ATTITUDE IN PRACTICE

This category gathers excerpts that clarify how to relate to experience in practice—the tone, quality, and orientation of the mind — rather than techniques or objects.

THE EXCERPTS

001 ‣ Right Attitude as Awareness Wanes (12) 002 ‣ Boredom During Sitting (14) 003 ‣ Recognizing Absence and Presence of Wisdom (18) 004 ‣ Preparing the Mind to Face Death (21) 005 ‣ Motivation that Spurs Practice (23) 006 ‣ Trying to Have Good Awareness (26) 007 ‣ Advice on Sleepy or Tense During Sitting (34) 008 ‣ Relaxing is Meditation Too (35) 009 ‣ Samadhi in Every Situation (44) 010 ‣ Right Attitude: Not Trying to Get it Right (50) 011 ‣ Checking Attitude Repeatedly (51) 012 ‣ Thought is Mind Happening (55) 013 ‣ Worrying Over Loved Ones (71) 014 ‣ Being Aware of the Relevant Object (81) 015 ‣ Be Interested in Thinking Process Rather than Thought Content (83) 016 ‣ Why There is Difficulty in Observing Habitual Objects (96) 017 ‣ How to Proceed when the Mind Quiets Down (101) 018 ‣ Right Information Facilitates Right Ideas About Meditation (117) 019 ‣ Attitude Determines the Perspective Seen (119) 020 ‣ Helpful to Recognize Wrong Attitude (120) 021 ‣ Becoming Dull and Tired (133) 022 ‣ Learning to Practise Skillfully is a Kind of Wisdom (149) 023 ‣ The Two Ways Defilements Disappear (151) 024 ‣ Wrong Attitude of Focusing Because Afraid to Lose Mindfulness (162) 025 ‣ Being Able to Accept Unpleasantness is a Kind of Understanding (163)

026 ‣ How Not to Be Drowned in Thoughts (168) 027 ‣ Meditation is Awareness, Not Pain (177) 028 ‣ Right Attitude is Wisdom (187) 029 ‣ With What Attitude Do We Undertake Precepts? (188) 030 ‣ Be Interested in Watching Thoughts (194) 031 ‣ Check Your Expectations (196) 032 ‣ Wrong View Worsens Depression (199) 033 ‣ Look at What is Present, Not Follow What the Mind Wants (218) 034 ‣ Keep Learning when Wrong Attitude Happens Repeatedly (219) 035 ‣ It’s Not What You Do, but with What Attitude while Doing (221) 036 ‣ Awareness as a Stepping Stone to Wisdom (234) 037 ‣ Samatha Has Its Place in the Practice when Done Correctly (242) 038 ‣ Don’t Try to Change Anything, but Watch and Learn (251) 039 ‣ Right Attitude for Home Practice – Any Awareness is No Waste (256) 040 ‣ A Yogi is Afraid to Lose the Awareness and Lose the Practice (257) 041 ‣ Defilements Increase when We Pay Attention without Right View (261) 042 ‣ We’re Interested in the Thinking Mind, Not the Thinking (268) 043 ‣ Yogi Asking Whether to Sit or Not (277) 044 ‣ To Acknowledge is to Keep Knowing the Attitude Towards Your Reactions (286) 045 ‣ Check Attitude First, Don’t Be Too Hasty to Meditate (287) 046 ‣ Check Attitude Otherwise Judgments Cause More Judgments (288) 047 ‣ Wrong View: Identify as ‘i’ Instead of Seeing It’s the Mind (293) 048 ‣ Our Responsibility is Right Thinking: Awareness and Interest (306) 049 ‣ Prepare the Mind to Face the Decaying Body with Right Attitude (311) 050 ‣ Without Understanding, the Mind Cannot Be Neutral and Equanimous (312)

051 ‣ Notice the Attitude Whenever There is Sense Contact (329) 052 ‣ Is Defilement Good or Bad? (346) 053 ‣ Calmness Arises Not Depending on the Object, but on the Attitude (355) 054 ‣ Right Attitude Gently Watches the Complete Picture (356) 055 ‣ Keep Noticing Wrong Attitude; Don’t Try to Change to Right Attitude (358) 056 ‣ Yogi Asking How to Deal with Unpleasant Feelings (359) 057 ‣ Checking Attitude is More Important than Being Aware of Objects (360) 058 ‣ When the Mind Changes, the View Changes Too (383) 059 ‣ An Elaboration on Right Attitude (387) 060 ‣ Be Truly Interested in Learning the Nature of Mind as Anger Unfolds (392) 061 ‣ When the Mind Tries to Control the Experience, Wisdom Cannot Arise (405) 062 ‣ When Right Attitude Arises, Awareness Follows (413) 063 ‣ The Mind Doesn’t React to the Experience when Right Attitude is Present (414) 064 ‣ Right Attitude Towards Defilements (415) 065 ‣ Meditation Cannot Improve without Right Understanding and Right Attitude (421) 066 ‣ Noticing How the 5 Spiritual Qualities of Mind Are Working (422) 067 ‣ Learning from Life’s Hard Knocks (443) 068 ‣ The Practice Gets Difficult when There’s No Right Attitude (454) 069 ‣ Be Patient when Attending to Craving (456) 070 ‣ When We Learn to Watch Realities Instead of Concepts, There’s Less Suffering (473) 071 ‣ We Watch the Defilement to Learn, Not to Stop it (479) 072 ‣ Checking the Mind Quality Through Feelings (492) 073 ‣ Maintaining Awareness while Anchoring in the Breath (493) 074 ‣ The Questions We Ask Should Arouse Interest in the Mind (508) 075 ‣ The Practice is Smooth when There’s Right Attitude (510)

