PRACTICING WITH RESTLESSNESS AND STRESS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A 6 January 2023 (1:15:30-1:23:42)

Yogi: I was more tense and restless in the first 2 days and I tried to relax by not pushing myself too hard. I tend to overthink and that leads to restlessness and tension. The mind is constantly not stable.

Sayadaw advices to practice samatha to calm the mind; do I understand it right?

Sayadaw: First thing, you want to tell yourself that thinking is not a problem. Thinking is the nature of the mind; it is a function of the mind. You want to tell your mind this because it doesn’t make your thinking into a problem.

The second thing is you want to meditate – you still need to be aware of something.

Take an object – but not be aware of thinking – and very gently you want to keep bringing your attention to the object; just know the object, again and again.

When you have managed to do this repeatedly, then you can take a look at your thoughts if you want to. That’s when you are ready.

If your thoughts come with associated feelings – and you can recognize something you’re thinking is accompanied by feelings – stop watching the thoughts and prioritize the feelings and use that as your object as much as possible.

As we keep observing the relationship between this thought and this feeling and if it comes with suffering and we’re not rejecting it, eventually the mind will think negatively less.

OPEN AWARENESS EXPLAINED

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A 6 January 2023 (5:07-10:20)

Yogi: I’ve been practicing rising and falling for a long, long time and now I find it difficult to change from focusing to open awareness. I can be aware and suddenly get lost in a dull dream state repeatedly. Why?

Sayadaw: There’s some misunderstanding about open awareness. It is a state that you’ll get to, not something that you practice. To get to open awareness, you have to start by being aware of an object.

Open awareness is not something that you decide to do. You don’t decide that you’re going to open your awareness and you’re going to know all these objects. Your mind is starting to pick up one or two other objects.

The goal of the yogi is simply to keep the awareness continuous on whatever objects that you know and keep that going.

Because the awareness is not continuous and the mind doesn’t have the capacity and the insight that understand what is the knowing and watching mind, then you’re going to be like this, losing your awareness repeatedly from trying to be aware of everything.

Yogis should do their job – know your object and start with one object before you get there.

SEEING AND THINKING ARE OBVIOUSLY DIFFERENT

Singapore Q&A 21 November 2022 (55:52-56:40)

It is good to learn the seeing and thinking process. Whenever we see something, the mind thinks about it.

Seeing and thinking are totally different.

I look at the flower bouquet in the Dhamma Hall and seeing the flowers, the mind thinks that they are beautiful.

That shocked me because the flowers are not beautiful; it’s just the mind thinking that the flowers are beautiful.

It’s funny because the flowers are not beautiful but the mind says that they are beautiful. These two processes are totally different, but people combine the two and say that the flowers are beautiful.

WHEN THE MIND BECOMES DISINTERESTED IN THE TEACHINGS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group B 8 January 2023 (17:55-31:00)

Yogi: Sometimes when I listen to a talk and I realize that it’s information which I already know, I jump to the conclusion and my mind skips the talk. How do I adjust the mind on this matter?

Sayadaw: For 6 months you were thrilled with all the new information. But then, it hasn’t sunk into more experiential insight. 

When these thoughts of déjà vu come up, recognize them. We don’t know everything yet; if we’re mindful, if we apply ourselves, we’ll discover more things happening in our own experience.

Also, recognize the things you’re discovering, whether through seeing, hearing, thinking, or attitudes. We need to be sensitive to all the things we’re experiencing.

If you’re practicing in your daily life, during your ordinary moments and difficult moments, the more you’re aware, the more learning unfolds. When you have experiences that give you little insights into what happens every day – you’re able to deal with things in a more skillful way – when we’ve learned it doesn’t mean that it is done, it is never for good.

If we continue to be mindful every time we learn something, there’ll be more new learning. 

It gives us confidence when we notice that we’ve learned something when we practice – how it has influenced the way we see things, the way we speak or act or think of things, it gives us that faith, that the mindfulness is working. It becomes practical and real in our lives.

HOW TO BRING IN RIGHT ATTITUDE TO THE PRACTICE

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A 10 January 2023 (26:53-30:48)

Yogi: What conditions can I introduce to have the right attitude for practice?

Sayadaw: It is basically recognizing wrong attitude.

There are those that release immediately as soon as you notice them.

Some wrong attitudes stay longer. You have to watch these and also be on the lookout for resistance towards the wrong attitude because you might not want the wrong attitude to be there – you want it to go away quickly.

We can’t rush through meditation. Take your time; don’t be in a hurry to achieve things.

NOTHING BLOCKS THE PRACTICE EXCEPT OUR EXPECTATIONS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A 6 January 2023 (30:55-34:25)

Yogi: I can feel that my practice is blocked and it cannot move forward.

Sayadaw: Nothing blocks you except your own beliefs. When we expect the practice to be like this and that to mean we’re improving, we’ll feel like our practice is not improving when we don’t get what we expect.

We’re not supposed to be thinking about where our practice is going; we’re only supposed to be practicing.

There is no block except our expectations. As long as we’re practicing, the practice is moving forward. We only have to check if we’re practicing.

Watch out for those expectations.

