|China 2018 Retreat File: 20180531 Q&A10 (1:12:38-1:15:50)
Yogi: I’m trying to investigate. When I smell a bad smell and aversion arises, I would check why the aversion arises. A thought says that it’s our animal instinct to avoid danger.
Sayadaw: This is an intellectual understanding. If you want to see why the aversion arises, you should know what the mind thinks before, during and after the anger arises.
You need to be aware of the whole process to understand why anger arises; this is investigation, not thinking of an answer. We’re interested in the process (cause and effect relationship), not in getting an answer.
The understanding from thinking is weak; our own experiential understanding is deeper.