WISDOM'S ROAR

 When you’re already tense and tired, it is harder to go back and being relaxed. So, start when you’re relaxed; and then, don’t put in too much effort. Take it easy.

Instead of paying attention, which can be too energetic, ask questions ‘Is the mind aware?’, ‘What is the mind aware of?’

Be easy about how much the mind knows. Just this much – enough; just this much – enough.

If you find that when you don’t focus, it feels like you don’t know the objects clearly, never mind. All you have to do is to continuously know blurrily. And if you keep on repeating that, slowly over 1 or 2 days, it will become clearer by itself.

Then, you’ll see the nature of the mind in action, how when you do something repeatedly, it helps to strengthen that quality; you’ll see that happening by itself. Particularly if you’re used to focusing on one object, when you stop focusing, it can become blur; and you find that uncomfortable. Let it be; trust the process.

You don’t have to be still – you can scratch yourself and just be aware. Just natural – just be aware.

I never said don’t do anything; I said to be aware.

Whatever happens in the mind and the body – if you feel itchy, you want to scratch, you scratch; you feel better after scratching, you want to stop scratching and you stop; you just be aware.

Just be aware and you can do anything you want. You don’t have to sit still, okay?

Yogi: Oh, that’s good news.

If you notice many thoughts, then you are already being aware. You can know what’s happening.

If you’re not aware, much thinking also happens, but you don’t know – right? Now we are aware and that's why we can be aware of what’s happening – so, no problem.

We don’t have to try to be aware forcefully. It is just to be aware. Whatever you already see, that is what you’re aware of. There is no need to look for anything else.

When the awareness becomes more continuous, it will gain momentum; and when it gains momentum it will become stronger – then, awareness can see more detail. It will come naturally.

Say, this is the breath and there is awareness; and we’re being aware continuously – aware of the breath, aware of the breath. And then because we’re doing it so continuously we begin to notice that there is awareness of breath. This is the second level – there is awareness of breath, there is awareness of breath. Once you can know that there is awareness of breath, notice the awareness more than the breath.

Yogi: I think I’m not aware when I’m eating.

Sayadaw: If you think you were not aware when you were eating, what were you paying attention to when you were eating?

Yogi: I tried to be aware of the taste, the touch of big or small pieces, and also the greed. When I failed to see greed, I tried to slow down.

Sayadaw: So, why did you say that there was no awareness?

Yogi: It didn’t feel so nice.

Sayadaw: Awareness quality is not always good all the time; it also changes. We have to accept how it is right then. The quality of our awareness is always changing; sometimes we have better quality awareness and sometimes, poorer quality awareness. We can’t always get the quality we want.

We don’t even know yet why awareness becomes better or worse; so to get the quality we want is much later. First, we have to accept that this is the quality of the awareness now and just be happy that there is awareness. That’s all.

Really, the mind is so tricky; at that time, you didn’t even realize that the mind is thinking that this awareness is not good enough and so it must not be awareness. So, we hear more and get more information and slowly it sinks in; and we learn.

If you have to go out for dinner or practice meditation, what will you choose?

Yes, do both; that’s what I want – for you to go out for dinner and meditate. If you have a preference, then that’s not wisdom. Dinner becomes meditation.

I will give you one structure – everything that you know, you say ‘This is nature and there’s awareness' (of this nature). That’s the only analysis that you need.

You need to acknowledge this: ‘This is nature and there’s awareness’; and the next moment ‘This is nature and there’s awareness’. It doesn’t matter where the defilement is coming at you. Just follow that structure.

When you understand that seeing is happening and then you look, defilements don’t arise. When you know that seeing is happening and then look, the mind pays attention to the concept but defilements don’t have a chance to come because understanding is present.

After you know that you’re seeing, you look; after you know that you’re hearing, you listen. After you know that there’s an object and the mind, then you pay attention to the concept. It’s not a big problem.

Without concepts, we also cannot do anything, right?

Negative thinking, negative feelings come; positive thinking, positive feelings come. So, how should we think? Very simple; it is a learning process.

For me, if a thought comes and the mind gets agitated and suffers, I don’t believe this thought. Also, I don’t follow this thought, I don’t continue to think this thought; it is a wrong thought. Why? That is because it causes the mind to suffer. But people don’t understand; they continue to think and suffer, suffer, suffer.

