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HOW WE CAN PRACTICE UNDERSTANDING NON-SELF
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RIGHT VIEW OVERTURNS WRONG VIEW
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WRONG VIEW AMPLIFIES THE DEFILEMENTS
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THE THOUGHT COMES AGAIN, BUT THE MIND IS NEW
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CAUSE AND EFFECT CAN HAPPEN SIMULTANEOUSLY

MINDFULNESS IS NOT ONLY MINDFULNESS OF THE BREATH

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 17 (17:20-19:17)

Yogi: I was observing the thoughts and I missed out what was happening around me. Is that okay?

Sayadaw: That’s fine. The present moment has many happenings and you can’t be aware of everything.

Sometimes, we are watching the thoughts and we forget about the physical senses.

Yogi: Isn’t it some wanting that takes me off the breath?

Sayadaw: You can look at the quality of the mind at that moment. It could be grasping or wisdom – which is it? You have to see for yourself.

Yogi: I was relaxed, but was not here.

Sayadaw: You were here, but just with some object other than your breath.

GREED IS THE CAUSE AND AVERSION IS THE EFFECT

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 18 (1:13:45-1:16:48)

Yogi: When I realize aversion and it becomes an object, do I just name it ‘there is aversion, there is aversion’?

Sayadaw: You already know it is aversion – there is a feeling that comes with it, observe the feeling.

You feel aversion, right? You can keep an eye on the feeling, but don’t feed it with the thoughts.

Yogi: I can also feel the greed coming out behind the aversion. 

Sayadaw: If you recognize the greed, look at the greed. And when the greed is gone, see whether the aversion is still there because greed is the cause and aversion is the effect.

Sometimes we observe our aversion and the aversion goes down, right? But the cause, the greed, might still be there. And if the greed is still there, the aversion can pop up again and again. 

So, when the aversion is gone, we should check and see if the greed is still present.

When you like something, the mind says it is nice, be careful and start watching that mind because, after that, it’ll find something else not nice.

If you like the quiet, and when someone makes a noise, you get angry because you like the quiet. So, watch out for that.

LEARNING NOT TO SIMPLY BELIEVE THE UNWHOLESOME MIND

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (1:25:50-1:28:52)

Yogi: I have been seeing the process of perception. In the quiet state, I could see it clearer. As an example, there was a sound, and my mind thought that it was a big bird or a helicopter. As it turned out, it was an old truck.

That reminds me not to trust what my mind says or thinks.

Sayadaw: Yes, the mind is stupid – it is just doing what it wants. If we believe everything the mind says, we will go mad.

Yogi: How could this help me in daily life, for example, in a difficult conversation? First, I didn’t see the value, but I heard some of you said before the value of being calm, collected and clear. I put some faith in it that it will help.

Sayadaw: A rule of thumb for perception is that when the mind is angry and thinking, or the mind is greedy and thinking, don’t believe everything that the mind is telling you because it is biased then.

When the mind is clear and stable, it is wholesome, and then you can act on it.

UNDERSTANDING THE GREED MIND

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (37:10-38:55)

It is true that we have to be careful of greed because if we don’t notice it, then it’ll make us do so many things.

Every day I walk up the hill for a little bit and just at the end of this incline, under a tall tree, there’s a little chair.

Every time I walk, I see it and the mind thinks that it’ll like to sit in that chair. But I don’t go all the way up there although every time I see the chair, the mind would say ‘I would like to sit in that chair’ and the mind keeps going to that chair.

I understand greed and can see that the mind thinks that it’ll be so nice if I go and sit in that chair.

MIND STATES THAT CORRELATE TO DECISION MAKING

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (54:50-58:04)

Yogi: My mind was stormy when I remembered a big decision I have to make in my life.

I asked if I could solve this problem just by sitting and following this practice. 

I was struggling a bit because the normal reaction is to act, but this approach is passive. Perhaps I should just decide and be done with it.

Sayadaw: The best way to make big decisions in life is to make them wisely. And to make the decisions wisely, the mind has to be collected, centered and clear. We need to be mindful to do that. 

When the mind is collected, centered and clear, then you can think clearly. You can see what is relevant and important; that will help you to make the right decision.

When the mind is happy, when it feels free, in those states, it is clearer. And if mindfulness is your practice all the while, then wisdom can arise.

When the mind is feeling confused, that is not a good state to make a decision. 

Yogi: It means that I have to develop the wisdom to make my decision. Maybe, I’ll need more time.

Sayadaw: Sometimes we have to make the decision whether we’re ready or not. The wisdom might not be enough, but at least we can keep the mind as clear as possible with the practice.

DIFFERENT MINDS HAVE DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 18 (39:00-43:22)

Yogi: Can aversion trigger discriminating wisdom?

Sayadaw: Understand that by the definition of the unwholesome minds, aversion does not know the difference between good and bad, it does not understand the difference between cause and effect, it does not understand what is beneficial and not.

By its own definition, unwholesome minds don’t have the capacity to have discernment. There is no way that an unwholesome mind becomes a wholesome mind. 

There is not a transformation, but what we don’t realize is that there are many qualities of minds in the mind. Wholesome minds that arise can be mixed with aversion – we can have aversion together with intelligence, wisdom and compassion. And, compassion has goodwill towards others and the desire to help others. That’s the work of compassion.

But we don’t see the difference between the minds and we mix it up. We have to learn to recognize that the quality of mind that is unwholesome, that doesn’t like what is happening, is just the aversion. The one that wants to help is the compassion. The one that understands what to do is wisdom.

