WE HAVE DIFFERENT WAYS TO DESCRIBE OUR MEDITATION, NO NEED TO COMPARE

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 14 January 2023 (1:26:45-1:28:10)

A yogi before you reported discontent with her practice and I can see why. When somebody expresses their practice as much as you did, other yogis will think that that’s meditation and when they don’t have those words to describe their meditation in detail it means that they’re not meditating. That’s not true.

We all have different words to describe our meditation, and it doesn’t mean that we’re not meditating or we’re not aware.

What we have to do is to recognize our own awareness; it is the awareness that matters. I know this and this is what I know. That’s good enough. We don’t have to use the big words for it to be meditation; just the way we know it is good enough. It is good for yogis to know this.

The group interviews lose out this way because we compare ourselves to someone else, and we never should.

RIGHT ATTITUDE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 16 January 2023 (1:19:32-1:23:40)

Yogi: I used to watch only my breath; then, Sayadaw said that I could try to be aware of the all the 6 sense doors. I went back and practiced that and found that automatically there was right attitude when I opened up the awareness. Is this correct?

Sayadaw: We don’t need to open our 6 senses – they are always open. These senses are already available; we don’t have to avoid them. We can welcome and know all the 6 senses. We don’t think that we must only watch one thing.

Even if you’re aware of your 6 senses, you don’t know if you have right attitude; you need to check if there is right attitude or not.

You happened to have right attitude, but sometimes you could have wrong attitude. You cannot say that because you can be aware of more senses, there is right attitude.

There are people who are aware of many things but still have wrong attitude. They still think that there’s something wrong and they feel unhappy about it.

You can say the other way: because you have right attitude, that is why you have this experience. It is not the other way around that because you have progressed to this point that you have right attitude.

MEDITATION WORKS IF WE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS DILIGENTLY

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 16 January 2023 (1:06:00-1:09:43)

Yogi: I asked Sayadaw to teach me how I could practice consistently. Sayadaw told me whenever I see, touch, hear or drive to know that seeing, touching, hearing and driving are happening, and to keep on knowing.

At first, it was difficult and my mind was tense; later when I just relaxed and ‘touch-and-go’ whatever was happening, the mind changed and I understood more about the activities of the mind. The more I followed what Sayadaw taught, the more understanding arose.

Sayadaw: The good thing is that you wanted to follow the instructions diligently. You just try to follow instructions; that’s all.

You weren’t thinking about not getting the result or questioning if you were doing it right or wrong.

You try your best to follow instructions and that’s why it works.

The difference between you and the yogis who say that they can't practice at home is that you’re obedient and diligent in following instructions.

TRUSTING THAT THE MIND KNOWS HOW TO PRACTICE

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 16 January 2023 (38:15-39:17)

Yogi: Sayadaw, how do you consider your mindfulness in daily practice?

Sayadaw: I’m merely checking occasionally. I’m not concerned that sometimes I’m mindful and sometimes I’m not. I trust that the mindfulness knows how to do its work.

I regularly check in, not so much to see if it’s there or not, but if it’s good or not so good mindfulness, whether it is on the ball or not so on the ball.

DEVELOP THE SKILL OF WATCHING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL OBJECTS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 14 January 2023 (1:49:24-1:51:24)

Yogi: When I try to be aware of seeing and hearing, very soon the mind goes to observing the mind itself – how it relates to thoughts and happenings. Do I follow this habit?

The mind doesn’t get lost in thought; the mind is clear.

Sayadaw: You can try knowing seeing and the mind and also hearing and the mind.

ARE MERITS TO BE BELIEVED?

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 14 January 2023 (39:30-45:20)

Yogi: I’m doubtful about making merits; for me, it’s more a belief. Is merit-making true, the belief that if we do good, our next life will be better and if we do bad, we’ll go to hell in the next life?

Sayadaw: You might call merit the result of wholesome actions; they could be mental, verbal, or bodily actions. This phenomenon is not made up by man. What you doubt is the idea that if you do something now, you’ll get the result only in the next life. It is like: How do you know?

The result of actions is in the present moment. If you do something now, the result will come now. For example, if you’re angry, your mind will be agitated. That is immediate; the result of unwholesome mental action. If you send metta to someone or you think of someone in a loving way, immediately your mind will feel loving and peaceful. That is an immediate result of wholesome mental action.

These are real cause and effect – we can call all the results of wholesome actions merits.

FEELING IS DIFFERENT FROM LOBHA, DOSA AND MOHA

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A & B 14 January 2023 (2:07:35-2:07:57)

Yogi: I think the gap in my understanding is that I thought feeling has liking and disliking, but now I recognize that feeling is just a function; its function is to feel.

Sayadaw: Yes, to feel and not feel something.

Yogi: Not the judgment, result or evaluation.

Sayadaw: Yes.

ONE DOESN’T GO OFF THE EDGE DUE TO CERTAIN MEDITATION TECHNIQUES

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 14 January 2023 (0:35-9:45)

Yogi: I understand that there are many types of meditation and I hear that some of them can make the yogi go mad. I fear that it may happen to me.

Sayadaw: It is not because of the method. What causes people to lose themselves when they try certain kinds of meditation is when they have a lot of defilements in the mind, for example, when we have a lot of greed for results during meditation.

When the greed is very extreme, so extreme that we’re willing to believe or do all sorts of things, and that can lead the mind over the edge.

It’s never the method but the attitude, like how the mind is meditating that is important.

I emphasize how we are meditating; recognizing how much greed or aversion there is while we’re meditating. It is something we can observe and work with rather than be pushed by that greed or aversion to do our meditation.