Why should I do it? Thinking and feelings are related. Because we don’t know the nature of the mind, we get tortured by the mind. We have a choice if we understand.

So, when momentum runs out and the awareness doesn’t feel so natural anymore, there is no need to panic; no need to get it back because here is where we are – we just have to start simple again. Just starting again being aware, plodding along – plodding along being mindful.

(Elsewhere by Sayadaw: When you know how to make money, you’re not afraid of losing money)

Most yogis, the moment they have an unwholesome experience or state of mind, they immediately struggle with it because they think it shouldn’t be there. They forget that at that moment, it is coexisting with the awareness because it’s the awareness that is actually making them conscious of the unwholesome state of mind.

And that’s what yogis lack now – they forget that awareness has been present. Awareness is not seen, appreciated, understood or known even though it’s there and working. And that’s what we want to get to.

Do you know that boredom is also an object? You are already practising; there is nothing more to do. You know what is happening now; that’s why you can tell me that you know your breath, thinking and feeling. That’s it. When agitated, be aware of the agitated feeling too.

You can know, right? And continue to know.

Whatever happens during the sitting becomes the object. You have the wrong idea; that’s why you become bored. Because you think that agitation is not good. You need to think that agitation is also a kind of object. That’s it; whatever happens, is the meditation object.

If you judge that it’s not good; then you become bored. You want a good state; you don’t like this state; and then you become bored. This is because of wrong attitude, wrong idea. So, you need to change your idea. Whatever happens, don’t judge it to be good or bad.

You already know that it is happening; everything is an object. If you think that it’s an object, then you become interested. If you judge that it is not good and you want something better, then you become bored. Because of the expectation to have good states, you become bored when you get bad states. 

Let whatever happened be. Try to be aware and maintain the awareness continuously. You need to change your attitude.

Keep acknowledging and being in touch with the way the mind feels because that’s how you practice knowing feeling. When you’re relaxed, just know that; every now and then just know that.

It is very important to recognize that you’re relaxed and when you make it a habit, whenever the mind stops being relaxed you know immediately. It’s like an alarm that tells you that you need to be more relaxed. And because that alarm comes early, you also start to detect more quickly what is triggering the stress – the earlier you get to something, the easier it is to deal with it.

So, be aware whenever you’re relaxed; make it a habit to practice that.

Is thinking dosa? Is feeling dosa? Is sensation dosa? What then is dosa? Dosa is a quality – it has its own characteristics and quality. But you need to continue to watch to understand.

You can understand in many ways; not only this way. If you watch it repeatedly, you can understand the nature of dosa and from different angles. For example, you can understand that dosa mind can become an object because you can feel and know the quality of an object. You can understand it as just an object.

Be interested and continue to watch.

It is important to know our thoughts; we need to be able to know our thoughts.

What is the mind thinking? Is it thinking the right thoughts, the wrong thoughts; is it being skillful, wise, unwise; wholesome, unwholesome? What is the mind thinking?

And as we recognize that the mind is thinking, when we realize something about the thinking mind, that realization is what we’re trying to gain from all the observations that we’re making.

If you don’t have wisdom, you’ll know. How do you practice? When you know how to be mindful – to be aware, to have right attitude and right idea – this is also wisdom.

You can also feel the interest; interest is also wisdom working. And wisdom also wants to know. Not only lobha wants to know; wisdom also wants to know, but simple and honest. It wants to know what is real; and also you can feel wisdom.

And also you understand the nature of the object/experience. Now you don’t have to be reminded; this is also wisdom. What is this? This is nature and there is nobody there; this is wisdom.

Do you have doubts about the practice? Confused? This is delusion, the opposite of wisdom. When there is no doubt, no confusion, that means you know clearly how to practice – that is wisdom too.

Inquiry is not controlling; inquiry is more of watching, not touching the experience. It just sees the experience from any angle, from more angles.

There is no need to touch the experience. Wisdom may change the angle of investigation; but it is not controlling, which is very obvious.

Slowly you can understand that nature is working. Defilements arise when you investigate too much, and then the mind becomes tense, not peaceful and not relaxed. First you need to recognize that defilement is there; then you take off the defilement; and then much later, you know how to watch.

When we are calm, it is the time to move forward beyond the calm. Calmness is not the destination; it is not the objective. We’re going to use the calmness so that we can move ahead. We investigate a bit more, look a bit more closely, and ask some questions. We start to look at what we have in our awareness.

