In a Nutshell
The following are a medley of Sayadaw U Tejaniya’s reflections, ideas, suggestions, and mini-cases for consideration. They have been translated from Dhamma discussions, morning Dhamma reminders, and Sayadaw U Tejaniya’s little blue instruction book in Burmese. Since these are pieces taken out of context, not everything may make sense at first glance to yogis who aren’t yet familiar with his teachings. Do take what immediately speaks to you and your personal experience and keep the rest for another day.
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1. It is the nature of the mind to know. Everyone already has this nature of awareness which we are practicing to nurture, strengthen, and grow. We only need more right practice, without forcing or focusing. The momentum and strength of awareness will develop naturally when we practice consistently, moment-to-moment, without breaks. That is called right effort (sammāvāyāma).
There is a vast difference between a mind that is aware and a mind without awareness. The kind of awareness that comes from energetic focusing lasts only briefly. The kind of awareness that develops naturally from continuous practice is longer lasting and doesn’t just disappear because of some external causes.
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2. People come to the meditation center with plans to put in a lot of effort and to achieve as much as possible within a short period of time. That’s just the work of lobha!
Meditation is for the long-haul, a practice we do for life, without rest until final liberation. We need to learn how to be skillful at running this marathon and learn to nurture all the wholesome mental qualities possible.
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3. We don’t “give you Dhamma” here. We do teach you how to become skillful at meditation. That’s what I’m interested in.
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4. In your daily life, you can’t meditate by forcing awareness or unnaturally putting in extra energy into your practice. You have come here to learn a way of practice that you can apply to your daily life.
When you are meditating, there is what is happening (objects) and what is meditating (the mind). If you only pay attention to what is happening without paying attention to how the mind is observing, you won’t be aware of the greed or aversion developing in the mind in reaction to what is happening.
You’ll begin to understand meditation when you are interested in learning more about the mind and you pay attention to the observing mind. Being skillful at meditation is a type of wisdom and more important than “getting Dhamma”. That will come naturally once you learn how to meditate.
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5. Think about it: As long as we want to see or experience specific objects, there is still greed. We can’t say we are meditating when we are practicing with greed in the observing / meditating mind.
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6. When you first begin, it’s not enough only to have awareness. You need to reinforce it with other supports: Think about how you are going to practice and what is happening in the mind and body, for example. There are fewer chances to indulge in unwholesome thoughts when the mind is filled with wholesome thoughts. The mind can’t simultaneously think two things. If there is right thinking, there can’t be wrong thinking, or getting lost in thinking. Give the mind a job and make it work. Momentum builds from having awareness for longer periods from moment-to-moment.
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7. We need momentum to be successful in all areas of life including education, business, or profession. Momentum is also needed for meditation to grow. But remember that this momentum doesn’t come from exerting a lot of energy! If we exert a lot of energy, we will have only wasted that energy by the end of the day. We want a momentum that comes out of practicing steadily, without stopping.
Anyone with gardening experience can relate to this: If you want to grow flowers, what do you do? Do you think, “This flower’s certainly taking a long time…” and yank it out of the soil? No! Of course, you water it and you put in the appropriate amount of fertilizer. The flower will do its own job of growing. You can’t force it to grow. You only figure out the environmental conditions that will help the flower thrive.
Similarly, in meditation, you figure out and fulfill the conditions that will help the practice thrive. That’s why I ask you to practice consistently and conti nuously. When momentum builds up, awareness will be there even if you don’t want it to be there. That’s why you want to practice steadily, throughout the day.
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8. Most yogis know that they ought to practice diligently. However, few yogis are clear on how to practice diligently.
Many yogis work diligently to focus on an object. In reality, we are practicing to properly understand the underlying characteristics of an object. Instead of using only effort to practice, we also need to use awareness along with intelligence to learn about these objects. Only then will understanding arise. When we say viriya is needed, the kind of viriya we’re talking about is not focusing energy. The kind of viriya that’s needed is perseverance. Applying our knowledge, the right attitude, and wisdom is what’s needed for right effort (sammā-vāyāma).
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9. Meditation is
practicing to recognize objects as they arise, and
developing wisdom in the mind that is observing these objects.
It is not the work of mindfulness meditation to make objects disappear. We are not meditating to get rid of objects nor are we trying to see or create experiences in the present based on our preconceived ideas of meditation. We practice to recognize and to understand the nature of whatever is happening.
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10. Knowing what is wrong is very important. It’s only when you recognize what is wrong that you will also begin to understand what is right. There is a lot you can learn from what you think are unfavorable conditions for meditation. There may be unhappiness or suffering. Don’t make judgments that these conditions are bad for practice. There is no such thing as “bad meditation”. In Dhamma, there is only what’s happening. Accept the situation and be aware. It’s already good if you are aware of what’s happening. However, people pay attention mostly to what is happening and just go around in circles as a result of having judged something as “good” or “bad”.
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11. There is no need to try to control or restrict your movements when you are meditating. Don’t walk very slowly or too fast. Just walk at a natural pace. Do whatever you need to do naturally throughout the day. You are learning and practicing to see how you can better pay attention and be aware of whatever is happening.
In comparing the mind and body (physical form), which one is faster? (The mind!) So, instead of slowing down your bodily movements, practice to sharpen and strengthen your mental faculties so that they become natural.
We can see without looking. We can hear without listening. We can also smell without sniffing. In the same way, we can be naturally aware without focusing, without putting in forceful energy. Once there is a natural awareness, we only work to maintain it for longer periods.
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12. You see things as they are happening. Isn’t it considered even better awareness when you are able to see all of this compared to seeing only one thing?
When there is a lot of delusion, it’s difficult to observe even one object. As the mind’s receiver becomes even stronger, it can be aware of many objects and capture many more channels because the strength and scope of awareness widens.
There is so much arising at the six sense doors in this present moment. If you are able to be aware of as many of these as possible, isn’t it sammā-sati? So the fact that the mind can see more objects in vipassanā means that sati is getting stronger. It is harder for moha to arise when the mind is knowing with some wisdom present. That’s why wisdom needs to be in there along with awareness.
