651. PERSIST IN BEING AWARE DESPITE ADVERSE CONDITIONS
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 14 Jan 2020 Malaysian Group Q&A (16:20-18:50)
Yogi: When the illness intensifies, the awareness shuts down; the defilements overwhelm the practice.
Sayadaw: You need to practice even when it is difficult because the mind suffers more if you give up. Do something!
If you do whatever to be aware, the mind will react less. As much as you try, that much you will be relieved of the suffering. It’ll get worse if you don’t practice.
When situations like this arise, yogis need to think what to do; otherwise, you’ll suffer more.
If vipassana doesn’t work, you can do some samatha practice. Keep on trying because the defilements do their job and you also need to do your job.
If you think this way – you cannot handle your defilement even when it is only this much, then how can the mind cope with a big problem – then the mind will be willing to practice.
652. WHENEVER YOU NOTICE THAT AWARENESS IS LOST, YOU KNOW THE MIND
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 23 Dec 2019 (1:02:44-1:13:33)
Yogi: How to be in a group discussion and still maintain the awareness?
Sayadaw: Whenever you know any activity of the mind, awareness is already happening. For example, because I know the mind, automatically I know the seeing and looking process.
So, if you know the mind, you’ll notice seeing and looking whenever the mind is looking. If you know the mind, you can notice the 6 senses working.
Yogi: If I notice that awareness is lost, does that mean that I know the mind activity?
Sayadaw: Yes, you can say like this.
653. WHEN EATING NOTICE WHICH SENSE DOORS ARE WORKING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 1 Jan 2020 Malaysian Group Q&A (1:33:18-1:34:30)
Yogi: How to be mindful when eating? Should I eat slowly?
Sayadaw: Not too slowly. When you’re eating, which door is working? All 6 senses are working.
So, you can practice seeing and looking one day. The next day, you practice hearing; and the next day, smelling. You continue being aware of tasting the next day, and the movement of the body the day after. On the sixth day, you practice being aware of the 5 senses all together.
When you eat, all 6 sense doors are working. First, you try to be aware of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, body action, and the mind, one by one. Later, you can know them working together.
654. WHEN YOU SIT TO MEDITATE, WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO?
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 23 Dec 2019 (09:00-10:57)
I would ask yogis ‘What are you trying to do when you sit in the meditation hall?’ Some say they are trying to calm down; others are trying to make thinking disappear. Some try to sit not moving for an hour. There are many wrong ideas.
When we sit and meditate, we’re simply trying to be aware moment to moment – this awareness this moment and the next awareness next moment, again and again. That’s it. Good or bad, we try to be aware.
When defilement comes, yogis try to push it away; but the meditation objective is to try to be aware moment to moment, and later, to understand the nature of defilement.
655. WHEN THE MIND IS AWARE, MEDITATION IS ALREADY HAPPENING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 19 Dec 2019 (00:15-00:54)
Yogi: How can yogis be aware of the mind that doesn’t know how to meditate?
Sayadaw: Meditation is already happening because you know it as such. You know that Moha is present, right?
When nature is meditating, there is no need for personal effort to meditate.
656. KEEP OUR ATTENTION INWARDS
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 8 Jan 2020 Malaysian Group Q&A (39:25-40:33)
Yogi: On retreat and walking out to the village shops, many things were happening outside, but the mind was more interested in being aware of the movement of the body.
Sayadaw: This is how we should practice in daily life. In daily life when we are in a new surrounding, the mind pays attention to the outside. That’s why it is difficult to be aware. Now you’re keeping your attention inwards – if you practice like that, the mind will not have much interest in what is happening outside.
Only when necessary, the mind will pay attention to the outside world. This is a good practice for daily life.
In daily life, we have a habit of looking out and listening to the outside world fully. Now, the meditator needs to learn to stay with yourself, to seeing and hearing (reality).
657. NEED NOT FOCUS; RECOGNIZE AWARENESS IS WORKING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 14 Jan 2020 Malaysian Group Q&A (11:30-13:00)
It is only in the beginning when we’re not skilful that we land up staring at things, trying to look at them more carefully.
