501. BE AWARE TOO WHEN THE MIND IS ENJOYING, NOT ONLY WHEN THE MIND SUFFERS
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 7 (37:22-40:31)
Yogi: I have a chronic illness and it causes the mind to suffer. I would exercise to help the body and I know how to observe the aversion. What else should I do or know?
Sayadaw: Now you are already learning how to watch the reaction (mind) when an unpleasant object arises – when the body is uncomfortable, the mind resists and anger comes. When the awareness-wisdom gains strength, the body may be painful but the mind does not suffer. Then, you learn what to do to cure your body with a relaxed mind, not an angry mind.
The only thing is: yogis forget to be aware when things are going smoothly; when they’re sick, immediately suffering arises. So, when there’s no suffering, meditators also need to be awake and alert so that they don’t get attached. You need to be aware of this situation – that whenever there is no awareness, because wisdom is absent, craving is sure to be present. Unconsciously, the mind is already enjoying the experience – ‘Nice, good, everything is okay, nice, good.’
When bad things happen, anger, the opposite of craving, arises. They’re only alert and diligent when suffering comes. Unfortunately, as much as we enjoy, to the same degree we suffer when we fall ill or when things are not going our way. (We suffer a lot when we don’t get something we crave for a lot – we watch so that a small craving doesn't become a big craving.)
Therefore, we should be as diligent to be aware when the experience is pleasant – we have to be alert and awake all the time so that when bad situation comes, the mind is already ready.
502. THE MIND IS MORE RELAXED WHEN IT USES A FAMILIAR OBJECT
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 7 (44:23-46:25)
Yogi: I’m used to being aware of the breath on the cushion. If I intentionally choose or look for the obvious object – breath or the body – the mind tenses up.
Sayadaw: It is better not to choose; just stick to your old object. It is already a habit of the mind to use anapana – so, you don’t have to force the mind to choose.
I have already mentioned that you can use any object, not only the obvious object.
If you use a familiar object, you don’t need to use more energy, you don’t need to force. It is better to watch the object the natural way – without forcing. The mind is more relaxed that way.
503. THE MIND BASE IS NOWHERE, NOT IN THE HEART OR BRAIN
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 8 (10:10-13:42)
Thinking mind is not in the head – when you think that it’s in the head, it is only a concept (an idea). The mind base is nowhere – sometimes yogis think it’s in the heart or brain.
Actually, the mind is nowhere – when you notice the mind, you just know that it is happening. When we think that it is in the heart, head, or anywhere, it is just the mind thinking of a location; actually it is nowhere.
Take hearing consciousness as an example – for beginners, sound happens outside, a distance away. As they practice and awareness improves, it happens in the ears; later, when the yogi can be aware of the mind, the sound happens in the mind, not in the ears. (It depends on your level of understanding.)
When you notice thoughts in the head, do they appear in the left side, right side, front, or back of the head?
504. IT TAKES WISDOM TO WATCH THOUGHTS WITHOUT GETTING LOST IN THEM
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 8 (7:55-8:10)
Yogi: When can a yogi watch thoughts for a long time (without losing awareness)?
Sayadaw: If you understand that thinking mind is an object, that thinking mind is being known – then, the mind can watch thoughts for a long time.
505. WISDOM ARISES CONSISTENTLY WHEN AWARENESS HAS MOMENTUM
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (1:27:00-1:28:15)
Yogi: I have been practicing mindfulness for some time; how do I make wisdom arise continuously?
Sayadaw: If you practice awareness continuously, then wisdom can arise again and again. Without awareness, wisdom cannot arise.
If there is awareness, then wisdom has a chance to arise.
First step is to try to maintain the awareness continuously, and then wisdom can follow.
506. BREATH CAN BE EITHER A VIPASSANA OR SAMATHA OBJECT
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (1:17:40-1:19:45)
Yogi: Is the breath a samatha or vipassana object?
Sayadaw: Samatha idea is to use only 1 object, a conceptual object.
In vipassana practice, the object is nature/reality – and the awareness takes multiple objects, not only 1 object because the mind wants to know what is happening and the relationship between objects.
The breath becomes a samatha object when the mind pays attention to the concept, the direction of the breath – air going in and out. Direction is a conceptual object.
The breath is a vipassana object when we know both the mind and the object – the sensation and the awareness.
The awareness knows more objects when it becomes stronger. For example, if you use breath as the main object, you can know the awareness, breathing, thinking, feeling and sound at the same time when the awareness strengthens.
507. IT IS NATURAL FOR THINKING TO HAPPEN DURING MEDITATION
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (1:40:50-1:41:48)
Yogi: When thinking happens during meditation, the mind becomes tense.
Sayadaw: Thinking is not a problem – hold the idea that thinking is nature.
