801. RECOGNIZE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THE WRONG ATTITUDE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 1 Round 4 (10:20-11:02)
Yogi: I find that awareness is better when I sit outside the dhamma hall. I keep on reminding myself that anywhere I sit does not matter, but it doesn’t work.
Sayadaw: Be careful about judgment and attachment. If you have right attitude, meditation is okay; if you have wrong attitude, meditation is no good anywhere, any time, and any posture.
But if you don’t understand, right attitude cannot arise. First, you need to recognize that the mind has wrong attitude. Be open and check what is really going on in the mind.
When you have learned from the experience, then only the right idea will arise.
802. LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND THE MIND MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 1 Round 4 (06:06-06:39)
Yogi: I recall having a miscarriage a long time ago – the anxiety, pain, and fear were so excruciating.
Sayadaw: If you don’t have awareness and wisdom, the defilement overwhelms the mind; there’s no control and therefore no limit to the pain and suffering.
Now that you practice, that’s why you can handle the defilements; they cannot overrun the mind.
803. HOW TO INVESTIGATE WHEN MINDFULNESS IS STABLE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 1 Round 4 (43:05-47:15)
Yogi: How to investigate when I can watch the emotion calmly?
Sayadaw: What is this? How does this happen? When the emotion comes, how does it affect the body and mind?
How is the mind thinking when there is emotion? Different mental states give rise to different thoughts – when craving arises, craving thoughts follow; when anger comes, angry thoughts follow. And, different thoughts give rise to different feelings.
The only thing you have to do is to watch the body and mind together when the emotion arises; that’s it. For example, when anger arises, how do you know that it’s anger?
Is anger suffering, pleasant or unpleasant? How does it affect the heartbeat, body sensation, and blood flow? And, also watch the thoughts. Angry thoughts obviously want to destroy; they are all negative and they can never think about anything good.
So, when you’re angry, don’t believe any of the thoughts. If you do, then problems arise.
804. AWARENESS-WISDOM FREES THE MIND
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 1 Round 2 (27:30-28:30)
Yogi: When the awareness stops, I simply follow whatever the mind says.
Sayadaw: Yes, we follow the thinking mind all the time. We have no choice.
Now that you’re aware, you have a choice whether to do or not whatever the mind says.
That is freedom – otherwise you’re already caught by the mind that is pushing you to do something. When defilement pushes you, you have no choice but to follow – then, you have no freedom.
Now you have freedom because awareness-wisdom is present – if it is okay, if it is necessary, then only you do.
805. THE BEST WAY TO SOLVE PROBLEMS
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 3 Round 4 (36:45-38:27)
Yogi: A work email came and I couldn’t solve the problem. There was heightened dislike and pain.
Sayadaw: Everybody has life problems. Who can solve the problem?
Yogi: Only me.
Sayadaw: You cannot. Wisdom can solve the problem; so, let wisdom come. Now, there is no wisdom and only defilement is present – the problem will get worse.
So, take care of the defilement first; when the defilement subsides, naturally wisdom can come and it can find the answer.
Everybody has life problems and we have to solve them. But, first, the wholesome mind has to come – so, we temporarily cold storage the problem and take care of the defilement first.
806. FIND INTEREST IN BOREDOM
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 3 Round 4 (50:50-51:27)
Try to face boredom. Boring – boring about what? If there is interest, immediately boredom goes away.
Boring means there is no interest; but if you’re interested in boredom, boredom will disappear.
Boring about what? Actually, the mind has many ideas about boredom. There are many kinds of boredom. Try to find out; try to be interested because people don’t want to face unpleasant situations.
807. HOW TO UNDERSTAND DIFFICULTIES THROUGH LEARNING
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 3 Round 4 (26:48-28:50)
Yogi: The mind gets flooded with defilements once every few months when somehow it gets triggered. But I don’t know the reason.
Sayadaw: Keep learning. When you watch the defilement, watch both feelings and thoughts together.
Yogi: The feelings are painful and the mind keeps pushing them away.
Sayadaw: Stay with the feelings and watch the thoughts. When the feelings subside, the thoughts will change. You need to see this process to learn; don’t run away.
