About this talk
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I'm glad to see all of you. Some of you are regular comers, so I remember most of your faces. But I see some very young people here today.
Are you here for the first time? I've heard that you have like 34. 34. It's a good thing I've met a million and a half people before in Japan and Asia.
Very good idea.
And way back, are you here for the first time? Yes? Yes.
Have you meditated before? I know you have done that before, a few times. And way in the back, any of you just really the first time meditating? No, I've tried before. Tried before.
Oh, I want to know if there is anybody here who has never meditated before, who is a real beginner. Oh, I see. Quite a few here today.
Well, I want to tell you that once I was a beginner—because that's where we begin—it was a long time ago, when I was about 16.
Long time ago, about 34 years ago.
So I've come a long way. 34 years is quite a long time. So I welcome especially those who are real beginners,
and also
regular comers here. Very glad to see you. Welcome everybody. So since there are a few people here who are really a beginner, today
I would like to talk about meditation from the very beginning. Actually, I want to have a kind of series of talks so that I can add more details, more ideas, and keep it going. Maybe when I have time, I want to make a plan for that. Because whenever you want to study something, you need a kind of plan, to have a plan to do that.
Meditation is a very deep and meaningful practice. It's a discipline. So I've got a few notes here because it's very easy for me to forget. Not because I have a bad memory. I used to have a very good memory. But even now, I don't think I have a bad memory.
But my habit is that I don't carry things in my mind. Most of the time I keep my mind quite empty, just being aware, not carrying anything. It's very light. So,
to begin from the beginning,
when I started meditating, I did not do that because I wanted to become a licensed. I was quite young at that time, about 16. I was just interested in
many things, especially
about mind, how to develop my intelligence. That was my main interest, actually. I wanted to learn quite a lot. And I know that there are, in those days also there were, many people who were very, very intelligent.
So I wanted to become a very learned and intelligent person who knows quite a lot, almost everything. So I've read a lot of books.
And I read in many books that if you can keep your mind calm and peaceful and relaxed, which means if you don't waste your energy worrying and doing unnecessary things, then you can use all your energy and devote to really find out
about the world, about nature, about life, about mind, about the meaning of life, and also about deep wisdom. Vague idea. I had only vague idea about some deep wisdom. I didn't know what it means, actually. So I like that idea. Yes, we need to conserve our energy, mental energy and physical energy too.
If we waste our energy, then we wouldn't have enough energy to really do something very important. And I read a lot of books about inventors, scientists, and I found out that
they devote all their energy to doing what they like to do. They did not waste their time and energy. For example, Sir Isaac Newton, he didn't go to parties mostly. And when he could not refuse, he would just go and spend a few minutes and go away. He cannot waste that time. And he doesn't want to get
distracted.
So I like these scientists very much. They found out very deep and meaningful things about nature. And also, I read a lot of books about
people who are very spiritually developed. And I knew quite a few too. My first meditation teacher was a musician and also a musical instrument maker. I talk about him quite a few times. I really love him very much. He was, I don't know whether he's still alive or not.
We don't have any contact anymore. He was a very special person. And he was an expert in classical music. I learned music from him. I went to his house, to his shop also, many, many times. And I watched him making musical instruments. And I watched him playing musical instruments.
So beautiful, and so much ease, and so much perfection. It's really amazing to see somebody doing something
almost perfect, I would say, almost perfect. And I asked him to make a violin for me. I love violin very much. So I watched him making this violin from the beginning to the end. Just watching him making a violin was a big lesson for me. It's not just a trivial thing.
If you see a master working, then you see that this is an art. So you might have heard about Zen masters talking about doing everything perfect, even archery, a monk shooting arrows. It's something contradictory sometimes, but they made it into an art.
So I watched my teacher making a violin. He had a big stump. I don't remember exactly
the quality of the wood, but he had a big stump. And he looked at the stump, and then he cut the stump, big, big pieces, big, big piece. And then he washed the grains very carefully and cut off pieces, trimming off, cutting off those things that are not useful. And then he cut this one piece into two again, and then put the two together like this so that the grains are identical.
It matches, just like a mirror image. So my violin looked very beautiful because round grains, it looks like a butterfly. And he cut it into very beautiful shape and polished it very carefully. And I watched him making every piece of wood with real love and care.
It was really beautiful to watch somebody doing something, really knowing what he's doing, really knowing how to make it perfect, and doing it with wholeheartedness, mind and body, doing it. Not just making it with machine. All the work was done by hand. We didn't have machines in Burma in those days to make musical instruments.
So he was doing it very, very carefully, the body piece and the neck, the finger bows, the pegs. And also, in the end, he put polish on the violin and then put the strings on it and then tuned the strings and played it, plucked it. So beautiful sound.
And so he gave me that violin and gave me a very simple exercise to play, just a few notes, four or five notes, to play it again and again in different variations. So I learned violin from him. And he told me to play these few simple notes again and again. The next day I go back, I went back and he said, "Okay, you play that melody again."
So I played that again. He said, "Oh, well, listen. Listen very carefully. I'll play it." And he took the violin and played those beautiful, about four notes only, beautiful notes on the violin. It sounds very different. The way I played it and the way he played it sounds very different.