You are being aware; what are you aware of? How clearly are you aware? Do you understand its nature? What is the awareness and what is the object? And you watch these experiences continually. What is understood when you watch something continuously? Do you see some connections between them?

Samadhi should be a support to gain wisdom. Yogis think that when they stay in samadhi, wisdom will pop up by itself; but that is the misunderstanding. And what happens is that they sit and indulge in it, not recognizing the greed and indulgence. The point is to become more alert when there is tranquility.

When there are sensations in the body, pleasant or unpleasant, always remember to keep an eye on how the mind is feeling towards them.

As we get older, the body is like a machine that is getting old, the machine is not going to get better but we can keep the mind in good shape. The body won’t get better for sure; it will decay.

So, we want to prepare the mind to face this decaying body with the right attitude, and also in a sense, prepare for death.

If we see our bodily pains and aches and all that as nature as well, then it is freeing for the mind and we will feel ready to die, to face death peacefully.

Otherwise, when the mind is not prepared, it will resist death. We will be in turmoil.

We can know the energy of wisdom. When you use your wisdom, you think how to do better and what to do better. You think, right? How do you feel at that time? You can know the mental state.

We make choices the whole day – what does the choosing? Craving or not? Is it defilement choosing or wisdom choosing?

The mind thinks how to do better – beneficial or not, need or not, necessary or not. When the mind is thinking like this, at that time the energy is wisdom.

Our motivation to practice can become habit. We practice because we think we should, not because our interest or curiosity is stimulated. This is not a wholesome attitude to meditation. The mind can get lost in habit patterns. The motivation to practice should come from a place of understanding and interest.

Initially, when we start out, motivations can vary, but if we carry on, then gradually, when we see the benefits, it will change more to a motivation born of wisdom.

(58:14-58:43)
Craving wants; and wisdom also wants. Wisdom knows that this is right, this is good; it knows, that’s why it wants. But delusion is different – delusion thinks that it is good; that’s why it wants. Think and know are different. Think is don’t know. Know is knowing clearly what is right or wrong; that’s why it wants. 

(59:02-1:00:13)
Wanting is not always craving. Wisdom and craving have their own characteristics; their quality of mind will show you. Wisdom wants because it knows that it is right, it is good; that’s why it knows that it wants. When wisdom wants, the mind does not suffer, the mind is not tense and good energy comes – there is interest and the mind is awake, that’s why the energy is good. 

But when craving wants, the mind is tense. Craving simply wants; it doesn’t understand need or not. Craving nature doesn’t understand need or not; it just wants, just holds and cannot let go. 

25. DON’T FIX THE FUTURE

Switzerland Retreat 2016 - 2016-05/28 D4 Group Interview (4:22-6:13)

Yogis are reminded not to have a fixed plan when meditate. Whatever you do, you shouldn’t even think about how you’re going to meditate – it’s just the present moment.

You shouldn’t think that you’re going to sit an hour because you’re just setting up the mind – if you don’t sit an hour, your mind is going to feel that it isn’t good enough and if you manage to sit the hour, then you are going to feel like it is a good sitting. It’s all delusion – what is the need. Meditation is always continuing; it is just the present moment.

So what if it is one hour – after that you must still be aware. It’s an unnecessary construction of the mind.

When we plan, we must be careful of having a fixed plan – thinking it must happen that way. Planning should be just taking into consideration contingencies. Most of the time, the mind doesn’t plan like that. It thinks of what it wants and if it doesn’t happen just the way we think it should, then we have to deal with our frustrations.

26. TRYING TO HAVE GOOD AWARENESS

Switzerland Retreat 2016 - 2016-05/23 C2 Group Interview (43:00-44:06)

When we try to get back a quality of awareness that we had before, that’s the mistake we make. When you wake up in the morning check what attitude you have – do you want something; is there something that the mind thinks that is better or preferable.

Awareness can be very poor but it is enough to be aware, but we want it to be as good as before. That’s when we think that we’re not aware but we are – but we’re not okay with it.

We often work like that – we work with a desire to have a good result now. But all we have to do is work, without that burden of thinking that it needs to be good.

27. DON’T TRY TO KNOW THE EXPERIENCE BETTER

Spirit Rock 2015 Retreat 2015-04/27 Group A Session One (53:19-54:18)

I’m beseeching you not to attempt to see the object more clearly; please do not try to know the experience better.

