Yogi: When does nature stop and the concept or the story begin? For example, I meet a person and I don’t like the person, my aversion is nature and when I have some thoughts of my experience with the person in the past, that is the concept or story, is that correct?
Sayadaw: Reality and concept always arise together. The concepts are always built on the reality that the mind experiences.
We often just see the concept of the reality that we’re experiencing; that’s how we know it.
When you dislike someone, the concept has already happened with the reality. The reality is hearing, seeing and thinking. The concept is when the mind believes in what that thinking was, and sometimes we don’t see it and so the aversion arises.
If the mind stayed only on the reality – if it only saw the present-moment experience as it is – the mind will never have an unwholesome feeling. Reality doesn’t bring up unwholesome feelings because there is nothing to be biased about.
It’s only the concepts that bring up unwholesome feelings.
Yogi: I’m not sure if I have aversion.
Sayadaw: There is some judgment that has already happened that you didn’t notice.
Yogi: So, aversion is not nature?
Sayadaw: Aversion is nature but the reason it happens is because of an attention to a concept.