Q&AInsight Meditation Society Retreat5 May 2014
Dharma Discussion group F3 — Being Aware of Awareness, Personal Effort, and Looking Internally at Defilements
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 2 hr 14 min
Original audio: English
0:00−2:14:27
Uses compressed audio.
AI-written summary
A group interview explores recognizing mental activity in stillness without excessive personal effort. The teacher explains how to acknowledge defilements during daily activities, maintain awareness while speaking, and counter dullness by knowing the mind that is actively doing the work.
Topics
Talks in this retreat
Insight Meditation Society Retreat · 35 talks
- 2228 minGuided meditation — Noticing Defilements and Continuous Awareness4 May 2014
- 231 hr 46 minDharma Discussion group C3 — Defilements as Objects and Awareness of Mind4 May 2014
- 242 hr 1 minDharma Discussion group D3 — Working with Defilements and Right Attitude4 May 2014
- 251 hr 51 minDharma Discussion group E3 — Investigating Defilements and Reality of the Mind5 May 2014
- Viewing262 hr 14 minDharma Discussion group F3 — Being Aware of Awareness, Personal Effort, and Looking Internally at Defilements5 May 2014
- 271 hr 41 minDharma Discussion group A4 — Practicing with Regret, Delusion, and Emotions6 May 2014
- 282 hr 1 minDharma Discussion group B4 — Wisdom, Delusion, and Relationships Between Defilements6 May 2014
- 291 hr 53 minDharma Discussion group C4 — Conditioning, Mind-Matter, and Aware Speaking7 May 2014
- 301 hr 58 minDharma Discussion group D4 — Self-Criticism, Right Effort, and Defilements7 May 2014
- 3131 minMorning reflections — Momentum of Awareness and Detecting Subtle Defilements8 May 2014
Transcript
EnglishThis is May 5, at Insight Meditation Society discussion group F with Sayadaw U Tejaniya.
EnglishLast
Englishtime we spoke, I spoke in the group, we spoke in the Sayadaw about when practicing when the mind is calm, and what he said was, "Say something like, 'This is what the mind is aware of now.'" What else can the mind be aware of in the mind? And what was interesting, when I did this, did that, the first thing that I noticed was greed, wanting something else to arise in the mind.
EnglishAnd the next thing I noticed was, um, that there seemed to be a little bit of extra or unnecessary, perhaps, striving to be aware of awareness. And so, in noticing that and trying to relax around it, I was playing or experimenting with what the least amount of effort
Englishcan put into being aware of awareness. Not to be lazy, but just to have the, you know, the lightest touch. And so what my question is, is, um, if I know I'm aware, I'm not focusing on any particular object,
Englishbut there's awareness. Is that enough to be aware of, is that aware of awareness enough? I've done another practice
Englishwhere you deliberately turn the attention to awareness, and there's quite an intentional movement that can. To objects you will not awareness. Yeah. Particular objects, the poya poya shuddhiya. But there are objects that the awareness is knowing, even if it's not focusing. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There, I know. Don't know.
EnglishUh, to, uh,
[Burmese segment]
EnglishYeah. He says he wants to. Dilo Yeah. He wants to just sort of point out, emphasize to us how, in a moment of calm, if you hadn't asked the question, the mind wouldn't have seen that.
EnglishYeah. When the mind is quiet, it means that it's in a, that it's more subtle. And if we don't ask the questions, then we miss the subtle stuff that's happening. Yeah.
[Burmese segment]
EnglishEro tua, eri-eri hao thibro shogo cho sha re. Na uboro tua ba-ba nene som zan nilezo ro.
EnglishYeah, they go. Good to experiment.
EnglishExperiment bami chaiye. Experiment lo matoa thiba. Because when we experiment, then we find out what works and what doesn't. Yoyo ichi nilo mia. Mayo mayo na me ya. Yeah. Just ordinarily. "Noting, noting, not enough," he said.
EnglishYeah. As far as being aware of awareness, he says, um, don't try to hurry the boat kind of thing. He says, if the mind isn't able to do it naturally, don't try to do it. He says, when it comes naturally, recognize it.
EnglishWhen it pass, when it fades off, go back to the what we usually do.
EnglishMira sha na moyo. Mio na mi. Mila ina nu-nu-nuja na itovu. Yeah. Sha na jana tua. Doam sha meto loba palo. Yeah. When asking a question, just ask. He said, no need to have an answer. If we ask and then try to find the answer, then greed is comes in. Yeah.
EnglishWhen asking, just ask.
EnglishThai tha thitai. Yeah. He says, when we are trying to be aware all day long, he says, there's this, there's this aware ring going on. You know, it's like, it's doing. It's, it's, it's working. He says, and you can notice that working, that, that action.
EnglishMaloni nina. Yeah. He says, so while we are in the midst of our awareness, he says, then we ask ourselves, what is the mind doing? And you can see it being aware. Yeah.
[Burmese segment]
EnglishAnd we should always know that there is a what is known and the knowing. Kanga pyona is pia ne seine. Ayoe object and the awareness. Yeah. Yeah. He says,
EnglishHe said we should always be checking. Always be checking whether we are clearly seeing the difference between we are knowing that there is an experience and that which is knowing it, the awareness. Yeah.
EnglishOne last little question. I'm getting quite concentrated, um, because I mainly am with just what, you know, awareness of what the mind is still. It's just the knowing of that, the objects are arising, I'm not focusing on anyone. So I'm getting quite concentrated. Yeah. Should I break up that concentration more or, or just let it?
EnglishHow does it feel? Um, there's a lot of stillness in the body, sort of heaviness, weight. Mind is very quiet. There's often kind of movements of energy through
Englishthe head and. Does your head move? Yeah. Okay.
EnglishThe mind is a pya pya swa low dere.
EnglishThat's so interesting when you say it.
EnglishIn English words.
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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.…