You see, only four notes. And he was playing on this violin slowly. It was a very slow movement, no hurry. The way he touched the strings with the bow, very gently. The violin is a very delicate instrument. If you press it, you get a different sound. If you touch it lightly, you get a different sound. If you tilt the bow, you get another different sound.
If you draw it quickly, you get a different tone. If you draw it slowly, you get another tone. The same note can be very different. So again and again I went to him. He asked me to play the same four notes again and again, again and again, for many, many days.
And I was very impatient. I wanted to play those bigger pieces, very beautiful pieces. But every time he played those four notes again, I understood that I need to practice it more. I can't go on because I haven't learned to play these four notes well.
First I went to him to learn music, actually. I didn't know that he was a meditator. I only knew him as a musical instrument maker and musician. And so after a few months, we got to know each other very well. And then
I went to his house in the evening, about two or three times a week.
And then we played music for a few minutes, and he'll teach me some new things, how to make new sounds.
One day he said, "Let's meditate." Just that. He didn't ask me whether I would like to meditate or not. He just said, "Let's meditate." I was very surprised. I didn't know that he was a meditator. I didn't expect that. But we became such good friends. And he was such a gentle and loving and kind person.
And
he lived like he knows what he's doing. He never talked about other people. He never talked about making money or becoming famous or
getting better or anything like that. He just did everything with much ease, not worrying about anything. Very calm and peaceful and relaxed person. So I love him very much and respect him very much too. So when he asked me, when he told me, "Let's meditate," I said, "Yes."
I cannot say no. He asked me in such a gentle way that you cannot say no. If he asked me, "Are you going to meditate?" then I'll think about it. I might change my mind and say, "Oh, I don't have time. I must go back." But he asked me in a very gentle way. So you see, gentleness has a lot of power.
If you say something wholeheartedly, with real kindness, with real compassion, and gently, it has a lot of power. And somebody who hears that will not think of saying no. So I hope you understand this idea. Gentleness has power.
So I meditated with him. He gave me a very simple instruction. Sit. Breathe deeply.
Keep your mind near the nostril. Feel the air coming in and going out. Feel the air. He didn't say anything. Just feel it. So this idea, feel, this word feel, is very important in meditation. Don't think about it. Feel it. As the air comes in, it touches near the nostril and you feel it cool.
And when it goes out, it's warmer. So find out the place where you feel this coolness and warmness, and also gently, lightly touching, softly touching.
Breathing in, breathing out. Where do you feel that? Warm air coming out, cool air going in. Which area, which place? You feel it. Keep your mind there. And so we sat and meditated. At first he told me to breathe a little bit harder than normal because he said, "Normally we are so busy doing so many things throughout the day.
We are very agitated. And also we have the habit of thinking, thinking, thinking all the time, whether it's important or not. Just thoughts coming in, one thought after another. We are not making it, but it's coming all the time." So just to
keep the mind on the nostril more easily, he said, "Breathe deeply." But he explained to me that
when you become a good meditator, you don't need to do it anymore. But for a few days, whenever you meditate, breathe deeply. It helps you to keep your mind there. So this is quite true. It's natural. When you breathe very gently, it's difficult for you to feel it because to feel is the most important thing.
So he said, "Breathe deeply," like this.
Then it's easier to keep the mind. The mind wouldn't run away. It cannot run away because the sensation, the feeling is so obvious, so distinct. So I did that. He was sitting near me. So this is a very important thing again. He didn't ask me, "Go and meditate." He didn't tell me to go and meditate. So I think about it very deeply again and again.
The way he relates to people and the way he talked to people is very
meaningful. He didn't say things lightly. Whenever he says something, he talks very little. But whenever he says something, every word counts. Even his manner, his tone of voice, is very important because he was a real artist and he was a real meditator. He knew what he was doing. He knew what he was saying.
So nothing comes out of him
unmindfully, absentmindedly. He was very mindful. So what he said was, "Let's meditate," not "Go and meditate." That is very important. To meditate together with your teacher is very important. It is not enough just to take the instruction and go away and meditate.
It feels very different. When you are meditating with your teacher, it feels very different. So if you are fortunate to have a teacher like that, meditate with him. So we sat together. He was on my right side. I was sitting like this. And meditate very deeply. So after about 10 minutes, I felt very hot because breathing deeply makes you very hot.
And the weather was also hot. So after 10 minutes he said, "Now let go and just breathe normally, naturally." So I let go of deep breathing and went back to normal breathing because I've been breathing for about 10 minutes so hot, my body was saturated with oxygen.
So my body didn't need to breathe much. So I breathed very gently. But my mind was very calm and still. And then he said, "Go through the whole body and feel all the sensations in the body from the head to toe." So he gave me a very brief instruction again.
So I did that, starting from my forehead, going down slowly and slowly and slowly. And from the back also, slowly and slowly down. And then my arms going down slowly down to the fingertips. Another arm, another shoulder going down slowly to the fingertips. And then one leg and then another leg, slowly.
