practice.
Sayadaw: You can use whatever knowledge to maintain the awareness.
459. HOW WELL DO YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT AWARENESS?
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Vassa 2018 – Monks and Nuns’ Q&A 0920 (49:55-51:17)
I would like to ask yogis this question: Do you understand the benefit of awareness?
When awareness is present and when awareness is lost, what is the difference in the quality of mind? How different?
Can the yogi explain the difference in the quality of mind when awareness is present and when awareness is lost? If he understands very well, he can explain to other people.
You have meditated for a long time – so, how would you answer if someone asks you: What benefit do you get from practising awareness meditation?
If the meditator understands, he can explain very well.
So, what is the difference between having awareness and not having awareness? How is it different? Depending on your level of understanding, you can explain in many ways.
460. IF WISDOM IS PRESENT, THE MIND IS NATURALLY INTERESTED TO LEARN
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Vassa 2018 – Monks and Nuns’ Q&A 0920 (1:32:50-1:34:11)
If wisdom is present, the mind can be interested in pain.
If you can understand that anger is also nature – if the mind understands the meaning of nature or object – then, you can be interested. Otherwise, the mind always reacts to the pain.
I cannot make you interested because if your mind is interested, it will be interested; if it is not, it will not be.
How to be interested in anger? This is a funny question.
461. GREED REMAINS STRONG WHEN THERE IS NOT ENOUGH UNDERSTANDING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Vassa 2018 Chinese Interviews 20180920 (17:03-18:54)
Yogi: I notice that greed causes the mind to suffer.
Sayadaw: You want something, you want to grasp it and the mind is tense; it makes the mind suffer.
How do you know that it is greed? Because you already know the characteristics/nature of greed, that’s why you can say that there is greed.
But if you understand that greed is suffering; why then is greed still so strong?
If you still have a lot of greed, it means that the understanding is still not enough; the mind needs to learn more.
462. LEARNING ABOUT ANGER THROUGH REAL EXPERIENCE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Vassa 2018 Chinese Interviews 20180920 (1:07:12 – 1:11:45)
Yogi: It took 4 days for the mind to calm down (not be angry) over an incident.
Sayadaw: Your emotion is your business. You should continue to be with the anger and learn from it. This is very good because it is a real experience.
Whatever the experience, your anger is the problem. It is more meaningful for you to try and watch the anger. Ask: Why is the mind angry? Later, you can explore: Is it necessary or not, beneficial or not?
For me, whenever I notice my weakness – something that triggers and causes the mind to be angry – I will revisit the same situation again and again to learn something about the anger.
463. HOW TO HANDLE SLEEPINESS DURING SITTING
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 1 (21:30-22:05)
The mind is sleepy because effort and wisdom are lacking. So, every time the mind is sleepy, we need to activate the mind.
Try be aware and think (asking questions to maintain the awareness) together, reminding ‘What is the mind doing? How many objects does the mind know?’ – something to make the mind think about the practice.
When the mind is busy or is interested in something, it wakes up.
464. WHEN YOU KNOW HOW TO PRACTICE, YOU CAN REBOOT THE PRACTICE
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (1:36:00-1:37:00)
Yogi: Is awareness remembered, just like we remember how to ride a bicycle even after a long break?
Sayadaw: The quality of mind is different if awareness takes a holiday – when you stop, the defilements become stronger and your awareness, samadhi and wisdom level will weaken.
But you know how to practice, so you can reboot the practice although the quality of mind has dropped.
465. LEARN TO BE AWARE WITH INTEREST
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (1:11:31-1:12:24)
Yogi: I use the breath as the primary object, but the mind still wanders to thinking, falls asleep and then returns to the breath, back and forth. Which primary object is good for me?
Sayadaw: Whichever object is not very important. What is important is the way to be aware – if you’re aware with interest, the mind wakes up, and it won’t be sleepy.
You need to learn how to be aware with interest. Interest means you want to know what is going on in the mind.
466. DON’T TRY TO FORCE TO BE AWARE
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (58:45-59:30)
I always say that continuity of awareness is important. But you shouldn’t force it to happen. If you use force, it means that there is craving and the practice then becomes difficult.