It gets worse and worse when you don’t understand. If you really want to understand, stay and face the feelings.
808. AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING ARE PRECIOUS
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 3 Round 4 (29:00-31:01)
Yogi: I’m a regular qigong practitioner. I enjoy the calmness of the practice – now, I can notice that the mind is enjoying the calmness.
Sayadaw: Enjoying and seeing are very different. Seeing the process is wisdom.
Knowing is more important than calmness because calmness without right view can be dangerous – the mind can become attached to the calmness.
Knowing is our goal – it is not a problem if the experience is not peaceful. Even suffering is also not a problem because I want to know.
Knowing and understanding are precious – when the mind understands something, you can apply it throughout your whole life
809. LEARNING PROCESS MEANS THAT AWARENESS IS PRESENT
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 3 Round 4 (10:55-12:00)
Yogi: We can learn about the mind from any experience?
Sayadaw: Only if you’re aware. Learning process means that awareness is present.
Experiences are already happening whether you’re aware or not; but normally you don’t learn from them because you’re not aware.
Yogis gain some understanding at retreats, but they don’t continue to watch their mind in daily life. That’s the problem.
Yogis have some insight only at retreats and can report as such. But out of the retreat, awareness and samadhi disappear because the awareness, peacefulness and wisdom are not maintained.
Consequently, it takes a long, long time for yogis to improve in the practice.
810. GOOD OR BAD, EVERY EXPERIENCE IS A CHANCE TO LEARN
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 1 Round 2 (18:30-18:55)
Yogi: The mind was very stable and there was no pain this morning, but the pain came back after that when there was expectation.
Sayadaw: Whether there is pain or no pain is not important – no pain is not important and pain is also not a problem.
Everything is a learning process – you have to learn something when there is no pain. When there is pain, you can also learn something.
Every experience is a chance to learn.
811. FOCUSING IS THE HABIT OF DEFILEMENT
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 3 Round 4 (19:00-20:05)
Yogi: The awareness keeps on going back to the food.
Sayadaw: It is craving, not awareness. Craving is totally interested in this object. That is why the mind pays attention to the object – it is not awareness.
Defilement naturally focuses on the object – it likes the object and instantly it focuses on the object. Disliking also focuses on the object.
If the mind doesn’t like the object, it also keeps on going back to the object.
It is the nature of defilement to focus on the object and to keep on feeling and exaggerating the object.
That is why I don’t encourage focusing on the object – because focusing is the habit of defilement.
It is the greedy mind that focuses on the food; but when the mind notices that this is happening, that is awareness.
812. WHEN THE MIND GETS IT WRONG
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 3 Round 4 (49:13-49:50)
Your mind is stable and settled now because greed has got what it wants, not because of samadhi. The mind is calm and peaceful not because of any high-level samadhi, but because the mind has been satisfied.
If you cannot get, say 10 things, you’ll go nearly crazy.
813. ANGER ARISES WHEN OTHERS DISAGREE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 2 Round 4 (07:30-09:25)
Yogi: Whenever anyone disagrees with my idea, the mind gets upset.
Sayadaw: Next time before you talk, be prepared. Whether the other person accepts your suggestion or not is their choice – don't think that they must agree with you.
Actually, we already have the idea that they must agree with us, that is why anger arises.
If you know the process, then you should be prepared that they may not accept.
If you think this way – it is their choice – then immediately the mind calms down.
You are already prepared for rejection – learn from your experience, otherwise you will have the idea that they must agree with us all the time, and when they don’t accept, immediately the mind gets angry.
814. THINKING FROM WRONG VIEW CREATES PROBLEMS
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 1 Round 4 (13:20-15:17)
Yogi: There are some problems to solve after the retreat. They keep popping up during my sits although I tell myself that I’ll settle them when I go home. The mind is angry that the same thoughts keep coming up.
Sayadaw: When you think this way, you have a lot of problems.
815. TAKE HEED WHEN THE MIND WANTS TO DO A LOT
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190814
Doing a lot means that there is a lot of craving.
All our lives, we habitually do out of craving, but wisdom knows what’s necessary.
816. PRACTICE BEING AWARE OF SEEING
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (43:55-45:15)
Yogi: I don’t know how to practice seeing.