So I didn't know what the name of the method was in those days. I didn't ask even. He didn't tell me even. He was a very
he talked very less, very little only, only when necessary. So I did what he told me to do. And later, every time I went to his home to learn music, we played music together. I learned music from him. And then after that he said, "Let's meditate."
He didn't ask me whether I'm making any progress or not. Just asked me, "Let's meditate." So I sat with him again and meditated. The same thing. Nothing new. The instruction was very, very simple. Just like those four musical notes. I learned those four musical notes and played that in different variations.
After a few weeks, I learned it very well. It came out very beautiful. And then he'll give me something more and something more. I practiced that again and again. So as I learned music better, I learned meditation also better, slowly and slowly. So after a few weeks, one day after sitting and breathing, doing breathing meditation for about 10 minutes, and then going through the whole body, sweeping from head to fingertips to down to the toes for about another 10 or 15 minutes, I felt very calm and peaceful, very light in my body and mind.
The whole body was very light and peaceful. Then I understood one thing at that moment. And that moment was a very crucial moment in my life. I felt so peaceful, something I've never experienced before. Then I understood that all those years I lived, I was never really happy and peaceful because I had some kind of a reference now.
From that point, from that peacefulness of meditation, I looked at the way I lived my life and found that that was a crazy way of living.
No deep insight. This is not an enlightenment. But I understood something. I'm not going to live like that anymore. I must change the way I live. I was doing too many things in those days. Actually, my father was also a workaholic. And I was not a workaholic, but actually a bookaholic.
Reading too much. I want to read the whole library. Even once I thought of going to
live in a foreign country, in England or in New York or Washington, go live near a big library and go and read the whole library. So much craving for knowledge, too much craving for knowledge. Even now I read quite a lot. That's my biggest
desire or craving. But anyway, I found out that to be happy and peaceful, I don't need to know everything in the world. And everything, if you know everything, even that will not make you really happy. Not even wise even. You will have a lot of knowledge, but that doesn't mean that you are wise. So I meditated regularly.
At first only once a day. And three times a week I meditated with my teacher. And four times a week I meditated at home, in my place, in my room, on my bed. And nobody knew that. My family didn't know that I was meditating because my family, my parents, they were not Buddhists. So I didn't want them to know that I was meditating because they might not understand me.
And I did not consider myself as a Buddhist even. I did not consider meditation as a Buddhist practice. I did not have any labels. And that was very good. That was a kind of freedom. No labels. I was just doing something that I feel is good to do. I enjoy doing that. It was just very nice to meditate.
So before I go to sleep, I sit and meditate. So the posture he taught me was sitting like this. Very simple. In Asia, most people sit like this on the floor. And he told me to put my arms like this to let my fingers free. He said, "Don't let your finger press anywhere. Just let your fingers free." So this was the first posture he taught me.
He said, "If you want to, you can keep your arms like this too, your hands like this too. But if you can, do like this. Let your finger free." And later I found out the importance of that. If you let your fingers free, your arms become very relaxed. And to let the eye close, but don't shut it completely.
So if you look at the Buddha image meditating, you'll find that the eye is slightly open. And that is not something that the image maker made it accidentally. It is described in the meditation books that when a meditator becomes really relaxed, calm and peaceful, the eye opens a little bit.
And that is the sign of peacefulness and relaxation and ease. So it is very important to be at ease when you meditate. If you don't know how to do that, meditation can become very stressful, very painful sometimes. That's why some people run away. They can't sit. They don't want to sit. It's painful.
But I learned this from a teacher who was a really good meditator. So I got very good instructions. Very simple actually, but very important, very good instructions. So sitting like this with the back straight, but not tense. Straight, but at ease. As much as possible, very relaxed too.
And keep the head straight only, not like this. Very gently and at ease. You can feel it. You do it a little bit about you make your head bend a little bit or go up a little bit and find a position which is
the most
pleasant. You feel very at ease, very peaceful, very relaxed. So sitting like this, he said, "Don't press your arms. Just let your hands stay. Rest on your knees. Don't press." So that is also another thing important. And some people, when they concentrate, they do like this.
The eyebrows come together closer. How do you call that in English? Frowning. Yes, frowning. So they try very hard. They try very hard to meditate so they frown. And that becomes very painful. It can give you eye aches, even. It can make your eye aches. So he said, "Don't frown. Leave your forehead very relaxed and smooth.
Even when you don't see
the lines coming here, sometimes you still feel some tension there. So just feel the tension and let it go. Never use any tension." And also he said, "Don't make your eyes shut too tightly." Sometimes people meditate, they keep the eyes like this.
Too much pressure. Just let go of your eyes. Let the eyelids open slowly, slightly. And some people, when they meditate, they keep their lips tightly shut. He said, "Don't do that. Just let them touch very gently. Just barely touching." Because he said, "If you let it open, when you breathe, the air will come out from your mouth, come in from your mouth, and sometimes it will make you dry throat.
So just keep your mouth shut, but let your lips just barely touch each other. Leave it very, very soft. And don't let your teeth touch each other. Lose your jaw. And also lose your tongue. Drop your tongue. And also shoulders.
Mostly when we sit and meditate, unconsciously we are raising our shoulder a little bit. Not letting it go down. So one person, he made a joke. He said, "I sit and meditate and my teacher told me to relax, but my shoulders are near my ears.
