FIXATED IDEAS OF SHUT EYES MEDITATION

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Morning Q&A 2018-01-25 (38:35-40:24)

Sayadaw: Be careful about how much the mind tries to focus to see something clearly.

Yogi: It is fine when I walk, but as soon as I sit and shut my eyes, the energy just shoots up.

Sayadaw: Your mind has created a pattern for itself. Don’t sit with your eyes closed – don’t allow that energy to come.

It’s better if you don’t sit because awareness is just being aware of yourself continuously. Get rid of the idea that you’re meditating.

Just do it casually and know yourself – that’s fine. Don’t give yourself a task.

Yogi: I want to do that, but as soon as I sit…

Sayadaw: Do not shut your eyes – do not do a single thing with your eyes shut.

AWARENESS OF AWARENESS IS ONLY SCARY WHEN UNFAMILIAR

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group C No.1 (0:13-04:06)

Yogi: I could notice the seeing, and when awareness was strong, there was awareness of awareness of seeing.

It was a different level of awareness where the defilements couldn’t stay and were not personal. That was exciting and scary because it was so powerful.

Should I go there when the awareness is strong enough and not otherwise?

Sayadaw: It is only scary because it is a new experience. When you see it more often, you will get used to it.

Yes, go with the flow and whatever is natural for the mind. Recognizing seeing and looking is a powerful practice because it is what we do all day long. That really helps to bring awareness into our lives.

When you recognize the awareness of seeing or notice that seeing is happening, you don’t have to try so hard to be aware. Also, bring in the right thought that it is nature, not personal – then, wisdom is also working in every awareness.

WHENEVER THE MIND SUFFERS, TAKE CARE OF IT FIRST

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Morning English Q&A 2018-02-05 (00:00-03:19)

Yogi: When someone shouts at me or blames me, if I don’t care or believe that, my mind doesn’t suffer; but when the mind cares or believes that, it suffers.

I don’t understand why they do it or why sometimes my mind gets hurt and sometimes not.

Sayadaw: When you don’t know the answer, you take care of your own mind by calming down first. Only then, you can find the cause.

Yogi: I can guess intellectually, but that’s not good enough.

Sayadaw: If you don’t know, you have to recognize that you don’t know. You just watch how you feel and take care of yourself first because you cannot control other things.

When you feel bad, it has to do with you – so, you take care of your emotions first. Learn about what the mind thinks and how the mind feels.

When the mind suffers, you take care of it first. This is your responsibility – that’s all.

SAYADAW RELATES Q&A WITH SHWE OO MIN SAYADAWGI

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Morning Q&A 2018-01-23 (31:35-31:54)

Yogi: Sayadawgi, if I want to improve in my meditation, what should I do?

Shwe Oo Min Sayadawgi: When the awareness becomes more continuous, meditation will improve.

WHENEVER THE MIND SUFFERS, TAKE CARE OF IT FIRST

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Morning English Q&A 2018-02-05 (00:00-03:19)

Yogi: When someone shouts at me or blames me, if I don’t care or believe that, my mind doesn’t suffer; but when the mind cares or believes that, it suffers.

I don’t understand why they do it or why sometimes my mind gets hurt and sometimes not.

Sayadaw: When you don’t know the answer, you take care of your own mind by calming down first. Only then, you can find the cause.

Yogi: I can guess intellectually, but that’s not good enough.

Sayadaw: If you don’t know, you have to recognize that you don’t know. You just watch how you feel and take care of yourself first because you cannot control other things.

When you feel bad, it has to do with you – so, you take care of your emotions first. Learn about what the mind thinks and how the mind feels.

When the mind suffers, you take care of it first. This is your responsibility – that’s all.

WHEN TO USE SAMADHI TO SUPPRESS THE DEFILEMENT

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group C No.1 (1:01:43: 1.04:46)

Yogi: Sayadaw doesn’t recommend using samadhi to suppress the defilement?

Sayadaw: It depends. You can if it is used as a skilful means; if it is necessary.