With practice and experience, yogis should realize that once we recognize it, that’s enough. There is no need to focus on it, just knowing it is enough because then only we see the object’s true nature.
If we focus on it, it is not ‘actual’ any more.
For vipassana, we need the process to happen naturally so that you can understand its nature. But if you stare at it, it can’t unfold naturally and you can’t really see its true nature because you can’t see the whole picture.
It’s like seeing an object versus looking at an object. Seeing the object is enough; it’s like you already know there is awareness. We don’t have to go look at it.
658. LEARN HOW TO USE PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OBJECTS
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 6 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (22:00-24:00)
This is a good practice – keep the eyes open, know that seeing is happening and at the same time know another object. If we just focus on seeing, the mind goes to the eyes and it starts to think about what it is seeing.
Try this and make it a new habit. When you’re aware of your breath with your eyes open, sometimes the mind can be aware of the seeing. Then, the seeing becomes more natural.
With the breath as the main object, the mind can also notice that it is aware of other objects; then, you can know that the mind is working.
I recommend that yogis use a main object but also know the other objects. We ground the awareness on the main object and naturally know other secondary objects.
659. BORED BECAUSE THE MIND HAS NO WISDOM TO BE INTERESTED IN THE RIGHT OBJECT
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190717
Yogi: Awareness is very boring.
Sayadaw: Why are you aware? It is because that’s what the teacher says?
You don’t have any idea what you’re doing? You’re just following instructions. That’s why you get bored. You can also get bored when you cannot get what you want.
The meditation object is not interesting – normal people cannot find interest in being aware of sensations such as hot or cold, hard or soft.
Meditators only get interested in meditation when their minds calm down – they want to feel good and enjoy the calmness. This is also greed.
In the beginning, the mind has no wisdom to be interested in the meditation object, but when the mind gathers more information about the object and sees the mind state improve, the mind slowly becomes interested.
Why do we meditate? Meditation is cultivating good qualities of the mind. This is the basic idea of meditation. Every time we’re mindful, the 5 Indriyas: awareness, samadhi, effort, faith and wisdom – they grow stronger.
[The vipassana idea is to watch and learn. To be skilful in watching, we need to exercise and develop the 5 Indriyas; when we are skilful in watching, much learning takes place.]
660. WHY WE NEED TO MEDITATE ALL THE TIME
China Retreat 2014 Concluding Talk
Whenever you’re not meditating, defilement is already happening.
Also, if we are not ready with awareness, when a strong defilement arises, we don’t have enough strength to face it and it becomes difficult to handle.
We need to grow our awareness so that it’s strong and ready to face defilements all the time.
Also, when we are mindful, we’re collecting information – we can know how the mind reacts in different situations. If you’re alone, the mind is different from when you’re outside with others; it’s also different with friends and with family. The mind has its pattern.
The mind is always safe for the good meditator because awareness and peacefulness are present.
661. SIT OPEN-EYES; WE NEED TO BE SKILFUL USING ALL SENSE DOORS
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 6 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (15:30-17:48)
Yogi: May I open my eyes during the sit?
Sayadaw: Yes, I prefer that yogis meditate with their eyes open because in daily life you cannot close your eyes all the time. If you want to practice in daily life, you should practice with your eyes open.
Many yogis need to close their eyes because of samatha practice – they want one-point concentration, other objects they don’t want to know. This is samatha idea, but you don’t need to close your eyes with vipassana idea.
We need to be skilful in using all our sense doors when we meditate.
When I ask yogis to meditate, they all close their eyes. When they close their eyes, they can be aware; but they are not used to being aware with the eyes open.
Remember that meditation is the work of the mind, not the eyes.
662. THE FIRST IMPORTANT UNDERSTANDING IS HOW TO PRACTICE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 23 Dec 2019 (12:35:13:10)
Yogi: What does the quality of the awareness depend on?
Sayadaw: It depends on how much the mind understands how to practice. Deeper understanding is not important. The first important understanding is how to practice – how to be aware and maintain the awareness.
