851. HOW METTA IS RECEIVED
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (58:30-1:00:19)
Yogi: Sayadaw says that devas and ghosts are also nama-rupa. To us, they are just objects – so, how do they receive our metta and sharing of merits?
Sayadaw: Sharing of merits and sending metta is more for you, not for them because the metta mind is a wholesome mind. We try to cultivate this metta mind – therefore, the benefit is for you.
The receiver can get the benefit only if they accept the metta. Sharing is your responsibility, but whether they receive the benefit is their responsibility.
For example, anyone who is happy with the metta already receives the benefit of the metta, but others who may not like it, cannot get it.
Sharing is alobha, a wholesome mind – it is beneficial to you. Generating a wholesome mind is more important.
If the metta is not real metta, then all benefits are gone – nobody then gets the metta.
852. IMPORTANT FOR THE MEDITATING MIND TO BE RELAXED ALL THE TIME
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (08:10-08:51)
Yogi: During formal sitting, I notice that the mind can be relaxed while bodily sensations are going on even though the mind resists most of the time.
Sayadaw: Object can sometimes be pleasant and sometimes unpleasant. But, the most important thing is that the meditating mind must be relaxed all the time.
853. AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO LEARN BY LOOKING
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (25:40-27:03)
Yogi: I see Sayadaw walk very easily, like no problem at all.
Sayadaw: When my teacher was still alive, I would ask yogis to go and take a close look whenever my teacher, Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw, walked outside.
Looking is also a learning process. By looking, you can also understand something. Sayadawgi walked absolutely relaxingly – no tension at all, but still fast.
It is a good example – you can learn by looking, by seeing nature working.
854. WE’RE NOT TRYING TO MAKE THE DEFILEMENT GO AWAY
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190810
Yogi: The mind wants to let go of the defilement.
Sayadaw: Getting rid of the defilement is an idea. When we meditate, we’re not thinking about the defilement. We don’t care about the defilement; we focus on the practice.
We are not doing anything about the defilement.
855. HOW TO INVESTIGATE WHEN THE MIND IS QUIET
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190709
Yogi: How to investigate when the mind is quiet?
Sayadaw: When the mind is quiet, that is a good time to investigate, or you can use a question to make the mind more awake.
How many objects can the mind know? Or, you can stay with the main object and check the experience and awareness.
Can you recognize the awareness? Do you know what is the object and what is the awareness? Just check.
When the awareness is stronger, the mind can see that the object and the awareness are different. We can stay with the awareness then; we call this awareness of awareness.
When that happens, the 5 sense doors come to the mind-door, and the 6 sense doors become open and the mind knows everything.
856. AWARENESS RESCUED SAYADAW FROM DEPRESSION
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (34:55-35:26)
I was constantly suffering from depression at one time and was determined to practice to overcome the suffering.
Three to 4 months into the practice, awareness noticed that for just a split second, there was total relief and a deep peace from the absence of suffering.
Then, wisdom said that was the way out of suffering.
857. WHEN WISDOM GROWS, MANY POINTS OF VIEWS CAN BE SEEN
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190727
Previously, when I watch the defilement and it goes away, that was it. I would not think further; but when wisdom grows, it can see many points of view.
How much relief does the mind get when you watch defilements and they go away?
95, 98 or 99 percent? A yogi said 200 percent.
If you don’t watch the defilement, it will continue and cause trouble to everybody. If you can see how much relief you get by watching the defilement, it makes the mind appreciate the awareness.
The mind becomes more willing to practice when it understands the benefits of awareness.
858. REALIZING THAT DEFILEMENT WANTS TO FOCUS
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (52:00-54:25)
Yogi: Into the sitting, the mind wants to focus more and more. It only relaxes and opens up when the awareness notices that.
Sayadaw: The mind becomes narrow because of wanting. You know this quality of the mind.
It is a learning process – you need to see this again and again, then only the mind will let go of focusing. You’ll then be very careful about focusing in the future.
For me, when the mind begins to focus, immediately the awareness notices that.
When I need to focus, I can focus. But when the defilement comes to focus, I immediately notice that and the mind does not focus.
859. EXPOSING LIKING AND DISLIKING
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (55:00-55:52)
Yogi: When the mind relaxes, I could be aware of many thoughts that say ‘I want this and I don’t want that’.
Sayadaw: It is good that the mind notices wanting and not wanting.