When we’re mindful, we can know that there is thinking. If we’re not mindful, we don’t know that we’re thinking.
Why are we mindful? It’s because we want to know what is going on in the mind. Why should it be a problem now that we know that there is thinking? It only becomes a problem if we intentionally continue to think.
It’s not a problem that thoughts come and go because that’s the function of the thinking mind.
508. THE QUESTIONS WE ASK SHOULD AROUSE INTEREST IN THE MIND
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 6 (1:31:39-1:33:38)
Yogi: I exert too much effort and stay too close to the object. So, I ask some questions, but the mind is not interested in them.
Sayadaw: We ask the questions to remind ourselves, and to wake up wisdom energy (to arouse interest), not to repeat mechanically.
For example, if you’re thinking ‘it is nature’ (not personal, subject to cause and effect), if you understand the meaning of nature, it is more effective – the mind will be more interested in watching. If you don’t understand what you’re applying, it will not work.
If you understand the meaning of the right attitude ‘everything is nature’, then it’s more effective when you apply this thought.
509. UNDERSTANDING HOW TO RELAX
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (26:55-27:50)
Yogi: I try to relax, but I cannot. How then to relax?
Sayadaw: You can know that you’re tense, right? You start by being aware of the tension.
Sometimes, trying to relax can be craving. In the beginning, whatever you try to do, you do with craving. So, if trying to do something is difficult, then don’t try.
510. THE PRACTICE IS SMOOTH WHEN THERE’S RIGHT ATTITUDE
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (26:47-28:56)
Yogi: When I check my attitude while observing bodily pain, the practice becomes smooth.
Sayadaw: Yes, you can observe any object if you have the right attitude.
Whatever you do, check your mind and attitude first – if your attitude is right, whatever you do is good. Conversely, if the attitude is wrong, everything becomes a problem.
Right attitude (wisdom) is the most important thing in everything we do – it should be the leader.
511. YOGIS NEED TO KNOW WHY THEY CHANT OR WATCH THE BREATH
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 7 (23:07-25:50)
If you don’t get to chant or do anapana, what will happen?
We chant or watch the breath to purify the mind; however, wisdom must be present because anything you do without wisdom, the mind gets attached to the object. (We need to know why we’re doing it and with what attitude.)
If there’s attachment to any object, when you cannot get the object, then the mind gets upset. That’s the nature of attachment. Whatever you do repeatedly with delusion, you get attached to it.
Even with anapana, if you do it without wisdom, over a long time, you become attached to watching the breath.
Whatever you do, you need to know why you’re doing it – what benefits do you get from doing it? When wisdom is involved, then the activity is beneficial. (For example, we watch the breath or chant to calm the mind and to learn.)
512. ACCEPTANCE CHANGES THE QUALITY OF MIND – IT IS ACTIVE, NOT PASSIVE
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 7 (14:55-15:38)
Yogi: Acceptance is passive – how to be more active? For example, if someone continues to make the same mistakes, should I do something?
Sayadaw: You need to intentionally try to help – accept first and then help. You can help but you don’t have to be upset; getting upset is the problem. If you cannot accept, you get upset.
You don’t have wisdom anymore if you get upset and angry. Then, how can you think of the right way to help? When you become angry and upset, when the quality of mind is not good, how can you then help?
(Acceptance is not passive; it is actively changing the quality of mind from aversion to neutral. That is the first step; when the mind is balanced, only then can it think what to do in a reasonable way.)
513. CULTIVATING THE MIDDLE WAY
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 7 (53:58-56:25)
Yogi: I have practiced many years but I feel that I’m not progressing. When emotions come or when there are problems, the mind cannot practice.
Sayadaw: You can only practice when conditions are good means that you don’t have enough experience practicing when conditions are bad.
When emotions come, you need to practice. That is why I advise yogis to face the difficulty; if you choose the easy way, it’s hard to progress.
Yogis need to understand how to meditate whether pleasant or unpleasant objects arise. That means that when any situation arises, the mind is not involved; it is balanced and peaceful. You need to cultivate this skill so that you can apply it when you face emotions and problems.
Otherwise, the mind enjoys when pleasant situations arise and resists when the reverse arises. Attach and resist, attach and resist – everybody can do this. These are two extremes; you don’t have the middle path. The middle way means understanding how to practice under both pleasant and unpleasant situations. You need to cultivate this skill.
514. SHIFTING FROM WRONG VIEW TO RIGHT VIEW
Sweden 2019 Retreat Opening Instructions (33:03-37:24)
Wrong view is when we personalize every experience – and when we personalize the experience, it allows unwholesome qualities to grow in the mind.