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13. When you have become more experienced with the practice, you ought to be able to meditate with any of the six sense objects.
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14. Yogis tell me how difficult it is to practice in their daily lives because there are so many more objects outside than at the center. What kind of objects do you think they are referring to? True, there are many more conceptual objects (paññatti) outside like cars, people, or buildings. That’s what people pay attention to, but only because they haven’t understood ultimate reality (paramattha) yet. Ultimate reality here is also ultimate reality outside. There are only six sense doors / objects in the retreat center and only six sense doors / objects in daily life.
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15. There is nothing more interesting than using Dhamma in daily life. People don’t use the Dhamma that much in daily life because they don’t know the quality, value, and inherent worth of the Dhamma. Someone who really practices outside will know the value of this practice as something they can’t do without.
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16. You need to modify your ideas about meditation practice: You’re not returning home… you’re going back to another retreat center! Think of your home as a retreat center. Right now, you view walking meditation here differently from walking outside in daily life.
Here in the retreat center, maintaining awareness takes priority for you. Outside, there is a lot more eagerness when the ideas of my house, my home, or my family are propelling you. So you need to begin by altering the way you see your home. Practice becomes smoother when your views towards your home are similar to your views towards a retreat center. Right now, as soon as you go home, all the tasks you need to do outside already take priority.
This has a lot to do with attitude. When you are outside again, keep checking your attitudes, views, thinking and background ideas. When you begin to view your home in the same way that you view the meditation center, your practice will also work out.
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17. There are so many opportunities to practice generosity (dāna) out in daily life. For example, you give way to a person who wants to get past you while you’re driving. Isn’t that dāna? Is it dāna only when you offer money? What about giving someone space? Moving over and giving the spot you were going to take for yourself is dāna. We are practicing dāna whenever we are giving.
When I was practicing in the market, I noticed that people didn’t really pay attention to where they were going because they were absorbed in their thoughts or counting money as they walked. We had a lot of people walking around anxious or lost in thoughts. They kept bumping into me so many times that I got upset! (Laughs) I had to keep moving out of their way. There was awareness present as I just gently moved over for them. As I kept moving out of people’s way, I found myself starting to enjoy giving over that space.
When you start to have awareness, you’ll see these things. What about smiling? Doesn’t that make the other person happy to see that? What’s easier on the eyes: A scowling face or a smiling face? So dāna is not just about money. Giving space is dāna too. Give what you can, if you can. Of course all of this depends on the quality of mind. If the mental state is negative, there’s nothing you’ll want to give. When mental qualities are wholesome, then it’s easier to give whenever someone needs or asks for something.
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18. We practice to bring out awareness and to strengthen wholesome qualities in the mind. We become aware of objects when the mental faculties are balanced and sharp enough to be aware of them. We don’t see something just because we want to see it. We only see as much as we are capable of seeing.
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19. Intentionally putting strength into our practice doesn’t necessarily strengthen awareness. We’ll only lose that energy! Only when there is wisdom combined with awareness will the mind grow in strength. When we meditate with the right attitude and right view, our mind and spiritual faculties will improve, fueling a wholesome desire (chanda) to continue practicing.
Alternatively, practicing with defilement-motivated attitudes will weaken the mind and body. We will also get bored with the practice, eventually losing the wholesome desire to keep on meditating.
Why is it that the Dhamma and the practice don’t follow yogis out to their daily lives? Why don’t yogis sustain the desire to meditate continuously and consistently? It is because many yogis come to rest instead of coming to learn to be skillful in growing understanding. A yogi whose practice is aimed at developing calm may stop practicing wholeheartedly when she reaches that state. On the other hand, a yogi who practices to understand the truth will not rest until she has understood thoroughly. If yogis became skillful in developing understanding, then they could use this practice anywhere.
In fact, when the mind is in a calm, steady state, it is in a position to do dhamma investigation. It’s ready to practice with intelligence and ready to study and learn about what is happening. If we don’t realize that this is the way to proceed at this point, the greedy mind will just step in and enjoy this calm state, which is exactly what many yogis do!
Why are we meditating? Do we meditate to calm the mind down? Or do we practice to understand things as they are? Tranquility is not an end goal but a side-effect in mindfulness meditation. When we understand dhamma nature very deeply, tranquility comes as an inherent part of this wisdom.
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20. Yogis tend to close their eyes when they want to meditate. Many yogis who have been practicing for some time may not be adept yet in meditating while looking, seeing, and talking, as they haven’t had much practice in these areas. Keeping your eyes closed or open is not what is important. What is key is whether the mind is wholesome or unwholesome.
Is looking the same as seeing?
Can you see without looking?
Ask some questions while meditating. This interest, inquiry, and curiosity can determine how narrow or expansive the field of awareness can be. If you limit yourself only to our discussion questions, this will only take you so far.
In my early days of practice, I had heard people talk about the nature of impermanence. I asked myself, “Is there anything that might be permanent?” I experimented and looked around… I still haven’t found it, although it might be out there.
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21. When you just wait and watch, there is more awareness of objects and awareness of the mind knowing these objects as well. You’ll know for sure when there is awareness and you’ll also know for sure when awareness isn’t there.
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22. First, awareness leads. Then after practicing for some time and many understandings later, awareness and wisdom will arise together. Later on, wisdom leads. It’s not so easy for this to happen. We need to gather a lot of information when we are doing the practice of awareness+wisdom.
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23. Why do we have to practice? We practice because defilements are very strong. Just observe your mind. With anything that happens, is greed or aversion already present? Or is there awareness+wisdom? How does the mind feel when there are unwholesome mental states? What does it experience? Do you feel dissatisfied or frustrated by the experience? Or can you accept what is happening as it is? Continuing to practice with wrong attitudes will only fuel more aversion and you may eventually become discouraged with the situation.
When there is right attitude with wisdom, it is possible for the mind to accept things as they are. But do note that while wisdom accepts whatever is happening as objects, wisdom does not accept unwholesome qualities in the observing mind.
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24. A yogi who is always watching the mind will notice each time that unwholesome mental states arise. It may seem as if there is a great deal of these states happening. If the yogi views what is happening with the wrong attitude that these are personally happening to him, he’ll become distressed.
