Mindfulness & Awareness

This category gathers excerpts that clarify what mindfulness/awareness is, how knowing happens, and how to understand experience as it is known — without forcing technique or relying on views.

THE EXCERPTS

026 ‣ Awareness Means Just Knowing, Not Focusing (138) 027 ‣ How to Keep the Awareness Continuous (139) 028 ‣ Relax and Let Awareness to Expand (141) 029 ‣ Noticing Reaction and Attention Skillfully (148) 030 ‣ Wrong Attitude of Focusing Because Afraid to Lose Mindfulness (162) 031 ‣ How Not to Be Drowned in Thoughts (168) 032 ‣ Targeting Requires Too Much Attention (171) 033 ‣ Journey of Awareness into Our Work Place (172) 034 ‣ Having the Right Objective for Meditation (179) 035 ‣ Old Habit of Pushing the Mind to Watch Breath (180) 036 ‣ Right Effort: Find Ways to Have Awareness (204) 037 ‣ How to Be Aware of Something We’re Not Skilled in Like Email Correspondence (235) 038 ‣ Don’t Let Your Mind Be Free – Try to Know Something All the Time (236) 039 ‣ Don’t Set Targets in Your Practice (250) 040 ‣ Right Attitude for Home Practice – Any Awareness is No Waste (256) 041 ‣ The Experience is Not Important, Awareness is Important (259) 042 ‣ Defilements Increase when We Pay Attention without Right View (261) 043 ‣ We’re Interested in the Thinking Mind, Not the Thinking (268) 044 ‣ Reminder: ‘what is the Mind Aware Of?’ (272) 045 ‣ Yogi Asking Which Object to Be Aware (273) 046 ‣ Meditation and Life Must Be Together (275) 047 ‣ Looking is the Process of Paying Attention to Sights (283) 048 ‣ Watching Drowsiness Amidst Being Aware (294) 049 ‣ Appreciate the Presence of Awareness (299) 050 ‣ If We Don’t Notice, Defilements Continue to Grow (305)
051 ‣ Our Responsibility is Right Thinking: Awareness and Interest (306) 052 ‣ Why the Mind Cannot Watch a Difficult Situation with Equanimity (313) 053 ‣ When the Mind Pays Attention without Right View, Defilement Increases (314) 054 ‣ The Easy Way to Recognize Awareness (319) 055 ‣ When Awareness is Present, the Mind Sees the Complete Picture (321) 056 ‣ What is Meant by Facing the Defilement (324) 057 ‣ The Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the Six Qualities of Dhamma (325) 058 ‣ Seeing Meditation (339) 059 ‣ Knowing is Not Nothing Because it is Gathering Data (345) 060 ‣ Yogi Asking About Being Disturbed by Ghosts (347) 061 ‣ Pay Attention to the Way – How to Practice (353) 062 ‣ Calmness Arises Not Depending on the Object, but on the Attitude (355) 063 ‣ Keep Noticing Wrong Attitude; Don’t Try to Change to Right Attitude (358) 064 ‣ Be Consistent in Being Aware (368) 065 ‣ Recognizing that the Mind is Thinking (371) 066 ‣ Questioning to Be Interested in the Present Moment (375) 067 ‣ We Cannot Trust Defilement Thinking (376) 068 ‣ Awareness is the Condition for Learning to Happen (381) 069 ‣ Training the Mind to Be Aware of Thoughts by Anchoring on Feelings (386) 070 ‣ Recognizing Awareness Distinct from Conceptual Knowing (397) 071 ‣ Know Both the Awareness and the Physical Object (398) 072 ‣ How to Be Aware of the Mind for Beginners (399) 073 ‣ External Objects Seem Less Clear from the Mind Door (408) 074 ‣ Don’t Believe You Cannot Meditate If There’s Much Thinking (410) 075 ‣ Noticing How the 5 Spiritual Qualities of Mind Are Working (422)