So, if you think “I am angry”, it keeps you feeling angry; if you think “I’m hurt”, it keeps you feeling hurt. It is not a skillful quality to help the mind to find peace.
That’s what wrong view does; that’s why right view is important.
Generally, this wrong view is so subtle that that we don’t detect it – it is everywhere because everything is “my” experience. “I” know; “I” am being aware; “I” feel; “I” think; everything is connected to “me”.
If wrong view is unrecognized, it allows the unwholesome qualities to grow – for example, when we’re anxious, we feel more and more anxious when we think that way, “I’m anxious, what shall I do? What do they think of me?” These thoughts feed the personalizing of what is happening, it feeds the unwholesome; likewise, when we’re angry and greedy.
The less we can personalize, the less the reaction – for example, if somebody else is angry and it doesn’t have to do with us, we don’t feel too much. If it has to do with you, you’ll react more. The less we identify with the unwholesome, the less the effect it can have on you.
We don’t have to get rid of wrong view; we just need to recognize it and intellectually try to understand right view – that it is just a process; something is happening in the mind and it is a natural process. We are going to use words like “this is the nature of the mind, or this is anger” in place of “I’m angry”. Or, “what does anxiety feel like?” so that we are less identified with them; we’ll try to use them so that we can observe them more neutrally.
For example, when we have pain in the body and we think “I feel so much pain”, it feels more painful; and if we try to use different words like “This is the nature of pain”, it will actually feel less tight and painful.
So, we try to shift our view intellectually, a little bit, and see how it helps us in being aware of what is happening more objectively.
515. WHEN YOU DON’T FOCUS, THE VIEW BECOMES WIDER
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (24:00-25:25)
When you don’t focus, the view becomes wider. Yes, that’s wisdom’s view – when you see the overview, then you can see more things, the relationship between processes, and cause and effect.
When the mind focuses onto an object, the view is narrow and the picture is not complete. When that happens, wisdom cannot decide because it doesn’t know what is happening.
When you focus onto the object, you won’t know your thoughts and the mind state. But if you relax, you can see both the object and the thinking mind. You can then see both nama and rupa at the same time. Then we can understand the relationship between mind and body or mind and object.
516. WHEN YOGIS FOCUS ON THE OBJECT, THEY GET INVOLVED WITH THE PROCESS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (16:58-19:20)
Yogi: Is there is a relationship between emotion and body sensation?
Sayadaw: Obviously, because when there’s a reaction in the mind, the chest feels something. Because of emotion, the body becomes warm or tense – you can notice both at the same time.
There is no need to focus on the body sensation – just know; awareness means just to see, not to focus. Let the process happen, just as if we’re watching a movie.
That’s the best way because then we can realize something from the process if we let it happen again and again. If you focus, you get involved with the process, and you interfere with nature.
When the mind is strong enough, it can see in greater detail naturally. Remember that mind and object will match each other (blur mind, blur object; clear mind, clear object).
The thing to do is to make the awareness stronger, to build up the quality of the mind. Awareness-samadhi-wisdom is weak when craving is present, and you can only notice the gross level.
517. ONLY WISDOM CAN UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF DEFILEMENT
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 6 (47:50-49:05)
Yogi: We can only see the angry and craving mind through the thinking and feeling.
Sayadaw: Only wisdom can understand the characteristics of the defilement. For example, when you watch the defilement, you can see feelings and thoughts. Thought is not defilement; thought is thought. Feeling is not defilement, feeling is feeling.
Defilement is defilement. They have different characteristics. Feeling is a particular function of mind; thought is another of function of mind; defilement is yet another function mind.
Only wisdom can understand the nature of defilement. When defilement arises, thinking and feeling are obvious too. All 3 are present. You can see differently depending on your wisdom level.
Yogi: Is defilement the motivation for the thinking and feeling?
Sayadaw: Yes, defilement motivates thinking and feeling. Wisdom also motivates thinking and feeling – when wholesome mind arises, thought and feeling are present too.
518. IF YOU WANT TO UNDERSTAND, YOU CAN UNDERSTAND
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (1:12:20-1:13:47)
When wisdom is present, it wants to know what is going on.
For example, you have been watching the breath as an object for a long time – what’s the difference between in-breath and out-breath?
That’s it – we have been watching the breath for many years, but we don’t know much about it.
That means that the mind is not interested. We practice meditation for various reasons; most yogis watch the breath to calm the mind down. They just use the object to be aware, aware, aware – they don’t want to understand.
Vipassana idea is different – it wants to know what is happening. The motivation is very different. If you want to know, then you can know. If the motivation is to calm down, they don’t want to know and therefore they don’t know.
If you want to understand, you can understand.
519. UNDERSTANDING ABOUT LABELING
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 4 (2:05:50-2:10:26)
Yogi: I label ‘Left, right, left, right’ when I am doing walking meditation.
