Q&ASpirit Rock Meditation Center Retreat8 May 2015
Group E session 4 — Knowing the Mind and Maintaining Continuity
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 1 hr 33 min
Original audio: Burmese · English interpretation
0:00−1:33:16
Uses compressed audio.
AI-written summary
In this group interview, the teacher discusses samādhi, jhana practice, and shifting attention from external objects to the working mind itself. He also guides meditators on maintaining continuous mindfulness in daily life, balancing effort, and inspiring confidence in practice.
Topics
Talks in this retreat
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Retreat · 38 talks
- 2942 minMorning instructions day 11 — Practicing Mindfulness While Speaking6 May 2015
- 301 hr 40 minGroup A session 4 — Defilements as Nature and Right Attitude Towards Them6 May 2015
- 3132 minMorning instructions day 12 — Knowing Intentions and Continuity of Awareness7 May 2015
- 321 hr 40 minGroup B session 4 — Defilements as Forces of Nature and Understanding the Mind7 May 2015
- 331 hr 33 minGroup C session 4 — Concept, Reality and Mind Door7 May 2015
- 342 hr 8 minGroup D session 4 — Maintaining Awareness in Daily Life, Working with Doubt, and Wisdom's Role7 May 2015
- 3530 minMorning instructions day 13 — Maintaining Awareness in Daily Activities and Thoughts8 May 2015
- Viewing361 hr 33 minGroup E session 4 — Knowing the Mind and Maintaining Continuity8 May 2015
- 372 hr 2 minGroup F session 4 — Mindfulness in Speech and Dealing with Defilements8 May 2015
- 381 hr 8 minMorning instructions · closing day — Continuing Practice at Home9 May 2015
Transcript
English
This is Friday, May 8, practice discussion group with Sayadaw U Tejaniya at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Group E, session 4.
English
I'm curious to know Sayadaw's teachings, instructions, and perspective on deeper concentration practice, specifically Jhana practice. Sorry, could you repeat the question? I'm interested to know Sayadaw's perspective on deeper concentration practice. Oh, perspective, okay. And teaching on deeper concentration practice, specifically Jhana practice.
English
If people want to teach it, why not? Yeah, so this is someone's teachings. It's part of Buddha's teachings, yeah.
English
Is it important for, I mean, does Sayadaw view it as important on the spiritual path for awakening? Depends on the personality. Yeah, the Buddha taught so many different ways because people are different, and
English
so that's why there are three baskets of,
English
you know, the canon. assembly assembly Dharmada assembly . Some people take easily to Jhana. . Some people do well just with Vipassanā type practice, some people need to start with a bit of Samartha. Different. Dharmada ?
English
You can use them together. In tandem. You do
English
Yes, that leads me into mine. I just want to thank you so much. I'm really enjoying this container, the way that the retreat is being held, and what you've brought here. And a big part of that is leaping off of that last question, or comment. I'm finding my awareness is so much more accessible when I'm not sitting on this retreat.
English
So when I'm walking around, when I'm in the hall, when I'm showering, when I'm doing everything else, even in conversation, very accessible to the five faculties and just, and perception, and how it's affecting me. And, you know, even if there's nervous, whatever, whatever's arising, it feels much more accessible.
English
When I'm sitting, it's just like clunk, I just clunk down into my breath, concentration, just, I was really struggling with that. But because of this container and how it's being held, I didn't have to feel like
English
I was doing something wrong. But that's what's accessible to me right now.
[Burmese segment]
MY
This is when you become skillful and begin
English
tuning more into the mind, like being able to know the mind is mind, then you'll be able to take it everywhere.
English
Cho anh . Depends on how skillful we are. I could feel a lot of samādhi. For instance, hiking the trails, when he said running this morning, I'm a runner, and you have to be, you have to be mindful and clear and focused and obviously have energy and curious about your terrain.
English
You know, it's like all of that is there. And so I noticed as I'm moving around
English
how accessible that is. , samādhi di na, .
English
When we're clear what we want to do, it's easy to bring the focus of attention.
English
samādhi khan . Just so, you know, the yogis know that samādhi has nothing to do with the body, it's still far moving.
English
samādhi samādhi . Particularly, particularly the yogis say that when they get up from the sitting there, or when they
English
move more quickly, that they lose their samādhi, then they need to know that that was not a useful samādhi.
English
Okay, next. Yeah?
English
Related to samādhi and right view. And
English
so right samādhi imbued with
English
the mind not being dependent on objects. And
English
I'm just kind of been reflecting on skillful means of sustaining right view and steadiness of samādhi, and
English
sort of working with and wondering if Sayadaw's
English
feedback would be on using more of an inclusive or holistic as a skillful means to, yeah, it just seems that when right, when there's right samādhi, it's inclusive in that way. And that's actually what gives it its stability. Like it's not surprised or it's not about keeping things in or out.
English
So I'm wondering, as a skillful means to actually take up that theme of inclusivity or
English
like, even though it's a concept in a way, to direct the attention towards an all-embracing or all-inclusive, whether I start with whole body awareness or with sound, and then from there really working with the theme of inclusion to support samādhi and right view.
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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.…