701. TO KNOW WHETHER DEFILEMENT DISAPPEARS THROUGH WISDOM OR CONCENTRATION
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 20 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (1:07:25-1:09:00)
Yogi: The mind was very calm – it saw craving coming and the craving immediately dissolved.
Sayadaw: If defilement immediately disappears, it means that some understanding is present. If we use concentration (by fixing our attention on one object) and wisdom is absent, the defilement can only subside slowly.
The way wisdom and samadhi free the mind of defilement is different. If wisdom is present, the defilement immediately disappears. If there is no wisdom and you continue to watch, the mind calms down slowly because when you can’t think about the process, you are not feeding the anger.
702. AN EXERCISE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE MIND AFFECTS THE BODY
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 28 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (52:20-52:30)
Yogi: When I’m tense the breathing becomes fast; when I’m relaxed, the breathing is smooth.
Sayadaw: That’s good – you can notice the interaction between the mind and body.
703. THE WAY OF AWARENESS-WISDOM MEDITATION
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 20 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (1:03:10-1:06:24)
Yogi: When negative thinking and feeling arise, I can stop them.
Sayadaw: Don’t try to stop them – let them show up and watch. You can then better understand how they work. If you stop them, you cannot watch and learn from the process. You can learn something if you let awareness see the process.
The problem with yogis is that when pleasant experience arises, they enjoy and when unpleasant experience arises, they try to stop them. Wisdom then cannot come because they get involved with the experience.
People don’t want to see suffering – they run away or try to cover up suffering – that is why they can never be free from suffering.
So, try to face the suffering again and again by being aware without controlling the experience. This is the vipassana nature. Resisting and being attached to objects is the way of defilement – the way of liking and disliking, not the way of wisdom.
704. WHEN DEFILEMENT SUBSIDES, THAT IS THE TIME TO WATCH AND LEARN
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 20 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (55:00-56:15)
When a new yogi meditates, they focus on one object – feeling, or a neutral object - and after some time the mind settles down. Yogis don’t realize that when the mind calms down, when defilement subsides, that is the time when wisdom thinking naturally arises. If you notice this right thinking, then more understanding will arise.
For most yogis, when the emotion settles down, they don’t continue to watch and learn from what the mind says.
In the beginning, we don’t continue to practice when the mind calms down, but if we do and the mind has learned something, the point of view will change the next time this defilement object comes again.
705. THE MIND BECOMES WHOLESOME WHEN IT IS AWARE OF A DEFILEMENT
Sweden Retreat 2019 File 14 Day 5 Group C (1:35:00-1:38:53)
Yogi: I was enthralled by a blue-wing butterfly and knew that it was lobha later.
Sayadaw: Greed is present when the mind is wanting, enjoying, or liking something, but the observing without agenda of the wanting, enjoying, or liking is wholesome.
The mind is just knowing that this is wanting, this is enjoying, or this is liking. This observing has wisdom. It is seeing the nature of what is happening.
We can see the difference between the lobha that is happening and the awareness that is watching without lobha. Sometimes the awareness is watching with lobha, and we need to recognize that as well.
706. WHENEVER YOU FEEL GOOD, BE CAREFUL AND CHECK YOUR MIND
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 28 Jan 2020 Chinese Group Q&A (13:30-14:06)
Everybody likes everything to be okay, right? For example, now you’re comfortable, unconsciously attachment is already there.
So, if you don’t get what you like, when it is not okay, immediately you get upset. This happens because of craving and attachment to getting what you want.
If everything is okay, and you don’t notice it, attachment is already present.
707. THOUGHTS WILL TORTURE US IF WE BLINDLY ENTERTAIN THEM
Sweden Retreat 2019 File 14 Day 5 Group C (22:23-23:25)
If an upsetting thought pops up just when you are about to sleep, and you don’t recognize that the thought is making you unhappy – and the mind starts chewing on that thought – you start thinking and thinking and cannot sleep. You don’t recognize that it’s an unwholesome thought and it shouldn’t be entertained.
The unwholesome thoughts, they are well practiced and they know what to do; but for us, either we don’t know that we need to stop it, or we can’t even stop it if we try.