When awareness and wisdom grow, with the right attitude working in the background, this yogi may even feel joyful interest (pīti somanassa) in recognizing these states as they are. Here’s an analogy: If a policeman were able to catch the thief every time he stole something, this policeman would be promoted up the ranks. On the other hand, a demotion might be headed his way if the policeman kept missing the thief!
Here, the thief is always stealing something! Are you going to experience objects with defilements whenever they arise? Or are you going to observe with wisdom? Pay attention with awareness+wisdom. Otherwise, defilements will have already taken over the experience!
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25. When you recognize thinking as thinking, the mind becomes clear. The mind becomes clear because of awareness. Otherwise, when the mind isn’t aware of thinking happening, it can be cloudy or hazy. Thinking is not a problem when you can recognize it as an object, just like you recognize breathing as an object. You may have heard from others that too many thoughts are not good and you won’t get any samādhi from it. Don’t make these decisions based on objects. What’s more important is that awareness is present. If there’s awareness, it’s good. The objects have nothing to do with you. If awareness is strong, thoughts will lessen by themselves. Even then, we are only talking about a decrease in surface-level thinking.
Thoughts related to what’s happening at home or about some unfinished business are primarily surface-level thinking. When these lessen and you see more subtle thoughts, it may seem like there is a lot happening. You may notice a whole lot more thoughts happening at a subtle level! These will seem to have increased. The mind is talking from the moment you wake up to when you go to bed… it’s so loud sometimes. What does the mind say as soon as it wakes up? “I need to use the toilet.” (Laughs)
In fact, these are thoughts that can only be seen when sati and samādhi are strong. The mind is labeling different things, judging, reading signs or numbers, talking, or interpreting meanings. When sati was weaker, you couldn’t see the mind at work every time there was contact with objects. You can only see this subtle thinking when sati and samādhi are good. There’ll be many thoughts and they’re fast.
Behind this mental dialogue is some idea working in the background. Lobha talks a certain way and dosa talks in a different way. You can recognize these things. In the beginning, you took the storyline as an object. Later on, when you see the thinking itself as an object, you don’t pay that much attention to the storyline. You see the nature of thoughts and thoughts as objects to be known.
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26. We don’t get something just because we want it or just the way we want it. We can only get as much as there are causes and conditions in place for something to happen or how much we put into the practice according to our abilities. When we understand this point, the wanting for something or some experience will eventually lessen. It will be replaced by a wholesome desire to become skillful at cultivating the conditions to fulfill the causes through meditation.
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27. For those who are trying to get the Dhamma: Have you ever considered what the Dhamma is really about?
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28. It is not easy to see the mind. When you do see the mind, it’s not easy for understanding to arise. Defilements are even tougher to understand. You must always, always be interested in the mind and continually learn about it.
The most important ingredient here is having the right attitude: What is happening is dhamma nature, an object to be known or observed. Once there is right view and right attitude present, be diligent with moment-tomoment awareness. Don’t interfere with objects! Let whatever happens, happen because it has nothing to do with “you”. With momentum, the field of awareness expands and wisdom is sure to follow.
When the observing mind grows in strength and wisdom, it will begin to see the different machinations and variations used by defilements. For now, defilements have all the entry-points mapped out because the mind has been their playground for so long. The emerging wisdom is not smart enough to counter the defilements running circles around it. But there is no need to get upset over this—you can study and learn from each experience so long as there is awareness.
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29. Most people pay attention to concepts (paññatti). Ultimate reality (paramattha) can’t be discerned by a mind with moha. Awareness knows that objects are happening or arising, but only wisdom goes through to the heart of what is happening to understand its natural characteristics.
So think about it: If we meditate with a strong, fixed concentration (but without right view) instead of learning about defilements and becoming skillful in thinning them down—it becomes possible to create any experience we want! We can create anything, even the concept of Nibbāna, with strong concentration. That’s why I’m so wary of this kind of concentration. It can create anything it wants!
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30. You will only grab hold of concepts if you follow the storyline. The past and future are merely in the storyline. The nature of what is happening is the mind and the mind is arising in the present moment. So if you know there is thinking when there is thinking, that’s awareness at work already.
Don’t immediately assume that the mind is agitated when you see thoughts. There is awareness because the mind has some measure of calmness. Only when there is no awareness can you say the mind is not calm. But so long as the mind is aware of the thinking, there is already some sort of stability there.
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31. The mind can and will create a great many things and will believe the things it has created if it has never seen very subtle levels of mind.
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32. Let me say something here about how perception and wisdom work. You hear a sound. It’s assumed that the mind already recognizes sound as an object here. So when you hear this sound, doesn’t the mind interpret the sound as the sound of birds, the bell, or crickets? Perception (saññā) interprets the sound and creates meaning out of it while wisdom (paññā) knows this sound as sound. Do you think this is happening one by one? It’s not. It’s all included and happening together, in one time. When you are able to see the different parts of the mind working in this way, you can see many things at once. There is no need to meditate on the sound and its concept separately. They’re happening together and the mind already knows it.
Are we trying to get rid of concepts? No! Remember that we’re not practicing to get rid of saññā here. We’re only trying to reduce taking concepts as objects but concepts need to be there. Without concepts, we can’t even walk or go up the stairs. When we take the stairs, saññā has already memorized the distance between each step. Just try adding a couple of inches to the steps we’re used to climbing regularly and we’d trip! What we are doing is just paying more attention to reality (paramattha).
Saññā does the work of remembering at the moment that there is contact with an object. When there is contact with object, there is already a perception of it. How can we erase this interpretation when it is just a natural part of the mind? Yogis try to just note sound as just sound, sound, sound and it is possible to do this if there is focusing. Yogis can totally lose the concept of “birds” or “crickets” in the process and they think that they are being in the present moment this way. It’s actually not the present moment when we lose all recognition of what the object is and any possibility for wisdom to arise in that moment.