076 ‣ Sayadaw Relates His Own Experience with Natural Awareness (428) 077 ‣ How to Learn to Watch Thoughts without Forcing (429) 078 ‣ 3 Reasons to Be Interested in Awareness (430) 079 ‣ To Be Aware of Physical Objects and Aware of the Mind Are 2 Different Natures (434) 080 ‣ Don’t Try to Make Anything Happen, Just Continue to Be Aware (436) 081 ‣ The Mind Cannot Wander; It’s Just Thinking Mind Arising (437) 082 ‣ Learn to Discern Whether the Mind is Attending to Concept or Reality (448) 083 ‣ Yogis Get Upset when Forgetting that It’s Awareness that Notices Defilements (455) 084 ‣ Knowing What is Happening in the Mind is Awareness (467) 085 ‣ Notice the Paying Attention Mind (468) 086 ‣ Start by Watching Physical Objects; Switch to Watching the Awareness Later (469) 087 ‣ Start by Knowing One Object and Let the Awareness Expand Naturally (471) 088 ‣ Reality Objects Are Not as Obvious as Conceptual Objects (474) 089 ‣ Eating Meditation at Home (476) 090 ‣ How Can Wisdom Grow from Just Being Aware? (480) 091 ‣ Check the Quality of the Meditating Mind, Not Manipulate the Object (487) 092 ‣ The Whole Point of Being Aware is to Be Aware (490) 093 ‣ Maintaining Awareness while Anchoring in the Breath (493) 094 ‣ If the Mind is Not Focusing, Eventually Awareness Will Know More Objects (494) 095 ‣ Open Awareness Means Being Aware of the Mind (495) 096 ‣ When Emotions Are Strong, Ground Awareness on the Feeling (496) 097 ‣ Thinking Mind and Awareness Mind Are Different (499) 098 ‣ The Mind Base is Nowhere, Not in the Heart or Brain (503) 099 ‣ It Takes Wisdom to Watch Thoughts without Getting Lost in Them (504) 100 ‣ Breath Can Be Either a Vipassana or Samatha Object (506)
101 ‣ Understanding About Labeling (519) 102 ‣ Yogi Gets Drowsy when Switching from Samatha to Vipassana (527) 103 ‣ Important to Recognize Which Reality is Being Aware of (534) 104 ‣ The Skill of Watching Emotions (542) 105 ‣ Recognize that Awareness Changes Too (548) 106 ‣ Ideas Determine How the Mind Reacts to Certain Words (551) 107 ‣ The Mind Suffers when Wrong Thoughts Happen (553) 108 ‣ When the Mind is Peaceful and Calm, Check and Stay with the Awareness (554) 109 ‣ Be Happy when Able to Be Aware (562) 110 ‣ Being Aware Means We’re Aware of the Six Senses at Work (565) 111 ‣ Deconstructing ‘i Am the Mind’ (570) 112 ‣ Just Keep Knowing without Having to Analyse – Very Simple (601) 113 ‣ The Practice of Awareness is Not Through Deliberate Thinking (612) 114 ‣ Judging and Thinking Will Intensify Restlessness (613) 115 ‣ Strengthen the Awareness with Subtle Objects (616) 116 ‣ Without Understanding Reality, the Mind Cannot Be Seen (630) 117 ‣ Whenever the Mind is Idle, Always Be Aware of Some Object (633) 118 ‣ Repeated Awareness of Reality Erodes the Idea of Self (642) 119 ‣ Need Not Focus; Recognize Awareness is Working (657) 120 ‣ Learn How to Use Primary and Secondary Objects (658) 121 ‣ Bored Because the Mind Has No Wisdom to Be Interested in the Right Object (659) 122 ‣ Learning to Be Aware of Thoughts without Focusing (663) 123 ‣ Check Awareness and Attitude when the Object is a Strong Defilement (664) 124 ‣ Learn How the Mind Thinks, Knows and Feels (669) 125 ‣ How to Keep Meditation Ongoing (680)