708. EAGERNESS IS DEFILEMENT, THE OPPOSITE OF MEDITATION
Penang Retreat 2019 Guided Meditation Day 6 (5:25-6:35)
Eagerness, wanting things in a hurry, is the opposite of meditation; it is defilement.
We hurry and become tense because we want to finish something, we want to be good at something, or we are out to get something.
(Elsewhere) So, whenever you are eager or you hurry to do something, notice the energy pushing you.
709. USING FORCE TO BE AWARE INTERFERES WITH THE EXPERIENCE
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 1 (16:30-18:50)
Yogi: When I’m aware, my actions are less smooth – e.g. when I exercise without awareness, the movements are more fluid, but when I’m aware, I’m more hesitant.
Sayadaw: The action can be natural if there is no forcing to be aware. If it is forced awareness, then the action is not natural.
For example, if you try to be aware and walk, then it’s not natural because you will slow down. Just walk naturally and then ask if the mind is aware or not; it is then a natural process and awareness accompanies the walking.
If you eat and walk very slowly so that the mind can be aware, then it becomes problematic in daily life – the action and awareness should both be natural.
(Awareness cannot be smooth at first, but it builds up strength and continuity with repetition, and that too is a natural process.)
710. DYNAMIC SAMADHI IS MORE POWERFUL THAN STATIC SAMADHI
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 1 Record 2 (36:00-37:05)
Yogi: I don’t practice walking meditation, only sitting meditation. In daily life, I’m usually in a rush and I’m not aware.
Sayadaw: If the mind can be stable when you move around, that samadhi is stronger than the sitting samadhi. If there is samadhi when you’re moving and doing things, that stable mind is more powerful than the samadhi when you sit.
Yogi: I don’t know how to go about practicing it.
Sayadaw: You can start by practicing to be aware when you’re walking. It is not difficult – just pay attention to the feet when you’re walking, to the touching sensation.
711. IDENTIFICATION INCREASES THE SUFFERING
Penang Retreat 2019 Opening Talk (15:20-17:00)
When you practice vipassana meditation, you must change to right view first.
Whatever happens in the body, we think it’s ‘me’; the same goes for the mind. Who is knowing? Who is being aware?
Mental quality, we also think that it’s ‘me’. It is wrong view when we identify with the body-mind process.
Because of the idea of self, a lot of strong defilements arise. If the mind is far away from ‘I’, it is more relaxed. If the mind is close to ‘I’, it burns and feels tense.
Because of wrong view, because of identification, all defilements grow and the quality of mind deteriorates – the mind feels tense, and it burns and suffers.
712. AWARENESS FREES THE MIND FROM PAPANCA
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 2 (53:40-54:18)
Wise people want to meditate; foolish people don’t want to meditate. The wise know that when the wholesome mind is strong, they’ll be very happy, peaceful and the mind is not tired.
The mind and body become tired and you need to sleep a lot because of anxiety, anger, and worry.
713. WHY WE NEED TO PRACTICE ALL THE TIME
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 2 (52:00-52:47)
When you’re not doing something good, then automatically the mind is thinking of something unwholesome – some delusion, craving, aversion, anxiety, or worry will be operating.
That is why we should take care of the mind; we keep it busy with the wholesome. In mindfulness meditation, we do not let the mind go idle. We always give it a wholesome job, moment to moment.
If you’re not doing something good, you are already doing something bad. The puthujjana (worldling) mind is either wholesome or unwholesome.
714. YOGIS ALREADY HAVE FAITH IN THE PRACTICE, THEY NEED TO GROW WISDOM
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Guided Meditation
All yogis have faith in the practice, in the dhamma. We already understand that it is beneficial; that is why we’re willing to practice and we continually come back to the practice – that is saddha or faith in the dhamma.
In our lives, without practicing, life is messy, complicated, suffering and stressful. Because of the practice, the quality of our mind becomes better – our life gets better and better. So, we already have faith in the dhamma.
We only need to have more wisdom.
715. PEOPLE TAKE CARE OF THEIR BODIES, BUT NOT THEIR MIND
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 2 (34:30-35:55)
Yogi: When someone criticizes me, I get terribly upset.
Sayadaw: You cannot stop others from criticizing you, but you can stop your anger. If you’re not angry, then there is no problem.
People take good care of their bodies, but they don’t take care of their mind.