First, the mind learns to maintain the awareness, and then we learn to bring in the samadhi and wisdom.
Yogi: So, the value is in the awareness, not the good feeling?
Sayadaw: Yes. (Because the good feeling is a trap set by craving.)
663. LEARNING TO BE AWARE OF THOUGHTS WITHOUT FOCUSING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 6 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (24:30-25:30)
You’re watching anapana and the mind also know that there are thoughts – in this way, naturally the mind knows that thinking is happening without focusing on the thoughts.
You won’t be easily involved with the thoughts because you’re grounded by the main object, the breath.
Most yogis when watching thoughts focus on the thoughts; they look at the thoughts and awareness gets lost.
Actually, there is no need to look at the thoughts; just know that thinking is happening. This means that the awareness already knows the object; if you try to look at the thoughts, awareness is lost.
664. CHECK AWARENESS AND ATTITUDE WHEN THE OBJECT IS A STRONG DEFILEMENT
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190904
There’s no need to focus on the strong pain. All you do is to check if awareness is present or not.
Naturally the mind already knows the pain; what you need to do is to check the awareness and attitude when the unpleasant object is obvious.
665. ALWAYS BRING IN RIGHT VIEW TO ANCHOR THE OBSERVING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190717
Don’t think that the experience is personal; think that it’s nature. When you think this way, the mind can be interested to know this nature.
When good experience arises, the mind is interested; bad experience comes, the mind is also interested because it is not ‘me’. If you think ‘me’, when good experience comes, you get attached; and when bad experience comes, you push it away.
If you think that the experience is nature, the mind doesn’t resist or get attached too much because the experience doesn’t belong to you. It is then easier to watch objectively.
So, right view is very important – you need to watch this mind and body process as nature.
666. DON’T TRY TO CHANGE THE EXPERIENCE; OBSERVE THE NATURAL REACTION
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 30 Dec 2019 Chinese Group Q&A (59:30-1:01:45)
Yogi: The mind was angry and another mind said that it was happy to notice anger. But it was not really happy.
Sayadaw: It is better to watch your anger – then, you can learn.
When the mind doesn’t like an object, the mind is very good at covering it because of the unpleasant, suffering feeling. When you do that, it becomes harder to practice.
We do it all the time in our lives and it has become a habit. For example, when the mind is angry, we sometimes put on a smile.
It is better that yogis don’t try to change the experience when there is anger, resistance or suffering. Rather, let nature happen and then try to be aware.
667. WE KEEP TRYING BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT EFFORT IS ‘ME’
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 23 Dec 2019 (15:35-16:35)
A yogi reported that when he relaxed, the idea of ‘self’ disappeared; why?
Because we believe that effort is ‘me’. That’s why all our life we always say ‘I try, I try.’ It means that we believe that effort is ‘me’. The identification grows stronger when we exert more effort.
When the mind doesn’t push, the idea of self disappears. That’s why when meditation becomes natural, when meditation is happening on its own, no one is meditating.
668. CHECKING IF THE MIND KNOWS HOW TO PRACTICE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 23 Dec 2019 (1:17:18-1:18:52)
Yogi: When the mind says it knows how to meditate, how do we check that the mind is not bluffing?
Sayadaw: You look at the result. If the mind is relaxed, light, peaceful and free – and there are understanding, samadhi and awareness – then you know that the mind knows the way. When what you do is right, the result must be good; this is cause and effect.
If the mind becomes very tired, tense, or boring, then you are not meditating correctly.
It’s like knowing how to make money – if you know how to make money, there must be money in your pocket.
669. LEARN HOW THE MIND THINKS, KNOWS AND FEELS
China Retreat 2014 Concluding Talk
You need to learn how to watch your mind (what the mind thinks, knows, and feels). Every retreat, you don’t think – you just focus and calm down. The concentration is good and the mind calms down, and then you go home.
But this is not useful in daily life. You need to learn how to be aware of your mind – your thoughts and feelings. You need to understand.