Because when a little craving comes in, everything becomes tighter. Actually, the more relaxed and open the awareness is, the stronger it is. The more simple and honest the mind is in the present moment, the clearer everything will become.

Why is the mind not simple? Because it wants something; or the mind is not wanting something.

28. MEDITATION CANNOT BE HURRIED

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2014 Vassa Interviews File: R05_0001 (15:20-15:49)

Meditation cannot be hurried; should not be hurried because meditation is for life – you should practice in your life, not only during the retreat. You come to the centre to learn how to practice, but meditation should continue for life, not for a short time. So, no need to hurry.

29. NOT NECESSARY TO SEE OBJECT MORE CLEARLY

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2014 Vassa Interviews File: R05_0001 (13:41-14:45)

There is no need to see the object clearly, not necessary. You’ll use a lot of effort to focus; when you focus, the object is very close and becomes clear; but how long can you maintain this? It is very tiring because this is not natural energy. This is artificial; cannot stay for long. We need natural energy.

So, we do not try to see clearly, but we try to maintain the awareness continuously. That becomes natural energy and when the energy becomes better and better, it can focus itself. The object naturally appears; there is no need to force because the energy grows naturally.

Less energy means that you can maintain for a long time; and after a long time, this energy becomes stronger and stronger.

Yogis try too hard to see clearly because of craving, but it can only be maintained for a short time. You cannot maintain for a long time.

30. ISSUE OF SITTING LONGER

Kalaw Retreat 2016 Day 4 Dhamma Discussion Group D File: 20160331 (52:38-53:34)

If the mind is light and the energy is good, it is okay; not if, as you sit longer, the mind becomes weaker and weaker, and drowsiness comes. I also don’t encourage yogis to sit for too long because I want them to bring the awareness to other activities besides sitting.

Also, they may be attached to sitting. But we are not trying to get rid of the sitting; we try to get rid of the attachment to sitting.

It depends on the situation. Check your quality of mind while sitting – if it is awake and alert, sitting the whole day isn’t a problem.

31. DON’T COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE

USA Spirit Rock Retreat 2015 - Guided Meditation Day 2 (16:05-17:17)

Don’t have trouble with what you’re experiencing. Don’t complain about your experience; appreciate the fact that you know the experience because awareness is present, appreciate awareness in every moment.

What is our endeavour? Our work, our endeavour is to know, to be aware; to awaken. Every moment that we bring awareness to life weakens the darkness of delusion.

32. WATCHING AVERSION DURING MEDITATION

Gaia House Retreat 2015 - 2015-06/03 Interview Groups C & D Session 3 (14:08-14:59)

Don’t look at it; it is the mind’s projection. Don’t look at it because it creates more reaction; it is not real; it is the projection of the disliking mind. Watch the disliking, or other objects. So, don’t pay attention to it. Whenever the mind goes to that object, bring it back.

If you sit with it for months, it takes months to undo it.

(Sayadaw relating the experience of a yogi in another retreat and his advice to him)

33. SEEING DOUBT AS AN OBJECT OF AWARENESS

Kalaw Retreat 2016 Day 4 Dhamma Discussion Group D File: 20160331 (53:38-54:04)

[When doubt arises, make it the object of your awareness]

When you have doubt, you cannot do anything. See the doubt – Oh, doubt is there!

Be aware of your doubt; doubt becomes your object. Then, you don’t have to struggle.

34. ADVICE ON SLEEPY OR TENSE DURING SITTING

Gaia House Retreat 2015 - 2015-06/05 Interview Groups C & D Session 4 (1:22:40-1:27:25)

You don’t need to sit so much; mindfulness is important, not sitting. All you need is mindfulness. If you can be mindful in daily activities it means that you’re doing correctly there – reflect on what you’re doing right there and what is wrong when you’re sitting; why the mind is not working in the same way.

If we sit with the idea that this is not interesting – we’re doing what we’re being told – it can be mechanical. And we have many old habits from past retreats; so, whenever we sit we can get drowsy; but daily activities are fresh, they are new and you never know what is going to happen next. So, the mind is watchful.

In sitting, there are some wrong thoughts. It’s very important to find these out; also not to stay sleepy in sitting because the mind develops habits very easily. Whether you are conscious or not, whatever is done over and over again becomes a habit. If we sit and we’re sleepy every sit, it becomes a habit of the mind; we’ll become sleepy every sit.