Always holding tight. We are always holding something, controlling something, using too much energy to do something. So we don't want to waste our energy by keeping the body tight. So we want to relax our body and use all our energy just to meditate. So if you see a very good
player of golf playing, you'll find that even though he hit the ball very hard, the rest of his body is very relaxed. That's the way to play. So the same idea applies. We sit and meditate. Meditation is what you do with your mind, not with your body.
So the best thing is to let your body relax as much as possible. So go back again and again and check. So even though we relax our shoulders, after a few minutes it'll become tense again. Whenever we put too much energy into doing something, it becomes tense. So he taught me to keep my body straight and relax.
And also breathing also, he said, "Breathe naturally. When you breathe naturally, you breathe in and then you breathe out and you stop for a second. You don't breathe in immediately. If you breathe in immediately, after a while you become tired. It becomes stressful. So he said, "Look at the baby sleeping and see how the baby breathes.
Breathe in, breathe out, rest. And breathe in, breathe out, rest for one second. About one second. I'm not exactly sure. Maybe one and a half seconds. Like that." He said, "Look at the baby's face when the baby is asleep and try to keep your face like that, very soft and gentle.
So only in the beginning you breathe deeply. After a while you breathe naturally with ease. And going through the whole body and see whatever you can feel. Be aware of any kind of sensation. So in some places I felt very hot. In some places I felt tightness. But as much as possible I tried to keep the whole body very relaxed.
So after doing that for a few months, I learned to sit very, very relaxed. And it was really wonderful. I really enjoyed that. So I want to repeat this again. I did not meditate to become enlightened. I did not begin to meditate to become enlightened. I did not do that as a religious practice because at that time I was not religious.
I was a very rebellious person. I read many philosophies and many religions and found them contradicting each other. So I thought I wouldn't accept anything. So I did not follow any religious group. I was never with a religious group. But I meditated because I like it. I enjoy it.
It made me very calm and peaceful. So my first motivation was that it's very enjoyable. Meditation is very enjoyable. So more and more I enjoy that. And later I meditate twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening. And at that time I was in university studying engineering.
So I had my own room, very simple room. Whenever I have a few minutes I meditate. Later I meditate three times a day. Once in the morning, once at about noon, and then once in the evening. Only a few minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes. That's the maximum. My maximum was about 20 minutes. And then slowly and slowly it so happened that when I was attending classes and sometimes in between there was no class for one hour, I don't know what to do.
Don't want to go back. Didn't want to go back to my room. It'll take too much time to go and come back. It'll waste about 20 minutes or half an hour. So I didn't go back to my room. I just went and found a quiet place somewhere. So in our university there was a department called Automobile Department. Not many students there. Very quiet. So I usually went to that place and sat on a cement bench, so to speak.
So I sat there, just relaxed and meditated. It was so nice. And then went back to classes. Like that. So because I enjoyed doing that, it came to me naturally. Whenever I have 5 or 10 minutes, I just want to go back to that state. So relaxing, so peaceful. And even in those days I had a lot of problems in my life.
Many, many problems. Some financial, some relationship problems. My father was dead. I had a very bad relationship with my mother. We don't talk. We didn't talk. So many other problems too. But no matter what happened, I always go back to meditation. And that helped me see things more clearly.
So I made a few mistakes, but I did not really make a very serious mistake. At first I thought, "This is the only thing that I get from meditation. Becoming relaxed and peaceful
and becoming more clear about what's happening in my life and what to do." That meditation, calmness and peacefulness gives me some clarity. But after 5 or 6 years, just doing it regularly for 20 minutes, 2 or 3 times a day, after 5 or 6 years I noticed that the way I look at the world is changing.
My values are changing. Actually my voice has changed. I didn't notice that. It changed so slowly, so regularly, gradually that at first I did not notice that. But then
after a while my friends they did not change. They were just doing the same thing that they used to do. And I noticed that I cannot do some of the things that they are doing. I did not enjoy those things anymore. Like getting drunk. I did not enjoy that anymore. I used to get drunk. But later I didn't want that anymore. I don't want to drink anymore. And I did not want to go to noisy, crowded places, dusty places anymore.
I could not read some of the books anymore. They seemed so foolish, meaningless. I don't want to waste time reading junk books. I cannot read newspapers anymore. So gradually things changed. My mind becoming more and more going towards spirituality. Calmness, peacefulness, deep and meaningful way of life.
Understanding things very deeply. And then once when I was very unhappy I went to a place where they played tennis. Tennis court and there were benches near the tennis court. But nobody was there in the evening. Everybody left. So I went and sat on a bench looking deep into my mind and my heart to see. I was very unhappy.
And I was just trying to feel that unhappy. Trying to meditate and relax again. But the unhappiness won't go away. It was still there. So I was watching that unhappiness. And after a few minutes suddenly I saw that. Why was I unhappy? I read about these ideas many times in the book, but those were just ideas.