It is impossible to maintain continuity of awareness for most yogis. It is normal for awareness to be on and off, on and off (remember that).
If the yogi uses force to maintain awareness, she exerts too much energy and gets tired easily (or becomes like a zombie).
Just try to be aware as much as you can; when awareness is lost, start again, again, and again. Be patient and practice.
467. KNOWING WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE MIND IS AWARENESS.
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 1 (33:50-37:13)
Yogi: I’m meditating for the first time – I tried counting 1 to 10, but still there was a lot of thinking and it was too difficult.
Sayadaw: Don’t try to stop thinking – it’s impossible. Actually, your awareness is very good; that’s why the mind can notice thinking.
Knowing what is happening in the mind is awareness.
The objective of mindfulness meditation is to know and understand what is happening in the mind and body. That’s why we try to be aware.
Now you notice that the mind is thinking – you have already achieved your goal, but we have the wrong idea that thinking is not good; that’s why the mind wants to stop the thinking.
We’re not interested in the story line. We have a lot of defilements in daily life and therefore a lot of thinking is unpleasant defilement thinking – that’s why the story is not very good. Yogis judge that the story is not good; that’s why they want it to stop.
We are not interested in the story; we’re interested in the nature of the mind (e.g. defilements, thinking and feelings arise and they are related) – that’s why we practice to notice that the mind is happening.
If we want to really understand a person, first, we need to observe him and continue to observe what he’s doing and where he’s going – then only we can understand his nature. This is the objective of our practice.
Now, we’re trying to be aware of the mind and we can know the mind because of thinking. That’s why we need to notice that thinking is happening first; we’re not interested in the story line.
468. NOTICE THE PAYING ATTENTION MIND
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (30:40-31:20)
Yogi: I’m meditating for the first time. I’m aware of the breath during sitting meditation and when thinking mind arises, I can see the mind going here and there and around.
Sayadaw: The mind is not going around. It’s the attention mind paying attention to one object after another. Paying attention is also a mind activity; it is good to know that the mind is paying attention to this object and that object.
For the new yogi, he thinks that the mind is going around, but actually it’s a different mind, one after another.
469. START BY WATCHING PHYSICAL OBJECTS; SWITCH TO WATCHING THE AWARENESS LATER
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (1:34:38-1:35:00)
Yogi: I don’t know how to balance the 6 sense doors – I would deliberately choose to be aware of seeing and hearing.
Sayadaw: It is always like this in the beginning – i.e. we choose an object.
Later, we can know the object and the awareness.
When wisdom grows further, we come to the awareness – at that time, we don’t have to choose a specific object because all objects come to the mind (we’re aware of whatever the mind is paying attention to).
470. WE NEED NOT FIX A PARTICULAR OBJECT TO BE AWARE; AN OBVIOUS OBJECT WILL DO
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (25:10-26:32)
Yogi: I’m a first-time meditator. I can only notice the rising of the abdomen, but not the falling. Should I use deep breathing to make the movement clearer?
Sayadaw: There’s no need to do this; choose a more obvious object to be aware. Don’t try to make something happen – it’s very tiring.
A natural way is better – so, try to be aware of something naturally, for example, body sensations. It is not necessary to only be aware of rising and falling of the abdomen, or breathing in and breathing out.
You can use any other object, a natural object. You can also be aware of any obvious physical object – the whole body, or touching, or sound.
471. START BY KNOWING ONE OBJECT AND LET THE AWARENESS EXPAND NATURALLY
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (1:45:06-1:46:12)
Yogi: I feel that my mind is busy catching 2 or more objects at the same time.
Sayadaw: Don’t try to get the object; don’t follow the object. It is better to know it in a natural way.
You can start by knowing 1 object and you try to maintain the awareness; when the awareness gains strength, it can naturally receive more objects. For example, you know your breath; after a while, you may know sound at the same time.
Slowly, the mind receives more objects; don’t try to follow 2 or more objects. Let the mind naturally receive more objects when awareness improves.
If you try to follow 2 or more objects, the mind becomes too busy and gets tired easily.
472. WHEN AWARENESS GAINS MOMENTUM, IT IS PRESENT WITHOUT EVEN TRYING
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (05:00-05:45)
Yogi: When I practice on my own, how do I know that the awareness is increasing day by day?