So, some people get tense when they sit because they’re practising wrong and it becomes a habit, the tension becomes a habit. The moment they sit, they become tense even when they’re not being mindful. If we don’t want these bad habits to grow, we need to investigate.

Reflect on what you’re doing right in walking and other activities and see whether you can bring the same kind of thinking, the same kind of attitude and approach to mindfulness into the sitting. You also want to recognize what the mind is thinking, what’s the approach when the mind sits. You want to see that – how the mind works.

Closing the eyes for too long is no good, particularly if we’re not alert. If we’re not alert and we have our eyes closed, it is very easy for the mind to quiet down and get lost in the stories in the head. The moment the mindfulness is not watchful, immediately the other side takes over – the tendency for delusion to take over. Delusion is always at the door.

That’s why we always have to be mindful; this work must keep going, this work must keep happening. Because if this work is not happening, then the other work is happening.

And when we’re working, of course, we always have to be checking how we’re working because we can be mindful with too much effort, too much of this and too little of that, and we have to be checking how we are mindful.

35. RELAXING IS MEDITATION TOO

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Vassa 2014 File: R5_0001 (11:41-13:10)

[Relaxing, letting go of craving, is also part of meditation – if you don’t feel good about meditation, then who wants to meditate?]

Relax, don’t hurry. You let go of craving – letting go of craving is also part of meditation.

Right effort is perseverance, moment to moment, not hard effort. Patience and perseverance; don’t give up – gently, gently, not forcing or using a lot of energy.

You don’t do too much in meditation – just using mental energy to be present.

Feeling good is very important in meditation; you must feel good about meditation. If you don’t, then nobody wants to meditate; if it’s so tiring, who wants to meditate? Right?

36. OVER EXERTION

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Malaysian and Chinese Group Interview 2017-Jan 08 (1:17:57-1:19:26)

When I first started to teach, I wanted very much to help the yogis. I talked a lot; I had a lot of energy. In the old Shwe Oo Min Centre, I would interview yogis from 4pm till sometimes 10pm, 6 hours non-stop, continuously sitting there. Yogis kept changing – they would come and go, and I would continue to talk for a long time; I had so much energy.

Sometimes, I would talk and talk, take a shower in between interviews and return fresh again.

Once I was explaining to some yogis when suddenly one mind said ‘Sometimes people cannot accept as there are many conditionings’, so wisdom said ‘You cannot do what you want’. Then I would immediately exert much less energy.

It was like this in the beginning as I was not skilful in communicating with the yogis. The yogis were very different with many minds. Sometimes they would be angry with me when they expected me to praise them and I didn’t.

37. NO NEED TO TRY TOO HARD

USA Maui Retreat 2016 Morning Instructions 2016-11/16 (15:53-16:21)

When we don’t understand the nature of the mind, that it comes and goes; sometimes it’s here, sometimes it’s not here; sometimes you’re able to be aware, sometimes you’re not.

When you’re not accepting of the nature of the mind, we start trying too hard; we think we need to fix it.

Instead, we just remember that we’re back in the moment and just start again, just be aware again.

38. MINDFULNESS WHEN TALKING

Spirit Rock 2015 Retreat Morning Instruction Day 11 (27:00-39:28)

Before we begin speaking, we can know what we want to say, how we feel; and when we start speaking we can know the tone of our voice, what we’re thinking of saying, and how we feel again. And that is not all that we can know when we’re talking.

If you have a strong desire to convey something, there is eagerness. When there is a great desire to speak out, then we can get carried away. That thought and that speech – we need to be careful of that energy. Watch it first.

Why is it difficult to be mindful when we speak is because so many things are happening so quickly when we speak. There’s thinking about what to say; there are ideas, feelings and thoughts; and there’s paying attention to the person we’re speaking to; and there are views – all in the mix. It takes a lot of skill to just be and know whatever you know and not get lost and sucked into the whole process.

We also tend to pay a lot of attention to the other person we’re speaking to instead of to ourselves. But if we put too much attention on one place, then it will be taken away from another. So, we need to build the skill of how we can speak and at the same time know that we’re speaking and how we are speaking. And that is possible if we’re relaxed and not in a hurry to speak, not in a hurry to convey.