Just words and ideas. Just like a philosophy. But in that moment I was just looking deep into my heart, into my mind, and really feeling it. And I noticed that I was very unhappy because I was afraid that I will not get what I want. I was afraid that my life will not be a success. I was afraid that
when I was young I was very ambitious. But I was afraid that I will not get that chance to become somebody that I wanted to become because there was no opportunity. But I looked deeply into that again and again and found out that it doesn't matter. I don't need those things to be really happy.
Even though if I do those things I'm not really sure that I will really be happy and satisfied. So slowly my mind shifted to another mode of seeing life. Do what you can now. Do your best now. And let whatever happens later, let it be. Do your best now.
So that was a very simple insight. Actually there's not much you can talk about it. But to understand it without thinking has a great impact in your life and that changed my life again. So my thinking changed. I will do whatever is possible now. I will not worry about the result anymore. Because that's the best I can do.
Even though if I sit and worry too much nothing will happen. Nothing will really help me. So just meditating for a few minutes a day, 2 or 3 times a day, slowly and slowly changed my way of looking at the whole world, the whole history, the whole civilization, history of religion even. And when I read those history and religion I can see the depth of it.
And when I read the teachings of the Buddha later, every sentence becomes very, very meaningful. It has layers and layers of meaning. Not just words. Just like for example everybody knows about this sutra which is. Don't associate with fools. Not to associate with fools. Asevanacha bhalanam. Maybe you've heard of it.
Yes? So that became very deep and meaningful to me. I was thinking, "What does this mean? Asevanacha bhalanam. What does it mean by bhalanam? What does it mean by fool?" That translation is very simple, straightforward. Not to associate with fools. But what does it mean by a fool? Slowly and slowly I began to understand. To do something unskillful is foolish.
To harm yourself and to harm others is foolish. So if you drink then you're harming yourself. That's very foolish. Not only that, you become a burden to the society, to your family. And also to harm another is foolish. Then slowly I think about it. Why are people foolish? Why are we foolish?
And slowly it appears again. Because we are unmindful. That's very obvious, isn't it? Because we are unmindful we are foolish. So when we become more mindful we become less and less foolish. And not only that, when we become too greedy we become foolish again. Because when the greed is so strong that we lose our mindfulness, we lose our center, we lose equanimity, we lose clarity.
Then whoever is greedy is foolish because he will do something very foolish. And also whenever you get very angry you become foolish again because you lose your clarity. You lose your balance. You don't know what is right or what is wrong. You just want to go ahead and strike or hit. Do something terrible. So I looked very deeply and thought, "Yes, when you are angry you are foolish.
So anger makes you foolish." Very simple and obvious. Greed, anger, and unmindfulness. And not only that, pride, conceit, envy, jealousy. Looking slowly and slowly understanding very deeply these things make people foolish. So Buddha said not to associate with fool.
But what to do when I myself is a fool? I can't say I'm a fool but I'm not going to associate with a fool. That would be a big joke. So I thought again, "Well, not to associate with fool has many layers of meaning." It's very important not to associate with somebody who is doing foolish things because he will encourage you or even force you to do those foolish things.
And if you are not wise enough to get away you will think that's a good idea and you'll do it. And most younger people do that. But if deep inside you you are not mindful, you are greedy, you get angry, you lose control, you are conceited, you are proud, envious, jealous, then you will do foolish things.
So it is more important not to associate with those things that makes you foolish. So slowly and slowly these things become very deep and meaningful. So whenever I get very greedy I'll just take time and relax and look deep into my mind. And here is greed. So just to see greed as something objective gives you freedom.
So whenever I get upset actually I had very short temper. I get angry very easily. So whenever I get very angry I look at my anger. This is anger. I've done so many things because I got angry. Said so many things wrong. Hurt so many people because I got angry. Couldn't control myself. So gradually just being mindful and peaceful and relaxed brings this quality, this clarity.
Slowly and slowly I see things happening in my body and mind, in my life. And later I decided to meditate more and went to a meditation center. Forest monastery actually. And took ropes and became a monk. That happened later. So it is very important if you really want to learn something it is very important to practice it every day.
But unless you love doing it you'll find excuses. But if you really love doing it you'll never find an excuse. "Oh, because I'm too tired now. Because I'm too busy now. I can't meditate. Maybe tomorrow." You will not say that. No matter how tired I got I meditate before I go to sleep. Because if I don't meditate I can't sleep.
My mind keeps thinking, thinking, thinking. Actually I waste more time just lying in the bed and couldn't fall asleep. So I found out it is more efficient to meditate. You spend 20 minutes or half an hour. You don't waste that time. And actually if you meditate and make your mind calm and peaceful and go to sleep you sleep very well, very soundly.
And when you wake up in the morning you feel very refreshed. So I told myself when I wake up in the morning the first thing I will do is meditate so that I can
keep my mood. I can create this peaceful mood early in the morning. And try to carry this mood throughout the day. Try to keep calm and peaceful. So these are very important things. So if you want to be a good meditator and if you really want to make the best
out of your life
meditate regularly. Learn more about meditation. It's very simple actually. So here are a few things that I wrote. The practice of an art requires discipline. So like playing a violin is an art. It's a discipline. And also mindfulness meditation it's an art. So the practice of an art requires discipline.