So, we have to differentiate each one for the function that is their job instead of thinking of it in layman terms like ‘I got angry and decided to do something about it’, but we don’t realize that ‘I got angry’ is just the aversion, but wanting to do something about it, that’s the wisdom. They are each doing their jobs.

If it’s only aversion, it only wants to destroy.

WHAT DOES SKILFUL MEAN IN DAILY LIFE

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (22:35-25:50)

Yogi: There are times when the meditation is good and the mind feels confident, and I seem to learn a lot and am eager to try it out at home. But soon after, the mind is destabilized and upset. 

I learn to be careful when things go well with my meditation and in everyday life, that I don’t get attached and have expectations that life will be smooth. 

Sayadaw: To be able to maintain wholesome states of mind for longer takes skill.

It doesn’t mean that we cannot fall off – things in life can destabilize the mind and we can be triggered. 

Skilful means when the mind has difficulty, it bounces back more and more quickly.

THE MIND CAN BE CHANGED WHEN THERE IS WISDOM

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (1:14:32-1:17:11)

Yogi: When I’m tired, the tendency is to think that I can’t be mindful because I’m too tired or sleepy to make that extra effort.

But actually being aware that I’m sleepy doesn’t increase the problem; it makes me better. I don’t feel as sleepy when I’m aware that I’m sleepy.

Sayadaw: It just depends on the attitude of the mind that is watching. When you’re sleepy and you know it continuously, the mind can become more alert, but if you think ‘I don’t want it and the sleepiness is not very helpful’, then the mind can feel sleepier.

Yogi: I notice that if I follow the thought, then I get more sleepy; but if I’m aware, from the point of awareness, there is no sleepiness.

Sayadaw: When it is like that, then you can be aware and start feeling better.

When we know how, we can change the mind.

WHAT DOES ACCEPT MEAN IN VIPASSANA PRACTICE?

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 17 (40:28-41:25)

In vipassana practice, we say that the right attitude is to accept what is happening, but it doesn’t mean to accept and just let it stay like that. It is not like we have to suffer.

Accept means that this is happening now – we accept the fact that this is happening now – then you use your awareness and wisdom to figure out what to do next. 

The next moment is not fixed in stone – you can try different things, but in the moment, you accept that this the way it is. If you do not accept and you’re averse to it, the mind has more difficulty thinking how to do something about it.

So, accept the fact, but then you can do something about it.

TIREDNESS DOES NOT MEAN AWARENESS CANNOT BE PRESENT

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (1:09:25-1:14:17)

Yogi: I was too tired and couldn’t be aware of the sensations or feelings clearly. When I tried to look closer, they became weaker. 

Does the mind need a lot of energy to keep the sensation obvious and stable? 

Sayadaw: You couldn’t know the sensations or feelings strongly because you were too tired. 

Even though you were tired, you could sense them weakly and you could even sense that they had changed to neutral. 

It seemed that although the mind was tired, the awareness was pretty good because of momentum and wisdom.

Tiredness doesn’t necessarily make the mindfulness less good.

BETTER NOT TO NAME THE EMOTION IF IT IS NOT CLEAR

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 18 (4:55-6.30)

Yogi: I felt that my body fell asleep, but my mind was very alert at the end of the day. There was an initial feeling of sadness because I felt enormous amount of gratitude for the body when I saw the tiredness in the body.

Sayadaw: There is a question if the use of the word sadness is valid because there is an identification of a feeling with the word, and the word is giving the feeling that meaning.

To have a clear mind and the body is tired, and the mind feels sadness, maybe just call it a feeling and not name it sadness; not to assume right away that that is actually the emotion.

IS IT OKAY FOR THE MIND NOT TO BE PEACEFUL WHEN WE MEDITATE?

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (1:29:55-1:34:40)

Yogi: I have a rough time – it is not easy or peaceful and calm during this retreat. All these days, I have lots of emotions. 

Normally, when I have a problem, I think about it and do it. Now, I can’t solve anything because I’m not doing anything except feeling. 

It’s not calming – I’m getting sad or angry and I’m struggling.

Sayadaw: Consider coming here like learning about the Mind 101 course. When the mind is like this, it does this, and when the mind is like that, it does that – just observing the mind to see how it reacts, changes and behaves.

Not just the mind, but also the body. If we just want to calm the mind down, that is easy – give it one object, be simple and just watch and the mind calms down.

But we don’t learn about the mind-body process.

Yogi: So, it’s okay if the mind is not peaceful?

Sayadaw: YES! Peace is not the goal of meditation.

If you listen to the yogis, they are sometimes good and sometimes bad; it is a learning process.

Yogi: Oh, I’m glad – it’s a relief that I’m not the only one. I’m a little stressed because I have the concept that meditation has to be a little more peaceful and stable. 

Sayadaw: It is okay; when we’re not skillful yet, it feels like that because we’re feeling our way through.

AVERSION ARISES BECAUSE OF GREED OR DELUSION

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 18 (1:03:10-1:07:50)

Yogi: Every time when there’s greed, is there also aversion? And, when there is aversion, is there also greed? 

Sayadaw: The cause for aversion is always greed or delusion. If there is greed, delusion is already present. 

Sometimes the delusion is stronger, like we believe that something shouldn’t be and we just get angry about it without having thought it through. There can be delusion that fuels aversion.

Greed is always often the cause of aversion – when the mind doesn’t want something, it means that it wants something else.

Theoretically, lobha and dosa cannot co-exist in the mind at the same time, but we cannot see that experientially because the mind works so fast. We see them together because so much has passed when we notice them, but the greed is the cause for the aversion.

Greed not only fuels aversion, it also fuels fear and anxiety.