There is something called the force of habit. So, if you are very diligent about being mindful every time you walk, you’ll find that when you start walking, your mindfulness will just pop up because that’s what you have been diligently trying to cultivate. In the same way, if we always set the intention to be mindful when we speak, again and again, diligently, there comes a point that when we speak, mindfulness is there.

Here, on retreat, we don’t need to speak all day long and you don’t want to lose the momentum of mindfulness if you’re not skilful at speaking. So, although you can speak at any time of the day, do not speak for a long period of time each time you speak. Limit yourself to short conversations. Check in and practice being mindful while you speak.

This is the training to build habit. You’re on retreat and there’s no need to jump into natural conversation. Take it easy and slow. You both know your purpose so you can slow down. Know what you want to say, know when you’re speaking, take turns.
And when you speak about the Dhamma or about your practice, it keeps you on the practice in the moment.

If you start speaking about yourself, be extra vigilant because we’re most likely to be carried away when we speak about ourselves.

If there’s mindfulness throughout the time you’re speaking, you’ll find that you feel good after that. And if you’re mindful every time you speak, you’ll find that you feel more and more confident and sure about yourself. Even if you make a mistake in your speech, you’ll know it and you can learn a lesson from it immediately. You can decide on how you won’t want to do it the next time so that you’re prepared.

If there’s a lot of reaction in the mind, your mind is very agitated, it’s better to not speak. Watch the agitation and reaction and calm yourself down first because if we speak when we’re reacting, the tendency is to just shoot our mouth off.

So, we’re practicing to learn how to speak without defilements. This takes vigilance. So, wisdom, willingness, all these we will learn. We can speak with metta, with karuna. It’s not ideal to be speaking under the influence of unwholesome minds.

Now is the chance, on retreat, to take it slow and see how it goes. You get a taste of doing it at a measured pace and you can bring that practice with you back into your lives.

39. WALKING MEDITATION: WALK NATURALLY 

China Retreat 2014 Introduction Talk

When you walk, do you recognize that you’re walking? Knowing that you’re walking is also awareness. Don’t control your action by either slowing down or walking fast. Just walk naturally and recognize your action as much as you can.

The Buddha’s teaching is the middle way – we’re not trying to walk fast or slow, just natural speed and recognize whatever is happening in the present moment. We’re learning how to practice from this retreat and apply it in your daily life when you return home.

In daily life, nobody walks very slowly, just natural speed. If you walk slowly here, you can’t apply it in your daily life.

In the beginning, you can start with noticing the movement of your legs or the touching of your feet. And slowly when you are aware continuously, you can know the movement of the whole body.

Kalaw Retreat 2016 Day 6 Dhamma Discussion Group D (29:36-29:49)

When your hand is moving, you know that the hand is moving; when looking, you know that you’re looking; when your leg is moving, you know that the leg is moving – you are practicing to stay in the present moment. It is helping your awareness to be continuous, to build up staying in the present moment continuously.

(Remember that you’re trying to be aware, not trying to walk.)

40. BARE AWARENESS IS SIMPLY BEING REMINDED TO BE PRESENT

Kalaw 2016 Retreat Closing Guided Meditation (24:07-26:24)

Because awareness mental state is present, wisdom mental state can arise. Without awareness, wisdom cannot come. So, we try to be aware all the time, recognizing the object again and again, and slowly wisdom can arise. Sometimes, we try to bring back awareness – simple awareness, as much as we can and when the 5 Indriyas are balanced, some understanding can arise deeply. So, bare awareness is we just be aware, that’s all, but understanding arises.

If awareness is present, sometimes wisdom comes although we’re not thinking too much about meditation at that time; just simply bringing awareness on continually. Sometimes this situation becomes balanced – it is very strange. At times I’m not trying to meditate, just being aware, that’s it.

Any situation, any posture, any job can be reminding “Are you aware”? If awareness is present, wisdom arises and naturally does its job.

I need to remind yogis about this bare awareness; of reminding to bring the mind back to the present moment. Any situation, any time, remember to bring back awareness. So try as much as you can; it is for life.

41. STAY PRESENT WITHIN THE SIX SENSE DOORS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary 2013 Retreat – Guided Meditation 2013-06-18 (45:25-46:09)

Meditation time is all the time – wholeheartedly and with interest. Stay in the present moment within your 6 sense doors. Outside the door is concept; we are not interested in the concept, we don’t pay too much attention to the concept, we learn more from real nature, from direct experience.