Sayadaw: If you practice being aware continuously – you try and try to be aware moment to moment – sometimes awareness is present even without you trying to be aware. This means that awareness has gained momentum.
Now you try to be aware, try to be aware. Later, even without trying, awareness becomes present, awareness is already there. That means that awareness has become a habit.
You just need to check if awareness is present.
473. WHEN WE LEARN TO WATCH REALITIES INSTEAD OF CONCEPTS, THERE’S LESS SUFFERING
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (14:14-19:31)
Yogi: I have been facing a recurring problem every day for the last 10 year. 2 years ago the problem stopped with some thinking. But it recurred more strongly 6 months ago and overwhelms me now.
Sayadaw: It’s the defilement arising. Now, we try to be aware of thinking and feeling as an object; but first, you learn how to be aware of mental states/emotions as an object.
You need to have the right attitude towards the defilement. Before, you tried to suppress the defilement; but it became even more powerful when it reappeared.
Now, we change the attitude – we try to understand the defilement, not suppress it or make it go away.
The practice is to view it as an object, as nature. Be aware of thinking as thinking, not the story of the thoughts but just mental activity – that thinking is the mind and feeling is the mind (practice to watch reality instead of concepts).
We try to understand the nature of the mind; and because of the understanding, the defilement can decrease.
Defilement nature is like this – if we pay attention to it the wrong way, then it increases; but if we face the defilement with right thinking, it decreases.
Everybody knows every time the defilement arises. But we can use either water or gasoline to control a fire. If we use water, it decreases, but if we use gasoline, it increases.
The biggest problem is when we take the defilement to be ‘me’, that it is ‘my mind’ and the idea that the defilement is ‘me’. This exaggerates the defilement and later on, it overwhelms the mind.
That is why we need to have right attitude (‘this is nature’) and learn to be aware. You practice to be skillful in being aware of the mind state/emotion before facing it.
474. REALITY OBJECTS ARE NOT AS OBVIOUS AS CONCEPTUAL OBJECTS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (1:46:43-1:47:40)
Yogi: The 6 senses as the object are too subtle for the awareness to be continuous
Sayadaw: Yes, because of concepts, the object is obvious. Reality (Paramatha) is not very obvious. (Between the contents of thoughts and knowing that thinking is happening, which is more obvious? The contents of thoughts are concepts; the thinking mind happening is reality.)
Only understanding can know reality; you need more wisdom to be aware of reality.
The Paramatha object is subtle; that’s why you cannot know it clearly.
So, whatever you notice is enough. When the awareness and wisdom become stronger, then the subtle reality objects will become clearer.
475. WAKING UP WITH NEGATIVE THOUGHTS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 2 (21:54-22:33)
If we wake up with negative thoughts every morning, it is a sign of slight depression.
Everybody has some depression; it’s only that we cover it up. So, negative thoughts appear when we wake up in the morning, ‘Boom, boom, boom!’ But we can use these thoughts as an object, something that’s being known by the mind.
476. EATING MEDITATION AT HOME
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (1:00-4:11)
Yogi: What should I be aware of when eating?
Sayadaw: In the beginning, you try to be aware of any object when eating.
You can use chewing as the main object, and as you continue to be aware, naturally, you can also know other objects if you don’t just focus on chewing. For example, you can also know the taste, bodily action like the hand moving, and you can also know the feeling.
How do you feel as you eat? When you’re aware of taste, the mind can either like or dislike it. All the time when we eat, we eat with craving.
If craving is strong, we wait and watch the craving first before continuing to eat. Eagerness to eat, intention to eat – i.e. craving – is very obvious.
You have to take care of the eagerness – when it is too strong, awareness is lost. When eagerness comes down, awareness comes back.
When eagerness subsides, you can be aware of chewing or any other object such as seeing and looking.
When we eat, our 6 senses are working; so, we can use any object – sometimes chewing, looking, seeing, hearing, tasting and also thinking. You can be aware of any of these objects one at a time.
You need to also know that the mind is thinking (e.g. planning what to eat next). You need to recognize that the mind is thinking and go back to a physical object.