It depends on the situation. Sometimes in daily life, we have things overwhelming our attention and sometimes it is necessary to keep down something that is unskillful. And, that also depends on how skillful we already are in the practice.

If we’re able, we can concentrate on something for a few minutes and immediately the defilement is contained so that we can bring it up at another time to observe.

If we want to maintain the steadiness of our mind, we have to learn what is skillful in every moment for us to bring to the practice. We have learnt so many things – which one do we bring to the practice now that will be most helpful.

Yogi: At retreat, the mind is habitually inclined towards collectedness when I sit. What should I do?

Sayadaw: You already have the advantage that the mind is naturally calm when you sit – you can use that state to do more investigation.

Once the mind is quiet, what should you do? Enjoy? You can investigate anything.

THE THIRD PRESENCE IS THE AWARENESS OF AWARENESS

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group C No.1 (1:01:05-1:01:40)

Yogis have said to me that they observe aversion and also notice that the awareness is very calm.

So, there is a lot of aversion, but the awareness is calm and not affected by the aversion.

That immediately tells me that there is a third presence that is aware of both; and that’s the awareness of awareness.

AWARENESS SHOULD BE OF IMMEDIATE EXPERIENCE RATHER THAN THE CONCEPTS

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group C No.1 (1:18:18:1.21:08)

Yogi: When I walk out in the woods, when there are so much sensory input – seeing, hearing, feeling the wind on the face and thinking about it all – how can I still be steady and hold the awareness? I feel like I’m jumping around.

Sayadaw: The mind is possibly used to being with one object at a time only – then, suddenly allowing the mind to be open to more, feels like there is a lot going on. But, in any one moment there is only one object at a time.

Yogi: Yes, I’ve been aware of that.

Sayadaw: Whether we look at one person in the room or look at many, it is only 1 vision. The key is whether you have a preference – whether you think that one object is more calming and a few are more agitating.

Yogi: Probably, it’s more of a habit.

Sayadaw: Be aware of your immediate experience rather than the concepts – like not feeling wind but just feeling, not seeing trees but just seeing.

Yogi: Not stepping into the perception.

Sayadaw: Yes; just awareness of the sense contact object.

DON’T JUDGE THOUGHTS TO BE BAD – THEY CAN TEACH US

20200209 We also use some (skillful) thoughts for practice // Sayadaw U Tejaniya‘s Dhamma Interview (5:35-9:20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv66wwnQF2Y&feature=share...

Yogi: Most of the time the mind has wrong thoughts – a lot of useless chatter.

How to abandon them?

Sayadaw: You need to know your thoughts and you don’t simply believe them.

Yogi: But they keep on coming.

Sayadaw: You don’t follow – previously you do whatever the mind says, but not now.

Now you have awareness – when they come, you check before doing anything. Now, we try to be aware of our thoughts.

Yogi: Can I recollect blessings just to stop the chattering mind?

Sayadaw: Don’t try to stop the thoughts. It is wrong if you want to stop them. You just need to understand that thoughts are also an object.

If you know that thinking is happening, it means that you know the mind.

This is part of the meditation practice – so, there’s no need to complain about the thoughts because they are mental objects.

We use thoughts to better understand the mind. If you cannot watch thoughts objectively, then you cannot see what motivates the thoughts.

We just need to practice and not judge that thoughts are bad.

WHY WE NEED BORROWED RIGHT VIEW TO REMIND THAT IT IS NATURE

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (33:05-35:21)

Yogi: At times, the sticky thoughts that are charged with emotions get in the way of being present.

Sayadaw: That is why, with those sticky thoughts, to always remind ourselves that they are a process of nature.

Recognize that the more identified we are with that process, the harder it is to unstick and remain present.

You need some help from that borrowed right view, reminding yourself that this is an object; this is a process of nature. This interaction – that the thoughts become stickier when there is emotion – is nature.

The more identified we are, the stickier the thoughts are.

