Dhamma in the Mornings I

The following are translations of two of Sayadaw U Tejaniya’s morning Dhamma reminders given at the Shwe Oo Min Meditation Center. The talks have been edited and organized into related sections. 

DaY 1  

THE MEDITATING MIND

Keep your mind as calm and as relaxed as possible, not too tense or too lax. Don’t be too anxious about your practice. The mind needs to be able to adjust accordingly, walking the middle road between too much and too little effort, neither overzealous nor disinterested. The wise mind makes adjustments as needed during meditation.

Sometimes, even with all this fine-tuning, there might still be craving (lobha). 

You may also find that you are feeling drowsy even with faith and confidence 

(saddhā) in the mind. The mind may still be weak due to defilements or there may be a great deal of wanting and expectations in the mind. So be calm and relaxed. Rather than thinking, “I’m practicing; I’m putting in effort,”  be satisfied with knowing what is happening, “I will work just to know.” 

What can you know? It’s very simple. You can only know as much as the momentum that you have will allow. The mind that is meditating should be relaxed, calm, and natural. There is no need to put in too much energy or to focus in on something. Take the view that everything happening in the mind and body is happening according to nature. This is all dhamma nature at work.

cuRIoSITy AND INTEREST

Have the mindset that you will not desire experiences, including not wanting something to happen. You just do what needs to be done and let whatever happens, happen. However, if there is no wholesome desire to practice, nothing happens and if there is too much wanting for something, it doesn’t work either. So what should you do? What is too much and what is too little?

The mind just needs to be interested. Attentive curiosity and interest are important. You can’t make anything arise or disappear through craving or aversion, so be aware of whatever is happening. Try not to forget what is happening. Remember that having expectations indicates there is some greed in the mind. Be aware of all the arising, all the passing away. Work very simply and remind yourself to be aware. If you see, just be aware that you are seeing. That is enough.

Let whatever happens happen.  The things that are happening are just nature. Remind yourself that they have nothing to do with you. Those who understand natural laws can understand their principles. Understanding natural laws very clearly is wisdom; he who understands these laws understands nature.

Do you want to know? Please check yourself. The fact that you all came to practice means that you do want to know. You are meditating here because you wish to know the truth, to discover reality. Your key reason for being at the center is to give yourself the time to become aware of the mind and body. To see the connections and relationships between the mind and body and making a habit of seeing these connections is what you have come here to practice. The mind gets energized through this wholesome desire for learning and the wish to understand.

Keep it simple! It’s good if there is knowing; it’s not good if there is no knowing. There is a Burmese saying: “Ignorance is worse than being deprived.” But far worse than being ignorant is not wanting to know!

WAIT AND WATcH

What is happening in the body? There are the six sense doors. Five involve the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue and the body. The sixth is the mind. Therefore there are six kinds of objects arising at the six sense doors. Sights are objects of knowing and sounds are objects of knowing.

Seeing and hearing are not happening externally. They are happening inside. 

Objects are just objects; they are neither good nor bad. Nature is just nature. An object is something that is to be known by the mind. Sound is an object. 

Silence is also an object. You are aware of it because its nature is to be known.

A thought is an object to be known just as  the absence of thoughts is an object to be known.  

What is the difference? 

Is it good to have many thoughts? Is it bad? Is it good to have no thoughts? Is that bad? Having many thoughts or having few thoughts is neither good nor bad. Objects are just objects. If you consider them to be positive or negative, that will then be followed by likes and dislikes. That is when you get confused in your practice.

You don’t need to look for or pursue objects. It’s more helpful to just wait and watch. The mind sees whatever that arises. When you see, you see; when you know, you know. A yogi who practices by following objects often asks what to note next. The yogi may ask, “What else should I look for?” Alternatively, a yogi who practices by waiting and watching does not follow objects. The yogi who waits and watches uses intelligence.

Your practice needs to have the right attitude, with balanced effort, every time the mind comes in contact with objects. If the attitude is not yet right attitude, then it’s necessary to work on it. How can you view objects? See that everything that is happening is all dhamma nature and that all objects follow the laws of nature.

Sights and sounds are always happening. Because the mind and object arise according to their nature, sights and sounds happen. You don’t hear something because you want to hear. You don’t see something because you want to see.

Do not think that these sensory experiences  are happening because you wanted them.  There is nothing happening due to your desire;  everything happens due to cause and effect. 

Observe how the mind and objects interact. Are you aware only of what you want to be aware of, or of what is happening right now? Do you only observe what the mind is attracted to? Things happen according to their nature and awareness just waits and watches.

You will see things as they are if there is no greed (lobha), aversion (dosa), or delusion (moha) in the mind. Lobha is always searching for something to like. Is there really something to be desired within the object itself? Or does the nature of liking desire this object? Lobha’s nature is to like, grasp, and cling. You only think you like this object because of lobha’s nature of liking and moha’s nature to obscure an object’s true characteristics. Delusion further confuses the mind into desiring more of the object. There’s no stopping this cycle of suffering (saṃsāra).

