Yogi: In therapy, I learned to work so much with negativity and also the unwholesome mind – for a long time I’m under the impression that I’ve been feeling the unwholesome. I now wonder if it might be a good idea to quit therapy to meditate and cultivate the wholesome.
Sayadaw: When we observe the unwholesome minds, when we acknowledge them, what is very important is right view, not to identify with them.
You see the unwholesome quality come up and not to think that this is me.
If you notice that the mind thinks that this is me, to recognize that the mind thinks this is me; then you’re not so involved with the self-ing.
Although it is important to recognize the unwholesome, it is also important to recognize the wholesome; very important actually.
What is really important is to recognize the wholesome mind arising at the same time as the unwholesome mind, which is the awareness.
We’re so busy looking at the object that we always forget we’re cultivating a wholesome practice. We forget the wholesome cultivation that is happening and that is the awareness.
When you recognize something that is unwholesome, pat yourself on the back for recognizing it. The wholesome thing is that there is recognition.