Sayadaw: Close and open your eyes repeatedly – practice this way.
When you close your eyes, you don’t see; when you open your eyes, you see.
I started practicing seeing this way. I don’t see and now I see – after a while sights become obvious. So, practice this way.
My teacher didn’t teach me how to practice seeing. I learned myself and whenever I was free in the shop, I would practice seeing by closing and opening my eyes.
When I told my teacher that I was practicing seeing, he would say that nobody took the trouble to practice seeing. He said it was a good idea and encouraged me to continue the practice.
You cannot avoid seeing in daily life because we see and look all the time.
817. THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (41:35-43:53)
Yogi: I got up from the sit and wanted to do walking meditation; along the way, the mind quickly got distracted and was into happenings outside. It was very fast.
Sayadaw: Awareness disappears fast and defilements come equally fast.
When I was a layperson, I would set off to go to Shwedagon Pagoda, but along the way, I landed up in a Chinatown bar on 19th Street. This had happened not only once but several times.
The intention was good when I left the house, but I went to a bar instead, not the pagoda. The intention changed along the way because many things had happened in the mind – and the mind state changed.
Our life is like this – we have good intentions but defilements overwhelm us along the way, and we land up with problems. It can be dangerous without awareness.
818. SAYADAW DOES EVERYTHING AT A NORMAL PACE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (32:15-32:52)
Yogi: I notice that Sayadaw does everything very naturally.
Sayadaw: It is because I do everything at my natural speed and then practice being aware of my actions – the awareness follows slowly and gets put into the action.
All activities are done the natural way – be it swimming or walking. I would then remind and ask the mind what it is aware of. Because of that, I don’t have to control my actions.
819. DO NOT PUSH WHEN UNSURE OF HOW TO PRACTICE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190825
When you’re skillful, when you know how to practice very well, you can practice however you want – there’s no problem.
If you try very hard even though you’re not sure how to practice, then a lot of problems arise.
820. WHEN THERE’S DEFILEMENT, OPEN AWARENESS IS NOT SUITABLE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190831
Sayadaw: When there’s defilement, you have to choose an object. You cannot do open awareness because the mind is not in the right mood.
When the mind is calm and the awareness is good, you can practice open awareness.
Now that there is defilement, you need to choose an important object.
Yogi: I can stay with the fear when I’m sick – it makes me feel better.
Sayadaw: That’s not a problem – you don’t have to watch many objects. You take care of the important object first.
You need to watch a particular object and make the mind calm down first.
Sometimes the mind quality goes down when there’s sickness. And when you have the wrong idea, it makes the practice even more difficult.
At that time, you take care of your attitude and the defilement.
821. HOW TO DISCERN BETWEEN DISENCHANTMENT AND DEPRESSION
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190904
Liking and disliking were strong before – now lobha and dosa energy has become weaker and weaker. Previously, the mind was strong because the defilement energy was powerful.
The mind appears weaker and weaker now because defilement nature is reduced. The bad quality of mind has weakened and the mind is not too interested or excited about the world.
This is a totally new experience for the yogi, and she thinks that she has become depressed. Depressed means not interested in anything. Depression and disenchantment with the world are a little similar but different. Disenchantment is not dosa.
If the yogi doesn’t know, they can be mistaken and go the wrong way. You can check – if the defilement energy reduces, the wholesome quality of mind must increase. You can compare in this way.
If there is also disinterest in the practice and the wholesome mind decreases, then something is wrong. You may be disinterested in worldly things, but you are still interested in the practice because the wholesome mind is increasing and saddha is there.
822. WHEN WATCHING DEFILEMENTS SEEMS FRUSTRATING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190810
I understand. When awareness is not strong enough and you have to face the defilement all the time, it feels like the game is too difficult and you don’t want to play.
Watching physical objects is like playing an easy level game. That’s why you want to keep going to the physical object.
It is better that you alternate between watching mental feelings and physical objects, back and forth. You don’t watch the defilement all the time, or you can get depressed.
823. QUESTION WHAT IS PHYSICAL AND WHAT IS MENTAL
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190803
Yogi: How do I separate the body and mind when there is physical pain?