There is nothing to be liked about an object. There is also nothing that you get just because you like it. You only get things when the conditions are ripe for you to get them. Whatever is happening is due to nature; you just wait and watch this process objectively. If craving is absent, you will just see what is to be seen. There is nothing attractive about what is happening. There only needs to be knowing.

loBHA IS STIcky lIkE GluE

Lobha is always present.  Lobha’s nature is wanting or craving  and its nature is to exaggerate things.  It is very sticky like glue; it doesn’t let go or release.  It never feels satisfied or contented because it thinks  there is too little, there is never enough. 

As a yogi you can see how lobha comes in and creates trouble in the practice. Just try to pay attention to this. As long as you don’t understand the way lobha works and its different tricks, you will be at its mercy. Lobha is craving; it always wants more. When you notice lobha, study it intently. How are you meditating under lobha’s influence? How does lobha think? You can’t fully understand lobha through second-hand knowledge. Only through your very own experience of lobha in all of its workings, in all of its aspects will you really understand lobha.

To be contented is wholesome; to be discontented is lobha. If you are contented with the results of your practice, when you understand that you get as much as you put into the practice, then you have samādhi. It is lobha that isn’t satisfied with the results of the practice. You are practicing as much as possible and you’ll get that much back in return. Be contented with that. You will do as much as you can and be satisfied with what you get.

uNDERSTANDING THE NoBlE TRuTH oF DukkHA

Vipassanā samādhi develops out of continuous awareness, along with right view and right attitude. Samādhi arises and there is peace when there is continuous awareness, with the right attitude and right view. What is unique about this? Should there be desire for a peaceful mind state? Should there be aversion to agitation? When there is a cause, there is an effect. Because there are conditions for contact, there is contact.

There is craving for comfort and happiness. There is also aversion to agitation and unhappiness. Happiness and discomfort are just feelings. The experience is only to be experienced; the object is only an object. Whether good or bad, feelings are just feelings. Wisdom recognizes this and releases the grip of lobha that desires good experiences.

Only when the mind does not perceive experiences as pleasing will it understand the Noble Truth of dukkha. As long as the mind perceives experiences as pleasing, then the Noble Truth of dukkha is still far from being understood.

People think that they see the truth of dukkha only when they experience suffering. If that is so, how can they understand that experiencing calm (samādhi), the moments of bliss or delight (pīti), or of tranquility (passaddhi), are also dukkha? So long as moha is present and considers any of these experiences as pleasing, the Noble Truth of dukkha can’t be understood yet. Because people listen with defilements when they hear about the Noble Truth of dukkha, they think it is about experiencing bodily or mental suffering. In fact, that is dosa at work.

Whatever is happening is dukkha. Don’t look at what is happening with aversion or you will become depressed. The Noble Truth of dukkha is discerned by the wise mind and is totally opposite to the kind of dukkha one feels. The understanding of the truth of dukkha is wisdom. The mind feels strength, energy, freedom, and detachment with this understanding. The mind is devoid of craving and defilements. Whereas the experience of dukkha is exhausting, the true realization of dukkha is free from attachment and free of defilements.

WISDoM HAS No PREFERENcE

As you continue to practice, observe when awareness is present and when awareness is absent, when wisdom is present and when wisdom is absent. Wisdom naturally understands what is beneficial and what is not beneficial. You are practicing to learn to watch the mind and body. Insights will grow according to your understanding and what you can know. What is more beneficial: To have awareness or to lack awareness, to develop wisdom or not develop wisdom? You can investigate and analyze this for yourself.

However much we plead for a blind person to see, he will not be able to see. Likewise, no matter how often we ask a person to see ultimate reality (paramattha), he will not understand its principles when there is no wisdom.  Only the wise, discerning mind can understand the nature of paramattha. Wisdom has no preference  to see one thing over another. 

Without the desire to see specific things, all you have to do is keep your eyes open and you can be aware. It is obvious; you know that you are seeing. The desire to see specific things or experiences stems from lobha. Wisdom can’t  arise when the mind is filled with lobha. When you observe with lobha, only more lobha will arise. However, it is wisdom that recognizes when lobha has arisen in the mind.

Vipassanā wisdom can’t be comprehended simply through intellectual thinking. The ordinary mind can’t bring about insight through intellectual thinking. Vipassanā insight is not something that can be conceptualized through images; it is a wholly new understanding and insight of principles or nature.

It is kusala if wholesome states of mind are continuously followed by wholesome states of mind. Samādhi doesn’t develop if wholesome states are followed by unwholesome states. There is samādhi when the previous mind is wholesome, if the present mind is wholesome, if this is followed by wholesome mental states, and there is continuity in awareness. The absence of sati, samādhi, and paññā is what gives defilements opportunities to arise.

Whatever kind of work that involves defilements  will one day grow old and dull. On the contrary, the work of knowing is never dull. Knowing with wisdom, knowing reality, does not have the characteristic of becoming uninteresting or monotonous. It is always new and fresh. You don’t get tired of knowing, as knowing is never finished. It never gets boring. You need to be happy with the work you are doing, to have interest in it. This work is for life.

