Yogi: I do a lot of investigation of the dhamma like tracking cause-and-effect. How much should I do? Is it helpful?
Sayadaw: Check for yourself – what is the effect when you do that? And, when you do it often?
Does it calm the mind? Does it strengthen the mind? Does it agitate the mind? Does the mind feel more confident? Check these factors after doing something; also whether the mind goes into proliferation or stays with the dhamma.
Yogi: It’s very helpful.
Sayadaw: When it’s helpful, then you should use it. Everything is dhamma; it is just whether we recognize it or not. Whatever the mind does, what we want to see is what is the effect of that – is it positive or not? Is it skillful or not skillful? Is it helpful or not helpful? And then you decide – that’s how you learn for yourself.
It is not fixed – now what you do may be skillful, but at another time, it may not, depending on your attitude at that moment.