Sayadaw: Labeling is for the beginner to pay attention to the object; it is not necessary for experienced yogis.
When the yogi labels, it helps the mind go to the object because he is thinking about the object.
You don’t have to label if you already know the object because the mind is late and busier when it labels. Direct experience is enough.
Also, if you label, you need to control your actions, you need to slow down. If you’re fast, the mind cannot label.
If you know 2 objects at the same time, how can you label?
Yogi: If I don’t label, the mind wanders off easily – e.g. towards sound.
Sayadaw: Sound is happening here in the mind, not an outside object. It is an object happening in your sense door. Sound is not happening outside.
That’s why you can use sound as an object of awareness. You can be aware of hearing.
Yogis label because they want to stay only with one object. That’s why the mind cannot be fast. If you don’t label, you can actually see how fast the mind is.
[If labeling has become a habit for the old yogi, then notice that labeling is happening – that there is awareness and the object (labeling).]
520. THE WISE WAY TO MAKE ADHITTHANA (DETERMINATION)
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 7 (27:33-32:24)
Yogi: I made a determination to sit one hour but couldn’t. Is it still beneficial to make this determination?
Sayadaw: No need. Determination needs some wisdom or understanding; if we do it with delusion, it then becomes extreme and we try too much. When we cannot achieve it, we become depressed.
You can only do it when you know your abilities very well – then this adhitthana is effective.
But you don’t have enough energy and you think you can do it (that is delusion), then there is no benefit in trying.
Buddha made his adhitthana because he knew his conditions very well; then he made his adhitthana. But yogis make determination without knowing their conditions well.
For example, a yogi wanted to meditate all night at Shwe Oo Min from the day he arrived; he had a lot of faith. I said “Cannot – you should try as much as you can and build up your strength slowly”. He didn’t follow my advice and sat the whole night, but he was sleeping through the night.
If he keeps on practicing this way, then bad habit forms because he would sleep every time he sits, he’ll be trying blindly with delusion.
Every effect happens by fulfilling necessary conditions – due to cause and effect. It takes many conditions for an effect to happen, not only one condition (e.g. faith alone); you need to fulfill many conditions to get an effect; otherwise it will not happen and what you do is not beneficial.
521. WHEN EMOTIONS INCREASE BECAUSE OF WRONG THOUGHT
China Retreat 2018 File: 20180530 Q&A 8 (4:08-4:14)
Yogi: When I think of my mother, emotions arise during the sit, and they carry over to walking meditation. I eventually cried.
Sayadaw: Every time emotions increase when we think, it means that there is wrong thought. You need to stop thinking and watch the feeling – the feeling can then come down.
522. DECIDING FROM WISDOM OR DECIDING FROM DEFILEMENT
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 6 (02:03-03:13)
We have to make decisions all the time. We need to practice how to decide; but first, we need to know what idea and attitude the mind holds when we decide.
It’s only when we decide with wisdom that the decision is right; otherwise, it’s defilement that decides and that leads to problems.
If there’s defilement, it is better not to decide then – wait, watch and learn. Let the mind calm down, and then reasonable thinking can come and we can decide with wisdom. That’s better.
Every day we have decisions to make – as we practice, slowly our decisions over time become wiser and wiser.
523. LEARNING TO OVERCOME DEPRESSION THE WISDOM WAY
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 6 (0:55:15-1:08:23)
Yogi: I started having depression 2 years ago when I suffered from health issues, anxiety and sleeping problem. Now, I have no energy and no interest. I don’t know what to do and have no desire to do anything – I just feel numb. What can I do?
Sayadaw: Energy is lost totally because the mind is depressed, because defilements overwhelm the mind. No energy means that wholesome energy is lost.
Because unwholesome mind is being repeated day after day, it overwhelms the mind. The mind complains every day it wakes up – then, the mind becomes more and more depressed and more defilements overwhelm the mind.
What you need to do is to start to practice, to build up your wholesome strength – the wholesome qualities of awareness and samadhi.
Meditation means to grow the wholesome qualities of the mind in any way – sila, samadhi, panna; or samatha, or vipassana. You need to cultivate these every day, all the time. Build up these strengths first. The best way is to practice mindfulness meditation.
[Previously, Sayadaw wasn’t interested in practicing seriously.]
Actually, I had no interest to practice meditation in the past. I started to practice seriously only due to depression.
At first, to overcome depression, I went everywhere and tried to do anything that would make the mind feel good. Because everything that I tried didn’t work, I had no choice but to meditate.
Every time I was aware, I was relieved from the depression. I continued to practice only because of this understanding.
Day by day awareness, samadhi and understanding increased slowly – and only then the defilements weakened slowly.]