A yogi who came to practice with just seeing, seeing, hearing, hearing found that he couldn’t practice at all any more once he left the center. Why? We need saññā to function. Don’t we need to know how much we’re selling a product for? How can we answer questions without the use of concepts or if we only hear sounds without an idea of the meaning of those sounds? That’s not how Dhamma works.
We know the knowing mind (viññāṇa), we know intentions, we know the feeling mind (vedanā) but we may not recognize how saññā is working. Fewer people will recognize saññā at work. Take an example of meeting a person for the first time. Won’t you remember him when you see him the next day? How do you remember? You remember because of the work of saññā. You’ll be able to understand this and see it clearly if you observe the workings of the mind.
Of course if you work in such a way that you focus in on an object so the mind can’t think, it wouldn’t be able to connect the concept with the object either. But doing that is basically trying to stop a natural process and to stop saññā from working. Not being able to think has no element of wisdom within it! There is no interpretation of meaning only because saññā has been suppressed but there can’t be any further understanding of object and/or mind and causal relationships. Of course, lobha or dosa can’t come in but what about moha? Moha is there in full.
So, in observing, don’t try to break apart the five aggregates of form (rūpa), feeling (vedanā), perception (saññā), mental formations (saṅkhāra), and consciousness (viññāṇa). Instead, you can see how they are each doing their own job. For example, if you take the roof off a restaurant and peer in from the top, you’ll see the boss sitting at the counter, the waiter walking around, the customers having their meals, and the chef cooking in the kitchen. Does each person start his role only when someone else has finished his function? No! They’re all happening simultaneously. It’s the same with the five aggregates.
In short, mindfulness meditation is not about stopping a process that’s happening but about understanding the reality or the truth of that process.
People try to stop or cut off processes when they notice a lot of concepts. Wisdom can’t arise that way. Wisdom can come in only when there is a clear seeing of mental functions doing their own jobs and lobha or dosa don’t follow close behind. With much practice, you can see the object, how the mind feels, how it reacts, and how it’s working. In the beginning, you may alternately recognize objects, then mind, then objects, then mind, etc.
The way you meditate has to change from grade to grade! Are you going to spell words or read sentences the same way in high school as you did in elementary school? Will you still be reading the same way in college? Will graduate school reading be the same as college reading? The way you look at words must necessarily change. Likewise, the way you meditate progresses to match the strength of wisdom in the mind. There’s no need to go around noting each object by spelling out “c-a-t” but just recognize the word “c-a-t” as “cat”.
Right now I see yogis come to retreat the first time and they begin with an object. The next time they come to retreat, they begin back at an object. Is there a need to go back to this level when you can see the object, the feeling mind, the knowing mind, all working together? (Yogis: “We’re not there yet.”) Do you know why you are not there? There needs to be continuity and momentum in awareness. Because there’s no continuity of awareness, there’s no momentum and wisdom is not growing. It’s the work of the mind that knows object as object, mind as mind, and how they’re working. When this wisdom is stronger, it doesn’t meditate in the same way it did before. It understands in the one instance that it sees.
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33. My teacher used to say that we don’t label experiences or objects with characteristics but that characteristics become clear in the mind. If we think about characteristics, then we follow the objects around and think, “This is anicca,” “this is dukkha” or “this is anatta”. People want to attribute anicca, dukkha, or anatta characteristics to their little bits of experience. In reality, the characteristics of existence are anicca, dukkha, anatta ñāṇas that become crystal clear to the mind in an instance of clear seeing when conditions are ripe and no one can dispute that wisdom. These ñāṇas don’t come about through a thinking process.
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34. Really, “I” is just an idea, a belief. You need to hear about it but realize it for yourself. As you experience it, this understanding will open up to you. I can’t tell you a lot about it beforehand. I can only tell you when you experience it. Then you understand and it becomes clear but before then, it’s still very intellectual.
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35. Yogis say that the mind wanders outside, or that their thoughts drift towards home and family while they’re at the center. The mind doesn’t have the nature of “wandering outside,” “coming here,” or “going home”. In reality, thoughts and memories of home just arise in the mind and they also just pass away. You need to have this right way of seeing the mind from the beginning. The mind does not “go out” or “wander about”.
If you have the notion that the mind wanders around or goes out, then you also need to use a lot of energy to “bring it back in”. That’s tiring! The underlying wrong belief that you have to “bring back” the mind that has “gone out” also characterizes the mind as a permanent entity, which it is not. The mind only has the nature of arising or happening. The right way to view the mind is to see that the thoughts are just arising of their own nature. Only through realizing with right view that the mind just arises, arises, and arises will wisdom begin to understand the nature of impermanence (anicca).
Experiencing arising and passing away is very different from understanding arising and passing away. A person may experience arising and passing away many, many times before realizing anything. What we want is understanding and wisdom. Yogis tend to follow their experiences upon others’ advice and immediately think, “I’ve seen anicca.” That kind of thought (with incomplete wisdom) ends the path right there, making it difficult for other realizations to follow. Can there be real understanding then?
Note that defilements can also see passing away. For example, a lobha mind can see passing away while eating and in effect, wants to eat even more! So can we say that it is “anicca” every time we see arising and passing away? Just now, I showed you how lobha can also see passing away.
Please don’t decide that you have understood the nature of arising and passing away after you’ve only seen a little bit. That mental confirmation that you’ve understood closes the mind off from seeing more. True understanding will arise when the mind is ready, after many, many experiences. Your responsibility is to cultivate awareness and right view.
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36. In reality, the same experience doesn’t happen over and over again. An experience happens only once, in this moment. You only think something is a recurring experience because the mind adds up memories of past experiences to this experience. These are all concepts at work (paññatti). Ultimate reality (paramatta) is always new. An experience arises only once, in this present moment. Your work is to know an experience whenever it arises.
For example, can you tolerate it if one mosquito bites you once? Yes. What if two mosquitoes bite you? No, you can’t take it anymore! That’s because you’re now thinking, “Oh, there are a lot of mosquitoes!” “A lot” or “a long time” are all concepts.
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37. What is more important than an experience is your understanding of that experience. Only people who investigate can realize this. You begin with questions like: What is this? What is happening? Why is it happening?