Newcomers and really beginners remember this and think about it very deeply. Anything I do only if I'm in the mood may be a nice or amusing hobby but I shall never become a master in that art. So if you really want to do it well you need a long-term program. Although I'm a beginner today after a few years I'll become an expert.
A master.
But the problem is not only that of discipline in the practice of the particular art, say practicing every day a certain amount of hours, but it is that of discipline in one's whole life. So we cannot keep meditation separately from the way we live. This is not possible.
I've expressed this idea before a few times. But I want to repeat this again and again. Our life is a whole. So this idea of compartmentalization I've read about this word. It's very difficult to pronounce. It's very deep and meaningful. We cannot separate meditation from our daily life.
If you really want to meditate then you have to check the way you live your life. What am I doing during the day? If you are doing anything that will disturb your meditation stop it. So try to arrange your daily life so that it will support your meditation. Even the way you eat, the food you eat is very important.
Even if you drink too much coffee you cannot meditate. It agitates your mind and body. So try to think about it. Without such discipline however life becomes shattered, chaotic, and lacks in concentration. So without discipline we will not have concentration. That concentration is a necessary condition for the mastery of an art and is hardly necessary to prove.
Anyone who ever tried to learn an art knows this. So like what I told you a few minutes ago. Playing violin. I played it every day. Many times a day. Sometimes even before I go to sleep I went to sleep I kept my violin near me. Near my bed.
And in the morning I woke up I just picked up the violin and played the violin. Because I love it so much. I wanted to do that. So that's the way you become an expert. Anyone who ever tried to learn an art knows this. Yet even more than self-discipline concentration is rare in our culture. We are trying to do too many things at the same time. Reading and eating at the same time.
That's what I did when I was young. My mother will complain again and again. "Stop reading. Put that book away. Eat." Because I did not want to waste time. So I put everything in one bowl, mix and then put a spoon there. And reading and putting food in my mouth I did not know what I was eating. So my mother got very upset. Because she had one idea which is a beautiful idea.
She said, "Eat your meal respectfully." That was a very profound advice. Eat your food. Eat your meal respectfully. And this is what the Buddha also taught. In Pali: Sakya Cham, Pindapadam, Bhunjitami, Bhunjisamyiti, Sikhakarniya. Train yourself to eat the meal respectfully.
In Pali Sakya Cham means respectfully. So mindfully and respectfully. This is a very profound idea. So since you are a beginner and you want to meditate your whole life keep this idea in your mind very deeply. Do everything respectfully, lovingly. Don't do it because you have to do it. Don't meditate because you have to meditate.
You meditate because you love to meditate. Because you enjoy meditate also. Yes, it's very enjoyable. It's not a torture really. Believe me it's not a torture. So not to do too many things at the same time. So you have to discipline yourself so that you don't read too much, you don't watch television too much, you don't travel too much unnecessarily.
Even not talking too much. Not eating too much. Very important these are. So if you simplify your life that will support your meditation. So to live a voluntarily simple life. Voluntary simplicity is very important. Even today somebody told me that when she meditates for a while, for a long time she became more and more simple.
And people think she was stupid. Because you don't like to do too many things anymore. You don't want to watch television too much. You don't want to know even all the news. So one person in America told me that when you meditate you become simple but you don't become a simpleton. A simpleton means a stupid person. But to be simple and to become a simpleton is not the same.
So this lack of concentration is clearly shown in our difficulty in being alone with ourself. Yes, it is becoming more and more difficult. To be alone, quietly sitting, doing nothing is very difficult. You become very agitated and anxious. Sometimes you feel guilty. "I'm doing nothing. I should be doing something." So one person they used to say that, "Don't sit there.
Do something." But now they say, "Don't just do something. Sit there." Yes, we are doing too much.
So to sit still without talking, smoking, reading, drinking is impossible for most people. Some people can do that but most people cannot. Another factor is patience. Again anyone who ever tried to master an art knows that patience is necessary if you want to achieve anything. Be patient.
Don't expect too much too quickly. It takes some time to learn to meditate, to become really peaceful, to become really clear. It takes time. It took me at first for a few weeks even to experience a couple of minutes of peacefulness and clarity. Just a couple of minutes. But that was really great.
Something I had never experienced before. The mind can become so peaceful and clear. Amazing. It's just like a diamond. So clear. If one is after quick results one never learns an art. So don't go after quick results. Tell yourself it will take time. Anything you learn, anything worth doing takes time.
Nothing comes cheap. Yet for modern man patience is as difficult to practice as discipline and concentration. If one wants to become a master in any art one's whole life must be devoted to it. Very important. Or at least related to it. So understand that your meditation practice is related to your whole life.
After a while only in the beginning you sit in a place like this. A special place. A meditation hall. And a regular time. It's very important to sit regularly. A regular time. In a kind of formal posture. Sitting like this. But after a while learn to meditate in any situation. Learn to meditate with your eyes open.
So that you can just sit in your bus, keep your eyes open and still meditate. Nobody will know that. So my second teacher told me, "Meditate everywhere but don't let anybody know." Very interesting that idea is. Meditate everywhere, anywhere. But don't let anybody know. Nobody will know that you're meditating. But they will know that you feel very, you seem very relaxed, peaceful, detached also sometimes.