I ask yogis to check their mind all the time so that they can notice when the mind becomes greedy or have too much expectation or too much aversion and dissatisfaction with what is happening right now. If we recognize the defilements, it helps us to step back and appreciate that awareness is present – and that is good enough.

THINK AND DECIDE WITH WISDOM, NOT WHEN CONFUSED AND EMOTIONAL

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group B 12 January 2023 (2:35:28-2:41:00)

Yogi: When I was in the forest, I had an overwhelming emotion of sadness. It felt like the forest was where I belonged and not in the world where everything was suffering and wrong.

The mind asked: If this is what feels right, why am I still in the world? Even though this feels right, it is not about avoiding the world.

How did Sayadaw know when it was time to leave home?

Sayadaw: I did not become a monk because I was suffering in daily life. I was doing really well meditating in lay life with the support of wisdom and the dhamma.

I became a monk because I found the practice so fascinating that I wanted to dedicate my mind to it more. I was not trying to do better because I was not doing enough.

Yogi: I heard a monk talk about non-self and I cried because there was an understanding not to play-play anymore. Is this thought avoiding lay life?

Sayadaw: Not every decision to renounce daily life is escapism. I wasn’t escaping from something; it was a choice that was meaningful to me. I was not suffering and didn’t have to escape from anything.

HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND THE 5 SPIRITUAL FACULTIES AS PARAMIS?

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Groups A+B 14 January 2023 (1:45:20-1:46:21)

Yogi: How are the paramis (qualities to be perfected) related to the 5 Spiritual Faculties?

Sayadaw: A simple definition of parami is whatever good we did yesterday has become the parami for today – you can say that a parami is the result or momentum of a wholesome mind.

There are the 10 paramis and if we’re cultivating these wholesome qualities we’re growing them.

CHECK THE THINKING BEHIND THE FEELING

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Groups A+B 16 January 2023 (45:58-46:52)

Yogi: For me, it is not a matter of seeing the discontented mind; it is a matter of feeling it.

The whole vipassana is all a matter of feeling for me. I immediate feel right or wrong in my chest area and I just feel it automatically.

It is not seeing something; it is feeling something for me, good or bad.

Sayadaw: Sometimes feeling bad about something doesn’t mean it is necessarily bad; it is feeling bad because it is thinking it is bad although it might not be bad at all.

Yogi: This, I have to check.

HOW DO I CULTIVATE THE APPRECIATION MIND?

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Groups A+B 14 January 2023 (1:33:15-1:36:30)

Yogi: Sayadaw keeps on saying to appreciate the awareness, but my mind simply cannot because it always thinks that it’s not enough.

Sayadaw: First, we have to recognize that we have expectations. We must get so much awareness, then only we think it is enough rather than recognizing that what is happening now is enough.

You have to consciously and deliberately reinforce every time that what is happening now is enough so as to change that habit of the mind.

If we don’t see that expectation, it will continue to be there and nothing will ever be enough.

We always put in as much effort as possible and be content and happy with the results we have now; that is the skill in meditation.

BALANCING LAY LIFE WITH MEDITATION

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 14 January 2023 (31:50-37:44)

Yogi: It is not easy to meditate in daily life for the beginner. How can I balance a life of sensual pleasures and working life with meditation? If I go too hard there is aversion and no result; if I’m too lazy, I totally don’t meditate.

How can I enjoy sensual pleasure and yet have meditation?

Sayadaw: I don’t say that you cannot have sensual pleasure or do your work. Meditation doesn’t tell you not to do that; also, don’t try too hard to meditate.

The key is just to recognize when you’re aware and always appreciate yourself for having done that even if it comes in bits while you’re working – pat yourself on the back whenever bits of awareness are known.

The more you’re encouraged whenever the awareness comes up, the more the awareness will manifest. The key is to be happy that you have done a little bit.

It’s not that meditation is a separate activity and sensual pleasures and work are a different activity. Meditation is just being aware; so, you can be aware of your work or your sensual pleasures. When you’re happy with the awareness whenever it comes up, it will grow.

When you try to practice in daily life, you’re not trying to overcome all the defilements because you also cannot. Your goal is to be aware only – it’s like if you’re aware, you’re happy. Even if your awareness is scattered moments in the day, the mind will collect the information and put them together for us to understand the defilements more.

AWARENESS BRINGS IN A WHOLESOME MIND

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 16 January 2023 (23:00-24:45)

Yogi: If every wholesome state has sati, does it mean that whenever we introduce awareness, it is a wholesome state?

Sayadaw: Yes, but you have to be clear. Every wholesome mind must arise with sati – and when you’re being aware like when we’re trying to meditate, although you might be aware of an unwholesome mind, the awareness itself is wholesome because awareness arises with panna and sati.

ACTIVATE THE MIND TO OVERCOME SLEEPINESS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group B 12 January 2023 (1:32:38-1:38:24)

Yogi: When the retreat started, the mind was really sleepy and went into chattering. There was aversion to it; it became very uncomfortable and the mind really wanted to go to sleep.

I couldn’t do much except to stand up and walk.

Sayadaw: When you saw the sleepy mind and it started chattering, right effort and wisdom had become weak and were not working actively anymore.

You should crank it up at the very beginning when you noticed it to inject more right effort or wisdom with right effort and try to activate the mind.

You’ll find yourself getting sleepier and sleepier if you fail to do this and you’ll get sucked into it. Yes, the right thing then is to get up and walk.

To activate right effort is to make the mind active somehow – you can try to increase the frequency of the awareness, body scanning for example and try to watch one spot at a time – head, ear, nose, mouth, sensations down the body all the way to the toes and working up. You can ask questions actively and continuously, like asking what you’re aware of.

You need to be creative to find ways to activate the mind and not just use the things I tell you. When you can’t change your mind, you change your body posture.