However much they suffer, they do not realize; they don’t care because they don’t know the way out.
If you pay more attention to yourself, to your mind, slowly you will learn how to maintain the good quality of the mind.
716. WHEN THE DEFILEMENT IS STRONG, THERE IS ‘I AM’ IN THE AWARENESS
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 3 Record 1 (4:51-6:04)
Yogi: The awareness is detached from the experience in one sitting and it is not in the next sitting. How can I be more skillful?
Sayadaw: It depends on the reaction of the mind towards the object – when the reaction is strong, the mind cannot be detached from the object because it is the nature of the defilement to get close to the experience.
If there is less reaction, if the defilement is weak, then the mind can detach from the object.
Stepping back is not something that you can do when defilement is strong.
717. THE SKILL OF STRENGTHENING THE MIND TO FACE DEFILEMENT
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 1 Record 1 (1:11:35-1:12:38)
Yogi: If I’m not skillful or strong enough to watch anxiety and fear, will it make the anxiety and fear grow bigger?
Sayadaw: When you cannot handle the emotion, you first watch a neutral object like the breath or body sensation. Shift the object and calm the mind down; when the mind is calmer, face the emotion again.
We are not trying to avoid the defilement – because we are weak, we use a neutral object to strengthen the mind and then only face the defilement.
Because the enemy is too strong, we need to build up our strength before facing the enemy again.
718. TO SIT OR NOT TO SIT IN DAILY LIFE
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 2 (36:06-37:58)
Yogi: I’m not disciplined to sit formally, and I prefer to practice in everyday life whenever I remember to be aware – walking to my car, doing things, and at work.
Sayadaw: It depends on the awareness and quality of mind – if the mind is not stable, then the awareness in daily practice is only superficial. It is not good enough; then, you should do formal sits to settle the mind and grow the awareness.
If you’re skillful in maintaining and sharpening the awareness in daily activities, then formal sits are not necessary.
719. SITTING POSTURE IS OVER, BUT MEDITATION IS NOT OVER
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 1 Record 1 (54:40-57:20)
Yogi: When I get up from the sitting, I forget to be aware.
Sayadaw: You have the idea that meditation is only during the sit, and the mind lets go when you get up because you think that it is finished.
After getting up from the sit, continue to bring awareness to other postures. Don’t let go of the awareness immediately – it is already good from the sit.
Meditation is all the time – it should not be over when the sit is over. Sitting posture is over, but meditation is not over. Keep going on with being aware; only then, we can change to the habit of continuing awareness when we get up.
Keep carrying out being aware – what next, and what next.
For example, when you enter the room, what are you aware of? You open the door, right? Be aware of your hand touching the key. Then, how do you go in? What next, and next? Continue – what do you know, what do you know?
Carry on; it’s very interesting. Make it challenging and the mind will be interested, and it’ll be busy the whole day long.
720. THE MIND GETS TENSE WHEN YOU WANT TO SEE THE OBJECT CLEARLY
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 1 Record 2 (49:40-51:02)
Yogi: The practice is up and down. Sometimes the mind becomes tense when I want to make the awareness see the object clearly.
Sayadaw: The important thing is not to want to see clearly – just see what you can, but maintain the awareness.
There’s no problem if the object is blur. What is important is to maintain the awareness, not seeing the object clearly. You can know that the object is blur, right?
The object naturally becomes clearer when the awareness is stronger.
The mind gets tense when you want to see the object clearly. So, do not force.
721. BE HAPPY THAT AWARENESS HAS RESURFACED
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 1 (1:07:07-1:07-39)
Yogi: When I wake up from thoughts, the mind gets angry because I don’t want to be lost in thought.
Sayadaw: In the beginning, it is impossible not to be lost in thought. Now, you need to be happy instead because awareness has resurfaced.
It’s like you have lost something, but now it has been found – should you be angry or happy?
Yogi: Happy.
Sayadaw: You have lost awareness, but awareness has returned – so, you should be happy.
722. ANXIOUS THAT THE PRACTICE FALLS SHORT OF THE IDEAL
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 1 (5:12-6:03)
Yogi: So, the practice is to be relaxed and see every happening as nature.
Sayadaw: Sometimes yogis hear the right information and what happens is that worry and anxiety surface because they keep on thinking that ‘it should be like this or like that’.