Noticing wanting and not wanting is very important because if you notice, you don’t follow that mind.
If you don’t notice, they are already pushing you; then, you use a lot of energy and stress comes.
860. WISDOM KNOWS THE LIMITS
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (28:06-29:25)
Yogi: When there is awareness, I close the door gently; otherwise, I bang it.
Sayadaw: There’s no control – when there is awareness, the mind can control the energy used; it knows the limits.
Every time you open and close the door, if you’re aware, wisdom knows how much energy is needed. Only wisdom can see the limits – otherwise, it is either too much or too little.
There are the 2 extremes in everything – you can know the limits only when there is awareness and when wisdom is present.
This also applies to talking – how much and how little you talk.
861. TAKE CARE OF THE TENSE MIND FIRST
Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2019 Vassa Q&A 20190803
Your problem is tension – so you take care of that mental state first. That is also an object.
Check your energy level. Meditation becomes smooth when your energy is balanced – this is very important.
If the energy is too much or too little, then the meditation is not smooth.
862. THE MEDITATOR’S AWARENESS
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (30:40-35:04)
Yogi: How do we live with despairing about the condition of the world in general? I’m aware of it – should I be glad?
Sayadaw: When I say to be happy when you’re aware, the awareness is of the sense objects which the mind can contact directly. In the mind, it is recognizing thinking and feelings, not the story but just the fact that the mind is thinking and feeling. The same goes for the 5 physical sense doors.
The awareness only comes into contact with the 6 sense objects, and a meditator’s awareness is knowing the mind and body for what it is.
For example, when you know that a car is passing by, is that a meditator’s awareness?
Anybody would know that, and dogs as well. What then is the difference between a meditator’s awareness and an ordinary one?
The yogi is aware of the sense contacts – aware that seeing has happened and hearing has happened. The yogi has felt something and the direct awareness of these contacts is the meditator’s awareness.
863. SIMPLICITY KEEPS DEFILEMENTS AT BAY
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (1:04:07-1:04:17)
My teacher teaches me to make everything short and to the point in whatever I do.
Defilements can arise if it is complicated.
864. PARAMATTHA METTA
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (1:03:22-1:03:36)
My teacher told me to send metta to all beings after meditation because sending to all beings without choosing is paramattha metta.
When you choose to send to specific individuals, the metta becomes a concept.
Also, when you wish other beings to be happy and well, check if your mind quality is the same as the wish.
865. WATCH THE UNSTABLE MIND WHENEVER DEFILEMENTS FLARE UP
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 (03:45-04:09)
Yogi: The mind is upset because it has no right attitude and no matter how much awareness there is, the attitude is still wrong.
Sayadaw: Be aware of the wrong attitude then – you know there’s wrong attitude, that’s enough.
Watch again and again that when there’s wrong attitude, the mind cannot be stable – it’s a learning process.
866. RECOGNIZING WHAT IS PRESENT IS RIGHT VIEW
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (20:10-21:04)
The wording we use to remind ourselves of right view is very important.
Know that every experience is a process of nature. We don’t want to say to ourselves ‘This is not me or mine’ because the mind finds it very hard to accept that.
To say that this is nature is much easier because, on top of being mine, it could be a process of nature; and the mind just accepts it better and does not fight with that bit about being me or myself.
When you recognize that there is an association with the self, it is also right view. Right view is to recognize what is there as it is.
867. AWARENESS CAN KNOW MANY THINGS FLUIDLY AND QUICKLY WITHOUT FOCUSING
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (01:25-06:16)
Yogi: Other teachers teach to focus when we meditate, but you don’t.
Sayadaw: The main thing to look out for in the practice is the awareness – awareness itself requires no focusing. It is the power to know an object at whatever level you’re aware of it.
The aim is to grow the power of the awareness naturally so that it can know many things fluidly and quickly.
When the mind focuses on one thing, it shuts out other experiences – it cannot know them because it ignores them.
When the mind knows many objects without focusing, it feels like the mind is more scattered. This doesn’t mean that you’re not aware – in fact, it shows that you’re aware of many things.
In our past practice, we’ve been taught that if we know too many things, it means that the mind is distracted. So, we reject the idea that it’s okay for the mind to know many things; we think that to meditate, we should only focus on one or two things.
We become attached to an object when we repeatedly focus on it. It’s like without that object we cannot meditate; and it can create tension when we can’t have it.