076 ‣ Yogis Need to Know Why They Chant or Watch the Breath (511) 077 ‣ When You Don’t Focus, the View Becomes Wider (515) 078 ‣ Deciding from Wisdom or Deciding from Defilement (522) 079 ‣ Learning to Overcome Depression the Wisdom Way (523) 080 ‣ Every Time Anger (Cause) Arises, it Exaggerates the Experience (Effect) (526) 081 ‣ Yogi Gets Drowsy when Switching from Samatha to Vipassana (527) 082 ‣ Consistent Awareness Helps the Mind to De-conceptualize Preconceived Ideas (532) 083 ‣ The Difference Between Vipassana Samadhi and Samatha Samadhi (537) 084 ‣ Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw’s Advice: Ground Our Conceptual World on Reality (539) 085 ‣ Everything is Good when Wisdom Leads (546) 086 ‣ Investigation is Not by Thinking but by Actual Observation of Processes (550) 087 ‣ Having an Open Attitude to Check (579) 088 ‣ Acknowledge Our Conceptual Experiences Yet Recognize the Working Mind (580) 089 ‣ Advice on How Not to Let Tension Escalate (581) 090 ‣ Judging and Thinking Will Intensify Restlessness (613) 091 ‣ The Mind Through the Six Sense Doors Already Knows the Objects (629) 092 ‣ Wrong Attitude Turns the Experience into a Problem (638) 093 ‣ Right Thoughts and Wrong Thoughts During the Practice (643) 094 ‣ Bored Because the Mind Has No Wisdom to Be Interested in the Right Object (659) 095 ‣ Check Awareness and Attitude when the Object is a Strong Defilement (664) 096 ‣ What Does it Mean to Check Attitude (692) 097 ‣ A Common Wrong Attitude of Yogis (693) 098 ‣ We Meditate to Understand the Mind, Not to Get Rid of a Problem (696) 099 ‣ Understanding and Thinking Are Opposites (700) 100 ‣ Frustrated Because Did Not Realize the Wrong Attitude (724)

101 ‣ Check that the Right Idea is Driving the Awareness (725) 102 ‣ Rounding Up the Practice (747) 103 ‣ The Right Attitude Towards an Extraordinarily Good State of Mind (760) 104 ‣ It Takes Time for the Mind to Mature (773) 105 ‣ When Attitude is Right, it is Easy to Practice (774) 106 ‣ Don’t Be Fixated in Ideas of Practice; Discover for Ourselves What Works (782) 107 ‣ Deep Concentration without Understanding is Dangerous (788) 108 ‣ Find Out the Attitude Towards Boredom (799) 109 ‣ Recognize and Acknowledge the Wrong Attitude (801) 110 ‣ When There’s Defilement, Open Awareness is Not Suitable (820) 111 ‣ Progression of the Practice (826) 112 ‣ What to Do when the Mind Gets Bored (829) 113 ‣ To Know the Mind is Enough (832) 114 ‣ Whenever an Unpleasant Object is Obvious, Check the Attitude (833) 115 ‣ When Wrong Attitude Persists, Stop Practicing and Relax the Mind First (834) 116 ‣ How to Intercept the Momentum of Wrong Attitude (835) 117 ‣ The Object is Nature; It’s Neither Good Nor Bad (840) 118 ‣ Expressions of Realization! (849) 119 ‣ Watch the Unstable Mind Whenever Defilements Flare Up (865) 120 ‣ The Tip is to Be Lightly Aware (870) 121 ‣ Noticing the Experience or Noticing the Awareness of the Experience (912) 122 ‣ Acknowledge the Presence of Wrong Attitude as Mind Nature – Impersonal (920) 123 ‣ Ideas Are the Lens Which We View the Experience (924) 124 ‣ Right Attitude Means Developing Understanding About Defilements (933) 125 ‣ The Complete Picture (937)

