You don’t have to sit still when you sit

| Switzerland Retreat 2016 – May 21 C1 Group Interview (2:01:27 -2:02:30)

TS: You don’t have to be still – you can scratch yourself and just be aware. Just natural – just be aware.

I never said don’t do anything; I said to be aware.

Whatever happens in the mind and the body – if you feel itchy, you want to scratch, you scratch; you feel better after scratching, you want to stop scratching and you stop; you just be aware.

Just be aware and you can do anything you want. You don’t have to sit still, okay?

Yogi: Oh, that’s good news.

Just this much is enough

| Switzerland Retreat 2016 – May 22 D1 Group Interview (1:44:35-1:45:14)

When you’re already tense and tired, it is harder to go back and being relaxed. So, start when you’re relaxed; and then, don’t put in too much effort. Take it easy.

Instead of paying attention which can be too energetic, ask questions ‘Is the mind aware?’, ‘What is the mind aware of?’

Be easy about how much the mind knows. Just this much – enough; just this much – enough.

Right information helps us to think right

| Switzerland Retreat 2016 – May 21 C1 Group Interview (1:44:36-1:47:47)

Yogi: I think I’m not aware when I’m eating

TS: If you think you were not aware when you were eating, what were you paying attention to when you were eating?

Yogi: I tried to be aware of the taste, the touch of big or small pieces, also the greed. When I failed to see greed, I tried to slow down.

TS: So, why did you say that there was no awareness?

Yogi: It didn’t feel so nice.

TS: Awareness quality is not always good all the time; it also changes. We have to accept how it is right then. The quality of our awareness is always changing; sometimes we have better quality awareness and sometimes, poorer quality awareness. We can’t always get the quality we want.

We don’t even know yet why awareness becomes better or worse; so to get the quality we want is much later. First, we have to accept that this is the quality of the awareness now and just be happy that there is awareness. That’s all.

Really, the mind is so tricky; at that time, you didn’t even realize that the mind is thinking that this awareness is not good enough and so it must not be awareness. So, we hear more and get more information and slowly it sinks in; and we learn.

Right Attitude

| Switzerland Retreat 2016 – May 26 Meditation Instructions (6:20-7:50)

So, when momentum runs out and the awareness doesn’t feel so natural anymore, there is no need to panic; no need to get it back because here is where we are – we just have to start simple again. Just starting again being aware, plodding along - plodding along being mindful.

[Elsewhere: When you know how to make money, you’re not afraid of losing money]

Do whatever you do and meditate at the same time

| Switzerland Retreat 2016 – May 29 Final Meditation Instructions (27:00-27:36)

If you have to go out for dinner or practice meditation, what will you choose?

Yea, do both; that what I want – for you to go out for dinner and meditate. If you have preference, then that’s not wisdom. Dinner becomes meditation.

Trying to get back a past experience

| Switzerland Retreat 2016 – May 23 C2 Group Interview (43:00-44:06)

When we try to get back a quality of awareness that we had before, that’s the mistake we make. When you wake up in the morning check what attitude you have – do you want something; is there something that the mind thinks that is better or preferable.

Awareness can be very poor but it is enough to be aware, but we want it to be as good as before. That’s when we think that we’re not aware but we are - but we’re not okay with it.

We often work like that – we work with a desire to have a good result now. But all we have to do is work, without that burden of thinking that it needs to be good.

Boredom during Sitting

| SOM Vassa 2014 Q&A R05_0002 (52:25-54:35)

Do you know that boredom is also an object. You are already practicing; there is nothing more to do. You know what is happening now; that’s why you can tell me that you know your breath, thinking and feeling. That’s it. When agitated, be aware of the agitated feeling too.

You can know, right? And continue to know.

Whatever happens during the sit becomes the object. You have the wrong idea; that’s why you become bored. Because you think that agitation is not good. You need to think that agitation is also a kind of object. That’s it; whatever happens is the meditation object.

If you judge that it’s not good; then you become bored. You want a good state; you don’t like this state; and then you become bored. This is because of wrong attitude, wrong idea. So, you need to change your idea. Whatever happens, don’t judge it to be good or bad.

You already know that it is happening; everything is an object. If you think that it’s an object, then you become interested. If you judge that it is not good and you want something better, then you become bored. Because of expectation to have good states, then when you get bad states you become bored.