Yogi: I can’t help but be attached to the breath when I meditate.
Sayadaw: Don’t resist the mind’s natural tendency to stay with the breath. Stay with the breath but allow yourself to acknowledge other objects that arise while you’re on your breath.
868. HAVE AN ANCHOR OBJECT WHILE STAYING OPEN
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (09:00-10:51)
Yogi: I tried to stay openly aware of everything – I got sleepy and distracted. I switched to wide awareness with an anchor object like my feet while walking. It kept me grounded while I was aware of many things.
It also allowed me to notice thoughts like regretting the past and worrying about the future.
Sayadaw: Yes, that’s the model that I would recommend – having an anchor while staying open.
Be clearly aware of one object but still open to all experiences – not plunging into one object to the exclusion of all others.
869. CONTACT IS NEUTRAL; IT IS REALITY
Penang Retreat 2019 Group 4 Round 4 Q&A (47:58-48:30)
All first contact is neutral; it is reality. There is no meaning yet. After that, the mind starts to make concept, and a lot of feelings and wholesome and unwholesome minds arise because, after contact, the mind starts to think and the whole mental process runs.
870. THE TIP IS TO BE LIGHTLY AWARE
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (45:00-47:49)
Yogi: I had a very busy 7 weeks of work before coming here and there are the aftereffects.
Sayadaw: Over here, think of yourself as being on vacation – don’t practice intensely.
Just allow yourself to be lightly aware of whatever comes up in the mind and be happy with that.
When you have had a busy schedule and then you allow yourself to relax, you will feel drowsy as the tiredness comes in. Let it be – just be patient with the practice – and don’t blame yourself.
871. THE MIND RECEIVES THE EXPERIENCE THAT MATCHES ITS QUALITY
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (1:00:00-1:05:36)
Yogi: I feel cheated – I’ve attended 70 retreats in the last 40 years and don’t seem to be any closer to nibbana.
Sayadaw: It is only a mind that is free of defilements, a pure mind that can take a pure object – only a pure mind is able to realize nibbana.
The principle is that the mind receives the experience that matches its quality. The only thing we can do is to purify this mind as much as we possibly can because that’s how much closer it gets to experiencing what is more pure.
Experiential wisdom must arise for real purification to happen because it is wisdom that purifies the mind.
The problem with all of us is that we’re not able to sustain the process of purification in our lives. That’s all.
872. KNOWING IS DIFFERENT FROM UNDERSTANDING
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (50:52-51:59)
Yogi: So, knowing doesn’t necessarily mean understanding?
Sayadaw: Yes, knowing is not understanding.
There is the awareness of experience and sometimes we begin to understand the nature of experience, the principle of this process.
For example, knowing or experiencing heat and understanding that heat is an object are different.
873. EASY WAY OF CHECKING AND BRINGING ON AWARENESS
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (1:31:28-1:31:52)
One easy way to appreciate the awareness is to just ask yourself every now and then ‘Is there awareness?’
If the reply is a resounding ‘Yes, there is awareness’, you then know that it is clearly present.
That also helps you to come back to the awareness.
874. BE SKILLFUL MAINTAINING AWARENESS WHETHER EYES OPEN OR CLOSED
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (1:32:00-1:32:42)
Yogi: You say that it is important to meditate with the eyes open?
Sayadaw: We must be equally skillful at practicing with or without the eyes closed. We must maintain the same quality of mind – the same awareness with the eyes closed, and the same awareness with the eyes open. Then, we can continue to be aware even when we’re at home; otherwise, we’ve to keep closing our eyes if we want awareness to be continuous.
875. PRACTICE LIGHTLY AND SUSTAIN THE LIGHT AWARENESS
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (1:37:00-1:41:00)
Yogi: I’m trying to practice lightly because I tend not to; but when awareness is very light, it seems to go away.
Sayadaw: Practicing lightly is what everybody should do, but the key is to continue to practice and it shouldn’t fade to the point of not being there. And, the simple way to check is to ask: Is there awareness?
Although it feels very light, but when the practice is sustained, it will start to gain clarity even though it doesn’t feel effortful.
If you let it do its work, awareness gains power. You’re not trying to see clearly; you’re waiting for the awareness to gain momentum and gather its own power.