Can there be understanding without this kind of investigative wisdom? Vipassanā is a meditation that invests in intelligence and wisdom to develop more wisdom. What is object and what is mind? Do you know this very clearly? You need to recognize this while you are practicing. These are the types of things you want to ask, investigate and study with an open, inquiring mind.
Your understanding will be even clearer when you practice dhamma investigation when the mind is calm. Are you just going to be aware of one object? How many objects can you be aware of in one moment? Aren’t objects arising at the six sense doors? Try investigating.
If you are only aware of what is happening at the nostrils to the exclusion of everything else, can you say you are fully in the present moment? You can only consider yourself as being truly in the present moment when you are aware of the nāma-rūpa in that moment. Can you say that you are aware when you catch one, but miss the other 99? Think about it. Only when you become aware of many things and processes can you say you are aware.
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38. People say that it is tough to maintain awareness. Actually it is not that difficult to have or to maintain awareness. People only think it’s difficult when they don’t have awareness of their preferred object.
You can have awareness with any object that arises. The object is not important. It is more important that there is awareness in the mind and that you learn how to maintain it. So how do you help awareness grow? You do this by:
Becoming skillful in the practice,
knowing how to maintain the practice, and
knowing how to grow in meditation.
These are the marks of wisdom.
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39. There will always be contact with objects, but defilements won’t have a chance to arise when awareness, stability of mind, and wisdom are strong. Your work is to be diligent in strengthening these spiritual faculties of awareness, stability of mind, and wisdom.
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40. Are you yearning for the Dhamma? Or do you want to learn how to practice meditation? Lobha just wants Dhamma as an end result. Skillfulness and right practice however, will grow confidence, faith, and wisdom.
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41. You want Dhamma but you don’t get Dhamma. Why? It’s because what you are actually doing is off the mark. Something is missing or lacking in the practice and it’s not complete. The wisdom that understands how to practice skillfully is still fragile. When the type of wisdom that knows how to practice skillfully is complete, then other insights into Dhamma will naturally follow.
If you are putting work into your practice but find that you are not seeing corresponding benefits to what you’ve put in, ask questions, investigate, study what is happening, and have discussions with knowledgeable teachers. These are ways to become skillful in meditation.
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42. Some yogis have told me that their samādhi vanished when they yawned, swallowed some saliva, or shifted around. What kind of samādhi is this? It can’t be considered stability of mind if it can be so easily disturbed. It’s the kind of shaky samādhi which only arises when experiences are favorable.
A strong, stable, and continuous samādhi develops for someone who has natural awareness of whatever experience that arises or for someone who sees everything as something to be aware of, with wisdom. The mind will do its own work whether awareness is there or not there. Without awareness, the mind will follow orders from defilements. With right awareness, the mind will do the work of wisdom.
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43. A yogi recounted that she thought she was aware while eating only to realize after the meal that she had been eating with greed!
Think about it: How could she have thought that there was awareness when there wasn’t? What was happening in the mind? It is because she was not regularly checking what was happening in the mind, but only paying attention to the eating process. It’s also because she wasn’t paying attention to the meditating mind.
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44. One yogi said, “When I noticed other yogis eating without mindfulness and with greed, I became more mindful. My mindfulness increased.”
A wise person will take advantage of an experience to develop sati, samādhi, and paññā. Someone without wisdom will just react to the same situation with aversion.
Our understanding of the Dhamma will grow when we use awareness+wisdom whenever we see, hear, or come into contact with something. It is most important that awareness+wisdom are always prepared and ready for any situation. It’s our responsibility to take care of and develop the mind that is able to discern the dhamma nature that is present all the time, everywhere.
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45. How do you sleep? Here, I’m not asking whether you sleep on your stomach, side, or back. I’m asking about your mind. Do you just let go of everything when you fall asleep? Are you thinking? Are you aware? I sometimes like to ask yogis what my teacher used to ask me, “What is the last thing you were aware of before you fell asleep?” Or, “What were you aware of as soon as you woke up?” This is meant to show you how you should be practicing: Up to the moment you fall asleep and beginning again as soon as you wake up. It means that except for when you’re asleep, every moment is a time for meditation. When you wake up, do you realize that you are awake? When do you first realize that you are awake? Do you really know at that time? Of course, yogis wake up, but they don’t realize that they’ve woken up. Many people will just start to do things around the room without realizing that they’re awake. Sati has not come in yet. Some people may realize that they’re awake, but forget again. They only become aware once again when they arrive at the Dhamma Hall!
So here’s a suggestion: As soon as you wake up, don’t start doing things just yet. Sayadaw U Jotika gave this idea to consciously breathe in for four or five minutes when waking up. The mind will become more alert. Make sure not to do it too softly or else you might fall asleep again! Then, with awareness, get up, walk, or do what you need to do. Whatever you are aware of is ok so long as there is awareness.
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46. Awareness becoming continuous isn’t like winning the lottery by chance. There are causes and conditions for this to happen. If you find that the momentum of awareness is no longer there, first accept: Everything is nature and this isn’t just happening to you. Then check the causes. After many experiences of momentum going up and down, you will begin to see conditions in the mind that make awareness more continuous and conditions that’ll break momentum.
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47. People only become awake and alert when there is some sort of discomfort or distress. They stop paying attention once they are comfortable again. Unfortunately, we can’t just start practicing only when something goes wrong. That is why the Buddha left us with many notes on heedfulness and diligence (appamāda).
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48. The Buddha didn’t urge us to be practicing all the time for nothing. It’s because he knew about the full extent of moha that he left us this instruction. Just try stopping. Try to stop meditation for a while and you’ll see the strength of defilements.
If this side of wisdom stops, a party of defilements will just come in and cover everything. That’s what I mean by not being able to pause. That’s why I also say, “Never give up.” Either there is momentum on the wisdom side or there will be momentum on the defilement side. If you were to let go of this wisdom momentum even for a bit, it will take quite a lot to begin again. Beginning again is not that easy. That’s why you can’t let it stop. Imagine going all the way.
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49. Do you experience happiness and joyful interest when you are observing with awareness+wisdom?
