Q&AShwe Oo Min Dhamma Sukha Retreat6 Mar 2017
Day 6 Discussion group C — Working with Six Sense Doors and Reactions
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 1 hr 18 min
Original audio: Burmese · English interpretation
0:00−1:18:52
AI-written summary
A group interview addressing thoughts, reactions of liking and disliking, and tensions caused by desire. The teacher emphasizes maintaining the right attitude and patiently being aware of aversion and defilements at the sense doors without trying to fix or control the experience.
Topics
Talks in this retreat
Shwe Oo Min Dhamma Sukha Retreat · 18 talks
- 71 hr 47 minDay 4 Discussion group C — Recognizing Wrong Attitudes, Defilements, and the Nature of Mind4 Mar 2017
- 81 hr 17 minDay 5 Discussion group B — Observing Defilements, Conceit, and Habits5 Mar 2017
- 91 hr 47 minDay 5 Discussion group D — Natural Effort and Not Personalizing Experiences5 Mar 2017
- 101 hr 15 minDay 6 Discussion group A — Free Will, Knowing the Mind and Anchor Objects6 Mar 2017
- Viewing111 hr 19 minDay 6 Discussion group C — Working with Six Sense Doors and Reactions6 Mar 2017
- 121 hr 36 minDay 7 Discussion group B — Being Aware of Thinking and Noticing Judging Mind7 Mar 2017
- 132 hr 16 minDay 7 Discussion group D — Observing Defilements and Looking for Cause7 Mar 2017
- 141 hr 10 minDay 8 Discussion group A — Cause and Effect, Anatta, and Role of Samatha8 Mar 2017
- 151 hr 57 minDay 8 Discussion group C — Samādhi, Quality of Awareness and Attitude8 Mar 2017
- 1620 minDay 9 closing — Carrying Practice into Daily Life9 Mar 2017
Transcript
English6 of March, 2017, in Kallong,
English6:00 p.m., Group C.
EnglishSo, um, I was— I haven't reported, I guess, in a while. I was just considering today what's going on for me, and— Apart from— You know, like, like this morning on Thindaval, I noticed that— I heard a sound, it sounded like a fire was rising. And then I recognized lighting, and
EnglishI recognized the mind
Englishkind of saying, "Oh, it must be a fire," and then, you know, a few moments later smelling, um, the smell of burning. And so, you know, that process of recognizing— of recognizing something at a sensed door, and also recognizing the mind conceptually, and also whether there's liking or disliking. But, um, but apart from that, the mind— I found myself, like, caught in thought without realizing it, like talking to myself, and then sometimes at— like maybe saying something out loud or answering myself, and then realizing, wow, I didn't realize it was this train of thought going on, like judgment or something like that.
EnglishSo I've noticed it on and off, but now I realize it's— I'd like to find a way of working a little bit more. And so, you know, when we think of the six sense doors, the mind is usually put at the end, you know, sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mind. But of course, it seems that mind is the one that should be the first one.
EnglishAnd I was just wondering about ways to— to begin just to be more aware of that, of the process of mind talk.
[Burmese segment]
English So I thought, just stay with awareness, and all of this will be seen. And when we say, you know, the six senses, you know, the eye, ear, etc., but then all of them are known by the consciousness.
EnglishSo the mind is involved in all, in the knowing of all the con— all the physical senses as well. So he says, just stay with the awareness and everything will become known. Yeah, the, you know, the more practice the awareness becomes, the more momentum it has, the more skillful it is, and all that.
EnglishThe more it sees, the more quickly it sees, the more subtle stuff it sees, it just, it comes with its territory. Okay. I noticed that when I realized that there's not much awareness, and I
Englishoften, most often, just remember that, oh, hearing is happening, and seeing is happening, and feeling is happening, as a sort of a set point to bring me, you know, to kickstart me again if I've lost it. If you've lost awareness? Yeah, if I've lost awareness, I'll kind of go, oh, is hearing happening? And then I'll notice, and then seeing and feeling. And I was just wondering within the context of thoughts.
[Burmese segment]
EnglishThe object doesn't matter, you know, so long as awareness is back. That's all that matters. Awareness is what will pick up what it can. Yeah. Whatever the mind is interested in, it will start coming back to that more and more. Whatever object the mind is used to paying attention to, it will come back to that more and more easily.
EnglishThank you. First, I have a few observations and questions. The first is, last two days I started to have some tension,
Englishthe desire for quick information and results started to appear again. So what I did is just know it's happening, number one. The other way I do it is that I go for a walk, because then when I go for a walk, I can observe others seeing and smelling and touching, so to let that tension subside before I sit again.
EnglishSo that's the first thing. So when the tension decreases, you go back and you sit again, and then?
EnglishYes, I sit again, and then— Does the tension come back? On and off it comes back, until just now it still does, because it wanted a clearer— — Awareness, more consistent awareness. The wrong attitude. Yes, yes. But it— so I thought, it keeps on coming back.
EnglishI'm just going to laugh. Two days ago it was okay, but last two days— So don't bother about other things. Yeah, just keep watching whether this mind is there or not.
EnglishIt was still there. So keep watching it. When it's there, keep watching it. Yeah, when it's there— Because when you know it and you keep watching it, it will get less. Don't know it and keep doing something else. Yeah, but it's not important for it to go away, the wrong attitude.
EnglishIt's more important— It's more important for the mind to experience this again and again, watch it again and again, until the mind understands that this is really not helpful to make things clearer. You know, yeah. So when the mind finally understands, from the repeated observing of it, its presence and the effects, my mind finally gets it, oh yeah, this wanting it to be clearer just actually doesn't help at all.
English So it's a good lesson to learn. You need to give it time, but watch it. The frustration is to cause the yo-yo. So if your mind is reporting, two days ago was okay, and now it goes like this, that's my frustration. So— He says, when the mind is not skillful, this is what will happen.
EnglishHe says, even in business, you know, there are good days and bad days, right? Not all the time good days.
EnglishI have to remind myself on that. Oh, very greedy. Very greedy.
EnglishYes. Make business a very greedy business. That talk brings me to the second observation. I was walking and I noticed birds and butterflies, which I liked. Why is it when you walk, the tension goes away? Ah, because one difference is, when I walk, I tend to notice more of seeing, touching, smelling, feeling, more.
EnglishAnd then, because I think, I think, because of that, the tension lessens. But when I sit, usually I'll close my eyes, and then I'll be observing thoughts, observing fear, observing sound, and somehow I notice the tension starts to build here. It has been my classical complaint, here.
EnglishYou are watching what was on? So probably focusing too much on sitting.
EnglishIt's not the objects, yeah. It's how the mind works. So maybe in sitting, don't close your eyes. Yeah, but the most important thing— The most important thing, of course, is for the mind to realize for itself that the greed doesn't help. You know, greed is not the tool to use to
Englishbe aware, you know. But unfortunately, we can talk about it, discuss it, but in the end, the mind has to realize it for itself. I think in my case, probably need to check more of my attitude, because the attitude keeps on— So do this alternate thing, you know. Know the object, check the attitude.
EnglishKnow the object, check the attitude. Do it continuously. Okay.
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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.…