That’s why in the first several days, yogis are confused what to do – they’re used to the old idea of just concentrating to gain calm. Now, I encourage you to watch your thoughts and your feelings. Then, it can become a habit and you can use the skill in daily life.
670. TELLING APART WHOLESOME AND UNWHOLESOME RECOLLECTIONS
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 23 Dec 2019 (51:00-52:36)
It’s only sometimes that we learn when we think back – whether we actually learn depends on the present-moment mind. We often recall past experiences, but how many times does understanding arise?
If the state of mind is defilement, no understanding arises – when we reflect with lots of emotion, wrong view is reflecting.
Understanding only arises when wisdom recalls experiences.
The present state of mind is more important – when wisdom and awareness are present, then you can learn something.
671. HOW TO EXPLORE WITH AWARENESS WHEN YOU CAN’T SLEEP
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 23 Dec 2019 (57:00-57:46)
Yogi: I couldn’t sleep all night because I was coughing, but the mind was still fresh the next day.
Sayadaw: When not sleeping becomes a problem, it means that there’s a lot of defilement thinking. If you’re not thinking, and you’re trying to be aware the whole night, not sleeping isn’t a problem.
Resistance and defilement thinking make the mind tired. If you’re aware and can maintain your samadhi the whole night, not sleeping is not a problem.
That’s why some yogis practice meditating the whole night long (to prevent defilement thinking during sleep). Now you are already doing that practice.
672. HOW SAYADAW DISCOVERED SEEING AND LOOKING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 23 Dec 2019 (1:03:10-1:03:56)
Nobody taught me about seeing and looking meditation. Because I was always aware of the mind, suddenly, I recognized this process. Looking and seeing are obvious because the mind is seeing and looking all the time.
If you know the mind, you can know whenever the 6 sense doors are working. I tried to practice seeing and looking myself.
When I told my teacher about seeing and looking meditation, he said that many people forgot to practice this.
Whenever yogis practice, they close their eyes; so, they can never practice seeing and looking. I asked seasoned yogis who have practiced more than 20 years if they knew how to practice seeing and looking, they would say ‘No’.
673. NOTICE THE INTENTION TO THINK
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 190717 (00:25-1:29)
Yogi: The mind lets thinking continue because it likes the story.
Sayadaw: You then have to be aware of liking, not the thoughts. You intentionally want to think because of liking. Liking is the cause, thinking is the effect.
You need to watch the liking, the wanting, or intention to think. You can watch the intensity of the intention because you can feel it. When the intention reduces, naturally the thoughts reduce too.
When we see the cause and effect, we take care of the cause, not the effect.
Intention is an important function of the mind. We have this wanting all the time – intention to look, intention to eat and intention to go. Intention is mostly motivated by defilements.
674. LEARN TO DISCERN WHAT’S REALITY AND WHAT’S CONCEPT
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 1 Jan 2020 (13:30-14:00)
Yogi: When I sat meditation, I felt that the body was moving to the back.
Sayadaw: If you think that there is movement to the back or front, you’re thinking about direction, it is a concept. It is the thinking mind working.
If it’s the air element, it’s just the air element moving – it goes nowhere; just movement and gone, movement and gone. (Reality is always new.)
When the mind thinks of direction, it is a concept (idea or thought); it is the mind thinking.
675. QUESTION ONLY TO PROMPT INTEREST IN OBSERVING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 30 Dec 2019 Chinese Group Q&A (33:00-35:35)
Yogi: I was a lawyer and police woman – whenever I hear the word ‘Investigation’, the mind gets stressed.
Sayadaw: This word is not suitable for you. We use a WH question not to think, or encourage thinking. If you think, you’re simply recalling old information which is intellectual knowledge.
We think of this question only once, and then we watch 99 times. But, yogis think that to investigate is to think a lot.
I explained about applying wisdom because a lot of yogis just focus and push in their practice; they forget to think. If you already have interest, there is no need to ask more questions.