Sayadaw: You say that it is irritating – is the pain irritation? Irritation is the mind, right? Physical pain is in the body and irritation is in the mind.
It means that you’re not skillful in watching your mental feelings. If you cannot separate the mind and body, it is better to ask how you feel.
Sometimes when we ask about the mind, the awareness naturally chooses the mind.
How do you feel? At that time, don’t pay attention to the pain – just check how you feel. The mind then naturally goes to the feeling.
Don’t focus on the pain – pain is physical. Just ask how you feel – you can know that it is irritating at that time. Just stay with the irritation.
In daily activities, also try to learn what is physical and what is mental throughout the day, not only when pain arises.
You can only separate the body and mind when wisdom is present. Because of delusion, we think that they are one – when the mind has matured, you can see that body and mind have different natures. We can see that this is physical and that is mental, or this is the object and that is the mind.
For example, every time you’re hungry, you want to eat, right?
Practice this way – where is hunger? And where is wanting to eat? Obviously, hunger is physical and the intention to eat is the mind.
You need to practice every time you’re hungry – what is physical and what is mental?
824. FEAR OF ADDICTION TO GOOD EXPERIENCES
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190829
Yogi: How can I not be addicted to good experiences?
Sayadaw: Whatever is happening, just notice that it is happening – if there is liking, just notice that.
Don’t try to create anything nor push any experience away – try to be aware of what is going on.
Yogi: How do I use the good energy of the strong samadhi wisely because it feels like a drug.
Sayadaw: Yes, you can use it and if you know that you have attachment, that’s enough.
If you don’t know, it becomes a problem; but if you know there’s attachment, it is okay.
825. TOO MANY DON’TS MAKE THE MIND TENSE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190829
We are not trying to control too much. If there are too many ‘don’ts’, the mind becomes tense.
We don’t control too much in our practice; what is important is that we are aware of ourselves.
When awareness is present, wisdom will come – should or not, need or not, necessary or not. That learning naturally grows the mind.
The mind becomes tense when there is too much controlling. The meditating mind must be relaxed for wisdom to arise.
If you’re tense, you can concentrate but understanding cannot arise.
826. PROGRESSION OF THE PRACTICE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190814
In the beginning, we only know that the object is there. Everyone starts by noticing the object; they don’t know the mind yet.
‘Object, object – aware of the object’; slowly, they know feeling and thinking. They begin to know both mental state and awareness – the state of mind they are aware with.
More into the practice, the yogi can see the idea they are meditating with. It is more complete when the yogi can see three things together – what idea, how the mental state arises, and whether they are clear or not. This is the whole view. In the beginning, the yogi only sees the object.
Now you can see the mental state, how you feel and whether the mind is aware or not, and what attitude you have. Slowly, you can see more ideas.
When you practice, how do the ideas change, and later, what ideas do you practice with. Much later, when the yogi can see the complete picture, they stay more with the ideas in the mind because every happening starts with an idea. Without the idea, you cannot do anything.
So, you already see the object and the mental state. Slow, you can see the idea too.
827. NO BODY HAS DISAPPEARED
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190829
When a little samadhi comes, a strange experience will come. This is not a problem – it is nature.
Sometimes form disappears because the mind cannot think about the form – it would seem that the body, hand or leg has disappeared.
It is not the body, hand or leg disappearing – the form has disappeared. It is just that the mind cannot think about the form. In the mind, the image has disappeared.
828. WHEN TOO MANY OBJECTS OVERWHELM, TAKE CARE OF ONLY THE KNOWING
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190817
Yogi: I’m becoming aware of so many things and it is too much for me.
Sayadaw: Then, be aware of only one object – i.e. the awareness. Take care of only the knowing or awareness.
It is not necessary to be aware of many objects. Just take care of whether the mind is aware or not.
The mind knows many things, but there is only one knowing.
829. WHAT TO DO WHEN THE MIND GETS BORED
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190810
Yogi: The mind gets bored watching the awareness; it moves to the object or shuts down because the mind thinks that it’s always the same awareness.
Sayadaw: Check the boredom – what is the mind bored with?
Also, the mind doesn’t understand the value of awareness. That is why the mind is bored.
Take care of the bored mind first – awareness is not important at that time.