42. SKILLFUL BEING MINDFUL WHILE AT WORK

Gaia House Retreat 2015 – Interview Groups C & D, Session 1 2015-05/30 (53:25-55:40)

We all have weak points in our lives – like we’re able to be skillful in some situations and not in other situations. Whichever situation that is our weakness, has to become our special focus. How do I become mindful in that situation? We have to think about it, we have to practice; we have to try and try again. That has to be our project.

At work, it’s so real – there are things we really need to get done. The urgency grips us so, we get lost very easily. If you want to become skillful at being mindful when you use the computer, you have to practice using the computer with mindfulness especially. That’s like a special skill set; how to have awareness at that time because that’s your weakness and also your need.

At home, whenever using the computer, you make a special effort to be aware while using the computer so that you begin to learn your own lessons on how to be aware when using the computer at work.

When you use the computer, it’s all thinking at work. The understanding of how to know that ‘the mind is the mind’ becomes critical. When you can know that the mind is doing all this, when you bring in awareness, then you can do it.

Make it a habit that every time you look at your phone, every time you look at your tablet or your computer, you’re aware. It must become a habit then it extends to when you’re working. When you touch the computer awareness comes – that’s the trigger for awareness to be there. So, you’re building a different skill set.

We all need that.

43. OPEN EYES MEDITATION AND SAMADHI

Bangkok 2015 Retreat Day 1 Instructions (40:50-43:15)

Being aware of yourself, if you don’t know what to pay attention to, or if you feel like you’re confused, you can start by being aware of the movement of your feet, or the touching of your feet every time you put down a foot; something simple just to ground you, something to do continuously.

And as you continue to be aware of one thing, you will begin to notice other things. So, you start with the touching of the feet, and you also begin to know the motion of your whole body and feel different sensations, and then you begin to notice things happening in the mind as well even as you walk.

When we sit, it doesn’t matter whether we close or open our eyes because when the eyes are open, you can also be aware that you’re seeing. So, that’s something else that you can be aware of. Why don’t we start with being able to see as well; being able to recognize seeing, after all we need to be real-life. Whenever you remember, recognize that you’re seeing; that seeing is happening.

Seeing is not about the things that you see – the trees and the sunlight and how green the grass is. It’s about the function of seeing, that you’re not blind, that seeing is happening – that when you open your eyes, seeing happens.

(Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary 2013 Retreat Introduction Talk) 

“If you close your eyes, you can meditate and you open your eyes you cannot meditate, then your samadhi is not strong enough. It is not real samadhi; your samadhi is useless because when you close your eyes you have samadhi and when you open your eyes you don’t have samadhi. You open your eyes, immediately your samadhi is gone, right?

Samadhi happens not because of the eyes, it is because of the mind. When you have right view, right awareness and continuous practice, samadhi is already there.”

44. SAMADHI IN EVERY SITUATION

Spirit Rock 2015 Retreat Morning Instruction Day 13 (2:08-12:35)

The more we talk we find that we have more thinking after that as well. And the thinking mind needs to be seen as an object. When there is thinking, that there are thoughts, is not an indication of whether the mind has samadhi or not. Just because the mind is thinking doesn’t mean that the mind has lost samadhi.

Samadhi is in the observing mind; being able to watch steadily is samadhi. If you’re able to maintain awareness, it means that there is samadhi.

In the following day the level of activity is going to start increasing. You’ll find yourself planning more; deciding what to do; there is a lot of cleaning and packing to do; but remember no matter how much there is to get done, you can only do one thing at a time.

How do you do this, go through this day without losing awareness? The mind’s habit is to put all its attention outwards when it feels it has something to get done. We lose mindfulness when we put too much energy into thinking about what to do and how to get it done. But we can do it without losing mindfulness.

So, if mentally we don’t have the sense of hurry, if mentally we can relax and take one thing at a time, then we can maintain awareness. Whatever we do, we can know how we feel as we do it, our state of mind, and what is happening in the mind as we do it.

We have a choice of so many things to be aware of that might be suitable for ourselves. We can be aware of the mind as we do what we do; we can be aware of the state of mind as we do things; we can be aware of the calmness or the steadiness of mind as we do things; it’s our choice.

And we have to do this at home too. This is how we need to continue to practice at home.

To only be able to practice and meditate when there is nothing else to do, that’s for beginners. But as we gain ground in practice, we should aim to bring the practice into all facets of our lives; to become skilful at maintaining awareness in every situation and context.