Whatever happens, let it be. Try to be aware and maintain the awareness continuously. You need to change your attitude.

Many thoughts

| SOM Vassa 2014 Q&A R05_0002 (50:58-51:23)

If you notice many thoughts, then you are already being aware. You can know what’s happening.

If you’re not aware, many thinking also happens, but you don’t know. Right? Now we are aware; that's why we can be aware of what’s happening. So, no problem.

Stay in touch with how the mind feels

Switzerland Retreat 2016 – 2016-05/23 C2 Group Interview (23:11-24:12)

Keep acknowledging and being in touch with the way the mind feels because that’s how you practice knowing feeling. When you’re relaxed, just know that; every now and then just know that.

It is very important to recognize that you’re relaxed and when you make it a habit, whenever the mind stops being relaxed you know immediately. It’s like an alarm that tells you that you need to be more relaxed. And because that alarm comes early, you also start to detect more quickly what is triggering the stress – the earlier you get to something, the easier it is to deal with it.

So, be aware whenever you’re relaxed; make it a habit to practice that.

No need to see the object more clearly

| Switzerland Retreat 2016 – May 23 Meditation Instructions (01:21-02-37)

We don’t have to try to be aware forcefully. It is just to be aware. Whatever you already see, that is what you’re aware of. There is no need to look for anything else.

When the awareness becomes more continuous, it will gain momentum; and when it gains momentum it will become stronger – then awareness can see more detail. It will come naturally.

A ring around the head during meditation

| Gaia House Retreat 2015 – Jun 03 Interview Groups C & D Session 3 (14:08-14:59)

Don’t look at it; it is the mind’s projection. Don’t look at it because it creates more reaction; it is not real; it is the projection of the disliking mind. Watch the disliking, or other objects. So, don’t pay attention to it. Whenever the mind goes to that object, bring it back.

If you sit with it for months, it takes months to undo it.

[Note: The above is Sayadaw’s advice to a yogi in another retreat]

Why should I allow a thought to torture me?

| Switzerland Retreat 2016 – May 21 B1 Group Interview (43:35-44:40)

Negative thinking, negative feelings come; positive thinking, positive feelings come. So, how should we think? Very simple; it is a learning process.

For me, if a thought comes and the mind gets agitated and suffers, I don’t believe this thought. Also, I don’t follow this thought, I don’t continue to think this thought; it is a wrong thought. Why? Because it causes the mind to suffer. But people don’t understand; they continue to think and suffer, suffer, suffer.

Why should I do it? Thinking and feelings are related. Because we don’t know the nature of the mind, we get tortured by the mind. We have a choice if we understand.

When you know the awareness, notice it more than the object.

| Switzerland Retreat 2016 – May 21 B1 Group Interview (14:48-15:25)

Say, this is the breath and there is awareness; and we’re being aware continuously – aware of the breath, aware of the breath. And then because we’re doing it so continuously we begin to notice that there is awareness of breath. This is the second level – there is awareness of breath, there is awareness of breath. Once you can know that there is awareness of breath, notice the awareness more than the breath.

Recognizing wisdom (Part 2)

| Kalaw Retreat 2016 Day 5 Dhamma Discussion Group B File: 20160401 (2:48-4:18)

We can know the energy of wisdom. When you use your wisdom, you think how to do better and what to do better. You think, right? How do you feel at that time? You can know the mental state.

We make choices the whole day – what does the choosing? Craving or not? Is it defilement choosing or wisdom choosing?

The mind thinks how to do better – beneficial or not, need or not, necessary or not. When the mind is thinking like this, at that time the energy is wisdom.

Recognizing wisdom (Part I)

| Kalaw Retreat 2016 Day 5 Dhamma Discussion Group B File: 20160401 (00:40-02:32)

If you don’t have wisdom, you’ll know. How do you practice? When you know how to be mindful – to be aware, to have right attitude and right idea - this is also wisdom.

You can also feel the interest; interest is also wisdom working. And wisdom also wants to know. Not only lobha wants to know; wisdom also wants to know, but simple and honest. It wants to know what is real; and also you can feel wisdom.

And also you understand the nature of the object/experience. Now you don’t have to be reminded; this is also wisdom. What is this? This is nature and there is nobody there; this is wisdom.

Do you have doubts about the practice? Confused? This is delusion, the opposite of wisdom. When there is no doubt, no confusion, that means you know clearly how to practice – that is wisdom too.