DHAMMANUPASSANA – CONTEMPLATION OF NATURE

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 14 (1:20:45-1:22:40)

Yogi: How can I wish compassion for myself or somebody else if there is no ‘I’ experiencing that there is consciousness knowing that there is pain? Who do I wish for then?

Sayadaw: There is nobody, just on the conditions.

There is no need for a self to be there – in fact the self intensifies the suffering. It is just compassion on the conditions.

When the mind is in that state, we can also contemplate the dhammas that are present. The dhammas that are present then are sensation, object, awareness, vedana/feeling.

Contemplate the nature of the dhammas that are present.

That will be dhammanupassana, contemplation of nature.

MEDITATION IS HAPPENING SO LONG AS THERE IS MINDFULNESS

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 15 (31:50-33:41)

Sayadaw: We have to find out for ourselves what helps the mind to be mindful throughout the day.

I used to sit in a coffee shop very often in Burma when I was working – to just gather my mind in between work.

Yogi: I’m thinking of a longer retreat and am considering bringing my guitar along because it will help me to relax.

Sayadaw: Sure, play the guitar mindfully. A yogi came to Burma for a retreat with me with a guitar.

So long as there is mindfulness, meditation is happening. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing. It could be toilet meditation, eating meditation, swimming meditation or jogging meditation.

Yogi: That’s good to hear.

WE REST THE MIND BY BEING AWARE

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 15 (00:30-01:22)

Yogi: I notice that the mind is very active and thinks a lot – sometimes it is useful to me and sometimes it makes me tired.

Sayadaw: It is tiring when the mind has lots of activities – it is less tiring to just be aware.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN APPLIED THOUGHT AND INSIGHT

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (14:35-17:45)

Yogi: I have always been thinking about fixing the future and a thought came up that nothing is certain and the only sure thing is death – and I said that’s not true. The only sure thing is now – the next moment I don’t know and I don’t have to do anything.

And with the past, I don’t have to do anything either because I can’t do anything. This realization was extremely relaxing, but it didn’t last long.

Sayadaw: Sometimes, an insight just pops up like that and some don’t last long. Sometimes, as we watch thoughts, we see their nature – some are right and some are wrong.

We will learn, when there are wrong thoughts in the mind, not to accept them, not to believe them and get involved with them.

TRY NOT TO IDENTIFY WITH THE UNWHOLESOME QUALITIES

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 17 (23:45-26:42)

Yogi: Yesterday, I was angry at something. I chose to ignore it and got into a state of confusion, doubt, being overwhelmed and aversion.

So, this morning I decided to stick to a neutral object for a while. When I remembered the anger from yesterday and sat with it, the mind grasped onto something else of the past, and the mind made such a huge deal of the whole thing.

Sayadaw: When we observe the unwholesome minds – when we acknowledge and recognize them – it is very important to have the right view of not identifying with them.

You see the unwholesome quality comes up and you do not think: This is me. If you notice that the mind thinks ‘This is me’, you recognize that the mind thinks ‘This is me’ – when you recognize the selfing, you’ll be less involved.

REALITY IS NEVER BORING – THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS INTERESTING

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 18 (56:40-59:11)

Yogi: I was lost in thought and there was a lot of anger; it started when I became angry with someone at home. I realized that this mood attracted everything that would make me angry.

I also realized how much all the anger is related to selfing, all the time.

Sayadaw: That’s right. It’s very interesting, once the aversion is there, it finds its object and finds things to be averse about.

When you see the truth of what aversion does, it is not personal. The truth is always interesting.

When you see reality like that, when you see the nature of things, no matter how many times you see it, it is always fresh and interesting because it is so real and fascinating.

PRACTICE LONG, PRACTICE PERSISTENTLY AND THE WHOLESOME WILL GROW

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 18 (1:26:50-1:28:35)

Yogi: Walking out by the creek this foggy morning, I had a quick moment of happiness just to be in the moment and everything was okay.

It makes me realize that the practice works despite all the difficult times – there are moments which give me faith.

Sayadaw: Practice long, practice persistently and the wholesome will grow.

BE WILLING TO FACE THE CHALLENGING SCENARIO

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 18 (1:30:34-1:35:00)

Yogi: I was calm and watching thoughts come and go; suddenly there was a negative thought about my daily life. I felt and saw the aversion and nothing special happened – I was happy about that.

Then the mind said that the thought would come again and again and the calm would go down.

I would like to rehearse and prepare for this repeating negative thought. Whenever I’m in that situation, I lose the calm and wise way of seeing it – I don’t want to have it and get impatient with it.

Is it possible to rehearse going through it again and again and discover all layers of what is going on?

Sayadaw: It will keep coming until you understand it. Welcome it so that you can understand it.

You won’t lose, you will profit from it. Let it come and you’ll learn something from it.

Just even being aware of it is a profit. Whether we’re aware of it or not, it’ll come.