It is not only when the body is still and not moving that the mind can develop samadhi. We can be moving and still developing samadhi because samadhi is something that is developed through the activity of the mind, not the body. Even a runner can probably have great samadhi if there is awareness. 

When we have the right attitude and we are aware continuously, there will be samadhi no matter what work we do. Let the mind and body do what they do naturally. These just need to be seen, that’s all.

45. THE PURPOSE IS NOT ABOUT MAKING DEFILEMENTS GO AWAY

USA Spirit Rock 2015 Retreat Morning Instructions Day 8 (09:20-11:23)

Whenever we’re going to be aware of defilements, having right view and right thought about the defilements and how you observe them is very important. (Remember the mantra: This is nature and there’s awareness of this nature.)

The objective of the observing is not to make defilements go away; we are observing to understand its nature, not to fix it or solve it. We’re studying the nature and habits of these different qualities of mind, their functions and the way they work. We’re not observing the story that they are perpetuating.

46. WE CANNOT EXPERIENCE OUTSIDE 

Spirit Rock 2015 Retreat – Morning instructions Day 8 2015-5/03 (13:49-14:08)

We might say that we know something that is happening outside of ourselves, but the process that is actually happening is that the mind has directed its attention towards that concept outward.

(Perception creates concepts and everything is happening in the mind. We cannot directly experience the world outside, we can only think about it.)

47. NO NEED TO CHANGE THE OBJECT

Introduction Talk – Malaysia Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat 2013

Q: A yogi has meditated on the breath for many years and is very attached to it, very difficult to open up to the senses.

Sayadaw: Tell him to be aware of the mind that knows the breath. If he can see the knowing mind or awareness, naturally he’ll be open to the senses. There’s no need to change the object.

48. THE NATURE OF THINKING MIND 

Sayadaw U Tejaniya (SUT) SOm Vassa 2014 Interviews File: R05_0008 (8:10-9:23)

[You need to understand the nature of thoughts because our mind suffers a lot because of our thoughts, because of ideas, because of thinking.]

So, we need to know about the nature of thinking. Whenever we try to be aware of the thinking mind, automatically we pay attention to the story line, the concept.

When we practice again and again to be aware of the thoughts, slowly the mind understands that thinking mind or something is happening. Slowly, the mind understands that it is object, something happening. Then the mind understands more about the nature of the mind. Then we can separate what is concept and what is nature.

When the mind understands more about nature, the mind settles down because nature is nobody there. And also, nature is cause and effect process.

49. INTELLECTUAL UNDERSTANDING THROUGH THINKING

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Vassa 2014 Interviews (24:17-25:52)

Yogi: One day I was running late for meal and anxiety arose. I would usually respond in 3 ways:

1. Tell myself ‘You have to accept; you’re here right now and you will get to the line when you get to the line’.
2. Is this anxiety beneficial?
3. Watch the process with awareness

Sayadaw: The third is the best because when you try to be aware of the process, naturally you’ll learn something and then you’ll have the answer to the first 2 questions.
If you’re thinking, you’re not trying to learn from the experience. If you’re trying to solve the anxiety problem by thinking, it is only intellectual understanding, not understanding it experientially. It is better to watch the process; then the answer to ‘should or should not’ would come naturally.

That’s better; no need to think too much.

50. RIGHT ATTITUDE: NOT TRYING TO GET IT RIGHT

USA Maui Retreat 2016 Q&A 2016-11/18 (45:43-47:14)

If we’re having a wrong attitude, all we have to do is recognize that; acknowledge it. ‘Oh! I’m having a wrong attitude anew. Oh, the wrong attitude is still here; I still want it to go away; wanting it to go away feels like this and like that.’ Just being with the moment; no longer trying to get it right.

Just seeing what the mind is doing, right or wrong. Because it is the process of seeing the mind do something wrong again and again that teaches the mind why it doesn’t want to do that anymore; then the mind learns, and then the mind on its own when it learns, it doesn’t go there anymore.

But if we don’t allow the mind to learn that lesson, if we don’t go through that, it will always try to get it right. We don’t learn why the wrong is unhelpful in a balanced way.

When we understand that it’s unhelpful, we keep away, not because we don’t like it, but because the mind knows that it doesn’t need to go there anymore.

That takes time.