126 ‣ Right Attitude is when Wisdom is Thinking (949) 127 ‣ What Motivates the Thought is Important, Not the Thought (950) 128 ‣ Confidence in the Awareness (958) 129 ‣ Breaking a Bad Habit (966) 130 ‣ Mistaking Feeling Good for Good Meditation (975) 131 ‣ When Finding Out Why Leads to More Thinking (998) 132 ‣ Meditation is Training the Mind (1006) 133 ‣ The Mind Can’t Be Seen when Too Eager to Look for it (1010) 134 ‣ When Everything Feels Like the Same Old Thing (1011) 135 ‣ It Takes Time to Grow the Motivation to Be Aware (1012) 136 ‣ We Feel the Way We Think (1030) 137 ‣ Strengthening the Awareness Mind (1050) 138 ‣ The Approach to Understanding Pain (1054) 139 ‣ Does the Mind Like the Experience? (1057) 140 ‣ What to Do when the Attitude is Wrong (1059) 141 ‣ With Right Attitude, Any Happening is Just Being Known (1060) 142 ‣ Do What it Takes to Support the Awareness (1063) 143 ‣ We Can Still Learn Despite Stumbling with Wrong Attitude (1075) 144 ‣ Drop Any Unpleasant Object that Keeps Getting Worse (1080) 145 ‣ Right Attitude Frees the Mind to Observe without Distress (1088) 146 ‣ Put in Some Effort to Explore when it Turns Stale (1093) 147 ‣ What Does Accept Mean in Vipassana Practice? (1100) 148 ‣ The Mind Can Be Changed when There is Wisdom (1101) 149 ‣ Thoughts Are Just a Reflection of Their Nature (1118) 150 ‣ Watch Defilement in Tandem with How Attitude is Adjusted (1119)

151 ‣ A Reminder for Long-time Yogis on Momentum (1121) 152 ‣ Right Attitude Towards Cultivating Awareness (1122) 153 ‣ Be Content to Be Mindful and the Learning Will Happen (1129) 154 ‣ Adjust the Attitude to See from the Perspective of Nature (1131) 155 ‣ Meditation is a Gentle Art (1145) 156 ‣ Despite the Mind in a Bad State Meditation Can Continue If Attitude is Right (1153) 157 ‣ It is Easier to Be Aware than to Change Our Attitude (1154) 158 ‣ Right Attitude is a Manifestation of Wisdom (1156) 159 ‣ Recognize the Right Attitude that Guides the Practice (1157) 160 ‣ Start from Where We Are with Some Right Information (1158) 161 ‣ Understanding Thinking as an Object (1160) 162 ‣ Wisdom Chooses to Do Samatha Practice to Stop the Excessive Thoughts (1163) 163 ‣ Notice that the Mind Relaxes Whenever a Right Thought Arises (1176) 164 ‣ Meditating is Training the Mind to Be Skilful (1198) 165 ‣ Be Interested in the Current Attitude (1203) 166 ‣ How Should the Mind Investigate? (1204) 167 ‣ Why Sayadaw Doesn’t Teach Concentration Meditation (1211) 168 ‣ Advice on Practicing Concentration Meditation (1213) 169 ‣ Beware Whenever We Do Concentration Exercises (1214) 170 ‣ Right Attitude Towards Mindfulness Consistency (1224) 171 ‣ Feeling and Reaction Are Different Minds (1240) 172 ‣ Getting Restless from Over Exerting (1241) 173 ‣ Let Awareness Be a Priority in Life (1259) 174 ‣ The Obstacle to Home Practice – Expecting Certain Experiences (1263) 175 ‣ When Thoughts Disturb the Mind, Direct Attention to the Thinking Process (1275)

176 ‣ Meditation is Not Controlling to Get What We Want (1276) 177 ‣ Learn to Be Aware of Bad Situations (1277) 178 ‣ Building Right Attitude with Right Information (1293) 179 ‣ How to Bring in Right Attitude to the Practice (1297) 180 ‣ Practicing with Restlessness and Stress (1301) 181 ‣ Dealing with Low Confidence (1303) 182 ‣ Asking Advice on Understanding Own Practice (1312) 183 ‣ Attitude is Also Conditioned (1327) 184 ‣ A Mixed Bag of Minds Happening at Any One Time (1328) 185 ‣ A Positive Attitude Helps to Bring in More Mindfulness (1329) 186 ‣ One Doesn’t Go Off the Edge Due to Certain Meditation Techniques (1343) 187 ‣ Right Attitude Makes All the Difference (1349) 188 ‣ Just Be Happy that You’re Aware (1351) 189 ‣ The Awareness is More Consistent If We Can Watch Unclear Objects (1353) 190 ‣ Liking Praise and Disliking Criticism (1354) 191 ‣ What Can Motivate Our Minds to Practice at Home? (1359) 192 ‣ When Nothing Seems Right (1362) 193 ‣ Keep on Practicing (1364) 194 ‣ Right Attitude Towards Fear (1365) 195 ‣ As the Practice Matures (1366) 196 ‣ Notice when We’re Aware with the Wrong Attitude (1368) 197 ‣ When Something Upsets Us, Come Back to the Mind (1382) 198 ‣ The Function of the Object is to Support the Awareness (1386) 199 ‣ Don’t Merely Try to Make the Mind Accept and Let Go (1400) 200 ‣ If Our Emotion Increases when We’re Aware, Check Our Expectation (1412)