676. THE BIGGEST TRAP FOR LONG-TIME YOGIS IS GREED IN THE PRACTICE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian Q&A 23 Dec 2019 (13:40-15:30)
We human beings are called puthujjanas or worldlings because we are full of craving. Long-time yogis ask what pitfalls they need to avoid. I say ‘Only lobha’.
Such yogis often think that the practice has stagnated and they start to try many things. They think so, but in actual fact as much as they have practiced, that much they have progressed – however much the mind has practiced, the result is already there. They don’t understand cause and effect; so, they think that they have not tried enough.
Many yogis follow the pleasant object. Once, a monk experienced extraordinary peace and calm; he followed and longed for this experience for over 10 years, hoping to get it back. He kept trying but it never did.
When he came to practice here, I told him not to target this experience. If you set your mind to get it, it would never come.
677. WHENEVER MEDITATION HURTS
Czech Retreat 2003 Opening Talk (15:30-16:30)
You don’t have to use force to be aware. When you can recognize that you’re sitting, seeing, hearing, or if your body is warm or cold, that is awareness.
That much energy is enough. Just recognizing any of your sense doors is awareness.
Once you know what I mean, you can practice immediately.
Is it difficult, tiring, or painful to be aware?
678. WHEN WE OBSERVE THE MIND THAT PAYS ATTENTION, THE MIND BECOMES THE OBJECT
IMS 2007 Retreat Introduction Talk (2:11-2:41)
We can know that the mind is paying attention. Touch something and see whether you can notice that the mind is paying attention.
If you notice that the mind is doing this work of paying attention, you can start meditating by being aware of the mind that is paying attention.
If you cannot notice the mind that is paying attention, then you can start by noticing the object itself, what the mind is paying attention to.
679. WITH WHAT MIND DO WE DO WHAT WE DO?
IMS 2007 Retreat Introduction Talk (1:00-1:43)
Put your hands together – do you know the touching or the knowing of the touch?
Between the object (touching) and the mind (knowing of the touch), the mind is more important.
(Elsewhere) You go about your daily activities, but between the action (object) and the mind (the motivation and mind quality), the mind is more important. So, ask: With what mind do I do whatever I do?
680. HOW TO KEEP MEDITATION ONGOING
Penang Retreat 2019 Closing Talk (3:45-4:45)
It is not difficult. Whatever you do – mental, verbal and physical actions – just add the knowing.
In mindfulness meditation, we can do two jobs at one time – e.g. when we eat, we can also be aware that we are eating.
You need to develop this skill of being aware when other minds are doing other things. We can develop this skill because the mind is very quick and fast.
When we drive, we can listen to music and eat snacks because the mind can do many things at the same time – all we have to do is add in the awareness.
681. THE EASY WAY TO BRING IN AWARENESS IN DAILY LIFE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 20 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (18:12-18:30)
Throughout the day, in your daily activities, you need to check many times by asking: Are you aware?
This way of reminding many times is enough because slowly, the mind will recognize if awareness is present or absent, working or not.
682. YOU NEED TO GUIDE YOUR MIND TOWARDS THE PRACTICE IN DAILY LIFE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 28 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (1:35-5:37)
Yogi: Does the weather affect meditation? I notice that the state of my mind deteriorated when I left for China.
Sayadaw: It is because of the surrounding, not the weather. You’re used to practicing in the center, not outside the center.
Outside, if you don’t keep reminding yourself to be aware, day by day, you forget to practice more and more.
So, in daily life, you have to remind yourself regularly every day to maintain your practice.
In the center, you remind yourself to be aware how many times a day? When you return home, you remind yourself less and less until defilement overwhelms the mind.
In the center, you’re always mindful – this surrounding reminds you to be mindful, but in daily life, we stay with mindlessness and defilements.
You need to guide your mind towards the practice all the time. In your daily life, when it becomes a habit to practice, then the surrounding is no longer important.
683. WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE MIND TO LIVE PEACEFULLY
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 1 Rd 1 (25:28-28:15)
Yogi: To me, the conceptual world is more real than the retreat – I choose work over the retreat.
Sayadaw: Yes, the conceptual world is very important – we come to retreat for only 10 days, but most of the time, we live in the conceptual world.