So develop meditation so that your whole life becomes meditation. Even talking can become meditation. Actually I practiced to do that because I talk so much. Spend so many hours talking. And even in the meditation instruction: "Bhasite samajana kari hoti." While talking do it with mindfulness and clear comprehension.
And whenever you do something with mindfulness and clear comprehension that is meditation. So Buddha even mentioned that while talking do that. So talking meditation. Ever heard of talking meditation? We have the idea that when you meditate you sit, close your eyes, don't move anymore, don't think, don't talk. That is important too.
Actually that is also important. It doesn't mean that sitting still and not thinking anything, concentrating on one thing is meditation. This is only meditation. No. This is also meditation. And that is also meditation. So eating meditation, walking meditation. And after a while you can even do reading meditation.
One friend do that. While reading he tries his mind very mindful and calm and concentrated. And trying to watch his mind also how his mind is reacting to the ideas from the books. Whether he likes it or not. Whether he's judging or not. So whatever we do if we do it mindfully we get more out of it. We really learn quite a lot from whatever we do.
So that makes your life very meaningful and efficient. Very meaningful and very efficient. You get a lot of joy doing that. So doing anything half-heartedly is such a waste of your energy. So one's own person becomes an instrument in the practice of the art and must be kept fit.
So your body and your mind this is the instrument. You must keep it fit. So when I play violin my teacher told me that play your violin so that after a while your violin becomes a part of your body. Really. Because at first I had to hold my violin like this with my chin and then hold it like this and play.
It was so difficult. After a while it was so easy I can play any way I like. Sometimes I even play with my violin on my shoulder. You can do that. Because it became part of my body. I was not thinking of where to put my fingers. I was not thinking of how to draw my bow. It happened so naturally. So just do it like that. As you practice your meditation with real wholeheartedly after a while it becomes your nature.
Meditation becomes your nature. Habit is second nature. Everybody heard about that. So if you are really serious about making your life work, if you're really serious about making your life meaningful and really enjoy your life, this is also important. To enjoy your life. So I talked about it last Sunday I think. The French word I've read in a book, a phrase joie de vivre, joy of living.
When you become really mindful and peaceful then you really enjoy your life. Life becomes really joyful. Otherwise life is something we put up with. Life is something happens to us. So practice regularly and
make everything you do part of your practice. Very important this is. According to the specific functions it has to fulfill. So place. So first of all as a beginner find a place which is very peaceful and clean and simple. Like a room like this is very clean, very simple, very peaceful now, very quiet too.
And a group like this is also very important. You get support from the group. And you have a teacher. Regularly you will hear the instructions. And you can ask questions. But after a while meditate alone also. At home. If you have a separate room at home for meditation very very good. I know some people even here in Melbourne who have a small room at home.
He actually built that room. Extended his house. Put a new room just for meditation. It's a very good idea. If you can afford it it's very good. But if you cannot afford a separate room find a corner in your house for meditation. And meditate regularly in that place. So whenever you go and sit there your mind becomes ready to meditate and let go of everything else.
To learn to let go also very important. Next week I will talk about it more deeply in depth. Because I have so many things to say that I don't have enough time. I want to give as much information, as much advice as possible. So give me a few more minutes to finish. So after a while meditate anywhere.
In a park. Anywhere. And later in a bus, in a car, in a train, and in a plane also if you travel by plane sometimes. And posture first you sit like this. Very relaxed. Very dignified posture actually. But after a while any posture. And time very important to have a regular schedule.
So make a time table and just sit regularly. Whether it's going well or not doesn't matter. Just sit regularly. Get it a habit. My teacher once told me I went to him and complained that meditation sometimes it is good and sometimes it is not good. Then he said, "You eat two times a day every day and do you feel do you really enjoy your meal every time you eat?"
And I said, "No. Sometimes I eat because I have to eat. It's time to eat." Sometimes I really enjoy the food. Sometimes I just stuff things in my mouth. Be quick. Be over with it. And he said the same thing. But if you don't meditate regularly you will never find a good meditation experience. Very important advice. So if you really want to develop your meditation practice meditate regularly.
Regular time. And meditation method for beginners especially the simpler the better. That's the shortest advice. Just breathe in and out. Keep your mind there. And also for beginner like I said if you breathe regularly it's hard for you to keep your mind there. So breathe a little bit deeply. It's easier.
And after doing that go through the whole body. Because as you keep your mind moving over your whole body it's like you give something to your mind to do. In the beginning it's something you do but in the end meditation is not something you do anymore. Meditation becomes being. Not doing. So in the beginning meditation is something you do.
In the end meditation is not something you do. Meditation is what happens naturally. It's a being. So for method then the advice is the simpler the better. You don't have to think about anything. You don't have to recite anything. And attitude that is also very important. Don't expect anything to happen.
Don't try to make anything happen. Which means don't try to make your mind become peaceful. Don't do that. Just try to be with breathing and sensations. And when thoughts come just wash the thought very gently. Don't resist it. Don't push it away. Let it come and let it go away. Don't get upset. So real good experience happens when you don't expect anything.