Yogi: The mind says it is always the same awareness.
Sayadaw: If you think that something is old, the mind becomes bored.
If you know the mind, the mind is always changing. If you really know the knowing mind, it is always changing – it is always new.
If you think that it is old, then it becomes a concept. Boredom arises because of this wrong idea.
Yogi: I have the intellectual knowledge, but it still doesn’t work.
Sayadaw: If you see that the awareness is not changing, then come back to the physical object and the awareness, watching them back and forth. Also, thinking that the awareness is old is not the right attitude.
830. HOW TO GO ABOUT WATCHING MENTAL STATES
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A 191108 Group 2 Round 4 (18:45-19:52)
Yogi: What are mental states and how to watch them?
Sayadaw: Mental states are feelings like anxiety, happiness, sadness, and generally the mood of the mind.
Anything concerning the mind, we call mental state.
Do you know when you’re happy? Do you know when you’re sad? That’s mental state – just continue knowing. Later and later, when you can watch it as an object, then you can see the intensity of the mental state – decreasing or increasing.
It means that you can hold the object – that is why you can see the intensity changing.
Just asking how you feel, then you can know. And, if you can know anger, you can also know when anger is absent.
831. TELLING APART PHYSICAL SENSATION AND MENTAL PAIN
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (49:35-51:09)
Yogi: The stones of the reflexology path were sharp; I could feel the physical pain, but not the mental pain. Was the physical pain covering it?
Sayadaw: The physical pain comes first and later the mind reacts. Because the object is very strong, the mind reacts.
The physical pain is not covering the mental reaction; it is just that the physical sensation is more obvious. The mental pain is already there, but you don’t know what mental pain is.
You cannot differentiate between physical sensation and mental pain because the physical sensation is strong and obvious, and you don’t know the mind process yet.
When the awareness improves, you can tell apart physical sensations and mental pain.
832. TO KNOW THE MIND IS ENOUGH
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (56:20-57:50)
Yogi: There are times when the mind gets stuck in the tension and resistance and becomes tighter because of the wrong attitude.
Sayadaw: In daily life, when the practice becomes difficult, take care of only one thing – just watch the mind. That’s all. Knowing the mind is enough.
Know the mind, know the mind, and try to know the mind.
833. WHENEVER AN UNPLEASANT OBJECT IS OBVIOUS, CHECK THE ATTITUDE
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190904
There’s no need to be aware of the strong defilement because it is already obvious. Naturally, the mind already knows.
Whenever an unpleasant object is obvious, at that time, you only need to check if right attitude and awareness are present.
834. WHEN WRONG ATTITUDE PERSISTS, STOP PRACTICING AND RELAX THE MIND FIRST
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (10:45-14:00)
Yogi: The mind was overwhelmed by fear while trying to sleep and I couldn’t sleep.
Sayadaw: The mind is not peaceful; how to sleep then? And trying to sleep is craving – when there is craving, the mind cannot relax. So, it will be difficult to sleep.
It is more beneficial to practice watching the fear instead of trying to sleep.
Yogi: But it gets more fearful when I watch the fear because the story is so clear and real.
Sayadaw: That means that the watching mind has wrong attitude. Also, you shouldn’t watch the story; you should watch the feeling, the mental state. The story is a concept; if you watch the concept, more defilement will arise.
You cannot watch the defilement until it subsides – the mind becomes complicated because it wants to sleep and it cannot, and there are disliking and fear. It is better that you listen to music because you cannot practice at that time; and it gets worse when you try to practice.
It is easier to calm down and sleep by listening to music.
Meditation wouldn’t work then because everything is wrong already. If you’re wrong, it is better not to try anything; it will get worse because defilement is meditating.
When you cannot change the wrong attitude, don’t practice. So, just find ways to relax the mind first.
835. HOW TO INTERCEPT THE MOMENTUM OF WRONG ATTITUDE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (15:34-16:40)
Yogi: In a retreat when I notice that the wrong attitude keeps on running, what should I do?
Sayadaw: Stop practicing. Change the environment and the mood – just relax and only then come back to practice. You can take a walk, look at the sky, go swimming, or listen to music.
