Q&ABangkok Retreat13 Nov 2015
Dhamma discussion group A4 and B4 — Grounding Mind When Facing Challenges and Working with Emotions
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 1 hr 55 min
Original audio: Burmese · English interpretation
0:00−1:55:47
Uses compressed audio.
AI-written summary
In this group interview, the teacher addresses how to maintain awareness when facing strong defilements and judgments. He advises using neutral objects to stabilize the mind before recognizing difficult feelings directly. He also stresses relaxing the mind and cultivating wisdom through continuous daily practice.
Topics
Talks in this retreat
Bangkok Retreat · 22 talks
- 131 hr 18 minDhamma discussion group D2 — Concept and Nature, and Watching the Mind11 Nov 2015
- 141 hr 30 minDhamma discussion group A3 — Mind-Body Process and Right Attitude Towards Thoughts11 Nov 2015
- 157 minDay 6 guided 10 min meditation — Being Aware or Idle Thinking12 Nov 2015
- 161 hr 42 minDhamma discussion group B3 — Wrong Attitude, Defilements, and Relaxation in Practice12 Nov 2015
- 172 hr 11 minDhamma discussion group C3 — Working with Anger, Resistance, and Thoughts12 Nov 2015
- 1815 minDay 7 guided 15 min meditation — Right Attitude and Practicing Vipassanā Anywhere13 Nov 2015
- 191 hr 57 minDhamma discussion group D3 — Working with Loud Noise, Thoughts, and Cause and Effect13 Nov 2015
- Viewing201 hr 56 minDhamma discussion group A4 and B4 — Grounding Mind When Facing Challenges and Working with Emotions13 Nov 2015
- 211 hr 50 minDhamma discussion group C4 and D4 — Nature of Mind, Defilements and Wisdom14 Nov 2015
- 2254 minFinal sit and encouragement — Carrying on Practice After Retreat14 Nov 2015
Transcript
English
The environment is very good, so it's easy to be calm, relaxed. When we go back, there can be times when defilements are very strong; sometimes the attitude is very bad. What would Sayadaw's suggestion be if cases like that come about? How does one ground himself or herself so that he can go back to being mindful?
MY
When you find yourself in a state of a lot of defilements and bad attitude and you want to try to start grounding yourself, then it's too late.
English
He says, Sayadaw says, you have to have a constant practice where you are daily making the effort to be mindful as much as possible. Then if you have that sort of training for your mind, it's much easier for your mind to deal with at that time.
English
So before you come across the experiences that are challenging, you want to train your mind to be ready for challenges.
English
Yeah. So we need to understand that sati pachana, that, you know, this practice is something that we need to practice for all the time. Yes. The moment we are idle, the moment we are free, keep your mind collected.
English
How do you keep it collected? Be mindful of something continuously. Build up continuity of awareness whenever you have, you know, in the toilet, in the bus, when you're walking. Any time that you have moments that you are all by yourself or you have free, keep your mind collected. Train the mind.
English
TV . Thank you. Recently I have learned a lot of knowledge from the retreat, from Sayadaw, and from my own reflection and other people, and reading and so on. And I'm aware that some of the knowledge that I now know have not been so popular, or some of it has not been fully understood by other people.
English
Like majority,
English
and maybe some even not accepted, not like fully accepted in the mindset of my family and my community and society, so on. So I have been struggling. In case that in the society have certain norms and behavior that you're supposed to follow, and in case that there's a difference between my view and my family or my community views on certain things, and I have to be struggling between how to stay true to my belief, my faith that I have been developed, or to follow the norms so that I can be accepted and be integrated to my society and my community, for example.
English
So in these cases, what other advice from teacher?
English
[Burmese segment]
English
Yeah. Why would we need to follow what somebody else wants us to do in order for them to accept us? Sayadaw says, you find your own way.
English
accept it. . Only you need to accept it. . If they don't accept it, you don't have to tell them.
English
You don't have to tell them what you believe. You just need to do it yourself. . When it comes to the Dhamma, you only tell other people about the Dhamma if they ask you. If they don't ask you, you don't go and tell them. . If they tell you something that they believe, you just listen. No need to argue.
English
. If you like, you accept. If you don't like, you don't have to accept. You don't have to tell. You don't have to tell them. . Yeah. If you don't like it, you don't argue with them. You just keep quiet. . Because when you start arguing with them, there's dosa, right? That's your aversion coming in.
English
If you want other people to understand what you see, you have to be a good example.
English
. Yeah. Don't talk to them about it. Show them by being what you believe in. . People are always judging each other. . Oh, yeah. Sài Gòn .
English
When Sayadaw went to China, there's a lady who came to the retreat, and her husband had been to the retreat twice.
English
And Sayadaw asked when the man said, "Oh, I brought my wife." He asked the lady, "Has he changed?" and the lady said, "Yes." . Asked him, asked the lady, "Why did you come to the center? Why did you come to practice?" . Did your husband force you to come? And she said, "No." She was intrigued because he changed.
English
And she said, after he had come two times for a retreat, they used to fight a lot. And then it'll take days for them to, like, get over it. And she said, after he came for the retreat twice, they would have an argument, but soon after he would be cheerful again. And she got curious after, you know, several months.
English
She asked him, "Why can you, like, let go so easily? You know, how come you go back to being normal so quickly?" Then he told her what he learned from practicing with Sayadaw, and then she became curious and came for the retreat. . Yeah. Sayadaw says, so the man was able to smile again. She was still not able to smile yet. So that's why she wanted to know how.
English
. Yeah. So she felt like she was, you know, losing, right? She wanted to also get there. I'm oceans away from being a master in meditation, that's for sure. Still, or nevertheless, I'm very happy that I'm here, that I was here, that I'm still here. The main thing is probably that I do judge much less.
English
So I encountered that I developed kind of a feeling of tenderness for everyone here. And also, when we could encounter this lovely Thai concert, which usually would make me angry, I was actually surprised about myself, that I found it's totally okay.
English
It's, yeah, they do this concert, and okay. So that alone is much worth it, being here. And now, obviously, I'm very curious how I'm going to bring all this to my daily life. This is my big question mark now.
English
I'm very excited to see how it's going to affect my world outside.
[Burmese segment]
English
Yeah. When we live constantly with awareness, the mind doesn't do so much negative thinking anymore. Yeah. Sayadaw says, when the mind is feeling positive, for that mind to get angry, it has to destroy its happiness in order to be angry with something.
English
You know? And the mind that is positive will think about whether it wants to destroy its current. So what we've done here is just like a practice, a camp, but the real place to use it is at home.
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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.…