477. WHEN DEFILEMENTS ARISE, WATCH THINKING MIND AND FEELINGS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 2 (28:13-29:20)
Yogi: When unwholesome thoughts arise, should I stop them or should I find out the reasons?
Sayadaw: We don’t try to stop defilement thoughts or try to think of the reasons. We try to be aware that thinking and feelings are happening.
When defilement arises, we can know the thinking and feeling; so try to be aware of the thinking and feeling.
Aware of the thinking and aware of the feeling, that’s enough. Finished – that means that we’re not trying to do anything about the experience.
478. DON’T TRY TO FIX DEFILEMENTS – JUST DO THE 3 YOGI’S JOBS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (20:08-23:48)
Whenever yogis face defilements, they try to fix the defilements so that the mind calms down. Then they forget about it; and the next time the problem surfaces, the defilement becomes stronger. Every time defilements recur, depression included, they gain strength.
Sometimes defilements come and go away; but when they return, they become more powerful. That is the nature of defilements. It is best to practice continuously; then, they cannot grow and when understanding arises, they subside.
This is a good reminder for yogis to practice non-stop.
So, don’t try to fight with the defilement; if you do so, they become even more powerful. Trying to get rid of the defilement is also a defilement.
Try to understand the mind – what is the mind and how does it work. It is only through understanding that defilements cannot grow.
Awareness has to gain strength to notice initial subtle thoughts and defilements; the earlier it is the easier for the defilement to subside. So, awareness is very important.
It is beneficial to maintain continuous practice.
479. WE WATCH THE DEFILEMENT TO LEARN, NOT TO STOP IT
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 2 (25:10-28:30)
Yogi: I’m worried about the safety of my children and there is anxiety when making decisions.
Sayadaw: The mind is like this: every time any experience happens through the 6 senses, liking and disliking always arise. This is the nature of the mind; what the yogi needs to do is to be aware of the liking and disliking first.
Take care of your mental state first – when the reaction subsides, go back to the object again, your view or idea will then change. You can then learn something about the mind.
We must have this attitude towards the defilement – we’re watching the defilement not to stop it (so that we can be calm and comfortable), but to understand the nature of the defilement. Because of understanding, the defilement can subside.
Our aim of watching objects is to understand something about the experience; we’re not trying to change the experience, we’re trying to learn.
480. HOW CAN WISDOM GROW FROM JUST BEING AWARE?
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (1:48:04-1:50:03)
Yogi: How can wisdom grow from being aware, aware, aware?
Sayadaw: Awareness is information gathering; when there is sufficient information, then wisdom can make a decision.
The duty of awareness is to get information from any experience all day long, and we begin to know more things about the nature of the mind.
When information is complete, the mind can decide what it is, or how it is happening, or why it is happening.
For example, how do you feel when you’re alone, with a friend, or with the family?
The mind quality changes all the time – the nature of the mind is different under different situations and we need to know what is happening in the mind under any situation.
We learn from our direct present experience, not intellectual understanding. Awareness notices our direct experience.
Another example, we all know that anger is not good, but we still get angry. It means that our understanding is no match for the defilement because if we really understand that anger is not good, anger cannot arise anymore. (So, we need to watch and learn more.)
481. DIRECT THE MIND TO WATCH WITH WISDOM
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (51:10-52:48)
Yogis need to know this. Naturally, the mind reacts to all objects – pleasant objects come, the mind likes, and unpleasant objects come, the mind dislikes. We do this our whole life long.
As meditators, we try to change this wrong idea that if the mind thinks something is good, it likes; and if it thinks it is bad, it dislikes. Now, we don’t think that the experience is either good or bad. How?
We need to understand the meaning of object – ‘being known’. Being known is neither good nor bad because, whether good or bad experience, it is being known.
If we understand the meaning of an object, neither liking nor disliking can arise.
Yogis need to practice a long time to understand this.
Every time a pleasant or unpleasant object arises, we try to change our idea that it is just being known, neither good nor bad. If we understand the object is something being known, is nature, it is then easier for the mind to be aware and learn.
482. UNDERSTAND THE VALUE OF AWARENESS, NOT THE VALUE OF THE EXPERIENCE
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 1 (1:10:11-1:11:40)
Yogis need to understand the value of awareness, not the value of the experience. Appreciate that there is awareness; don’t complain about the experience, about what is happening.