Motivation is important – for some yogis, they worry that they are wrong because they have the knowledge that it should be like this or that. That makes the mind tense.
So, you should check your motivation and feelings when you practice. You have the knowledge that every experience is nature, not personal, but then you notice the idea of self, what do you do?
Just notice the idea of self, and you use the knowledge that every experience is nature. You don’t follow the idea of self, but you recognize it. (There’s no need to get rid of it.)
723. MOTIVATION DETERMINES IF THE PRACTICE IS RIGHT OR WRONG
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 3 Record 1 (16:15-17:03)
If you keep on watching craving and aversion, at some point you’ll see that they arise from delusion. At that time, we just need to check if the mind is ruled by delusion or wisdom.
If there is wisdom – right view and right thought – then, meditation is happening. If there are wrong view and wrong thought, defilement overwhelms the mind.
That’s why you should check your thoughts. Yogis should remember the following:
If you’re doing it right (have right view and right thought), the practice cannot be wrong. If you’re doing it wrong (have wrong view and wrong thought), the practice cannot be right.
724. FRUSTRATED BECAUSE DID NOT REALIZE THE WRONG ATTITUDE
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 1 (41:52-42:50)
Yogi: Usually when I become aware, the mind gets frustrated because I realize that I have lost awareness for a long time.
[Yogis regret over the past instead of continuing to be aware.]
Sayadaw: Every time I’m mindful (cause), I get relief (effect). I don’t think about how lost I have been earlier. Whenever the mind is in the present moment, I’m relieved.
I say to appreciate the awareness, but the problem is that yogis only think about getting the result all the time. They don’t want to continue to be aware when the result is not good.
It’s very important to realize this wrong process.
725. CHECK THAT THE RIGHT IDEA IS DRIVING THE AWARENESS
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 3 Record 1 (14:40-15:50)
If you have the right idea, meditation is happening; if you have the wrong idea, then anxiety and worry are happening.
A sick yogi said that she only started to meditate when she returned to her room; and then, the mind settled down.
Why didn’t she meditate when she started to be sick? Because of the wrong idea of ‘I’m sick’. Because she didn’t recognize this thought, she couldn’t change her thoughts.
Because of the ‘I’, all anxieties surfaced. But awareness was happening all the time; that is why she could report the whole process from the Dhamma hall to her room. But defilement was present all the way – she only changed her attitude and started to meditate when she reached her room.
In her situation, she didn’t have to try to be aware; she had to try to change her idea. That is why you need to check your thoughts.
726. RIGHT THINKING SUPPORTS AWARENESS
Penang Nov 2019 Retreat Condensed Guided Meditation (1:11:35-1:15:23)
We apply wisdom by thinking. Right thinking is very important in the practice because it supports awareness.
For example, yogis should think that it is not a problem when the quality of mind is not good. We only need to be aware and learn.
Acceptance is a kind of wisdom. When understanding grows, acceptance also grows.
727. LEARN TO WATCH PLEASANT AND UNPLEASANT OBJECTS EQUANIMOUSLY
Penang Nov 2019 Retreat Condensed Guided Meditation (44:53-45:50)
If the mind really accepts, it does not attach to the experience or resists the experience too much.
First, yogis need to learn how to watch pleasant and unpleasant objects equally.
Because the mind understands the meaning of an object, pleasant and unpleasant objects are the same.
Defilement thinks that the object is good or bad; wisdom knows that the object is nature, just an object.
728. ABILITY TO THINK, TO KNOW AND TO FEEL —IS THE MIND
Penang Nov 2019 Retreat Condensed Guided Meditation (1:17:33-1:18:36)
When you watch thoughts, check if the mind is paying attention to the storyline or to nature (that thinking mind is happening). The stories are concepts or thoughts; we need to know about the thinking mind.
We’re interested in the nature of the mind – that thinking is happening. Nature means that it happens and disappears.
Can think, can know, and can feel – we call the mind.
729. NOTHING OUTSIDE CAN HURT THE MIND
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 1 Record 1 (34:20-35:25)
Yogi: I’m always stuck at the cause and effect because the mind thinks the cause is the story – for example, he scolds me and that is why I’m sad.