How do we live peacefully and more meaningfully in the conceptual world?
If you do not know your mind, why it suffers and why it is peaceful, then how can you live in the conceptual world peacefully?
We see a lot of people suffering, getting stressed, in the conceptual world – how can you live in a relaxed, beneficial way?
You need to know your mind to live peacefully. When you suffer, and you don’t know why the mind suffers, then how can you find peace?
Those who spend sleepless nights thinking and worrying, they don’t know how to stop because they don’t know the nature of the mind.
Yes, our lives are very important – but whether we choose to live them peacefully or with suffering, that is our choice. But if we don’t understand the nature of the mind, there is no way it can be peaceful.
That is why meditation is so important.
684. LEARNING TO DIE WELL
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 19 Dec 2019 Malaysian Group Q&A (1:23:40-1:24:52)
Sayadaw: Because of the object, the mind appears – it is cause and effect. For example, you’re in a good mood, but when someone mentions something you don’t like, the mind gets upset.
Conversely, the object changes when the mind nature changes because the object and mind are related, each conditioning the other.
Yogi: Does whatever memory or thought that arises at the moment of death influence the quality of death (object conditioning the mind)?
Sayadaw: If you know that it is a natural process – that the experience is just an object being known – then, you’ll be free of the memory or thought (i.e. wisdom mind conditioning the object).
685. WRONG IDEAS MAKE THE MIND SUFFER
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 20 Dec 2019 Chinese Group Q&A (34:25-36:50)
Yogi: I have lots of fear and anger with my job and when I meditate, I can know why the problems arise.
Sayadaw: The reasons you know causing your problems are all (through thinking) about the concepts. It is not from understanding the mind process.
You need to learn about the activities of the mind – if you know more about the nature of the mind, the defilements cannot overrun the mind when they arise.
Everyone has fear and anger, not only you.
Yogi: More self-pity arises because it seems like everybody at work knows about my problem.
Sayadaw: It’s this idea of self that makes the mind suffer even more.
686. AT HOME, EVERYTHING BELONGS TO YOU
Penang Retreat 2019 Closing Talk (6:35-8:15)
At home, we follow the defilement; we hardly watch them. There’s a lot of attachment at home – we can’t even stand to throw away our old shoes. Therefore, we need to practice more at home; only then defilements cannot grow.
Why can’t meditation wisdom grow? It’s because the mind is full of defilements. If defilements get less and less, only then can wisdom increase.
At home, whatever you see, how do you feel? What is your state of mind? Just check. If you notice the wrong view each time you’re aware, then wisdom can increase.
687. WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO WHEN YOU MEDITATE?
Penang Retreat 2019 Introduction Talk (24:15-27:10)
When you’re sitting in the Dhamma hall and meditating, what are you trying to do? You need to be clear about what you’re doing when you meditate – indeed you are trying very hard, to do what?
We’re trying to know what is happening; we’re not trying to make anything happen.
Different yogis have different ideas about meditation – some are trying to calm the mind and others are trying to silence their thoughts.
The right motivation for mindfulness meditation is to try to know what is happening in the mind and body in the present moment. We are trying to see the process as it is. We’re not trying to change or control the experience. We’re trying to know the process, that’s all.
Good or bad experience, we try to know. For example, if the mind is calm, we know the mind is calm; if the mind is not calm, just recognize that the mind is not calm – that’s it, finished! There is no need to do anything. So simple, that’s why it is so difficult.
People always want to do something difficult. Because of craving or resistance, they always try to make things difficult, but the meditation idea is so simple – as it is.
If the mind is wandering, just recognize as such; if you recognize what is happening in the present moment, you’re meditating.
688. AN OBJECT IS JUST AN OBJECT
Czech Retreat 2013 Opening Talk
Don’t expect that the experience, what is happening, should be one way or another because whatever happens is just an experience (the function of being something that is known).
For example, which is better? Thinking or not thinking?
It’s the same because you can know that you’re thinking and you can also know you’re not thinking. Experience is just an experience.