876. RECOGNIZE THE AWARENESS THAT IS PRESENT REPEATEDLY
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (1:27:00-1:28:53)
Yogi: When I ask what is the mind experiencing, I could see an agitated being rushing here and there that comes back to complain that there is a pain in the knee and wants to get up. Is this totally silly? How do I deal with this?
Sayadaw: Always remember to come back to the awareness. Always recognize that there is awareness at work already – and, no judgment about the experience.
Whatever thoughts that are happening, you’re already aware of that – so, just recognize the awareness repeatedly.
877. PRACTICE WITH SILA, SAMADHI AND PANNA
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (1:35:45-1:36:30)
Yogi: Does perfecting our sila (morality) help to speed up cultivating wisdom?
Sayadaw: To perfect sila, you need to have a lot of awareness because if you’re not aware, you won’t know when defilements push you.
When you have a lot of defilements, it is easy to just go that way – you won’t be able to control the mind without awareness. It takes a lot of discipline to maintain your sila, to be present to choose which way you’re going to go.
So, we have to practice with sila, samadhi and panna.
878. OUR PRACTICE IS TO SUSTAIN THE AWARENESS WITH RIGHT VIEW
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (1:42:03-1:44:10)
Yogi: When we’re aware of unskillful mind states like desire or aversion, do we do something to change that or do we maintain awareness and let that dissipate on its own?
Sayadaw: Apply the 3 yogi jobs – have right view that it is a process of nature, be aware and continue to be aware with right view. We’re not being aware of the story of the desire or aversion, but the nature.
When you sustain the awareness, it means that you’re watching continuously; then, some understanding of the nature of the process can arise.
No moment of awareness ever goes to waste for the mind – every moment of awareness is data that is picked up and stored for future understanding.
Remember the goal: the goal is not to change the experience; the goal is to make awareness continuous.
879. SEEING IS NOT OUT THERE
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group A#1 (1:32:50-1:34:40)
Seeing is a natural object to be aware of because it is so obvious.
The only thing that people find difficult is that when we try to recognize seeing, it has become a habit to immediately look and see objects outside of ourselves. It is difficult to recognize the process of the eyes and the mind just doing this work of seeing.
Our whole life, we have used our eyes to actually know the concepts of the world – the distance, size, shape, color, and so on of things around us. That recognition comes is really quickly.
To understand that it’s just a process of seeing and not have to go into the names of the things we see, some people find it difficult to switch to just that.
It’s practice as well – if anyone practices, they become more familiar and understand it more easily.
880. NOTHING CONTINUES IN REALITY
20200212 You do your job, I do my job // Sayadaw U Tejaniya‘s Dhamma Interview (2:40-3:20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dkr35so97A
Yogi: I had almost finished sweeping the leaves and felt very happy – but the leaves dropped again and again, and I landed up sweeping 3 times.
Sayadaw: You swept not 3 times, but only once. Reality is like this – don’t think about the past. Every time is one time.
If you think 3 or 4 times, the mind becomes impatient – when you think that it happens again, again and again, the idea changes.
Actually, you can do only one time.
881. DELUSION OR WISDOM LOOKING?
20200212 You do your job, I do my job // Sayadaw U Tejaniya‘s Dhamma Interview (11:38-12:05) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dkr35so97A...
Yogi: If you don’t look, your mind is peaceful.
Sayadaw: Not necessary so because the mind can also be peaceful when you look if you look with right thought.
When the mind looks and emotion arises, this is the delusion process.
Wisdom process is different – no emotion arises when the mind looks.
882. HOW TO RECOGNIZE THINKING MIND WHEN OBSERVING THOUGHTS
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (00:45-04:22)
Yogi: When the mind notices that awareness is lost, what should it do before getting back to being aware?
Sayadaw: It’s important to notice that you’ve drifted off, that thinking mind is happening. Take a moment to recognize that and continue to be aware of any object.
Yogi: Do I need to label it?
Sayadaw: Labeling is not important. You already know it; do you need to name it? Whenever you notice thinking mind, it is a good practice to acknowledge thinking mind. But, you don’t stay with the thinking mind because you can get drawn into the story.
So, you acknowledge thinking and then alternate it with something more grounding like your body sensation or breath. This allows you to be familiar with thinking mind rather than the story of your thoughts.
Once you can do that, you can recognize thinking mind and not get sucked into the story.