Every time you notice a small defilement arising, what happens? If you notice, the defilement stops.
(But because what we often notice in the mind is unpleasant and suffering, the mind resists the experience, forgetting that it’s the awareness that we are developing, not the experience.)
The first thing to keep in mind when meditating is that we’re not trying to make the defilement disappear. The first thing is that the defilement is not 'me', that the defilement is nature (a natural process – whatever is practiced again and again shows itself naturally). This information must come first.
Good quality of mind and bad quality of mind is nobody. It is nature. When you think the defilement is you that is why you don’t want to see.
(After setting the idea right, we can watch this natural phenomenon.)
483. LEARN AND BUILD UP WISDOM WHILE THE PROBLEMS ARE NOT SERIOUS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (47:50-48:18)
You need to learn the skill now that the problems are not serious. Before serious problems arise, you need to learn how to be aware of any good or bad experience with equanimity (the understanding that an experience is just an object – something that is being known).
You need to learn before the big problems happen so that you can apply the understanding. If you don’t have the wisdom, it is difficult to face these serious problems.
484. CHECK FOR EAGERNESS IN WHATEVER YOU DO – THAT’S MEDITATION
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (57:25-58:20)
Yogi: I arrived late for the retreat – the body is tired but the mind is eager to meditate. Even during eating, the mind wants to recover quickly to meditate.
Sayadaw: There is no need to hurry to practice; you need to take the time to relax. Whatever you do, if you hurry (or are eager), craving comes and the practice becomes difficult.
Whenever lobha arises during eating, don’t try to change anything; just recognize that greed is present.
485. WHEN THERE’S NEGATIVE THINKING, REASONABLE THINKING CANNOT ARISE
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (1:17:30-1:20:01)
Yogi: I get agitated when I’m with people or when I talk to them, and I think that I stress them out too.
Sayadaw: You think and pay too much attention to other people. The mind pays attention to them because you dislike interacting with other people.
Now, you practice how to be aware of yourself (be aware of the 6 senses happening). If you can be aware of yourself, this problem is solved.
Because you’re aware of yourself and you continue to be aware, the mind settles down. There will be less thinking because the mind is busy being aware.
Now you’re agitated because the mind pays attention outside and thinks too much about other people.
When the mind is agitated, there can only be negative thinking; reasonable thinking cannot arise.
486. WHY IS THE MIND BORED OR DISINTERESTED?
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 2(00:38-00:50)
If the mind wants something and it cannot get what it wants, the mind gets bored or disinterested.
So, whenever the mind is not interested in the practice, check your expectation.
487. CHECK THE QUALITY OF THE MEDITATING MIND, NOT MANIPULATE THE OBJECT
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (20:00-20:53)
Yogi: I have the habit of exerting too much energy when I meditate. Can I reduce the energy by being aware of 2 objects instead of 1?
Sayadaw: The better way is to know the quality of the meditating mind. When the meditating mind has defilement, you will use a lot of energy.
We are not sure of using less energy by manipulating the objects; if you don’t see the mind, you won’t know that it is exerting a lot of energy because defilement is present.
Our emphasis is on the awareness mind, not the object.
488. CONCENTRATING TOO HARD IS NOT RIGHT MEDITATION
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (43:30-45:28)
Yogi: I experience sleepiness and have neck pain and tightness in the head during meditation.
Sayadaw: Something is wrong during meditation. You concentrate too much during meditation; it causes tension in the head and neck.
Also, if you are tired, the mind is not happy, it becomes bored and sleepy.
The problem is using too much energy. Now you should learn how to relax and not force during the sit. When you use the breath as an object, you over-focus. Even if you are aware of the whole body, don’t focus too much.
Yogi: Is my bodily discomfort during sitting meditation due to past kamma?
Sayadaw: No, this happens due to present kamma because now you’re not practicing the right way.
489. TRY TO BE AWARE EVEN WHEN WE FOLLOW THE DEFILEMENT
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 6 (30:20-31:40)
Yogi: Doing business or sales at work, sometimes we are forced to lie. What’s the effect when we lie with mindfulness? (When defilement is stronger than wisdom, and we go along with it, is it still useful to maintain awareness?)