And when the first time when something happens and you feel very happy about it the next time you try to make it it will not happen. It becomes harder if you make it. And another advice is you need a long-term program. So I have many more things to say but very sorry I don't have enough time today because I want to give you some time to meditate.
To really meditate. So next time we meet again I'll have many things to talk about. So I want you to come again and again because it is a learning process. One hour is not enough to teach you meditation. Although I can teach you some simple instruction you need to know something more to meditate.
So now we'll meditate. I'll guide you in the beginning.
The first part we will just breathe in and out for a few minutes. And then we'll go through the whole body part by part slowly and slowly. The whole body. And the next time we'll do the bigger part. Not detail. And then the last time the third time the whole body at once. So it has three stages.
So sit any way you like. Just make yourself comfortable. But it's better to keep your back straight. It's easier to breathe. If you sit in a chair if you can don't lean on the back. Because if you lean on the back it puts pressure on your buttock. And after a while it becomes very painful. So keep your hands any way you like.
The only thing is to keep it very relaxed and natural. Don't hold any position. So you can put your hands on your knees or you can just cup your hands in your lap. Just leave it there very gently. Now let's breathe in and out mindfully for a few minutes.
Breathing in mindfully. Breathing out mindfully. Feeling the air coming in and going out.
Coming in cool. Going out warm.
Mind wandering. Thinking.
Just watch the thought. Let go.
Now pay attention to any sensation
in your forehead
or on your forehead.
Any kind of sensation.
Tightness or tension.
Feel it first and then slowly let go.
If you are frowning you can feel it tight there.
Now your eyes.
Just relax your eyelids.
Let go of any control.
Slowly move down
to your lips.
Keep it very soft and gentle.
Now your jaw muscles.
Drop your jaw.
Feel it becoming more relaxed and peaceful.
Relax your tongue.
Throat.
Throat very relaxed.
See if you can feel any tightness there.
Now the whole face relaxed.
Very soft.
Feel the whole face
soft and relaxed.
It feels very good to relax.
Now move your
attention to your neck. Your neck muscle.
Find a suitable
position
so that you feel more at ease.
When the face, the throat, and the neck become relaxed.
You feel
very much at ease in your head.
Relax your neck muscle.
If you can keep your face relaxed then it is very easy for you
to keep your whole body relaxed.
Now shoulders relax.
Drop your shoulders.
Now go down your right arm slowly.
Slowly feeling all the sensations.
And letting go.
To the tip of your fingers.
Slowly gently. Now your right arm is relaxed.
You can see that it feels very different. It becomes warmer.
It feels different from your left arm.
And now do the same thing
to your left arm.
Go down your left arm slowly. Feel all the sensation. Movement. Tightness. Warmness.
Feel your hands becoming warmer.
Warm and soft.
If you can keep your face, your shoulders, and your arms relaxed
you feel very much relaxed.
Feel the relaxation. Thoughts come and go. Never mind.
Now your chest.
Pay attention to your chest.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Movement.
Slowly go down to your diaphragm. To your tummy.
Let your tummy become very soft.
Feel the diaphragm.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Now go down your back. From your shoulder slowly and slowly go down
to your buttock.
Feel anything there. Movement. Hot. Pressure. Tightness. And in the end
let go and relax.
Now go down slowly
your right leg.
Thigh. Calf.
Foot.
Now left leg.
Slowly go deep into the muscle.
Feel everything there.
Your knees.
Any kind of sensation in your knees.
Maybe tight.
Slowly go down to your calf and then your foot.
One round finished. Now the second round. More quickly. The whole face. Pay attention to your whole face.
As a whole relax.
Feel any sensation there. Your eyelids may be moving.
Relax your cheek. Tongue. Lips.
Throat. Neck.
Right shoulder.
Right arm.
Let go.
Left shoulder. Left arm.
Chest.
Tummy.
Back. Buttocks.
Feel the sensation.
Maybe hot. Maybe pressure. Maybe tingling.
Movement. Vibration.
Right leg. Feel the whole leg.
Left leg.
Now feel the whole body as a whole.
In some places you can feel more sensations.
Face, shoulder, arms,
legs. The whole body.
Very peaceful. Very relaxed.
Sometimes you can feel your mind also very peaceful. Sometimes.
Feel the peacefulness in your mind. Even for a few seconds.
Especially face and arms. Keep them very gentle.
If your mind gets distracted
go over the whole body again slowly.
I hope you enjoy it.
If you practice regularly after a while it becomes very easy. In a few minutes your body and mind become very calm and peaceful. And then slowly and slowly you become more and more alert.
And you can feel very subtle sensations in your body arising, moving, vibrating.
So I would like you
to ask questions
about this method of meditation.
Any questions?
Is there any particular
alignment between one physical state and the other?
At first try to pay attention to that pain. Because the important point of meditation is to be aware of whatever is happening at that moment. So first of all pay attention to the pain and see the nature of pain.
How is it? Is it big or small? Is it sharp or dull? Is it combined?
Sayadaw U Jotika was born on August 5, 1947, into a Muslim family in Myanmar. In his youth, he was sent to study at a Christian seminary, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering and conducting extensive research in science, psychology, and Western philosophy.…