883. RECOGNIZE HOW THE PRESENCE OF PRACTICE MADE A DIFFERENCE
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (29:20-30:54)
The emotion does not always stay the same when you watch a difficult sadness. Recognize what happens when you’re aware.
It is an insight into the practice if you even learn that the presence of the practice helps you go through a difficult emotion regardless of whether the emotion increases or decreases.
884. THERE ARE LAYERS OF THINKING
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (05:16-09:40)
Yogi: I can be aware of physical objects as they progress but with thoughts, as soon as I’m aware of them, they stop. It’s as if the mind cannot think and be aware of thoughts at the same time.
Sayadaw: This happens with gross thoughts – there are layers of thinking; at the subtler levels, there are thoughts that are working continuously. You might be planning something important which can go on in the background of your mind all the time.
There are thoughts that direct everything we do. Even in awareness, you’re thinking about being aware and therefore you’re aware. And the mind thinks about what to do next, and you do the next thing.
The mind might be commenting about experiences; and that’s another layer of subtle thoughts.
Naming your experience and deciding what to do next are non-stop subtle thoughts.
Yogi: Yes, these are different thoughts. When I’m aware of specific thoughts, am I supposed to continue to be aware of them without them stopping?
Sayadaw: There are 2 possibilities. The thoughts are not important and when you notice them, they stop; and, if they are important, they will continue even when you’re aware of them.
Second, there is too much energy or focus on the thoughts – when you zoom in on them, they get blocked out.
885. INSIGHT ARISES FROM REPEATED OBSERVATIONS
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (11:15-12:48)
Yogi: Gaining insight into thinking – that it is an object, nature or simply the mind – is it an investigation through experience and questioning?
Sayadaw: The insight is a realization through observation.
You just have to observe a lot to gain more experience until the mind is ready to understand it.
Knowing if something is skilful or not, or if it is right or wrong, just understanding this is a level of wisdom or insight.
886. ATTEND TO THE THOUGHT PROCESS RATHER THAN THE STORYLINE
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (12:55-14:16)
Yogi: Can the storyline of our defilements such as greed or aversion be ever important?
Sayadaw: Any attention given to the story always only feeds the defilement that the story is about. If there is attention given to the story about attachment or aversion, that defilement will be fed.
In any thought process, the story is always part of the thought process; that is what the thought process is doing – it is generating the story.
And, what you want to do is to pay attention to the thought process rather than the story that it is generating.
887. GET TO KNOW THE PROCESS
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (19:28-21:19)
When there is any sense experience, the mind already says something.
This is true all the time, and from that one thought about the sense experience, there is a chain of thought processes that leads to something else; and often we’re not aware of this.
Usually, our level of awareness is such that when we see a person and the next thing you know is that you’re angry. So, this person makes me angry.
But what we don’t see is the chain of little things that happens in our own mind – so, there is this object and what does the mind say of this object. And, what is the interaction, the feeling, the chain of events in the mind, that leads to the angry thinking.
When we don’t see that, it is just 2 things for us – seeing a person and getting angry. So, we make a wrong judgment – we believe that this person makes us angry whereas there is a process that leads to anger. And, that process is not that person.
888. HOW MUCH ENERGY DO YOU USE TO BE AWARE?
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (1:06:50-1:10:23)
Yogi: I feel like I’m in the middle – neither totally unaware nor continuously aware. I will be aware for a period of time and then the mind says that I need a rest. Should I take a rest or push ahead?
Sayadaw: You must stop if you feel tired. Right practice builds gently, and it’s just a steady increase of awareness and doesn’t feel tiring. The longer you remain aware, the more strengthening it feels – you feel light and more energized. If you feel deflated, you’re exerting too much energy – there’s some wrong practice happening.
A common thing is that, in the beginning, we don’t know how much energy is just enough to be aware. If we even use a little more energy, it will lead to some tiredness at some point.
We need to learn to recognize how much energy we are putting in and tune it to see what will keep us going without hitting a wall at some point. We need to gauge how much energy we’re putting into our practice and every yogi has to learn that.
In a retreat, when a yogi tries to be mindful throughout the day and night and if they put in too much effort, they start to tire towards the evening. They can recharge their battery by doing lying down meditation.
889. AWARENESS FEELS MORE EFFORTLESS AS MOMENTUM GROWS
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (1:00:15-1:06:35)
Yogi: When I’m absorbed in either work or play, it feels like the mind is getting a break; it’s a way of zoning out. When I’m aware, it’s the opposite and it feels like we need to take a break from awareness.