WATCH THE DEFILEMENT TO UNDERSTAND, NOT TO MAKE IT GO AWAY

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (1:49:50-1:51:55)

Yogi: When we detect a wrong view in the early stage before it blows up into anger, how do we get detached from it or take care of it?

Sayadaw: When you see the defilement early in its stages, you don’t want it to disappear – you want to investigate it. You want to learn about it – you don’t want to let it out of your sight.

You’ll understand its nature only when you let it be and you investigate it.

There are many ways to make the defilement go away right away, but it’ll keep coming back. But, if you understand it, it’ll then have less power over you.

Once you have right view or understanding about it, then it cannot overpower you – it can be there, but it cannot overwhelm you because you understand it.

If you can, you see the defilement when it’s small; you use right view and start practicing by watching it continuously to understand it.

WE HAVE TO DO OUR PART FOR THE RIGHT THOUGHT TO WORK

20200209 We also use some (skillful) thoughts for practice // Sayadaw U Tejaniya‘s Dhamma Interview (6:25-7:21) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv66wwnQF2Y&feature=share...

Yogi: The thoughts keep on coming – can I inject right thinking to stop them?

Sayadaw: Only if you have some understanding. If you have some wisdom – your mind understands something – then, you can apply right thought.

That is why, we ask beginners to apply second-hand knowledge – you listen to what we say and you start to think this way and practice.

Much later, the mind understands that this is the right way.

It takes time – the mind cannot change in the short term.

Yogi: Sometimes the thoughts just continue.

Sayadaw: You then let the thoughts be – they do their job and you just do yours.

NON-IDENTIFICATION DOES NOT MEAN BECOMING INDIFFERENT

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (47:10-49:32)

Yogi: How can I prevent becoming indifferent from practicing non-identification?

Sayadaw: Look at it as nature and not to consider it as ‘not-I’ or non-identification because when the mind doesn’t understand the concept, thinking that this is ‘not-I’ or ‘not-me’ is not real.

The purpose of feeding the idea that whatever happens is nature is to allow us to observe what is happening in as neutral a way as possible. It is only to assist the awareness and not to believe that it is so.

DON’T DO MORE THAN TO WATCH WITH RIGHT VIEW

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (21:50-27:50)

Yogi: I become aware of sadness as an object and investigate the source. It comes from not getting what the mind wants. I try to accept the source of my pain and know that the pain is not going to go away, but it’s hard to be detached from that. That’s as much as I can do.

Sayadaw: Yes, your work is just to recognize the experience and observe it. And, you allow yourself to do that.

You don’t have to decide if it will go away or not. Neither expect it to go away nor expect it to stay.

The goal of the practice is to observe, to be present, and for insight to arise to understand something.

PRACTICING IS RESTING FROM DEFILEMENT

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group B#1 (1:45:51-1:49:48)

Yogi: We can bring awareness to whatever we do whether on the cushion or at play. It doesn’t have to be separate from any aspect of life nor so effortful that we need to take breaks from the practice.

The awareness can be with me at all times; we can take a break with awareness.

Sayadaw: You are right! You don’t need to rest because practicing is already resting from the defilements.

IDENTIFICATION HAPPENS THE INSTANT REALITY IS NOT SEEN

Morning Q&A at Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya 2018-01-25 (0:00-9:30)

A yogi was happy with his walking meditation; he liked his walking path and cordoned it off with bottles to keep it for himself. When he realized that, he felt guilty and criticized himself for being selfish. He then asked if he should continue to walk there or go somewhere else.

Where did the yogi start to go wrong, and what should he do?

The whole process is a natural process; none of it is wrong in itself. What derailed the yogi was when he took it personally.

He was walking and walking well; and when he felt happy, there was greed. He saw that – it was fine.

And, he thought ‘I’m selfish; my mind is no good’. That’s when it went off the rails of meditation and went into ‘I should be’ instead of ‘Oh, yes, the mind is doing this’.

The yogi has to watch the selfish or greedy mind, not move somewhere else. The goal is not to get rid of the selfishness by moving away, but to watch and understand it.