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50. If we are practicing Dhamma every time we are practicing, there is mental and bodily happiness. Insights can’t arise in a mind meditating with mental or bodily discontent.
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51. One yogi became really impressed by what she was able to see in just 15 minutes of continuous awareness. Most people are swimming or lost in thought most of the time but it is really amazing what we can discover in just 15-20 minutes of continuous awareness. Try it for yourself and see.
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52. You want to listen to my Dhamma talk but you don’t want to hear the birds chirping in the Dhamma Hall. You think, “Wow, they’re so loud!” This talk is one sound and the birds are another sound. Someone with the right information will use any of these objects to develop sati, samādhi, and paññā in meditation. Another person without this kind of information will only grow in defilements because of these sounds.
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53. Instead of trying to figure out where sounds are coming from, acknowledge these sounds as objects. When you are aware of these sounds as objects, be aware of the mind that is knowing the sounds. What is that awareness aware of? It is aware of objects. You can stay on the side of awareness or see both the object and the knowing mind together.
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54. When people are going through mental or physical pain, they don’t take interest or learn. They only want to escape the pain.
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55. If you have pain while sitting, see the mind that wants to alleviate this pain by shifting. Why is it reacting this way? When this reaction lessens, how does the mind then view the object? You need to study the mind’s reaction to pain from different angles and observe the reactions and all their manifestations: How are thoughts and feelings related or what background ideas and underlying attitudes show up through thoughts? If there’s even the tiniest disliking to an object, the talking mind will change its tone of voice in that way.
You can really get to know this talking mind. Without trying to stop this talking or thinking, you can see the mind’s internal dialogue from morning until night. You are observing to understand the mind as it is, not to make anything disappear.
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56. When wisdom raises its head a little, defilements just hammer it back down. As soon as you figure out a little bit, the mind is already chattering, “I know, I know.” If you want to see the strength of this conditioning, just look at the habit pattern of the mind to say, “I know, I know.” When wisdom understands something, the thought, “I know” follows very closely behind. So how can you actually use that wisdom?
That’s why I caution: Don’t look down on defilements. We don’t know just how much they’re at work! Wisdom will only have a chance by rising again and again.
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57. Don’t think too highly of yourself. Which takes place more frequently: The times when there are understandings or realizations or the times when there are no understandings or realizations?
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58. Awareness does not find solutions. Only wisdom finds solutions. The work of awareness is to know what is happening; this alone can’t stop strong defilements; only wisdom is able to do that work.
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59. Moha leaves the door open and all the defilements just walk through.
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60. When the mind is either liking or disliking a certain object, it can no longer see the object as it is or as dhamma. When the mind is motivated by greed, then the object becomes an object of greed. When the mind is motivated by anger or aversion, the object becomes an object of anger or aversion. The mind can’t observe or continue to be aware of this object as it is.
It’s like wearing blue tinted glasses whereby anything we look at through these glasses will be colored blue. As such, we can’t see the natural characteristics of what we are looking at. That’s why we need to first check our glasses or check how we are observing.
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61. Dissatisfied with what someone was doing, one yogi asked, “Why does he do something this way?” More important is to recognize why this yogi would ask such questions in the first place.
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62. There can be an understanding of anger or aversion as an object. With dhammānupassanā and cittānupassanā, whatever is being observed (anger, for example) is the object. When we say that there should not be defilements in the mind, we mean that there shouldn’t be defilements in the observing mind. There is no way to stop defilements from happening in the mind of a worldling (puthujjana) or one who has not yet experienced any of the stages of enlightenment.
But the observing mind can be skillful and free of defilements when it knows how to observe. With right attitude and without defilements in the observing mind, the mind is calm and cool. Wisdom then has a chance to open up.
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63. You need to understand anger deeply. In order to do that, you need to build up sati, samādhi, and paññā and to watch and learn, every time anger arises. You want to know the nature of anger and everything related to this phenomenon. What happens in the body and what happens in the mind when this defilement arises? What kinds of thoughts come up? What is the nature of anger?
You (the mind) are an independent observer, studying this anger from the side, as it is happening with the view that this is also dhamma nature, not your anger or that you are angry. What are the different characteristics of anger? How does it work? What happens in the mind? How does an anger-motivated mind think? You study and learn every single time, down to the smallest detail. There is no way for the defilement to intensify if you observe it every time it arises. It can’t rear its head.
The bigger episodes will be quite rough, of course, and you may not be able to recognize subtle forms of anger in the beginning. Only when the mind has also strengthened with sati, samādhi, and paññā built up will you be able to see anger from the beginning, as soon as it arises. You can say you understand the nature of anger when you understand the whole process of anger from beginning to end.
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64. We need to thoroughly understand how much defilements are torturing and tormenting us. We haven’t learned this lesson fully yet. We don’t learn our lesson the first time, the second time, the third time… When defilements arise, we just welcome them into our homes as guests, serving them tea and biscuits. Isn’t that true? Just reflect on all the things we think about that fuel anger. We’ll only turn for help from wholesome qualities when we can no longer stand these defilements.
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65. We like to feed defilements to make them stronger whenever they arise. We don’t want heat, but we pour gasoline on a fire! We’re supposed to throw on water but we only have this little water-gun children use during the Water Festival.
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66. Without enough wisdom, people try to suppress defilements with samādhi.
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67. There are two means by which defilements go:
You become aware of a defilement and it goes away, or
an understanding arises about the defilement.
When you become aware of a defilement as an object, it dissipates from the strength of awareness. Alternatively, there is a realization about the defilement and it disappears, similar to light replacing darkness.
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69. There are latent, deeply embedded underlying ideas that will only surface when you come in contact with different experiences. When faced with that experience, the mind starts talking, motivated by certain background ideas. Only deep understanding will get to the level of these long-held ideas. If these ideas have been held really vigorously before, the present level of understanding and wisdom may comprehend the situation but is not sufficient to really let go of the idea itself.
When something happens, what is more powerful: Defilements or wisdom?
Defilements that have come in unconsciously are quite potent and often invisible, having gone deep into the mind. How powerful is something with that pull and that has been inside for that long?
