RIGHT MOTIVATION IS TO KNOW, DISCOVER AND LEARN

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group D No.1 (1:29:38-1:33:36)

Yogi: The mind tends to be anxious and to balance that, I’m used to watching the breath and the mind would sink into a quiet dull state. I notice that the habit is there and the mind goes there very easily.

Sayadaw: The motivation behind the approach to the practice is wrong. The motivation should be to know, discover and learn.

When there’s anxiety, you should welcome, watch and learn about anxiety; then anxiety will shy away.

There is always some motivation behind our practice and there can be many kinds of wrong motivation.

There was a yogi who took the train to work daily and every time he’d watch the rising and falling, but his objective was to sleep on the train. He thought he wanted to practice and so he’d be mindful until he fell asleep.

When he came to Burma to practice and if he did rising and falling, he’d fall asleep because the mind had a set pattern – rising-falling was to go to sleep.

PAIN IS MAGNIFIED BY OUR REACTION TOWARDS IT

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group D No.1 (12:48-14:00)

Yogi: I can be aware of what is happening, but it is very hard to have to suffer the experiences.

Sayadaw: Remember that the purpose of being mindful is not to be relieved of the pain. It is to become able to observe.

Pain is magnified by our reaction towards it. So, there are some bodily sensations that are not normal and if we have some aversion towards it, it’ll appear worse. If we have some pain, and you resist it (you don’t want it), it feels much worse than it is.

When you are tired, when the resistance is down, the pain becomes low level.

ACKNOWLEDGE THE PRESENCE OF WRONG ATTITUDE AS MIND NATURE – IMPERSONAL

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group D No.1 (02:20-07:20)

Yogi: I have been meditating for a while; but I still find it physical and mentally painful and challenging. It is difficult to be detached from the object.

I can be aware of what is happening, but it is very hard to have to suffer the experiences.

Sayadaw: Can you leave the painful experiences that are happening in the mind and body and choose an object that is neutral for you and just bring your attention to that continuously?

In this case you’re not doing choiceless awareness, but choosing an object that will calm the mind a bit.

Yogi: I have not had much luck doing that. The best luck I have is going out for a walk and trying not to pay attention to what is going on anywhere in my experience.

Sayadaw: The experience you’re having is in itself painful, and if the mind complains on top of the experience – ‘I wish it wasn’t like that’, ‘I wish it would go away’, ‘This is so difficult’ and all that, it makes it harder. If you can, remind yourself that this is nature.

WHEN THERE’S QUIETNESS, EXPLORE ON THE QUALITIES OF AWARENESS

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group D No.1 (1:47:10-1:50:20)

Yogi: When I meditate, the mind gets very concentrated and quiet; and I observe the quietness. What questions should I ask?

Sayadaw: When you observe the quietness, it just becomes quieter; you need to recognize the awareness.

When it becomes very quiet and nothing changes, it can lead to boredom.

Yogi: Yes, I either fall asleep or I get up because of the boredom.

Sayadaw: The mind gets bored or sleepy because there is no wisdom or curiosity working.

So, there is quietness and you’re aware of it; and you must come back to the awareness.

When it is that quiet, the nature of awareness is quite obvious.

Are quietness and the awareness the same thing? You can ask yourself in your sitting.

Quietness is a mental state; it is an object and is also mind. Awareness is also mind, but it does something different from quietness – quietness is like the background and awareness is active.

To not get too concentrated, you need to know the awareness, and if the mind is balanced, you will not only know mind, but also things are happening in the body.

It is better to know both mental and physical experiences at the same time.

OBSERVE THE ACTIVITIES OF MIND BY THE FUNCTIONS

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group D No.1 (0:15-1:59)

Yogi: Sayadaw suggests using 2 questions in the sit – what’s happening and how is it working? What’s happening is fine, but I’m confused by how it is working.

Sayadaw: It’s not so much how it is working but rather to see what is working, to see the activities of mind. For example, there are feelings in the mind and they do the work of feeling; and there are perceptions in the mind and they do the work of perceiving.

There are also other activities of the mind like choosing or judging, paying attention and thinking – what work is being done.

DELUSION MAKES EFFORT APPEAR AS PERSONAL

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group E No.1 (16:50-21:16)

Yogi: When the energy level was low, it was difficult to notice many objects using personal effort. It was doing fine seeing many objects with natural effort; it didn’t need much personal effort.

Sayadaw: Yes, personal effort is not necessary – and when wisdom is present, you can’t exert personal effort either.

We keep saying personal effort but effort is not personal – no effort can be personal because effort is effort.

There can be effort applied when defilements are still present and there’s no wisdom about how to apply the effort, then it feels personal.

But when the wisdom is there and the effort is doing its own work, then it feels like it’s not personal effort. But in fact, it is never personal.

When we feel like it is personal effort, it’s more our idea that we feel ‘I’m putting in the effort, but in fact ‘I’ cannot.

NEVER MIND THE RESULT; JUST BE INTERESTED IN THE PROCESS OF PRACTISING

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group C No.1 (20:45-25:50)

Yogi: During the retreat there have been aversion, agitation, lots of doubt and boredom. Am I practicing correctly?

Even when there is interest in boredom and aversion, there is greed for the interest; it feels like there is greed everywhere.

Sayadaw: Yes, that is right – there is greed everywhere.

Greed breeds discontent because of the expectation for the experience to be better.

Before coming for the retreat, what do you think that you’ll come and do?

Yogi: I have expected a mixture of the way it is and also something better.