You need to practice continuously and be very patient because it has been 2 years since the defilements overwhelm you.
Be careful of your thoughts. When negative thoughts arise, don’t continue to think. Immediately change the direction to be mindful and to think in a positive way. Don’t allow the negative thoughts to continue and increase.
Just practice regularly, but not very hard. If you stop work, the mind is too free and has more chance to think negatively. So, continue to do some small work.
Try to be aware in the present in whatever you do.
Check your mind all the time – when you’re depressed, the feeling is obvious. You need to keep your mental state from being negative by changing the direction of the thoughts.
Every time the defilements come and the depression is strong, use a neutral object and stay with it mechanically, again and again; and slowly the mind calms down. Don’t think about anything; use a neutral object and continue to be aware.
Don’t stop working – it is better to be occupied. Day by day in your daily life, try to stay in the present moment in whatever you do. You need to maintain the awareness the whole day long. This is the best way to relief you from the defilements. Try, try.
524. DELUSION IS ONLY ABSENT WHEN THERE’S AWARENESS-WISDOM
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 6 (17:02-19:12)
Yogi: I see the nature of defilement in liking and disliking when the mind is lost in the story; when there is no liking and disliking, does it mean that the defilement is absent?
Sayadaw: That’s true if the watching mind has no liking or disliking when awareness returns. If there’s no awareness and the mind thinks that there’s no liking or disliking, then delusion is there. Even neutral mind may have delusion.
If awareness is absent, then there’s no wisdom. When there’s no wisdom, we’re sure that delusion is present. (And when delusion is present, all defilements have a chance to arise.)
525. RECOGNIZE THAT NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ARE RESULTS OF THE DELUDED MIND
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (55:50-57:59)
Yogi: I have strong anxieties in daily life; especially fear of taking the plane and other anxieties arising from thinking.
Sayadaw: If negative thinking arises, for example, about something fearful, then fear comes.
You should not practice this again and again (don’t entertain negative thoughts), and also, don’t believe the negative thoughts.
Negative thoughts come from delusion, and when you believe them, these thoughts are even more deluded.
Don’t repeatedly replay these negative thoughts; you can try thinking a positive way (and notice thinking and feeling are happening).
They are powerful and appear to arise automatically because of the repeated habit of many years. Now, you need to stop doing this – not continue the negative thoughts or follow them.
[Try to follow Sayadaw’s advice – the skill will reduce the possibility of depression, or going deeper and deeper into depression.]
526. EVERY TIME ANGER (CAUSE) ARISES, IT EXAGGERATES THE EXPERIENCE (EFFECT)
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180528 Q&A 3 (9:00-10:34)
For most people, every time they are sick, every time bad experience comes, the mind resists.
Anger exaggerates the experience and the mind begins to think of bad things – the mind becomes more upset and the body becomes more painful.
If you try to be mindful, the mind cannot think of negative things. That’s why the mind settles down as the awareness becomes better and better.
The mind quality gets better – physical condition may not be better but the mind quality improves because of right attitude and awareness.
So, try to think how to practice (cause) and practice (effect and then cause); then, the mind cannot think of negative things (effect).
527. YOGI GETS DROWSY WHEN SWITCHING FROM SAMATHA TO VIPASSANA
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (0:25-1:38)
Yogi: I’m used to practicing samatha, and when I switch to awareness practice, I often become drowsy.
Sayadaw: You use too much energy to focus when practicing samatha – so, when you relax and change to being aware of multiple objects, you exert less energy and the mind gets sleepy.
In actual fact, you shouldn’t force in concentration practice either – you just need to be patient and be aware again, again, and again. You do this for a long time – the mind wanders off and you bring it back to the target again, again, and yet again. Slowly, the mind stays with the target.
528. BE SERIOUS IN YOUR PRACTICE, BUT IN A RELAXED WAY
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (1:53:55-1:54:24)
Yogi: The more relaxed the mind is the easier and clearer awareness becomes.
Sayadaw: Relaxed means that there is less defilement. If defilement is strong, the mind cannot be relaxed.
That is why when you relax, awareness becomes more powerful.
529. SKILFULLY SWITCHING BETWEEN PERSONAL EFFORT AND NATURAL EFFORT
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180531 Q&A10 (1:56:35-1:57:04)
Yogi: When awareness is natural, I just need to check if awareness is there; but other times I need some effort to maintain the awareness.
Sayadaw: If awareness is weak, you need to use personal effort to keep the awareness going. If natural effort is present, you don’t need to use personal effort.
But if awareness is lost, you just keep trying to allow awareness to be present. Just try and try again.