151 ‣ Watch the Unstable Mind Whenever Defilements Flare Up (865) 152 ‣ Awareness Can Know Many Things Fluidly and Quickly without Focusing (867) 153 ‣ Have an Anchor Object while Staying Open (868) 154 ‣ Knowing is Different from Understanding (872) 155 ‣ Recognize the Awareness that is Present Repeatedly (876) 156 ‣ How to Recognize Thinking Mind when Observing Thoughts (882) 157 ‣ There Are Layers of Thinking (884) 158 ‣ Get to Know the Process (887) 159 ‣ Non-identification Does Not Mean Becoming Indifferent (896) 160 ‣ Don’t Judge Thoughts to Be Bad – They Can Teach Us (900) 161 ‣ The Third Presence is the Awareness of Awareness (902) 162 ‣ Fixated Ideas of Shut Eyes Meditation (907) 163 ‣ When There’s Quietness, Explore on the Qualities of Awareness (919) 164 ‣ Acknowledge the Presence of Wrong Attitude as Mind Nature – Impersonal (920) 165 ‣ When Anger Arises Despite Consistent Awareness, Wisdom is Lacking (939) 166 ‣ Are We Aware or Lost in Thought? (944) 167 ‣ All Minds Are Momentary (954) 168 ‣ Learning to Maintain Awareness of More than One Activity (962) 169 ‣ How to Tune Down the Energy (973) 170 ‣ When the Mind Knows the Object, Know the Awareness Too (974) 171 ‣ Experiences Are Not Always Clear (978) 172 ‣ Clarity Happens Due to the Strength of Awareness, Not by Personal Effort (981) 173 ‣ Live with the Knowing Mind (983) 174 ‣ Awareness is Never Too Late (988) 175 ‣ Mindfulness Doesn’t Have to Be Good (989)
176 ‣ We Can’t Focus on the Mind Like We Focus on External Objects (990) 177 ‣ The Point of Being Aware (994) 178 ‣ Awareness and Object Are Different but They Happen Together (999) 179 ‣ Concentration Practice Improves by Knowing the Mind (1002) 180 ‣ Training to Know the Awareness (1003) 181 ‣ Notice that Thoughts Are Happening (1005) 182 ‣ Meditation is Training the Mind (1006) 183 ‣ Recognize the Benefit of Awareness in the Present Moment (1008) 184 ‣ Mind-body Interaction (1023) 185 ‣ The Mind Gets Restless when Awareness is Absent (1024) 186 ‣ Watch the Liking Mind when Attached to the Object (1038) 187 ‣ Meditation is to See What is Arising Now, Not Look for Something (1041) 188 ‣ Being Aware Means to Keep Learning No Matter How Insignificant (1042) 189 ‣ No Hurry to Have Results (1051) 190 ‣ With Right Attitude, Any Happening is Just Being Known (1060) 191 ‣ Check Whether Awareness is Present while Going About Everyday Life (1069) 192 ‣ Use Whatever You Can to Be Mindful (1081) 193 ‣ Right Attitude Frees the Mind to Observe without Distress (1088) 194 ‣ Put in Some Effort to Explore when it Turns Stale (1093) 195 ‣ Tiredness Does Not Mean Awareness Cannot Be Present (1099) 196 ‣ Mindfulness is Not Only Mindfulness of the Breath (1110) 197 ‣ When We See the Value of Learning, We Will Persist (1124) 198 ‣ We Rest the Mind by Being Aware (1138) 199 ‣ Learning Opportunity when the Unwholesome Plays Out (1144) 200 ‣ Seeing the Way the Mind Works (1147)
201 ‣ It’s Okay So Long as We Know What is Happening (1150) 202 ‣ Right Attitude is a Manifestation of Wisdom (1156) 203 ‣ Understanding Thinking as an Object (1160) 204 ‣ Wholesome Minds Naturally Displace the Defilements (1161) 205 ‣ Awareness Becomes the Object when There’s Momentum (1165) 206 ‣ Any Awareness is Still Valuable (1169) 207 ‣ It Could Be Busy Outside but the Mind is Calm (1181) 208 ‣ Catching Thoughts (1184) 209 ‣ The Awareness Mind Will Transform Our Lives (1186) 210 ‣ Take Care of the Awareness; Don’t Look for Specific Objects (1187) 211 ‣ Meditation is Not to Fix Anything; Meditation is to Know Everything (1189) 212 ‣ How to Watch Unclear Objects (1195) 213 ‣ Pure Awareness Has No Meaning (1197) 214 ‣ Meditating is Training the Mind to Be Skilful (1198) 215 ‣ Ignite the Interest with Curiosity (1205) 216 ‣ Being Aware of Unclear Objects (1206) 217 ‣ One Reason Why Sayadaw Doesn’t Teach Single-object