Sayadaw: The tendency in life for the mind to get absorbed in things is generally motivated by defilement – to indulge and to be fully distracted from the world.
In life, we habitually get absorbed through defilement such as greed in entertainment or we get lost in a game from delusion.
When we meditate, we then tend to focus and that brings defilement into the practice because focusing gets us to be absorbed in something. That is why we should not focus when we meditate.
The nature of wisdom is a more backed-up view which sees the different interactions – it sees a bigger and complete picture.
Yogi: I’m not sure that helps.
Sayadaw: Initially, having to be aware feels tiring; it is easier to just let the mind do its own thing and not have to watch the experience. But, when awareness builds momentum, yogis start to notice that the mind is less chaotic and freer, and the opposite is true when awareness slackens.
890. CHECKING ENERGY LEVEL AND USING WHAT IS BENEFICIAL TO PRACTICE
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (1:10:38-1:12:02)
Sayadaw: There was a monk who reported that he was crashing at the end of the day now and again. I asked him to watch the energy he was using because when you watch your energy, you’ll be mindful as well.
Just check now and again whether you’re getting tense or are still relaxed.
I have come across yogis who don’t know how to relax – they carry so much tension that they don’t know any other states.
Yogi: Does it help to combine vipassana with samatha practice when we get to this point?
Sayadaw: Certainly, if it’s a skillful means – you can alternate and use it skillfully as you see fit. You can judge your own circumstance and see what’s more beneficial in the moment and use what’s best for that time.
891. LET DEFILEMENTS DO THEIR JOB AND YOU DO YOUR JOB
20200209 We also use some (skillful) thoughts for practice // Sayadaw U Tejaniya‘s Dhamma Interview (7:15-7:49) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv66wwnQF2Y&feature=share...
Yogi: The thinking is so continuous; they keep on coming.
Sayadaw: Thinking is not a problem; let the thoughts be.
They do their job; you set the thoughts aside and just do your job, like leaving a babbling friend alone.
You keep on doing your job – when they are tired, they will naturally stop.
892. HOW TO NURTURE THE DHAMMA IN DAILY LIFE
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (1:40:51-1:45:05)
Yogi: How can we practice without the momentum and seclusion of retreats?
Sayadaw: It depends on how much the person prioritizes or values the dhamma – they then create their own mental seclusion. Depending on how much the person understands the dhamma, that wisdom will then prioritize the dhamma. It’s only when we practice that much that we can understand the value of it.
For a lot of people, it’s only when they are in continuous difficulty like depression or something that is pervasive in the mind that they have to be pervasively aware to be relieved of it. How hard do we make effort when we’re really down?
Ultimately it’s about wisdom – understanding how valuable the practice is to have, whether or not we’re in a good state.
In the beginning we have to take care of the dhamma, we have to nurture it – we have to practice, grow and cultivate it in our lives. When it has matured enough, it will take care of us.
Till then, you have to make an effort. Vipassana is not a short-term project; it’s a practice that you have to take to your deathbed.
893. IDENTIFICATION HAPPENS THE INSTANT REALITY IS NOT SEEN
Morning Q&A at Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2018-01-25 (0:00-9:30)
A yogi was happy with his walking meditation; he liked his walking path and cordoned it off with bottles to keep it for himself. When he realized that, he felt guilty and criticized himself for being selfish. He then asked if he should continue to walk there or go somewhere else.
Where did the yogi start to go wrong, and what should he do?
The whole process is a natural process; none of it is wrong in itself. What derailed the yogi was when he took it personally.
He was walking and walking well; and when he felt happy, there was greed. He saw that – it was fine.
And, he thought ‘I’m selfish; my mind is no good’. That’s when it went off the rails of meditation and went into ‘I should be’ instead of ‘Oh, yes, the mind is doing this’.
The yogi has to watch the selfish or greedy mind, not move somewhere else. The goal is not to get rid of the selfishness by moving away, but to watch and understand it.
894. PRACTICING IS RESTING FROM DEFILEMENT
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (1:45:51-1:49:48)
Yogi: We can bring awareness to whatever we do whether on the cushion or at play. It doesn’t have to be separate from any aspect of life nor so effortful that we need to take breaks from the practice.