Sayadaw: Everybody knows the conceptual process of ‘you or this makes me angry’. People only notice this experience; they don’t see the mental process – what the mind thinks and how feelings arise.
For example, when you first see somebody, disliking already arises. You don’t see that the mind has already judged that this is not good. The next mind believes and the mind resists.
Because you don’t see this process, you think that the person makes you angry.
Actually, nobody can influence your mental state. If anything external can shake the mind, then you have no freedom – you are being controlled all the time.
730. HOW WE CAN CHECK IF THE MIND IS ATTACHED TO THE OBJECT
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 1 (15:29-16:19)
Yogi: When the mind is calm, how do I know that the mind is really stable?
Sayadaw: When the mind is calm, stay with the awareness, not the calmness. If you’re unsure if you’re attached to the calmness, change the object.
If you’re attached, the mind doesn’t want to change the object. It is very obvious then that there is attachment.
Attachment has the nature of stickiness; it means that it wants to stick to the object. That is the nature of craving.
731. BATTLING FEAR AND ANXIETY
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 2 (16:40-20:40)
Yogi: I have chronic fear and anxiety since I was small. It comes and goes. Now, I would watch the feeling until the fear goes away, but when I don’t watch, it comes back.
Sayadaw: Why does fear not stop for some people? And, oftentimes it increases. Some fear shows up a little bit and it goes away. Why can’t some fear or anxiety stop?
Fear continues and magnifies because you continue to think about the story.
If the mind cannot continue to think about the story, the fear or anxiety must come down because there is no fuel to feed the fire.
If we keep the mind busy to be aware continuously, the mind cannot think and will calm down.
The other way that the mind calms down is when it has gained some understanding from the experience.
732. THE HABIT OF DOING EVERYTHING IN A HURRY
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 2 Record 1 (12:20-12:44)
Yogi: My nature is very rushed. What should I do?
Sayadaw: If you practice watching intention and action, after some time you won’t be able to rush.
733. NOTICE HOW MUCH ENERGY THE MIND USES TO BE AWARE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 1 (17:30-20:10)
Yogi: How can the mind be better at watching the awareness?
Sayadaw: Relax and don’t push too much to be aware. If there is too much effort, it is more difficult to know the awareness because the mind goes straight to the object.
It helps if you can see how much energy the mind uses to be aware. You can see the awareness better when you don’t focus too much on the object.
Continuity of awareness – moment to moment, try to be aware because the nature of awareness becomes more obvious when the awareness is more continuous.
When you practice continuously, the mind matures and can notice that the awareness and the object are separate.
If you notice the attention mind, the mind paying attention to this and to that, then it is easy to see the awareness. (If awareness is absent, you won’t know that the mind is paying attention to the object.)
734. THE AWARENESS MATTERS, NOT THE EXPERIENCE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 1 Round 3 (00:30-01:42)
Yogi: I love to sleep. Yesterday morning, I had the right thought when waking up and it was effortless. There was no aversion or craving.
This morning, I was also tired and lazy, but getting up was difficult because no wisdom came. I had to put in the effort to get up.
In both cases, I just needed to put in the awareness.
Sayadaw: Yes, you just do what you have to do.
735. AWARENESS IS ALREADY PRESENT WHENEVER THE MIND NOTICES THE OBJECT
Penang Retreat 2019 Condensed Guided Meditation (33:25)
Every time you notice a thought, awareness is already there (because you won’t know the object without awareness).
(Penang 2019 Retreat Group 4 Round 1 Q&A, 17:08-17:30)
Now, watch the hand touching – do you know the touching or the awareness? The touching is obvious, right?
But the awareness is already there although it is not obvious. (You won’t know there is touching without the awareness.)
736. DO NOT WAIT FOR SUFFERING TO STRIKE THEN PRACTICE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 1 (40:50-41:29)
People don’t want to practice when they don’t really suffer.
When we get older and a serious disease arises – when the body hurts and the mind resists strongly – how can we then practice? We would say that it is impossible to practice. What can I say because I cannot do anything for you.
But if you already know the nature of the mind, at that time, you can face the difficulty.
737. EXPAND THE PRACTICE FROM CENTER TO HOME
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 1 (38:55-40:20)
Yogi: In the center, I can practice, but not at home because the mind simply follows the craving.