530. THE MIND STAYS WITH AWARENESS MEANS THE AWARENESS HAS BECOME THE OBJECT
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180531 Q&A10 (1:49:25-1:49:59)
Yogi: You often say that there are awareness and the object and that later, the awareness becomes the object.
Sayadaw: Yes, because awareness is more important than the object, that’s why we need to stay with the awareness. (And when the mind stays with the awareness, it means that the awareness has become the object).
Because awareness is the mind, if you watch the awareness, you can know everything that is happening in the mind-body process. That’s why we try to stay with the awareness.
531. DO NOT FOLLOW A PARTICULAR OBJECT; STAY WITH THE AWARENESS INSTEAD
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180531 Q&A 10 (42:35-43:04)
Yogi: I feel tired being aware of the 5 physical objects after a day.
Sayadaw: If you get tired, then something is not right with the practice. So, don’t follow any particular object; rather, stay with the awareness. Then, you use less energy. You can know the awareness, right?
So, don’t follow any object; seeing the process (follow the awareness) is good enough.
So, your only object is the awareness.
532. CONSISTENT AWARENESS HELPS THE MIND TO DE-CONCEPTUALIZE PRECONCEIVED IDEAS
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group A (31:40-32:48)
Yogi: What is important is that the awareness machine is switched on; it doesn’t matter what the machine is aware of.
Sayadaw: When the mind has the right attitude and right view of pain, it’s not painful anymore; it is just as it is.
When there is pain, I would like to remind yogis not to label it as ‘pain’ because when we keep using the word ‘pain’ we keep reminding the mind of what the perception is, rather than what the truth/sensation is.
The step of going back to the awareness also helps to get the mind to de-conceptualize the preconceived notion of what the sensation is. So, going back to the awareness and not labeling help the mind to see it as it is much more.
533. WHEN WE LABEL, WE TEND TO GET INTO THE CONCEPTS OR THINKING
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group A (06:05-08:17)
Yogi: I notice a lot of things happening in the mind. Sometimes I try to note, but the process of noting is too slow; the mind is faster. Noting works for emotions because they stay longer, but when I note ‘hearing’ or ‘seeing’, I tend to get lost.
Sayadaw: Labeling a little at the beginning is okay if it helps the mind to recognize what it is doing or to anchor the mind. But don’t make it a habit; don’t use it as a crutch.
When there are lots of things to know, then the labeling becomes messy and confusing.
There are experiences which we don’t have a convenient label for, but we know what it is. Although we cannot name it, it’s enough to know it even if we cannot name it.
(Later in the same Group A Interviews)
Sayadaw: Whatever you experience, don’t name, describe, or interpret it – just watch it. We can name, describe, or interpret it in many ways, but that goes into the concepts/thinking; we want to get into the nature of what the experience is.
534. IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE WHICH REALITY IS BEING AWARE OF
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group B (31:38-33:42)
When we choose to watch the mind all the time, we need to find out if we’re aware or lost in thoughts.
When you’re watching the mind, you should recognize which reality you’re aware of – Is the mind aware of thinking, feeling, intention, or planning? What functions of the mind are you aware of? Do you recognize that there are different functions working in the mind?
The mind is a collection of many different functions; each function has its own characteristics and work – like the functions of perception, feeling, consciousness, and volitional activity (greed, knowing, happiness, or aversion). All of them (the 4 mental aggregates) have different functions. We should recognize when and how they’re working.
It is fine if the mind feels properly grounded when you watch the mind; otherwise, come back to being aware of the body.
535. UNDERSTANDING SUFFERING FREES THE MIND
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group B (39:45-41:05)
Yogi: When I lightly contemplated the nature of suffering, I didn’t feel suffering at all.
Sayadaw: When there is a real understanding of suffering, it doesn’t feel like suffering. Insights make the mind feel free.
When suffering is understood in the right way, it doesn’t burden the mind; it frees the mind.
536. LEARN TO EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF AWARENESS OUTSIDE OF FORMAL SITS
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group A (20:00-21:13)
When we have mindfulness, we can experience the power of mindfulness, samadhi and wisdom. All these experiences can come through us when the awareness is present.
All it takes is for awareness to be present, and it doesn’t matter whether we are sitting, or washing the toilet, or walking so long as the mind is working in the same way for all these experiences to be available.
If you can recognize more of that, it’ll help the mind to see its attachment to sitting, and to not attribute the wholesome minds to just sitting.
537. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIPASSANA SAMADHI AND SAMATHA SAMADHI
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180527 Q&A 2 (1:33:10-1:37:27)
Yogi: I was at a center where we watched pain with a lot of courage to overcome the pain. They are practicing mindfulness meditation with a lot of forceful concentration. I’m trying to use your way to go through this practice and it’s quite confusing.