Sayadaw: As strong as the greed is, that’s how strong the aversion will be.

Never mind – just continue practicing. If you’re interested to bring the practice to your experiences, that’s great.

Things will never be the way we want them to be, but our experience will match the skill we bring to it.

Never mind the result; just be interested in the process of practicing.

If there is a lot of stuff going on in the mind, just ground the mind on something neutral to build up the continuity of awareness before going back to observing the mind.

EVERY MOMENT OF AWARENESS BRINGS SOME WISDOM WITH IT

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group C No.1 (04:35-06:50)

Yogi: I notice dissatisfaction and tension in the mind; also the greed and aversion in the task of being aware. When that is noticed, the mind then relaxes – it’s a back-and-forth.

Sayadaw: That’s Right View – seeing things as they are.

What difference does it make that there is awareness, that you notice all these happenings?

Yogi: With the awareness, it’s just not personal; otherwise, it gets personal unbeknown to me.

Sayadaw: That’s right – learn to appreciate the beneficial effects of having awareness. Every moment of awareness brings some wisdom with it.

WHAT MOTIVATES THE QUESTIONING IS VERY IMPORTANT

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Morning Q&A 2018-01-25 (17:25-23:08)

Yogi: Sometimes I find myself just present, and that’s enough. Sometimes the mind presents some questions about this or that, and that creates tension. Is awareness a state that just is and is wisdom a state that just understands?

Sayadaw: When we’re aware and we think about what we’re aware of, the thinking is not a problem.

What motivates the thinking is more important. Sometimes an unwholesome quality of mind like doubt is doing the thinking. It causes tension when the mind is confused and says ‘Should I do this or should I do that?’

Tension is an indication that something unskillful is happening in the mind. When that happens because of doubt, drop everything and watch the doubt. Doubt needs to be cleared first and the way to do that is to watch it.

Yogis misunderstand investigation because investigation has a context. It is to bring in curiosity to yogis that just follow instructions. For those who are naturally curious and who already explore on their own, there is no need for any more special questioning – they just need to take care of the awareness and curiosity will naturally do the investigation.

NOTICING THE EXPERIENCE OR NOTICING THE AWARENESS OF THE EXPERIENCE

IMS Retreat 2012 Q&A Group C No.1 (38:07:39:59)

Yogi: Sometimes I can be aware of agitation and there’s no problem – I feel grateful and relieved. And, sometimes it’s just agitation, and going back to the breath is a better option.

Sayadaw: At times when the mind is more skillful and wise, you can bring that to observe agitation and when that condition is not present, yes, you have to use other skillful means to quiet the mind when you are just not able to observe agitation.

Skillful means there is wisdom – anything you want to do is skillful if you have the right attitude. If you have the wrong attitude, then it wouldn’t be skillful to do it.

It’s so clear then that this mind is not governed by us – when the conditions are right, it’ll be this way, and when the conditions are not present, then it’ll be another way. It’s obviously cause and effect, and we’re not in control.

CHECK ON UNDERLYING JUSTIFICATIONS BY USING RIGHT THOUGHT

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Morning Q&A 2018-01-23 (19:35-21:50)

There’s a sad phenomenon where Buddhists say to themselves ‘Oh, nothing is within our control, it’s our kamma’ and they become lazy.

Because nothing is within our control, we just let things happen as they will. We think that it is anatta, but it is not anatta – it’s just not taking responsibility.

Anatta is cause and effect – if you understand that, you’ll work harder to fulfill the causes that are necessary for the effects to take place. You’ll work harder because you understand that energy gives results such as this and this.

The Buddha’s teachings are deep – you need to give it right thought. We interpret them wrongly when we don’t understand them correctly. So, let the teachings show themselves to us and not interpret too much.

HOW TO PROCEED WHEN DEFILEMENTS STRIVE FOR PRACTICE

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Morning Q&A 2018-01-25 (35:00-38:04)

Yogi: I’ve been practicing different techniques for the last 4 years and this is my first time here.

I can feel doubt and ill-will coming up and that causes tension to build up in the face and mind over the day. What kind of questions can I ask myself?

Sayadaw: Don’t think about asking questions, and be careful about how much the mind tries to focus to see something clearly.

Yogi: The mind focuses even more when I try not to focus.

Sayadaw: The greed to get it done, to perform, is very strong. You need to understand how simple it is to be aware. And then you’ll see that it’s there all the time – there’s no need to do something.

Awareness is just knowing your own experience. And your only experience is what comes through your senses – you can see, you can smell, you can taste, you can hear, you can feel, and you think and you know. These are things you can sense – they’re your direct experience.

ADVICE FOR DAYDREAMERS

Shwe Oo Min Dhammasukha Tawya Q&A 2018 180123 (31:20-33:58)

Yogi: The mind would drift into thoughts often. Should I be more aware of the mind or body?

Sayadaw: If you’re daydreaming, don’t look at the mind; watch the body.

If we daydream a lot, it means that the mind doesn’t understand the mind; and the mind also doesn’t know how to watch the mind objectively. All we see are the stories – we’re not aware that thinking is happening; we’re looking at the stories.

The way to practice is – watch the body, but every time there’s a thought, recognize and acknowledge it and come back to the body. Whether you’re watching the breath, rising-falling or pain, every time there’s a thought, acknowledge that the mind is thinking and come back to the object.

The story or topic of the thoughts is not important. Don’t follow – don’t keep watching the mind, but come back to the body.

So, just one second for the mind and come back to the body – we do it over and over again.