Whether there is sound or no sound, it is also an object. If you have the idea that meditation should be silent, then you become angry when there is any loud sound.
689. YOGIS NATURALLY PAY MORE ATTENTION TO CONCEPTS IN THE BEGINNING
Vipassana Retreat 2015 May (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwAl2ORYpBo)
In the beginning, all yogis pay more attention to concepts – the nostril and the rising and falling of the abdomen, for example. But slowly, they notice the touch sensation, movement, and warmth or cold (reality). When the mind thinks less about the nostril (concept), slowly the nostril (form) disappears.
Reality is what we can experience directly through our 6 senses like seeing, hearing, touching and tasting. Concepts are what the mind can only experience through thinking about direction, shape, form, color, and name – e.g. the hand, or a banana.
For example, breath is a meditation object, not the nostril. We can directly experience the temperature, hardness or softness, and the vibration of the breath.
690. WHAT DOES ‘EVERYTHING IS OKAY’ MEAN?
Penang Retreat 2019 Closing Talk (19:40-20:44)
Everything is okay means that the mind is not reacting under any situation. It doesn’t mean that all your experiences are as you wish them to be.
People always pray that all good things should come their way and that they will not bump into anything bad. Is this possible?
It is not possible because experiences can either be good or bad – we call this loka dhamma, the 8 Worldly Conditions, of which 4 are good (praise, gain, fame, and happiness), and 4 are bad (loss, blame, defame and pain). Experiences cannot all be good.
We can only change our minds, not the 8 Conditions. If wisdom is strong enough, the mind can accept all conditions. This means that everything is okay.
691. THE MIND IS FREE WHEN IT PAYS ATTENTION TO REALITY
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 28 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (1:13:33-1:14:26)
If you pay attention to the concept, the mind is busy; but if you’re aware of the seeing, the mind is free. So, it depends on what the mind is paying attention to.
Once, I attended a crowded ceremony. Someone stood next to me and said that he was agitated from paying attention to so many things happening. I didn’t understand then what he was referring to because I was only aware of seeing, only one thing.
The mind is either calm or restless, depending on the object.
692. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CHECK ATTITUDE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 14 Jan 2020 Malaysian Group Q&A (49:25-50:16)
Some yogis try to meditate without changing to right attitude first.
When an experienced yogi is aware of an object, the first thing is to check what the mind says about this experience. When there is right view, meditation is happening.
For experienced yogis, there is no need to try to meditate; just check the view and meditation is already happening.
693. A COMMON WRONG ATTITUDE OF YOGIS
Penang Retreat 2019 Opening Talk (38:50-40:11)
Yogi: I have watched pain for a month and it still doesn’t go away. What should I do?
Sayadaw: Why do you watch the pain? You want it to disappear? If that’s your attitude, it is already wrong.
Why do you watch the pain? What for?
We want to understand the nature of pain and why the mind resists the pain. What is pain? Why is there pain?
(The same goes for other habitual defilements like anger and drowsiness. We want to watch and learn about the mind, not to make it go away.)
694. NO NEED TO STOP IDEAS, NOTICE THESE THOUGHTS AND CHECK FEELINGS
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Rd 1 (3:00-3:29)
Yogi: I have plenty of ‘should and should-not’ ideas, and I want to stop them.
Sayadaw: There’s no need to stop the ideas – just notice that there are these thoughts and then check your feelings. When the ideas come, how do you feel?
Don’t follow the thoughts whenever there is tension – watch the tension instead.
695. LEARNING TO REPEATEDLY RECOGNIZE SEEING AND HEARING AS NATURAL PROCESSES
Penang Retreat 2019 Introduction Talk (21:10-22:42)
When you practice seeing and hearing, it is easy to understand that it is not self, that it is nature happening. Because we think that seeing is me, wrong view is already present. Who is seeing? I’m seeing.
Now, every time you see or hear, just recognize that seeing or hearing is happening. If you repeatedly recognize seeing or hearing, it is not difficult to understand that it is a natural process.
