Q&AMeditationszentrum Beatenberg Retreat27 May 2016
B 4 Group interview — Deciding with Defilement or Wisdom and Background Awareness
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 1 hr 46 min
Original audio: Burmese · English interpretation
0:00−1:46:25
AI-written summary
This group interview explores freedom of choice through wisdom, recognizing intentions in speech, and keeping background awareness while working. The teacher explains how wisdom guides skillful action and guides yogis to acknowledge laziness naturally.
Topics
Talks in this retreat
Meditationszentrum Beatenberg Retreat · 22 talks
- 132 hr 29 minB 3 Group interview — Simple Awareness and Observing the Mind25 May 2016
- 142 hr 29 minC 3 Group interview — Natural Awareness, Checking the Attitude, and Facing Experiences25 May 2016
- 1517 minMeditation instructions — The Nature of Mind and Momentum of Awareness26 May 2016
- 162 hr 16 minD 3 Group interview — Appreciating Awareness and Watching Without Interference26 May 2016
- 1730 minMeditation instructions — Knowing the Mind and Being Mindful When Speaking27 May 2016
- Viewing181 hr 46 minB 4 Group interview — Deciding with Defilement or Wisdom and Background Awareness27 May 2016
- 192 hr 56 minC 4 Group interview — Greed in Meditation and Understanding Strong Aversion27 May 2016
- 2025 minMeditation instructions — Checking the Attitude and State of Mind28 May 2016
- 212 hr 17 minD 4 Group interview — Beyond Calmness and Being Aware in Daily Life28 May 2016
- 2229 minFinal meditation instructions — Making Home Your Meditation Center29 May 2016
Transcript
English
Thank you. When you were talking just now in the hall,
English
you said
English
mindfulness and awareness.
English
He means the same. You mean the same? Yes, same. Same awareness. Equal? Equal mindfulness. Yeah. I use the words in the same way. You use it in the same—okay, then that's clear. And
English
in my practice, I used—or I was taught—also that I can always choose what I want to do. And he was talking today too, Sayadaw, of the mind decides what to do, where to put the hand. The mind is thinking, the mind is feeling, and
English
do I decide? Do I have the freedom? Because on the other side, he's saying
English
it develops. It's happening. What is happening? Yeah, whatever is happening. Happening. Okay. Whatever is developing, whatever is happening. Okay. But actually, I do decide if I want to stay with—I mean, I say I, whoever I is.
English
I do decide if I want to stay with thinking or if I want to go to the body. Some quality of mind does that, yes. Yes. Very nice said. But
English
we sometimes talk about that's the freedom to decide, you know? In a psychological concept.
English
Is that okay, or is it just that you said now quality? No, he says that the wholesome qualities mean you have freedom if you're the wholesome qualities. But let me just ask you—just let me ask you.
[Burmese segment]
English
Different answer this time.
English
Yeah. He says, since the eye doesn't—since the eye is an illusion in the first place—an illusion, he says then
English
what is actually there, what we are calling eye, is either
English
a defilement deciding or wisdom deciding. And when defilement decides, we think, "I made this decision," and, "I made an unskillful choice." When wisdom decides, we think, "I made the right decision." That's all. Oh, okay.
English
He has said before that the sense of freedom comes from the wholesome.
English
That when it's the unwholesome that's in charge, we are almost without choice because they have such a strong hold on us. And even though we might think we choose to—he says the unwholesome is almost an unwholesome choices are usually automatic or— ，。 Yeah, because of delusion.
English
Because of delusion, so those choices. But he says when there's wisdom making the choices, he says even between making an unwholesome or wholesome choice, he says, if there's enough wisdom, wisdom has the freedom to choose what it wants. Whereas there's not that much choice with unwholesome.
English
Okay. Thank you.
[Burmese segment]
English
I'm struggling still a bit with this good speech or false speech. And I'm wondering if, for example,
English
I'm worried or I'm angry, and then there is a formulation coming up in my mind, I'm worried about—oh, no, I'm saying first, that's a problem. The CEO is uncapable of doing his job. He's going to ruin the company. So I notice then it's bad talking or wrong talking.
English
I notice. And then it comes up a better formulation, like probably, "I'm worried about the company," or I'm—yeah, for example, this. I'm worried about the company. It's not bad talk. But then still, I'm not sure if I'm aware or not in this moment. When I start to making a sentence in my mind, I'm not sure if I just should, in this moment, say, "Okay, no, it's discussing, arguing," things like that, and it's not I'm not aware.
English
Or is it still some sort of awareness which can help me go into the situation in a better
English
kind when it's real? That's not—I'm not sure about if it's still I'm aware in this moment, formulating a sentence, or if I'm not aware.
[Burmese segment]
English
He says,
English
well, it's best if you—he says, whether you are mindful or not, mindful or aware or not, you have to make sure yourself. Right? He says, it's better if you can be sure that you are mindful. Okay? The other thing is, he says that when you are
English
clear about your motivations,
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Sayadaw U Tejaniya began his Buddhist training as a young teenager in Burma under the late Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw (1913–2002). After a career in business and life as a householder, he has become a permanent monk since 1996.…