Meditation (1208) 218 ‣ Nurturing Awareness Amidst Strong Aversion and Depression (1212) 219 ‣ The Sense of ‘i’m Aware’ is the Hardest Thing to Lose (1222) 220 ‣ Discern the Difference Between Awareness and Thinking (1232) 221 ‣ Don’t Follow the Imagination, Stay with the Awareness (1235) 222 ‣ Reality and Conceptual Experiences (1246) 223 ‣ Use Reminding to Practice in Daily Life (1258) 224 ‣ Awareness Reveals the Defilement; it Does Not Intensify the Reaction (1266) 225 ‣ No Object Disturbs the Vipassana Yogi (1271)
251 ‣ The Mind Becomes Dull Watching Neutral Objects (1385) 252 ‣ Specific Characteristics of Nama-rupa (1388) 253 ‣ Knowing and Thinking Are Different Functions (1390) 254 ‣ Yogis Are Aware of the Object, Not Think of the Pain (1393) 255 ‣ Understanding Why Not to Judge the Object as Good or Bad (1396) 256 ‣ The Pause Between the In-breath and Out-breath is Also an Object (1397) 257 ‣ Asking What is the Mind Knowing is Recognizing the Mind (1402) 258 ‣ How Do We Progress by Just Knowing and Being Aware? (1403) 259 ‣ Paramattha (Nature/reality) and Pannatti (Concept) (1406) 260 ‣ Be Aware of Pain, Not Think About the Pain (1411) 261 ‣ If Our Emotion Increases when We’re Aware, Check Our Expectation (1412) 262 ‣ Noticing Awareness (1434) 263 ‣ Understanding Nature (1436) 264 ‣ Discern the Difference Between Concepts and Realities (1443) 265 ‣ Noticing the ‘don’t Know’ Mind (1447) 266 ‣ Seeing the Concept and the Mind Together (1458) 267 ‣ How to Practise Knowing of Seeing Consciousness (1460) 268 ‣ When Awareness is Absent, the Mind is Deluded (1469) 269 ‣ Consciousness (Viññana) is Bare Knowing of the Object (1472) 270 ‣ Don’t Expect to Be Aware Continuously (1476) 271 ‣ If There is Right View, Awareness is Already Present (1482) 272 ‣ The Difference Between Mind and Concept (1483) 273 ‣ Pay More Attention to the Awareness and Not the Pleasant Object (1485) 274 ‣ How to Know Lobha? (1503) 275 ‣ When Watching the Object, Remember that We’re Aware (1507)
276 ‣ The Goal of the Practice is to Grow Awareness (1513) 277 ‣ Is it Wrong to Focus when We Meditate? (1517) 278 ‣ Investigation is Just the Effort to Be Aware (1533) 279 ‣ Losing Track of Meaning when Paying Attention to Awareness (1539) 280 ‣ Working with Recurring Negative Thoughts (1546) 281 ‣ The Awareness Practice (1556) 282 ‣ Learning to Be Aware Neutrally (1563) 283 ‣ When the Mind is Calm, We Watch the Awareness and Not the Calmness (1567) 284 ‣ We Watch the Object – Try Not to Feel it (1571) 285 ‣ Recognize it when We Know Both the Body and Mind (1576) 286 ‣ Why the Object Changes but Not the Awareness (1578) 287 ‣ What Does the Vipassana Meditator Train? (1579) 288 ‣ Stay with the Awareness and Not the Object (1582) 289 ‣ As Long as Awareness is Present, We’re Not Lost in Thought (1586) 290 ‣ Can I Only Watch the Breath when I Sit and Meditate? (1593) 291 ‣ When Understanding What is Mind and What is Object, the Mind is at Ease (1596) 292 ‣ If Our Bodily Form Disappears when We Meditate (1602) 293 ‣ Be Aware of Whatever We’re Doing (1607) 294 ‣ Applying the Practice to Studying (1608) 295 ‣ Telling Apart the Mind and Physical Object (1609) 296 ‣ Wisdom Develops from Mindfulness Practice (1610) 297 ‣ Sensing the Chest Area to Calm the Mind (1615) 298 ‣ Advice on Cultivating Awareness in Daily Life (1627) 299 ‣ No Bad Kamma is Produced If We’re Aware (1630) 300 ‣ Don’t Lose the Awareness; Take Care of it (1651)

THE DISCUSSIONS