Sayadaw: Because of mindfulness, the mind is still knowing (collecting information). Knowing is not nothing; it is something.
If the mind is being aware and gathering information, over time, one day if the mind is balanced, then wisdom can decide whether to do it or not. When wisdom decides that we should not do, then we won’t.
Until then, try to be aware whenever we go along with the defilement.
490. THE WHOLE POINT OF BEING AWARE IS TO BE AWARE
Sweden 2019 Retreat Opening Instructions (47:37-49:10)
The whole point of being aware is to be aware, nothing else. There’s no agenda. We’re not being aware so that life will become better, or the pain will go away.
In the moment, the point is only to know what is happening; nothing has to change. We want to appreciate that what is happening in the moment, what is magical, is that we’re aware – that’s hard to appreciate because we don’t usually think that being aware of what is happening now is something special.
We tend to think that what we become aware of must be nice and then that’s a sign that we’re doing it right, but no that’s not it. What we’re doing is recognizing that we’re aware – knowing that awareness and appreciating that it is present.
When we’re suffering in the depths of our chaotic mind, remind ourselves that there is awareness; it feels horrible but there is awareness.
491. NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE WHEN AWARENESS IS ABSENT OR PRESENT
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 8 (26:00-27:10)
Yogi: I try to recall moments when I don’t have awareness – i.e., when there are emotions, desires, anger. When wrong view and defilements are present, awareness is lost.
Sayadaw: When you have defilement action, awareness is gone. When you have wrong view, defilement overwhelms you.
That’s why we try to practice all the time. Every time there are awareness and right view, we can know ourselves very well, everything in detail – how good or bad we are; we can know ourselves everything in detail.
If you have the right practice, slowly the mind has more interest in the practice because faith or saddha in the practice increases.
492. CHECKING THE MIND QUALITY THROUGH FEELINGS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180530 Q&A 8 (27:15-29:04)
Yogi: How do I know that the quality of my mind has improved?
Sayadaw: Good quality of mind or bad quality of mind, you can know through how the mind feels. If you think in a positive way, you feel positive; if you think in a negative way, you feel negative.
When defilements arise, they are accompanied by suffering feeling – e.g. tension and burning sensation. You can then say that it is bad quality of mind.
Now that your awareness is getting better and better, how do you feel?
The mind has more freedom – it is lighter, and has interest. These are wholesome qualities that you can feel and know.
Wholesome or unwholesome qualities are accompanied by pleasant and unpleasant feelings. When there are wholesome qualities, the mind is relaxed and free; that you can feel.
You need to check your mental state again and again; and slowly, you can know if the mind quality is good or bad through how you feel.
493. MAINTAINING AWARENESS WHILE ANCHORING IN THE BREATH
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 6 (1:39:00-1:40:50)
Yogi: Normally, my object is anapana. Now I try to be aware of the 6 senses, but I find that the awareness and object become heavy. What should I do?
Sayadaw: If the mental state becomes heavy, and it tires the mind, then there is some strong motivation behind it.
So, you need to check the quality of the awareness, your attitude and feeling.
Just knowing the object is enough, don’t exert too much energy. When you switch to walking meditation, you also need to be aware lightly.
Whatever happens check your attitude and the quality of awareness. If it is difficult, don’t pay attention to this object; change to another object.
Go back to anapana to rest the mind; the mind is used to anapana and doesn’t exert much energy. When you watch other objects, you use a lot of energy because the mind is not skilful yet.
Better still, stay with anapana (use anapana as the primary object) and watch other objects at the same time because you’re used to anapana.
494. IF THE MIND IS NOT FOCUSING, EVENTUALLY AWARENESS WILL KNOW MORE OBJECTS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (13:28-14:37)
Yogi: I watch the breath during the sit – but the mind can also notice looking, listening and thinking; and the mind can remind itself if awareness is present or not, sharp or not.
Sayadaw: Because awareness is present, although you use anapana as the main object, the mind can also know other things, right?
It is because awareness is present. You also need to accept every experience.