Sayadaw: There are 2 kinds of concentration – theirs is forcing on one object to calm the mind, and our approach is using right attitude and continuity of awareness. There are two approaches to stabilize the mind, to gaining samadhi – using one-pointed concentration continuously (samatha samadhi), the mind settles down; but we use right attitude and continuity of awareness (vipassana samadhi).
Vipassana samadhi and samatha samadhi are different.
We don’t use deep concentration (staying close to one object); we use stepping back (wisdom, the panorama view).
538. IT’S THE MIND QUALITY, NOT THE PERSON THAT DETERMINES GOOD OR BAD
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180531 Q&A 10 (11:11-12:20)
Nobody is bad all the time – we’re sometimes good and sometimes bad. When you have a good heart and mind, then you’re a good person. When you have defilement, you’re a bad person. It’s the same with everybody.
Nobody can be good or bad all the time. If the mind is good, we say it’s a good person, and the converse is true.
Everyone has a mixture of good and bad qualities of mind. Don’t judge yourself too rigidly.
Sometimes we’re smart and other times, stupid. When we’re deluded, we become stupid. It’s the mind quality, not the person that determines that.
539. SHWE OO MIN SAYADAW’S ADVICE: GROUND OUR CONCEPTUAL WORLD ON REALITY
Thinking “If you’re good then I’ll be good” actually implies “If you’re not good, I will be bad”. This is really a frightful attitude.
A truly virtuous person is one who remains virtuous regardless of how others behave.
(Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw)
Our actions are invariably based on liking (lobha) and disliking (dosa). If we stay aware of the quality of our mind every time we act, then we are like ‘a virtuous person who remains virtuous regardless of how others behave’.
540. HOW TO EXPERIENCE ‘A FEELING IS JUST A FEELING’
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group A (15:30-19:39)
Yogi: I have an attachment to the sitting posture because the sitting is the essence – the most beautiful and the most terrible, everything is in the sitting; I feel beyond everything.
Sayadaw: Whatever you experience in your sitting, instead of describing it to yourself, to just watch the feeling. Don’t name the feeling, just watch the feeling. Don’t give it a description, just watch the feeling – a feeling is just a feeling.
The feeling is an object – we can describe it in many ways, but that goes into the concepts; we want to get into the nature of what a feeling is.
So, when you sit and you feel this, just stay with the feeling. Recognize that the mind interprets, but don’t get attracted to the interpretations; stay with the feeling.
Can you do that?
541. GETTING EXCITED OVER THE RETREAT INTERVIEW
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180531 Q&A10 (1:04:04-1:04:55)
Yogi: I think and obsess over what I want to say at the interview.
Sayadaw: You need to watch your mind and calm down first. You start to think a lot because you get excited over the interview.
So, calm the mind first and then think what you want to say – one or two important points are enough, not everything you want to say.
If you want to say too much, you become more confused because you get excited and start to think a lot.
542. THE SKILL OF WATCHING EMOTIONS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180530 Q&A 8 (1:21:31-1:24:12)
Yogi: When we watch emotions, we should see them as dhamma nature, not “my” emotions, right?
Sayadaw: Yes, but the mind doesn’t understand it very well yet. We can only use it at the intellectual level.
We don’t understand dhamma nature deeply, but we can still think and accept it superficially. If you can apply that much is good enough.
You need to watch and learn more to deepen your understanding of dhamma nature.
In the meantime, when emotions arise, you can think that everyone has emotions, not only you. It is a natural process – then, as much as you can, be aware of the emotion. Just know that the emotion is happening.
Now you can feel the emotion, right? Continue knowing like that. Staying with emotion continuously is awareness. Later, there may be some realization about the emotion.
Yogi: The anger can calm down this way?
Sayadaw: No, we’re not trying to calm down. If wisdom doesn’t arise, the emotion will not calm down.
Just try to be aware of the emotion is enough. Whether the emotion calms down or not is not the yogi’s responsibility.
As much as you can, try to face the emotion; if the emotion increases and you cannot maintain the awareness, then you should change to a neutral object. When the mind calms down, you then go back to watching the emotion. Do like this, okay?
543. WHY DOES THE YOGI FEEL LIKE THE BODY HAS GROWN HUGE?
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180531 Q&A10 (32:33-33:50)
Yogi: During the morning sit, I felt that the body grew very big.
Sayadaw: It is actually the mind thinking about form. Our memory or perception (sanna) already knows our body – where the head and hands are, and how big they are. Sanna already knows.
When we meditate, because the mind is calm, the body sensations change. Because we close our eyes, the mind gets the information wrongly. The mind tries to think what the new sensations look like, that’s why the big form appears. It is the mind creating the form by thinking.
If you want to know if it’s real or not, open your eyes; then, you can understand that it is the mind thinking, it is not real.