THE YOGI’S JOB IS TO KEEP BEING AWARE

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A 6 January 2023 (1:07:47-1:14:10)

Yogi: When there is understanding, the issue dissolves; but when there is clinging, although the mind releases the grip, the issue comes back regularly.

Do I stay with the unpleasant feeling?

Sayadaw: Your job is only to recognize and there is no timeline. Keep doing it over and over again. Keep it up.

Yogi: But there is no learning from that.

Sayadaw: Just keep knowing and also recognize the thought that says ‘I still haven’t learned anything’, and bring that into your field of awareness. That is also what is happening.

We really miss the fact that in our quest for meditation, we’re expecting a result; so, recognize the thought that says ‘I still haven’t learned anything’.

SAYADAW’S ADVICE TO AWARENESS-WISDOM YOGIS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A 10 January 2023 (1:55:42-1:56:45)

Remind yourself not to fight with your experience or to complain or judge it. Every experience that we know is a sign that we’re aware. We’re supposed to celebrate the fact that we’re aware.

Every object that we know is supporting our awareness because we’re already aware due to the object. Every object is a supporting condition for our awareness. If we see it that way, whatever the experience, it is never an obstacle.

BUILDING RIGHT ATTITUDE WITH RIGHT INFORMATION

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A 10 January 2023 (21:30-26:10)

Yogi: I know all the right information and yet the suffering is there. I believe my attitude is not right. When I’m really in it, I still don’t have the right attitude. What am I missing?

Sayadaw: The practice is like a game. The more you play, the more you get it right and the more you become skilful.

You have all the right information like wrong attitude is when you don’t want something and you want something else, and right attitude is when the mind is accepting and welcoming.

Whether we can recognize it or not in the moment, that’s the game; what attitude are we operating from.

Every time you recognize your attitude whether it’s right or wrong, that’s an insight into your own practice and it’s a skill that you build. Each time you spot it, it helps you to see it more often. The more often you spot it, the less it will get in your way.

DON’T TRY TOO HARD TO SEE THE OBJECT

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A 10 January 2023 (41:54-44:04)

Yogi: I notice thinking happens all the time; how do I directly observe thinking?

Even when I notice thinking is happening, that itself is also a thought.

Sayadaw: You already noticed it, that’s why you thought about it. And the thought about it, that thinking is happening, you also noticed that, right?

Just recognize that it has been observed already. We don’t try too hard to see the object.

If you’re sitting and watching your breath, and you notice thinking is happening, that means that your awareness is matched with knowing thinking and breath at the same time.

It is actually knowing both – it is not necessary then to see the thought and see breath individually.

WE CAN PRACTICE SEEING AND STILL TALK AND THINK

Singapore Q&A 21 November 2022 (55:00-55:40)

Yogi: When I practice seeing and when someone talks to me, I cannot respond; I cannot think.

Sayadaw: You concentrate too much, that’s why.

When you’re learning, it is difficult to respond because you’re busy learning. It’s not a problem when you have practiced many times.

ENCOURAGING OURSELVES TO PRACTICE AT HOME

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group B 8 January 2023 (1:57:28-1:58:00)

A big part of practicing at home is contentment and appreciation. If we go home and we want to practice like we practice at the retreat, we’re always going to be disappointed.

But if we’re happy for every second we’re mindful, if we’re happy for one out of ten days we’re mindful, if we’re happy for one moment we’re mindful and appreciate it, we’re going to grow the awareness.

If we don’t appreciate the awareness, we won’t grow it.

USE ALL EXPERIENCES TO GROW THE AWARENESS-WISDOM

Singapore Q&A 21 November 2022 Guided Meditation (07:00-08:45) 2023 (00:16-01:00)

If you want to be relaxed, peaceful and happy, you must know the nature of the mind. You must know why the mind suffers and why it is happy and peaceful.

We watch the mind because we want to know every mind, good mind and bad mind also. We want to know the nature of physical and mental processes; that is why we watch the body and mind all the time.

Don’t judge the experience – for an awareness yogi, the object never disturbs the mind. An object is an object, meaning, it is neither good nor bad. We use the object to grow the understanding.

For normal people, craving and aversion arise because of the experience; for the meditator, awareness and wisdom arise and wholesome mind increases because of the object.

RECOGNIZING GREED IS ALSO SOMETHING YOGIS NEED TO APPRECIATE

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group B 8 January 2023 (00:16-01:00)

What we should appreciate is the work we’re doing, and not the results we’re hoping for.

Greed can come in as in the form of the questions yogis ask: Why am I not progressing?

Notice and appreciate that because it is also part of knowing the mind and how it is working.

Recognizing greed is also something yogis need to appreciate because when we notice greed or any of the hindrances it is like having an insight into our own practice.

BEING AWARE OF THE AWARENESS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A 10 January 2023 (00:26-01:56)

Yogi: I’m not sure if I’m aware of the awareness; is it just by being aware of what is going on in the mind or by being aware that seeing or hearing or thinking is happening?

Sayadaw: When you’re thinking and you can recognize that you’re aware of thinking, that is awareness of awareness.

Right now, are you aware that you’re talking to us? And you recognize that you’re aware?

Yogi: Yes.

Sayadaw: That’s the awareness of the awareness.

Yogi: If I recognize that I’m aware of something; that is the awareness of awareness?

Sayadaw: Yes.