If the attitude is wrong, don’t even watch. When you practice with wrong attitude, it gets worse and worse because defilement is meditating. It is like sinking in quicksand.
When you practice the whole day with wrong attitude, it is dangerous. It is not a problem if we have right attitude because we’re cultivating the right thing.
If you’re wrong, and you continue to practice, you’ll exaggerate the wrong things.
836. RATHER THAN TRY TO BE MINDFUL, IT IS BETTER TO JUST CHECK
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (20:18-21:41)
Yogi: There were pain and sensation and I checked the mind – it was simple and stable, no craving or aversion.
Sayadaw: Just checking is enough – rather than trying to be mindful, it is better to check. When we check, both awareness and wisdom are present.
When we check, we don’t have to force to be aware.
If the mind is simple, it is easy to practice because you don’t think too much. If it is complicated, it becomes difficult because of wanting and not liking, and a lot of anger and fear.
It is more difficult to practice whenever defilement is strong.
837. THE PRACTICE BECOMES SMOOTH WHEN WE UNDERSTAND CAUSE AND EFFECT
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (22:10-23:35)
Yogi: The mind realizes that happenings are due to conditioning, cause and effect. Wanting and not wanting are conditioned; defilements are due to cause and effect.
Sayadaw: If the mind has that much understanding, the practice becomes smooth, practice is not difficult.
When the mind understands cause and effect, it already has wisdom.
838. NOTICING THE BENEFIT AND UNDERSTANDING THE BENEFIT ARE DIFFERENT
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (33:06-34:58)
Yogi: The mind can see the benefit of the practice at retreats, yet it is reluctant to practice in daily life because of habit.
Sayadaw: When you practice, the mind quality improves, right? Yet, you don’t want to practice? Funny, isn’t it?
Yogi: Because the habit is very strong.
Sayadaw: It takes time for the mind to mature. You cannot judge that the mind is bad.
We just need to encourage the mind to practice.
My teacher would advise me to carry on practicing when I went home, but I never did. It was only when I was suffering intensely, in a life or death situation that I thought of a solution.
Even then, meditation was the last choice – I had tried going to the mountain and the beach first. I didn’t believe that meditation could make me happy, but there was no way out.
I only started to practice at home in that situation.
839. HOW SAYADAW UNDERSTANDS ANATTA THROUGH SEEING?
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (41:25-46:53)
A lot of understanding came from seeing because I practiced seeing a lot.
My understanding of anatta comes from practicing seeing. It comes easily, ‘Pomp!’ Nobody is seeing – seeing is nobody. This understanding is very easy for me.
First, I ask: Who is seeing? And the mind would answer: I’m seeing. When I continue being aware of seeing, after a while, there is no ‘I’ anymore.
840. THE OBJECT IS NATURE; IT’S NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190831
If you think that you cannot change to right attitude, relating the experience to yourself is a concept object.
If the object is nature, there’s no good or bad. For example, feeling and seeing are neither good nor bad objects. Come back to the nature object.
Because of the concept, something becomes good or bad.
If you don’t like, come back to the feeling. Feeling is not a bad object.
That is why I say that the object is not disturbing you; it is helping you to be aware so that samadhi and wisdom can arise.
841. UNDERSTANDING THE IDEA OF SELF
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190814
Whenever the idea of self is present, just notice. We cannot remove it immediately, but we need to know that the ‘I’ idea is there.
When understanding arises, it is very clear that the idea of self is absent. You can know when the self idea is present and when it is absent.
In the beginning, the whole thing – experience and the awareness – is ‘me’. Slowly, the experience is not ‘me’; because it comes and goes and we are a little far away from the object.
But the mind is still ‘me’ – awareness is ‘me’, thinking is ‘me’ and all mental states are ‘me’.
And slowly, we can watch the mental states as objects. They come and go and we don’t have to control them.
When we can see the conditions for them to arise, the mind understands that mental states are nature.
As we practice, slowly, the mind understands in this way.
842. ONLY AWARENESS HAS TO BE STABLE FOR WISDOM TO ARISE
Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (10:20-10:34)
Yogi: The mind was sleepy; but when it realized that there were liking and craving for drowsiness, the mind woke up.