When the mind sees again what is already familiar, the knowledge only becomes clearer. Wisdom deepens and you become more attentive and energized. Your understanding and field of comprehension expand. There is no end to knowing, as it is never complete. There should be no such thing as “I know,” because it is never enough. You start to see things from multiple angles: You see two sides, mundane world and ultimate reality, mind and object, cause and effect.

THIS PRAcTIcE IS FoR AlWAyS

Remember that practice is not done only through sitting. It is not only when you sit to meditate that there is awareness. The awareness must be present at all times, in all activities. Once you have a right attitude of balanced effort without expectations, try to be continuously aware. Only then will momentum develop. It is important to learn to be aware for longer and longer periods so that you can use this momentum outside.

You are not exerting so much energy or yearning for something.  Neither the mind nor the body should become tired.  There’s no need to focus.  Work with balance, calm, and consistentcy. 

The most important aspect of meditation is the meditating mind; awareness must always be present. Observe whether the mind is working or not. Keep checking the mind to see whether awareness is present. What is the mind aware of?

It is important to practice with care, respect, and interest and practice as much as you can. You’ve come this far and you will get as much as you put in. Be satisfied with the sati and samādhi that develop. Finally, remember to practice consistently throughout the day, all the time, with a balanced mind and right effort.

DaY 2

The meditating mind must be a Dhamma mind. Be calm, comfortable and relaxed, with peace, faith, and intelligence. That is how you should be practicing.

Wisdom is there when there is right awareness. However, if the awareness is too focused, there’s no chance for wisdom to come in. That is why we don’t force, focus, control, or restrict. We don’t try to make anything disappear. We are just aware of all that is happening and all that is passing away. There are no expectations or discontentment.

Do not forget. Be aware. Keeping that in mind, you have to keep checking the mind. What is the mind doing? Is it aware? Does it know? What does it know? How much can it know? There needs to be an alertness to knowing objects. This means knowing when hearing happens, when contact happens. The mind is alert when the mind knows objects as contact happens.

There is the Dhamma we must have and there is the dhamma we must know. When we refer to the Dhamma we must have, we mean the five spiritual faculties of sati, samādhi, viriya, saddhā, and paññā. The dhamma we must know is what is happening in the mind and body. Meditation is the practice of cultivating and developing the Dhamma that we don’t already have, to come to know what we don’t already know.

culTIvATING WHolESoME QuAlITIES

We meditate to develop the sati, samādhi, viriya, saddhā, and paññā that are not yet present in the mind. The stronger these five spiritual faculties become, the weaker the defilements become.

When sati is present, defilements become weak.  

When samādhi is present, defilements become weak.  

When viriya is present, defilements become weak.  

When saddhā is present, defilements become weak.  

When paññā is present, defilements become weak. 

What is important is that we meditate to nurture and cultivate these currently weak, wholesome mental qualities so that they can grow stronger and stronger. Mindfulness meditation is not about seeking unique experiences. Wisdom does not have the desire for specific things to happen.

Saddhā and viriya have the wish to keep up the practice. Viriya is the wish to practice continuously and with perseverance. Saddhā wants to continue meditation because it knows the value of the practice. Merely focusing on results is the work of lobha. If you are pleased that you see the object you wanted to see, that is the work of lobha. Dissatisfaction with getting an object other than what you want to see is dosa. These are both defilements!

All oBjEcTS ARE DHAMMA NATuRE

All objects are dhamma nature, dhamma phenomena. You can’t hold onto any object with lobha. Don’t perceive any objects or experiences as good or bad as no object or experience is better than any other experience or object. Objects are just objects. They are to be known. That is all.

Don’t go looking for objects or experiences that you may think are good. The search for good experiences is coming at the bidding of lobha. You are not meditating to get good experiences. If there’s thinking right now or you are feeling heat, just know what is happening. What are they? All are just phenomena or objects.

The work of meditation is not to develop objects  which are just happening through their own causes; the work of meditation is to cultivate the five spiritual faculties of sati, samādhi, viriya, saddhā, and paññā. 

ENjoyING THE PRAcTIcE

Is it better to delight in a “good sitting” or better to have awareness? It is not about liking the results but about enjoying the practice itself. You will continue to practice on your own when you are interested in and happy to practice and when you are invigorated by the work you are doing. Only when you see and understand the effects of your practice will you want to pay attention to becoming skillful in fulfilling the causes and conditions. If the causes are good, the effects will also be good. Let whatever is happening, happen but don’t forget the knowing. Investigate and learn.

TASTE oF DHAMMA

Naturally, if there are wholesome mental states, there will be peace. It is important that the meditating mind is a wholesome mind or working towards wholesomeness. Sati, samādhi, viriya, saddhā, and paññā are all wholesome. Out of all the wholesome actions we can do (dāna, sīla, samādhi, and paññā), cultivating wholesome mental qualities through vipassanā bhāvanā (paññā) is the highest one.

Most people in this world like to enjoy the taste of good feelings or sensations.

It is said that among all tastes, the best taste is the taste of Dhamma.  The taste of Dhamma is not just a feeling of peace— it is the supreme taste of knowing and understanding. 

You need to taste the full flavors of Dhamma: Of knowing, of awareness, and of understanding.