201 ‣ Whichever Mind is Practiced Leaves Behind Its Quality (1417) 202 ‣ Learn to See the Correlation Between Feeling and Ideas (1424) 203 ‣ Applying What is Learned May Come from Different Motivations (1452) 204 ‣ Instructions to a New Yogi (1453) 205 ‣ Every Mental Process is New; Only the Concept is Old (1464) 206 ‣ Consistent Awareness Brings More Understanding (1468) 207 ‣ The Mind is Equanimous Although the Object is Suffering (1479) 208 ‣ The Awareness Practice Purifies the Mind, Not the Experience (1480) 209 ‣ Handling Severe Pain (1512) 210 ‣ The Goal of the Practice is to Grow Awareness (1513) 211 ‣ Discerning Between Right Attitude and Wrong Attitude (1519) 212 ‣ Don’t Rush – Just Practice Steadily (1523) 213 ‣ The Problem in Thinking that the Practice is Not Enough (1524) 214 ‣ Investigation is Already Happening when We’re Curious (1527) 215 ‣ Knowing What We’re Doing is Meditating (1529) 216 ‣ Notice the Skillful Part of the Mind that Knows How to Do the Yogi Job (1532) 217 ‣ What Right Idea to Have when We Watch a Defilement (1551) 218 ‣ The Foundation of the Practice (1566) 219 ‣ How to Attend when Pain Arises (1569) 220 ‣ We Meditate Watching the Natural Process (1570) 221 ‣ The Essence of Our Practice (1573) 222 ‣ Practice to Understand the Mind Through Awareness (1575) 223 ‣ The Right Attitude to Watching Pain (1594) 224 ‣ Sensing the Chest Area to Calm the Mind (1615) 225 ‣ It is Impossible that There is No Object (1631)

226 ‣ Practice in Daily Life by Checking Your Feelings (1632) 227 ‣ View All Experiences as Objects (1636) 228 ‣ What is the Quality of Awareness? (1652) 229 ‣ Mindful Exercise Supports Our Practice (1653) 230 ‣ Using Wisdom to Change the Direction of the Mind (1674) 231 ‣ Without Right View, Don’t Watch the Defilement Object (1677) 232 ‣ If the Defilement Increases when We Watch it, it is Not the Right Object (1681) 233 ‣ Interest Brings in Attention and Dispels Distraction (1694) 234 ‣ Understand that Different Minds Have Different Functions and Natures (1698) 235 ‣ Know Our Motivation in Whatever We Do (1700) 236 ‣ The Process of Checking Our Attitude (1707) 237 ‣ Consistent Awareness is the Condition for the Arising of Wisdom (1708) 238 ‣ Practice Building the Momentum of Awareness (1713) 239 ‣ When Bad Memories Unsettle the Mind (1714) 240 ‣ Think of this Right Idea when Stray Thoughts Arise (1731) 241 ‣ Do We Expect Something in Return when We Help Others (1759)

THE DISCUSSIONS

001 ‣ Make Sure the Attitude is Right (2) 002 ‣ Watching Greed (Lobha) while Eating (3) 003 ‣ Remindfulness (6) 004 ‣ Attachment and Responsibilities (7) 005 ‣ The Deeper You Understand Anger, the Less it Overwhelms You (9) 006 ‣ Stability of Mind – the Role of Non-self (Anatta) Wisdom (10) 007 ‣ Why Meditation Feels Different Each Day (11) 008 ‣ Know Why the Mind is Resisting Instead of Trying to Accept (12) 009 ‣ Can Meditation Cure Diseases? (13) 010 ‣ Right Attitude in Observing Sleepiness (14) 011 ‣ Nature of Focusing and Nature of Five Spiritual Faculties (23) 012 ‣ Right Effort Vs Wrong Effort (26) 013 ‣ How to Make the Best Use of Arising Defilements (Unwholesome Thoughts) (50) 014 ‣ Abandoning the Old, Guarding Against the New — Caring for the Mind (51) 015 ‣ First, Change the Direction Toward the Dhamma Mind (54) 016 ‣ Learning to Understand Pain Before Suffering Becomes Inevitable (58)