I asked this question at a retreat in Singapore: “So now that you are talking Dhamma, how much greed do you have?” The yogis checked their minds and found that there wasn’t anything they wanted in that moment. I suggested that something was there and yet it was so powerful that they couldn’t see it.
What kind of craving was I talking about? It’s the craving for everything to go smoothly on retreat and elsewhere. Is it possible to see that kind of lobha? They were very surprised! There would have been conflicts had we stopped the discussion at that moment.
The type of pull that has been with us for a lifetime is extremely strong, buried in the unconscious and no longer at surface level. Called anusaya, such defilements only appear under varying circumstances and vipassanā ñāṇa alone can’t access this deep level. Only a very powerful magga-ñāṇa is able to handle this.
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70. What do I mean when I say you need to be “collecting data”? It means you are observing what is happening every time it happens. There are various ways that aversion can play out. If you have awareness every single time that there is this experience and you wait patiently and observe, you are collecting data. A defilement like aversion can be very strong sometimes, while feeble at other times. Why is that? You may not know the answer until your data is complete.
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71. Do you think something is “good” or “bad”? Or do you have a real understanding that something is good or bad? Real understanding rejects what you once perceived as good or bad and just sees it as it is. Understanding also removes wrong concepts about something.
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72. There is a lot of delusion when people are healthy. People only begin to pay attention when they get sick.
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73. It is not important for aches and pains (objects) to disappear. You want to learn about the mind and body processes that arise and pass away in the presence of these aches and pains.
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74. Instead of trying to stop drowsiness, you want to learn about the nature of drowsiness. These are two different motivations. You may find that if there’s an aversion to this drowsiness, it’ll slowly get stronger and you may fall asleep. If however, you are interested in what is happening, the mind will become alert once again.
There are some possible reasons (among others) for this drowsiness:
You may have eaten too much and are sleepy,
you are not interested in the meditation work you are doing and there’s boredom, or
it is a habit to fall asleep as soon as you close your eyes.
Be interested in whatever is happening!
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75. Yogis tend to tell me that something is “good” or “bad”. Or they’ll come and ask me whether what happened to them was good. Please don’t take an experience as “good” or “bad”. It’s only good if you understand more about the nature of what has happened, its causes and effects, whether it was wholesome or unwholesome and the value of the experience.
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76. Please reflect on this: Is there any object worthy of greed or anger? Do you truly recognize that craving, aversion, and delusion (and all their relatives) are all unwholesome mental states? Have you really understood that sati, samādhi, paññā, mettā, karuṇā, muditā, and upekkhā are wholesome mental states? If you want to understand, please learn about all these with awareness+wisdom.
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77. Kusala has the power to break down the akusala qualities in the mind and vice versa. That is why you need to try to do everything that’s wholesome including using wholesome speech and doing things with a wholesome motivation. But the highest, most meaningful action is doing things with wisdom. When awareness+wisdom are present within an action, the mind understands how to do things skillfully so that both sides will benefit. Just seeing one side (i.e. let me have this, but not others, or let me be successful) is the work of strong defilements. Wisdom is the opposite, seeing the same thing moha would normally see, in a completely different light.
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78. If we only pay attention to objects, that is only half the picture and understanding will be incomplete. Our field of awareness must expand to include objects, the observing mind, feelings and more. This expanded field of awareness comes about from waiting and watching with patience and intelligence, not from focusing on objects in hopes of seeing something. That is why this expanded awareness is so important.
Wisdom steps aside as a detached observer to the entire process that is happening on its own. On the other hand, focusing as a way of observing has more of a feeling of sticking to an object. So of course, the field of awareness would be very narrow. That is why I remind you to neither force nor focus.
We pay more attention to the observing mind than to objects. Is the mind reacting with defilements over this object? We also pay special attention to the meditating mind when the objects are defilements. Are there also defilements in the meditating mind? In this world, there is only mind and objects.
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79. You can no longer see the mind when there is too much focusing. Focusing uses concepts like distance and place. What are you going to focus on and where are you going to focus to see the mind? By focusing, you will only see the object side. You can only observe the workings of the mind if you are able to wait and watch.
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80. When you open your eyes, do you recognize that there’s seeing happening? What is the difference between looking and seeing? Looking requires directing attention to an external object but just seeing doesn’t require that kind of exertion.
Seeing is just seeing. Is seeing wholesome or unwholesome? It’s neither! However, unwholesome mental states have many opportunities to arise without awareness+wisdom present in seeing. Meditation is about cultivating right attitude and right attention and developing sati, samādhi, and paññā with whatever is happening.
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81. You need to become skillful at meditating with your eyes open if you want to take this meditation into your daily life. This means becoming skillful at practicing with and learning about any object you encounter.
The mind works in similar ways when it’s looking and when it’s listening. It is just working through two different sense doors. Are you aware that you are looking? The mind that is looking is looking. The mind that is listening is listening. When looking or listening, the mind has to pay attention to an object. If you know that you are looking, there is awareness already and you can recognize the mind.
There are countless instances during the day when you are looking. How many times have you noticed this throughout the day? Many defilements arise in relation to eye sense objects every time you look without awareness+wisdom. The fires of defilements are burning. You need to learn how to practice while looking. You need to learn how to look with awareness.
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82. In the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the Buddha gave guidance on how to speak with awareness+wisdom. We only have to consider the difficulties that have arisen out of miscommunications with each other to appreciate skillful talking. While beginning yogis are initially asked to refrain from speaking, a longer-term yogi ought to learn to talk with awareness+wisdom. We are developing this skill for our main places of practice: the home, workplace, office, or business. No one will be practicing at a meditation center her whole life but by learning how to practice for outside, both the mundane affairs and meditation for the supramundane can go hand-in-hand.
When talking, beginning with an awareness of any object is fine. With further practice, you’ll become aware of what is happening in the mind as well as in the body. The mind is doing its own work of talking and you just let that happen naturally. The awareness can see how the mind is working. What is it thinking? What does the mind feel? What is it paying attention to? It’s crucial to be aware of the kind of mind you are speaking with. Difficulties and suffering are a certainty in speech motivated by defilements while situations work out smoothly when there is wisdom.
