Yogi: While I’m more mindful in daily life, but the mind is not as calm as on retreat. At home, the mind has to do so many tasks and think about things. Is it possible to have the same calm mind in daily life?
Sayadaw: It is partly skill and partly lifestyle.
I gave up many things to maintain the steady mind – frivolous talk, gossip and everything that wasn't necessary – and I did everything that was centered around how to be mindful all day long.
How much are we willing to adjust to accommodate our mindfulness?
The calm in daily life was even better than on retreat. On retreat, the mind only gained calm, but when I started gaining momentum at home, it was not just calm, but also joy and interest. The wisdom was coming and there was so much understanding, confidence and power in the mind.
When I decided to become a monk and went to the monastery, it became so calm that I thought it couldn’t be right. I spoke to my teacher and he said I got it all on the cheap – all the samadhi came without me having to do anything because in lay life, I worked hard to maintain that level of mind so the mind was really alive – it was learning and growing.
But in the monastery, I stopped having to work hard and wasn’t progressing everyday as I was at home.