WHAT CAN MOTIVATE OUR MINDS TO PRACTICE AT HOME?

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 16 January 2023 (0:57:20-1:00:45)

Yogi: I’m inspired by Sayadaw always advocating awareness at home and that Sayadaw’s home practice surpassed retreat practice.

What is Sayadaw’s advice when the mind is not interested in the Dhamma at home where the external worldly pleasures are more entertaining?

Sayadaw: I was practically forced into practicing at home because just like you whenever I left retreat I wasn’t interested in practicing at home. It was only when I was super depressed and took a break to go on retreat with my teacher, that I had some experiences that finally gave me the motivation to make the effort.

I didn’t start off at full speed, just bit by bit.

What helped me was the lack of wrong attitude towards practice – as long as I was practicing, it was enough.

We all need some motivation and sometimes suffering is that motivation.

HOW MUCH CONCENTRATION IS NEEDED TO PRACTICE AWARENESS

Singapore Q&A 4.7.2023 (27:30-27:59)

Yogi: How much concentration do we need to practice?

Sayadaw: If you know the object, that is enough concentration. You cannot know the object if you don’t have the concentration.

Momentary concentration is enough to practice vipassana meditation.

If you know the object, you already have samadhi. If you continue to be aware, this samadhi will increase. You don’t need too much concentration to practice vipassana.

RESTLESSNESS ARISING FROM DISCONTENT

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group B 12 January 2023 (1:23:58-1:30:53)

Yogi: With restlessness, I cannot be aware at all – I couldn’t figure out except for wanting to do this and that and fidgeting. Everything doesn’t seem right and I couldn’t be aware at all.

The mind refused to do breath or walking practice either. I notice that the restlessness carries energy different from the monkey mind; it drives the intention to do this and that.

It only ceased when the mind got what it wanted, and I was so surprised.

How do I watch restlessness because I see so much resistance?

Sayadaw: You say restlessness but I recognize discontent.

You said that you couldn’t be aware of anything, but in fact, you were aware of everything.

You were only discontent because you couldn’t get want you wanted, which is to be still and know something for an extended period of time. You only deem that to be awareness and meditation.

It is discontent and not restlessness because you said when you got what you wanted the restlessness stopped.

To say that you couldn’t be aware is not true; it is only that you didn’t like that you were aware in a disconnected way.

You were judging the awareness by the continuity of the object that you were observing rather than recognizing that awareness was happening whenever you knew the experience.

Yogi: But the awareness was not clear in that state.

Sayadaw: In fact, you are knowing it very well that the mind is not clear. So, see it as it is.

CLARIFYING A WRONG IDEA

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 16 January 2023 (1:14:31-1:17:25)

Yogi: I understand from a teacher that some of us are born with 2 roots which are sati and samadhi and some with the complete 3 roots – sati, samadhi and panna. Those with 2 roots cannot gain any insight or realization in this life because of the absence of panna.

Sayadaw: The roots are lobha, dosa and moha and alobha, adosa and amoha. Those who are considered 2 roots don’t have the amoha or panna root.

Even yogis with 2 roots can develop nana in this life, only that they cannot be enlightened.

I know of a lady yogi who was a little mentally challenged; she was inspired to practice when she met me, and she practiced a lot and became more peaceful. She could understand that the Dhamma is valuable and that is a kind of panna.

Yogi: It is really reassuring because when I heard it, it got me concerned that perhaps I only have 2 roots.

Sayadaw: No, no. It’s cruel to say that somebody couldn’t develop even some basic understanding in this life.

OPEN AWARENESS IS THE RESULT, NOT THE PRACTICE

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 16 January 2023 (1:17:35-1:18:48)

Yogi: I hear that Sayadaw teaches open awareness practice. Is it true?

Sayadaw: Let’s get this straight – I don’t teach open awareness. Other people give that word to what is being taught and have labeled it as such.

I’m saying when the mind gets to the point when there is momentum and there is awareness of awareness, when the mind recognizes the awareness, then it will find that its field of awareness is very open and it is aware of any object that arises.

That’s how I put it, in a full description with preconditions like you have momentum; I don’t teach people to try to be like that.

Yogi: I have the impression that open awareness came from Sayadaw.

Sayadaw: No, it is the label that other people give my practice.

LIKING PRAISE AND DISLIKING CRITICISM

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group B 12 January 2023 (1:39:10-1:46:50)

Yogi: From young, I like to be praised and dislike being criticized. Now, I know this is wrong attitude. What can I do about it?

Sayadaw: Remember the definition of right attitude? Right attitude is non-greed, non-aversion and non-delusion. So, when you like being acknowledged by others, that’s greed; it is wrong attitude. When you dislike being criticized by others, it is aversion and wrong attitude.

Your wrong attitude comes from wrong view. The center of your universe is you and you are identified with you – that’s wrong view. When you’re identified with yourself, you like it when people say good things about this you and you don’t like it when people say anything bad about this you.

When everything arises from you, identification is present. The more wisdom there is, the less we’re carried away when somebody praises us and we won’t be so upset when we’re criticized.

There is also no need to judge these minds, the mind that likes praise and the mind that dislikes criticism are just unskillful qualities of mind that are manifesting. It is good that we’re recognizing them and if there is judgment, we also want to recognize that.

It’s a constant stepping away from our experience so that we can remember to observe it instead of becoming identified with the experience and judging it.

The ‘I’ is not so involved every time we step away from the experience; there is less identification. Then, more observations can happen and eventually more understanding arises.

THE AWARENESS IS MORE CONSISTENT IF WE CAN WATCH UNCLEAR OBJECTS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Groups A+B 14 January 2023 (1:53:35-1:57:40)

Yogi: When I ground myself in the uncertainty, the feeling of uncertainty, very soon the mind turns calm and easeful. I realize that this is the right mindset about the content of my awareness because the awareness has become consistent and effortless.

Previously, I want to be certain that the mind is aware. When I gave up that idea, as long as I know that I know even if it was unclear, the watching became easeful and more consistent.

Sayadaw: You know that the mind has done the right thing every time the consistency of awareness picks up because you have thought and observed in the right way, and you have the right attitude about it.

WHEN IT FEELS LIKE MEDITATION STARTS AND MEDITATION ENDS

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 14 January 2023 (1:28:45-1:32:52)

Yogi: Sitting after a while, there was an intention to end the sit; a thought says ‘Okay, stop meditating now’. Although Teacher says meditation is anytime and anywhere, but it is clear cut for me when meditation starts and when meditation ends.

Sayadaw: Don’t think that something is meditation and something is not meditation.

So long as while you’re not aware, you recognize when awareness comes in, ‘Ah, that’s one moment of awareness’, and if you appreciate that, it’ll grow.

Even when you’re watching TV and you’ve not been aware, suddenly, you recognize a certain feeling, meditation is already happening by itself. Be happy with that.

After that, you’re not aware again; after some time when you become aware again, meditation is happening again; and that is ok.

JUST BE HAPPY THAT YOU’RE AWARE

Sasanarakkha Buddhist Sanctuary Retreat Zoom Q&A Group A+B 16 January 2023 (1:12:04-1:13:58)

Yogi: When fear arises, I can be aware of the aversion and disliking attitude towards the fear. How else can I explore?

Sayadaw: You don’t need to explore; you just need to be content that you’re aware.

If you’re happy with yourself that you’re aware, you’ll continue to be aware. Then, when there is a lot of awareness, the mind will learn on its own and exploring will happen by itself.

The things you can be aware of are your feelings, body sensations and thoughts; that’s all you can be aware of.

What can be understood, the mind will do at its own pace. You just need to be happy that you’re aware.

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.