So shouldn’t you practice to have awareness+wisdom in speaking? Who is talking? Is there a speaker? You can recognize the speaking process as another mind and body process.
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83. You walk back to your room from the Dhamma Hall. When do you have the intention to open the door? Some people have their keys ready in their hands on the walkway, while others have it ready by the stairs. Do you know you are going up the stairs? When you open the door, how much of the door-opening process do you know? What are you hearing? Can you be aware of what you are hearing if your attention is only on opening the door? That’s why I say you need this expansive awareness.
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84. Some people spend lots of energy for their sitting meditation, only to let go of everything (including awareness) when they get up. Momentum dies right then and there!
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85. What does it mean, without a break? This is the most important part of this practice. How much are you aware of as you get up from sitting meditation?
When does the intention to get up arise? What else do you know? Are you aware of your body turning? Do you know your body turning? You move, shift, push off, get up, then what? Do you look around at other people in the Dhamma Hall?
Please work to understand the value of a mind filled with awareness and wisdom. What is the state of a mind that has this awareness+wisdom? What is the state of mind that is awake and alert? Are you able to distinguish different mental states?
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86. A yogi reported, “I’ve been observing this painful sensation for over an hour now and the pain increases but my meditation does not improve. I’m going around in circles.”
Right now this yogi is paying attention for an hour. If she is fully aware that she is paying attention for one hour, wouldn’t this yogi have built up sati and samādhi in that time period? In this case, lobha looks for a specific result, i.e., for this painful sensation to go away. When things don’t turn out as she had hoped or wanted, the yogi thinks that she is not progressing in meditation. Can faith and confidence increase with this way of thinking? Or will there be disappointment? This kind of wrong thinking, considered wrong attitude, wrong frame of mind, wrong attention (ayoniso manasikāra) is motivated by defilements in the underlying ideas.
Alternatively, if this yogi viewed this one hour as one where sati, samādhi, and paññā were developing, that becomes right attitude, right frame of mind and right attention (yoniso manasikāra). This is how confidence in oneself and faith in the practice grows.
Please consider the yogi’s statement. How do we measure our progress in meditation? The development of sati, samādhi, paññā, and an increase in wholesome states of mind and a decrease in defilements is progress in Dhamma.
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87. One yogi related that his sitting meditation was improving day by day and so he wanted to sit more frequently for longer periods.
Why does this yogi think this way? Actually, what should happen is that instead of wanting to sit more, the yogi should want to practice more consistently and continuously in any posture. Instead the yogi connected the “good” meditation to the sitting and so paid more attention to the posture. It’s difficult to recognize the mind at work when paying more attention to the object and to what is happening.
Mistaken ideas regarding meditation come about from not being able to see the workings of the observing mind. We may not recognize that the pleasant feelings or what we may consider “good sittings” are all effects resulting from their own causes and conditions (which we failed to notice). Only the kind of wisdom that has an expansive, aerial, birds-eye-view of both mind and objects happening together and their processes is able to understand cause-andeffect relationships. Wisdom further builds up and strengthens with each new understanding that completes the picture.
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88. Where there is a cause, there will be an effect. My teacher would always ask about the causes. He always wanted to know the causes. I would go and tell him about seeing the beginning, the middle, and end and rising and falling. Sayadawgyi would then ask, “Why did it arise?” “Why did it end?” I didn’t know. (Laughs) I knew that there was rising and falling but I didn’t know why. What was arising? So how could I believe it? He just asked simply, “Why did it happen?” No one could answer. Everyone was just looking for this arising and passing away and we were satisfied with just arising and passing away.
Buddhism in brief is about understanding cause and effect. We must know when sati is present and know when sati is absent. We need to know the causes for sati to happen and how sati can be increased. Similarly, we need to know when samādhi is present and to know when samādhi is absent. We also need to know the causes that led to the increase in samādhi. I will also add one more thing: We need to also know why we lose samādhi.
It is the same with defilements. We have to know when defilements are present, when they’re absent, when they come in or intensify and when they go down in intensity. Why did they go down in intensity?
It has been some time that you’ve been observing this mind and body. How much more do you understand now? How deep is this understanding?
A fellow yogi observes objects. I also observe objects. Can we have the same levels of understanding of these experiences? Is it possible for someone who has just started practicing to have the same level of understanding as someone who has been practicing for a long time (in the right way)?
The practice has stalled if the current level of understanding is about the same as the previous level of understanding. Knowing and wisdom should not stand still but always be advancing. As much as knowing and understanding increase, so too does one’s skill in the practice of meditation. This means the meditation is thriving.
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89. When you see thoughts like, “Oh my meditation is not improving,” please check the attitude in the mind. These thoughts can come up if you have been paying more attention to what is happening (objects) without recognizing the wanting and expectations working in the background. See:
Is it because you haven’t achieved what you expected to achieve?
Is it because you are not getting what you wanted?
Do you see that you are getting as much as you are practicing?
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91. There are very few people who recognize that it is also a part of meditation when they ease up the mind that was tight or constricted.
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92. Are you practicing in a certain place because you think it’s good for meditation? Or are you practicing because you realize that this is wholesome, because you understand the value of this practice? Please first work to appreciate the goodness and value inherent in this practice.
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93. How much more do you know about the processes and objects you’ve been watching for so many years now? How much do you know about objects? This understanding is important and there needs to be a curiosity, a willingness to explore, to learn, and to understand. You get to taste food at every single meal. How much more do you understand now about taste?
Reflect on these things as you practice daily. The seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, and thinking are all experiences and mind. You know when there is happiness and you know when there is sadness. How much more do you understand about these mental states now than before? In comparison, how different are the levels of defilements when the mind comes in contact with objects now?
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94. When you reflect on Dhamma, reflect on things relevant to your experience of Dhamma. You’ll need awareness to know what is happening and you’ll also be more in the present moment instead of lost in thoughts.
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95, You can’t force the Dhamma to come to you. You need to be patient, but never forget the practice—that is what it means to help the Buddha’s Dispensation (sasana).