495. OPEN AWARENESS MEANS BEING AWARE OF THE MIND
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (1:46:17-1:48:17)
Yogi: I try to observe the whole body and mind by watching multiple objects and cause-effect process.
Sayadaw: If you want to see the whole picture – both the body and mind – you need to know the awareness.
If you can know the mind door, the 5 physical senses come to the mind door. So, you don’t have to follow all the objects. (If we’re aware that seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching and thinking are happening, it means that we know the awareness. Since awareness is the mind, then we already know the mind.)
When you can know the mind, you can see the complete body-mind picture.
That’s the reason I emphasize the awareness mind – the awareness knows all objects and when you know the mind, you know everything.
When yogis think about open awareness and try to practice it, they try to be aware of everything. Open awareness means coming back to the mind, being aware of the mind. When that happens, the awareness becomes open because the mind can know everything.
496. WHEN EMOTIONS ARE STRONG, GROUND AWARENESS ON THE FEELING
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (15:30-16:07)
Yogi: When emotions are strong and thinking is obvious, I watch the thinking.
Sayadaw: If emotions are strong, it is better to pay attention to the feeling, not the thinking. If you pay attention to thinking, the mind is more interested in the story, and the emotions will increase.
Emotion is not concept, there is no story; you can ground your awareness on the emotion and just know that thinking is happening. That’s better.
The awareness can then become better and better because the mind is not involved with thoughts.
497. YOU CAN USE EITHER SAMATHA OR VIPASSANA TO STABILIZE THE MIND
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (27:55-28:55)
Yogi: If the mind is not strong enough to watch the defilement, what other ways can we meditate?
Sayadaw: If yogis are practicing awareness meditation, I advise them to change to a neutral object like the breath; but if they cannot, then there are numerous ways to calm the mind down.
They can use samatha, or right reflection and right thinking like loving-kindness and Buddhanussati (recollecting the qualities of the Buddha) to calm the mind.
498. CAN DAILY AWARENESS LEAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT?
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (1:32:24-1:34:46)
Yogi: Is the samadhi of daily awareness strong enough to attain Nibbana?
Sayadaw: Certainly; practicing daily mindfulness continuously is good enough.
When we try to practice day after day, the awareness, wisdom and samadhi keep increasing.
The samadhi and quality of mind are different between 10-day practice and 1-month practice; likewise between 1-month practice and 1-year practice; and again between 1-year practice and 5-year practice. The quality of mind keeps growing slowly but steadily when the yogi practices continuously.
Yogis who have not practiced awareness meditation continuously over a long period; they cannot imagine how deep the samadhi of continuous practice can be.
499. THINKING MIND AND AWARENESS MIND ARE DIFFERENT
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (6:53-8:07)
Yogi: Are the thinking mind and awareness mind the same? Because when the mind is aware, it cannot think, and when the mind thinks, it cannot be aware.
Sayadaw: Knowing and thinking minds are different; they have different functions.
Now the awareness is not strong enough; that’s why you use a lot of energy to be aware. When that happens, the mind cannot think. And when the mind uses too much energy to think, it cannot be aware.
Beginners have this problem. But later when the awareness becomes stronger, you can see thinking and awareness together because the mind is very fast and quick.
When the awareness is not good, when you try to be aware, the mind cannot do other things. When the mind is faster, then you can notice many things happenings in the mind at the same time.
500. WHAT DOES NATURE MEAN
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 7 (9:00-11:52)
Yogi: Does ‘everything is nature’ mean that when others do anything wrong we just keep quiet and accept what happens?
Sayadaw: Nature doesn’t mean that you should only remain silent. You should talk when you need to talk.
If you try to be aware when you talk to others, slowly the mind understands how to communicate with other people. Slowly, your speech becomes more and more right.
What is nature? When things happen, they happen because of their own cause and effect and we accept that cause-and-effect (logical) process.
That is the first step; the second step is to think what we need to do next, not just say that everything is nature and not do anything.
For example, if you eat healthily, your body will be strong; on the other hand, if you eat recklessly, your body will fall sick. And, both are nature.
You need to choose which cause and effect process to follow. Every cause and effect process is nature.
When we think of nature, it means that we understand whatever happens is a natural (logical) process. After that, we have to decide what to do next.