Sayadaw: If you know it as it is, the mind clears up.
843. WHENEVER THE MIND SAYS ‘OH, SO GOOD!’, THAT IS A PROBLEM
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2020 Vassa Q&A 20200219 (6:10-7:13)
Yogi: Sometimes I would have very good sittings in the mornings, and the mind would say ‘Oh, so good!’
Sayadaw: Whenever the mind says ‘It’s so good’, that is a problem.
Remember this: whenever the mind says that it’s so good, that’s a problem.
It is surely attachment – that is why I say to be careful of this state of mind, to be careful whenever the mind says something is so good. Because the mind thinks that it’s very good, you get attached to it for the rest of your life.
For example, you try a new food and the mind says that it’s so good; you then become attached to it for life.
844. RELAX AND PAY ATTENTION TO YOURSELF
Penang 2019 Retreat Guided Meditation
Just pay attention to yourself.
Without focusing, you can hear – that’s good enough.
Relax – don’t concentrate too much and don’t penetrate; just be aware.
We’re trying to know what is going on.
845. NOTICE BLINKING AND KNOW SEEING IS HAPPENING
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (47:00-47:33)
Yogi: I try to notice when I blink my eyes.
Sayadaw: When you notice blinking, awareness comes to the eyes. Seeing is already there – the mind will slowly notice that seeing is happening when you are aware that the eyes are blinking.
Yogi: I didn’t notice the seeing; I started to count the blinking instead.
Sayadaw: Don’t try to count; try to know.
846. DIRECTING ATTENTION AND BEING AWARE ARE DIFFERENT
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (47:15-47:28)
Yogi: To keep track of the eyes blinking, I counted the number of times the eyes blinked.
Sayadaw: Don’t count; know that blinking is happening.
847. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CHECK IF AWARENESS IS PRESENT OR NOT
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (51:20-53:11)
Yogi: I meditate with a lot of wanting – it should go this way and that way. Later when the mind relaxes, it can see when the awareness is narrow and focusing and when it is more open.
Sayadaw: That means that you can check your awareness. Then, you don’t have to do much – just check if the awareness is present or absent. Let other things be.
You take care of the awareness – just check if it’s present or not. Do only this and when awareness is present, the mind does its job.
You don’t have to do anything because whatever you’re doing at any time, the mind knows something; it is already knowing.
All you have to do is just to check if awareness is present or not.
848. FOR QUALITY GROWTH, THE PRACTICE HAS TO BE CONTINUOUS & LONG-TERM
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (18:10-19:37)
Sayadaw: It is difficult for meditation to improve because yogis don’t really practice continuously.
For example, they practice till Level 7 at the retreat and then regress after the retreat; they cannot go beyond Level 7 because this gets repeated retreat after retreat.
For the quality of mind to change, yogis need to practice continuously over a long time.
Yogi: Does Sayadaw encourage long-term retreats of 1-3 years?
Sayadaw: I don’t encourage yogis to stay a long time at the center because it is not real for you; but for monks and nuns, the center is their real life.
The motivation is not strong enough at the center, so people cannot practice continuously. When the mind suffers in lay life, they are motivated to practice.
It should be retreat time all the time, whether at the center or at home.
849. EXPRESSIONS OF REALIZATION!
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (56:10-57:27)
Yogi: The mind sometimes gets stuck in the tension, resistance and defilement. When the attitude is right, the mind says ‘Ooh, disliking is happening’, and the mind relaxes, but when the mind doesn’t see, then the tension becomes tighter.
Sayadaw: I like to hear the yogi report what they have understood for themselves.
This morning a yogi reported ‘Ooh, ooh, this happens’, and another yogi reported ‘Aah, aah’. I like these words because they’re words of realization.
When they notice what is going on, they become surprised – that’s why they can exclaim ‘Ooh and aah’.
These are nice sound because they are wisdom sound.
850. WHAT IS METTA
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (1:01:31-1:02:45)
Metta is loving-kindness – it is a wholesome mind, and all wholesome minds are calm. It is wishing others to be in a better situation; it is also the opposite of dosa.
Metta is also good for you because you are generating a wholesome mind.
Dosa wants to destroy; metta wishes others to get better and better.