Yogi: Can I rehearse it because I’m afraid of falling in the old patterns because I’m so used to reacting that way?

Sayadaw: Yes, you can rehearse but you’ll still find yourself getting carried away, but it is okay. Don’t be afraid – we’ve already got carried away so many times.

Now, you’ve set up an intention – you’ll remember to come out of it faster. You lose yourself and you’ll remember faster and you’ll remember faster and faster. And then, you’ll understand more and more.

Be willing to face it and then it’ll get better.

ADJUST THE ATTITUDE TO SEE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF NATURE

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (12:31-13:20)

Yogi: When I watch aversion, I often feel that it is my aversion. It is very difficult to feel that it is aversion not around this person who is bad.

Sayadaw: Remind yourself to try and adjust your attitude that this is nature.

Adjust the attitude and observe, adjust the attitude and observe – do that often.

BE SIMPLE AND OPEN WHEN WE’RE AWARE

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 17 (56:25-1:02:37)

Yogi: In the evening, I was calmly doing walking meditation and investigated the unpleasant energy field in my shoulder. The unpleasantness in the body got stronger and stronger, but I couldn’t see any reaction in the mind.

Finally, I stopped watching the mind and noticed that the tension in the shoulder went back to normal.

I was surprised that I couldn’t see the reaction in the mind; it was like the doors were closed.

Sayadaw: It is okay. You’re already seeing quite a lot.

When you check the mind, check if the mind has an idea of how it thinks aversion will represent itself. So, do not to have an idea what you think you will find when you look for the reaction to the unpleasantness.

Theoretically, the logic is when it is getting more unpleasant, there must be more reaction in the mind. But if the mind thinks that the reaction must be seen in a certain way, it might be off focused – the reaction might be there but you’re not seeing what is there because you’re expecting to see something else.

It could also be possible that the mind is not reacting because you describe the sensation as an energy field, which represents that the mind doesn’t see it as a solid block of unending pain. It sees its nature more, then it could be body-based without the mind reacting, not something that is influenced by the mind.

BE CONTENT TO BE MINDFUL AND THE LEARNING WILL HAPPEN

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 17 (1:21:20-1:28:35)

Yogi: When there is no strong greed or aversion, I’m still attentive, but I notice the energy getting lower and I’m not so content with that, but I don’t have any real useful means to investigate.

Sayadaw: If the mind always has the right attitude, like it is always simple, just beginner’s mind all the time, it is content to just be mindful and it doesn’t matter if the moment is calm or otherwise, if it just likes to be mindful continuously, even that will help the mind to learn.

If you’re mindful continuously, if it has momentum and we take care of the cultivation of awareness, the rest of the mind will do its own work. But the mind has to be content.

RECOGNIZE THAT OLD HABITS TAKE TIME TO CHANGE

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (08:00-12:03)

Yogi: I took a long hike yesterday – I was feeling really joyful, sometimes with grasping. When I returned, thoughts were going wild and I realized that it was self-doubt and all about the self, like if I was a good yogi.

Sayadaw: There are some qualities of the mind, some activities of the mind, which are such a habit of the mind that it takes time to understand them and to become free of them.

Yogi: It will still take a lot of time.

Sayadaw: Only practice one day at a time.

Whether you’re a good or a bad yogi, it is fine just as long as you’re a yogi.

NO OBSERVATION IS EVER WASTED

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 16 (51:53-53:48)

Yogi: The mind goes back so often to my childhood and adolescence, especially on retreat, for hours and hours. I recall memories and make them up again and again, all the people, relatives and things.

This goes on and on and on – it’s like the mind is chewing on it, especially before sleeping, like a lullaby. I can’t make out what is behind it, why my mind is so interested in these old stories.

Sayadaw: You will find it. It is not for nothing – there is something the mind is attached to; that is why it comes back over and over again.

As you observe, you’ll see.

WHEN THE DEFILEMENTS ARE SUBTLE AND THE MIND GETS BORED

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 17 (1:26:45-1:27:41)

Yogi: It is like a stagnation when the defilements are subtle and the mind gets a little bored. How can I investigate when there are no strong inputs to observing?

Sayadaw: Even when we continue to be mindful and the mindfulness gains momentum, we’ll still have moments when we go up and we go down; and every time we go up and down, there is a chance for the mind to investigate why it goes up, why it goes down.

From that learning, and when all those other insights about our practice become steadier, that’s when the practice starts to feed itself and we keep progressing.

But before that, we have to make some effort to explore and learn.

SELF CONSCIOUSNESS CREATES TENSION

Swiss Retreat 2019 Group Interviews 18 (16:22-17:50)

Yogi: When walking, I could feel some stiffness in my lower back; it was particularly stiff when I crossed path with Sayadaw along the corridor.

Sayadaw: The selfing creates tension. When we’re alone, it is not so obvious; when somebody passes us, it becomes more obvious because once there is another, there has to be a self.