544. DIFFERENT MINDS DO DIFFERENT WORK
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group A (44:30-47:53)
Yogi: I’m a professional dancer and I find it very hard to sit still – first, my mind goes in a diagonal direction to the right and I call it back along the same direction before I feel an emotion or something. I have become attached to the visual image.
Sayadaw: It’s normal for the mind to conceptualize its experience. When the mind does this, there are 2 parts that are happening – there’s the reality of what is happening and there’s the conceptualizing/visualizing of what is happening.
Let the visualization continue while in your awareness you try to stay with the intensity of the feeling. Recognize the intensity while the rest of the mind is doing the visualization – you just recognize the feeling as it increases and decreases.
545. WHEN CANNOT SLEEP, MAKE IT AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE MINDFUL
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group A (17:37-18:50)
When you’re awake at night, remember to be mindful because if the mind isn’t, it’ll start to think. If you just leave the mind alone at night, if you don’t give it work to do, thinking will proliferate – it’ll think of happy, sad, exciting, or boring things – and that tires the mind.
When the mind is aimless wondering and thinking, it tires the mind. If you give the mind work to do – when it’s mindful whenever you’re awake – then, there’s no problem.
So long as what you’re cultivating in the mind while you’re awake is wholesome – whether it’s metta, or awareness, samathi and wisdom – if all that are working, then you don’t have to worry about getting as much sleep as other people do.
The mind shouldn’t be getting momentum in becoming unwholesome as when the mind is aimless.
546. EVERYTHING IS GOOD WHEN WISDOM LEADS
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180529 Q&A 5 (26:47-28:56)
Yogi: When I check my attitude while observing bodily pain, the practice becomes smooth.
Sayadaw: Yes, you can observe any object if you have right attitude.
Whatever you do, check your mind and attitude first – if your attitude is right, whatever you do is good. Conversely, if the attitude is wrong, everything becomes a problem.
Right attitude (wisdom) is the most important thing in everything we do – it should be the leader.
547. THE MIND IS ALWAYS KNOWING SOMETHING NEW AT ANY MOMENT
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group A (12:30-12:48)
Yogi: Sometimes the mind is pulled away by dullness.
Sayadaw: But you know the dullness; it’s an object/experience as well. You are not pulled away, it is knowing something new.
548. RECOGNIZE THAT AWARENESS CHANGES TOO
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group A (09:45-11:52)
Yogi: There are lots of tiredness and distractions, and the mind gets pulled away from the breath repeatedly.
Sayadaw: Rather than think that the mind has been pulled away from the breath, recognize that the awareness has been aware of something else.
Recognize that that is also awareness too, rather than thinking that awareness is only awareness of the breath and anything else is a distraction. Recognize that you’re noticing the movement of the mind – the mind is aware of this and now it is aware of something else which is just as valid as the breath.
The breath is the starting point just to recognize what awareness is like. It may also be that you know 2 objects or 3 objects at the same time – the breath and something else together – not only the breath and, later, something else.
549. UNDERSTANDING HOW THE MIND GETS LOST IN THOUGHTS
Sweden Retreat 2019 Interviews Day 2 Group A (00:00-03:28)
Yogi: I get lost when I try to observe that thinking (the story) is happening. I find it very helpful to find some place in the body to go to and not get entangled in the thinking.
Sayadaw: The mind is very fast and subtle, and it is easy to get lost in the thinking instead of observing that thinking is happening. We’re not supposed to observe the story, or we’ll get lost in the story.
We get lost in the thought because we’re paying attention to the story rather than the mind that is thinking.
We build the skill of recognizing that thinking is happening by acknowledging the thoughts and then quickly come back to the body over and over again until the mind figures it out for itself.
Another way to anchor the mind, especially when the mind has an emotional charge, is to come back to the feeling of the emotion, rather than stay with the thoughts about the emotion.
Yogi: Is that how the feeling manifests in the body?
Sayadaw: Yes, that’s the most obvious.
550. INVESTIGATION IS NOT BY THINKING BUT BY ACTUAL OBSERVATION OF PROCESSES
China 2018 Retreat File: 20180531 Q&A10 (1:12:38-1:15:50)
Yogi: I’m trying to investigate. When I smell a bad smell and aversion arises, I would check why the aversion arises. A thought says that it’s our animal instinct to avoid danger.
Sayadaw: This is an intellectual understanding. If you want to see why the aversion arises, you should know what the mind thinks before, during and after the anger arises.
You need to be aware of the whole process to understand why anger arises; this is investigation, not thinking of an answer. We’re interested in the process (cause and effect relationship), not in getting an answer.
The understanding from thinking is weak; our own experiential understanding is deeper.