Yogi: I label ‘Left, right, left, right’ when I am doing walking meditation.
Sayadaw: Labeling is for the beginner to pay attention to the object; it is not necessary for experienced yogis.
When the yogi labels, it helps the mind go to the object because he is thinking about the object.
You don’t have to label if you already know the object because the mind is late and busier when it labels. Direct experience is enough.
Also, if you label, you need to control your actions, you need to slow down. If you’re fast, the mind cannot label.
If you know 2 objects at the same time, how can you label?
Yogi: If I don’t label, the mind wanders off easily – e.g. towards sound.
Sayadaw: Sound is happening here in the mind, not an outside object. It is an object happening in your sense door. Sound is not happening outside.
That’s why you can use sound as an object of awareness. You can be aware of hearing.
Yogis label because they want to stay only with one object. That’s why the mind cannot be fast. If you don’t label, you can actually see how fast the mind is.
[If labeling has become a habit for the old yogi, then notice that labeling is happening – that there is awareness and the object (labeling).]