Just knowing seeing or hearing is not difficult. Do you have to do anything to see or hear? You just open your eyes and seeing is already happening; when there is a sound, hearing is already happening (the faculty or function of seeing and hearing). But you say ‘I’m hearing or I’m seeing’; actually, it is nature happening.
Every time you are aware that seeing and hearing are happening, it is not difficult to understand that it is not personal.
696. WE MEDITATE TO UNDERSTAND THE MIND, NOT TO GET RID OF A PROBLEM
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 20 Dec 2019 Chinese Group Q&A (23:21-29:40)
Yogi: I’m very unhappy with my job and it has affected the people around me. I have lots of anger and negative thinking. How do I get rid of this problem?
Sayadaw: You are not trying to get rid of the problem when you meditate. You’re trying to learn about the angry mental state. This state comes with unpleasant feelings, and you try to be aware of these feelings calmly as an object. This is your practice.
Yogi: I cannot watch the unpleasant feelings with equanimity. I have had bad dreams for many days and the bad feelings would continue. I thought meditation could help, but it didn’t.
Sayadaw: Because you try to get rid of the unpleasant thoughts and feelings, that attitude makes the situation more difficult.
In the beginning, nobody can watch unpleasant feelings with equanimity. That’s why you need to practice again and again. You use the second-hand knowledge of right attitude – this is nature, this is nobody, this is just a meditation object – to change your attitude and idea a little bit and try to face the feelings again and again.
Much later, you can watch with equanimity; when some understanding arises about thoughts and feelings only then can the unpleasant feelings go away.
Yogi: Sometimes the mind can calm down when I meditate, but no understanding arises.
Sayadaw: There are 2 ways that the mind calms down. If you watch feelings continuously without thinking, the mind calms down but no understanding arises. If you continue to watch the defilement and feelings calmly, much later some understanding can arise about the nature of the mind.
You cannot hope to understand thoughts and feelings (the mind) immediately.
697. WHY DO WE REACT THE SAME WAY DAY IN, DAY OUT?
Penang Retreat 2019 Closing Talk (9:38-10:09)
Every day whenever we meet the same people (our partner, pet, or favorite someone) or the same situations, we react the same way. Why don’t the defilements change?
Every time you meet this person or that person, you react the same way (liking or disliking arises). There is no change because you never practice.
Every time I see someone, I check my mind – what ideas are present and how the mind reacts. Slowly, the defilements diminish.
698. WHENEVER WE MAKE WRONG DECISIONS
Sweden Retreat 2019 File 16 Day 6 Group B Q&A (1:14:53-1:15:45)
Don’t blame yourself, blame delusion. There is wisdom in the mind, and there is delusion in the mind, and it is delusion operating at that time.
The problem is delusion, not the person. That’s so clear.
699. HOW TO UNDERSTAND THAT SEEING AND HEARING ARE NOT PERSONAL?
Penang Retreat 2019 Opening Talk (21:16-22:40)
Every time hearing or seeing takes place, do we have to do anything for them to take place? No, it is already happening by itself.
But we say ‘I’m seeing’ or ‘I’m hearing’ although nature (cause and effect process – because of the 4 conditions, hearing and seeing are happening) is already happening on its own.
If you’re aware of hearing and seeing each time it happens, over time, it is not difficult to understand that the process is not personal.
700. UNDERSTANDING AND THINKING ARE OPPOSITES
Penang Retreat 2019 Guided Meditation Day 7 (7:11-9:12)
Understanding and thinking are totally different. Wisdom understands and knows clearly what is happening and how it happens. Assumption does not understand, it only thinks what it wants – it is delusion. Thinking and understanding are opposites.
To know clearly means to understand. On the other hand, you think because you don’t know.
Sometimes yogis don’t know why meditation is good or bad. They then assume that it is because of the place, time, surroundings, or something else. They think what they want, and then they believe what they have thought out.
This is the wrong process. Whether meditation is good or bad depends on your attitude - right thought or wrong thought. Wisdom is right thought and right view; defilement is wrong thought.
Meditation is not good due to defilement, and meditation gets better and better because of right thought and right view.