The awareness can be with me at all times; we can take a break with awareness.
Sayadaw: You are right! You don’t need to rest because practicing is already resting from the defilements.
895. DON’T DO MORE THAN TO WATCH WITH RIGHT VIEW
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (21:50-27:50)
Yogi: I become aware of sadness as an object and investigate the source. It comes from not getting what the mind wants. I try to accept the source of my pain and know that the pain is not going to go away, but it’s hard to be detached from that. That’s as much as I can do.
Sayadaw: Yes, your work is just to recognize the experience and observe it. And, you allow yourself to do that.
You don’t have to decide if it will go away or not. Neither expect it to go away nor expect it to stay.
The goal of the practice is to observe, to be present, and for insight to arise to understand something.
896. NON-IDENTIFICATION DOES NOT MEAN BECOMING INDIFFERENT
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (47:10-49:32)
Yogi: How can I prevent becoming indifferent from practicing non-identification?
Sayadaw: Look at it as nature and not to consider it as ‘not-I’ or non-identification because when the mind doesn’t understand the concept, thinking that this is ‘not-I’ or ‘not-me’ is not real.
The purpose of feeding the idea that whatever happens is nature is to allow us to observe what is happening in as neutral a way as possible. It is only to assist the awareness and not to believe that it is so.
897. WE HAVE TO DO OUR PART FOR THE RIGHT THOUGHT TO WORK
20200209 We also use some (skillful) thoughts for practice // Sayadaw U Tejaniya‘s Dhamma Interview (6:25-7:21) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv66wwnQF2Y&feature=share...
Yogi: The thoughts keep on coming – can I inject right thinking to stop them?
Sayadaw: Only if you have some understanding. If you have some wisdom – your mind understands something – then, you can apply right thought.
That is why, we ask beginners to apply second-hand knowledge – you listen to what we say and you start to think this way and practice.
Much later, the mind understands that this is the right way.
It takes time – the mind cannot change in the short term.
Yogi: Sometimes the thoughts just continue.
Sayadaw: You then let the thoughts be – they do their job and you just do yours.
898. WATCH THE DEFILEMENT TO UNDERSTAND, NOT TO MAKE IT GO AWAY
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (1:49:50-1:51:55)
Yogi: When we detect a wrong view in the early stage before it blows up into anger, how do we get detached from it or take care of it?
Sayadaw: When you see the defilement early in its stages, you don’t want it to disappear – you want to investigate it. You want to learn about it – you don’t want to let it out of your sight.
You’ll understand its nature only when you let it be and you investigate it.
There are many ways to make the defilement go away right away, but it’ll keep coming back. But, if you understand it, it’ll then have less power over you.
Once you have right view or understanding about it, then it cannot overpower you – it can be there, but it cannot overwhelm you because you understand it.
If you can, you see the defilement when it’s small; you use right view and start practicing by watching it continuously to understand it.
899. WHY WE NEED BORROWED RIGHT VIEW TO REMIND THAT IT IS NATURE
IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (33:05-35:21)
Yogi: At times, the sticky thoughts that are charged with emotions get in the way of being present.
Sayadaw: That is why, with those sticky thoughts, to always remind ourselves that they are a process of nature.
Recognize that the more identified we are with that process, the harder it is to unstick and remain present.
You need some help from that borrowed right view, reminding yourself that this is an object; this is a process of nature. This interaction – that the thoughts become stickier when there is emotion – is nature.
The more identified we are, the stickier the thoughts are.
900. DON’T JUDGE THOUGHTS TO BE BAD – THEY CAN TEACH US
20200209 We also use some (skillful) thoughts for practice // Sayadaw U Tejaniya‘s Dhamma Interview (5:35-9:20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv66wwnQF2Y&feature=share...
Yogi: Most of the time the mind has wrong thoughts – a lot of useless chatter.
How to abandon them?
Sayadaw: You need to know your thoughts and you don’t simply believe them.
Yogi: But they keep on coming.
Sayadaw: You don’t follow – previously you do whatever the mind says, but not now.
Now you have awareness – when they come, you check before doing anything. Now, we try to be aware of our thoughts.
Yogi: Can I recollect blessings just to stop the chattering mind?
Sayadaw: Don’t try to stop the thoughts. It is wrong if you want to stop them. You just need to understand that thoughts are also an object.
If you know that thinking is happening, it means that you know the mind.