Sayadaw: You can start by scheduling your daily practice at home.
And, ask yourself: What do you really want to do? If you want to practice, you need determination.
In the beginning, practice as much as you can; and after some time, the mind understands the value of the practice. At that time, real intention and effort will arise when the mind realizes that life is suffering without the practice.
Practicing only at the center is not enough – but yogis don’t practice when they don’t really suffer.
738. WITHOUT AWARENESS, MORE DEFILEMENTS WILL ARISE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 1 (32:15-33:09)
Yogi: I notice the mind wanting to give up the practice when I am sick.
Sayadaw: You need to practice more when you’re sick, why? When you’re sick or when you have a problem, if you’re not aware, what happens? There will be more complaining and resistance for sure, and more defilements will arise.
When the situation is not okay, you need to practice more – you need to be more awake and alert, otherwise, defilements will overrun the mind.
739. DEFILEMENTS DO THEIR JOB, WE DO OUR JOB
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 1 (59:04-59:50)
Yogi: When we practice to do away with suffering, is that a defilement?
Sayadaw: At the beginning, whatever the motivation, just start to practice. You know how to practice, right?
The motivation is not good, but you know how to practice (the 3 yogi jobs). When you keep on practicing, slowly the mind understands the practice.
The important thing is to know how to practice and to practice.
740. DEFILEMENT IS NOT NECESSARILY THE CAUSE OF BODILY TENSION
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 1 (1:12:10-1:12:55)
Yogi: Is the tension in the body always due to defilement?
Sayadaw: The body becomes tense not necessarily due to the defilement – hardness and softness are the earth element (rupa).
Changes in the body can be due to any of 4 causes: mind, the effect of past Kamma, nutrition, and temperature. So, they need not be caused by the mind.
741. UNDERSTANDING FROM THINKING AND UNDERSTANDING FROM OBSERVING
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 1 (21:00)
Yogi: Are intellectual understanding and experiential understanding different?
Sayadaw: Yes, they are very different, 80% different. That is why I say that knowing is not nothing; knowing the experience is very important.
Without observing our own experience, deep understanding cannot arise.
742. THE MEDITATING MIND IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MIND
Penang Nov 2019 Retreat Condensed Guided Meditation (1:04:17-1:05:45)
Awareness is recognizing what is happening at the 6 sense doors, recognizing the 6 sense objects in the present moment. If you are watching the 6 objects (noticing that seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, body sensing, thinking, or feeling is happening), that’s awareness.
Sometimes the experience is defilement (greed, anger or delusion) – it is unpleasant or suffering, but the meditating mind can remain calm and stable. (Elsewhere: The awareness is valuable, the experience is not.)
What is important is that samadhi is with the meditating mind. If the meditating mind has samadhi, moment to moment, then samadhi increases in the mind.
The most important mind is the meditating mind.
743. PAYING ATTENTION IS MORE OBVIOUS THAN AWARENESS
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 1 (19:30-20:50)
Yogi: How can I clearly differentiate between awareness and the object?
Sayadaw: Between attention and awareness, paying attention is more obvious. (You can start by noticing the attention mind.)
Why can you know the touching sensation? Because the mind is paying attention, right? If you’re daydreaming, then you cannot know. Now, do you know that you’re paying attention to this?
Paying attention is an activity of the mind. Attention and touching sensation – you can see that they are different, right?
Now, you try to pay attention to this object and that object – can you know the attention mind?
It is obvious that the attention and the object are separate. Paying attention is more obvious than awareness because awareness sticks to the object and is more difficult to recognize.
744. YOGIS OFTEN EXPECT TOO MUCH
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Condensed Guided Meditation (30:40-31:30)
Don’t expect too much about the result. However much you have practiced, that much you have already benefited.
The result will come depending on the way you practice (and how much you practice). So, focus more on the practice – how to practice and how to maintain the awareness.
745. WHEN AWARENESS IS ABSENT, DEFILEMENT INTENSIFIES THE EXPERIENCE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 1 Round 3 (02:04-03:50)
Yogi: I burnt my toast this morning and the mind was anxiously scolding and complaining. When awareness returned, the dosa thoughts stopped; I was just sensing the touch and the mind calmed down.
Sayadaw: Awareness and delusion are very different, right? If you’re not aware, delusion is present and the defilement exaggerates the experience.
When awareness comes back, wisdom can follow. (When there is awareness, wisdom arises and the mind pays attention to the touching reality; if awareness were absent, then defilement would pay attention to the concept and exaggerate the experience.)
If you’re not aware, the mind is already deluded; and when the mind is deluded, it is easy for all defilements to exaggerate the experience.
746. WISDOM MAKES WIN-WIN DECISIONS
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 2 (34:50-37:00)
Yogi: I was distributing extra half-boiled eggs at the retreat breakfast. A yogi asked for an egg when I had already finished distributing all and I decided to give him the one I kept for myself. It was okay to give.
Sayadaw: You could also consider giving half – 50:50. Giving all could be too much (for the mind to stay stable). You should consider both sides when you decide – don’t only consider the benefit of one party.
Wisdom mind considers an action where you’re okay and I’m also okay; then, there is no more problem. If only others benefit and you don’t, this is also not wholesome.
Yogi: Why is that so?
Sayadaw: When all parties benefit, then it is really wholesome. Where you get everything, and I don’t get anything is not the best solution because being worldlings (puthujanna) we may resist the action at a subtle level and regret later.
If you’re totally unattached, then it is no problem to give all away.
747. ROUNDING UP THE PRACTICE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 2 (21:00-22:45)
Yogi: When dosa thoughts arise, I can watch the feeling and not get lost in the thoughts, but for pleasant or neutral objects, I can get lost in the thoughts. The momentum of the awareness will drop then.
Sayadaw: You need to be awake in all states – pleasant, unpleasant or neutral. Your responsibility is the awareness, not the experience. If you check your awareness, awareness continues to work. If you pay more attention to the object, then it is easy to lose the meditating mind.
Pleasant or unpleasant experience arises, you need to check your attitude and how the mind feels – check, check and continue to check.
748. PAYING ATTENTION TO THE NATURE OF MIND GIVES US RELIEF
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 2 (49:30-50:30)
Yogi: External things influence how the mind reacts. When I'm in a crowd, the mind gets agitated and upset.
Sayadaw: If you pay too much attention to outside things, it agitates and overwhelms the mind. So, you should pay attention to inside yourself, to your senses happening, to seeing and hearing.
Meditation object is nature (a process that happens because of causes and conditions), not seeing things or hearing things. It is enough to notice just seeing and hearing and how the mind reacts to the senses happening.
If you pay attention to the people, the mind thinks and reacts to the crowd and so forth; if you pay more attention to the seeing, the mind won’t think and react much.
749. MEDITATION IS WATCHING THE PROCESS, NOT TRYING TO STOP ANYTHING
Penang 2019 Retreat Group 4 Round 2 Q&A (9:35-11:03)
Yogi: I heard music playing while eating and the mind started to follow and sing. I tried to stop the singing and noticed that when I said to stop, it stopped, and when I didn’t, it continued.
Sayadaw: Because of liking and intention, the mind sang. Try to be aware of liking and the intention to think (singing in the head is thinking). Don’t try to stop the process.
Don’t try to stop anything; meditation is trying to be aware. If you don’t try to stop the process, you can see the intention. You cannot see the intention because you try to stop the singing.
If you cannot see the intention, just notice the liking and the mind singing.
750. CHECKING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MIND AND OBJECT IS INVESTIGATION
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 2 (1:00:32-1:02:06)
There’s a reason for liking and disliking to arise; investigation is checking for the cause.
For example, why does the mind react when pain arises? Later, why does the mind not react? You can find out the process.
All new yogis don’t like pain, but later, they can accept pain. Why isn’t it a problem anymore? Do they still then resist the pain?
After they can accept the pain and more subtle peaceful states arise, they begin to enjoy the peaceful states. This is another reaction.
First, you need to see the aversion reaction, and then, the craving reaction. You can also learn how you view the pain when dosa comes. You watch dosa, and when it disappears, how do you see the pain?
There is a relationship between the mind and object – and when we check, it is investigation. But, we’re not trying to think of the answer when we ask ‘Why’ – we just observe the process repeatedly.
If we keep on checking the interaction between object and feeling, some understanding may arise.