Q&ALing Shan Temple Retreat23 Apr 2018
Q&A 04 — Maintaining Awareness While Talking and in Vipassanā
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 14 min
Original audio: English · Chinese interpretation
0:00−14:12
Uses compressed audio.
AI-written summary
A yogi asks how to maintain mindfulness during conversation and complex daily activities. The Sayadaw explains that instead of overfocusing, one should relax and keep continuous awareness, allowing the mind to know multiple objects naturally.
Topics
Talks in this retreat
Ling Shan Temple Retreat · 25 talks
- 317 minQ&A 01 — Physical and Mental Processes and Mind's Reaction to Pain22 Apr 2018
- 44 minQ&A 02 — Learning from Anger Instead of Focusing on the Object22 Apr 2018
- 51 hr 50 minGroup 02 — Awareness of the Awareness and Working with Objects23 Apr 2018
- 63 minQ&A 03 — Using Questions to Arouse Interest23 Apr 2018
- Viewing714 minQ&A 04 — Maintaining Awareness While Talking and in Vipassanā23 Apr 2018
- 81 hr 45 minGroup 03 — Open Awareness and Everything Is Nature24 Apr 2018
- 91 hr 57 minGroup 04 — Tension, Motivation, and Cause and Effect24 Apr 2018
- 1013 minQ&A 05 — Investigating Anger and the Mind's Process24 Apr 2018
- 111 hr 27 minGroup 05 — Working with Images, Pain, and the Unstable Mind25 Apr 2018
- 122 hr 1 minGroup 06 — Maintaining Awareness at Six Sense Doors and Right View25 Apr 2018
Transcript
ZH
Okay. 他在问，呃，说话的时候应该如何觉知，对不对？
ZH
嗯，所以在说话的时候，不要陷入在说话这件事情上，而能保持觉知。
English
So she's asking, uh, during conversation, how to maintain mindfulness and loss of— you know, instead of losing in the topic or conversation. So you need a lot of exercise.
ZH
嗯，需要练习，需要很多的练习。
ZH
那如果是练，如果是这样，那我就因为，因为平常一般在说话的时候都是，就是因为要思考那个句子啊，还是什么词啊，还有那个，呃，和对方说话的那种，就是，就是通常是这样子。如果是这样的话，不晓得要怎么样才能够，呃，保持在禅修状态。因为我觉得好像在说话的时候都是，都是在那个词句里面的。
English
So she's saying when talk— when during talking, the mind will think about the content.
English
So how to maintain the mindfulness? That's why you need to scale how to aware your body and how to aware your mind, right? Thinking. Without thinking, you cannot talk. So you need to know you aware your thinking, and aware of your sound, aware your feeling. So you need to be more
English
happy to be aware yourself.
ZH
禅师说呢，这个就是说，我们要很善巧地去觉察自己的身心各种现象。比如说我们讲话的时候，有身体的感受，也有，也有思想，也有感受。身体也有感受，心也有感受。所以就是说我们要很善巧去觉知这些，才能合在一起都有觉知。
English
In the beginning, you will not very skillful to how to aware the talking. But through later, you try to aware your any object, obviously about your sound or your feeling, one by one. And if you every time you talk, you try to practice again and again and again, slowly the mind becomes more skillful.
ZH
刚开始的时候呢，我们可能一点也不善巧。但是呢，练习的时候呢，就是说现在，比如说现在开始练习的时候呢，你可以每个当下你最明显的，比如听到自己的声音啊，或者看到别人啊，或者，呃，自己的想法啊等等，就是每个当下你就你只要知道最明显的，慢慢慢慢的你就会，呃，能持续，就能保持觉知了。
English
So you when your awareness become better, then you can practice talking meditation easier.
English
Otherwise, if you have emotion, when people talking, a lot of emotion come, then you lose. Awareness gone. Difficult to aware.
ZH
所以在禅修营里面呢，我们就是先把这个比较强的，呃，正念建立起来先，完了再开始练习讲话。因为讲话的时候好像你讲是很比较困难，对不对？如果我们自己本身不讲话的那个觉知不够强，呃，那讲起话来有，有，就是有情绪啊等等啊，就更容易失念了。
ZH
我还有一个问题想请问禅师是，我们常常说要保持，呃，处在当下，处在当下。那最，呃，最简单的处在当下就是察觉自己，比如说，呃，吃饭的时候吃饭，走路的时候走路这样。那如果是比较复杂的状况，比如说，呃，比如说在，呃，好，比如说就是像刚刚讲的，比如说在看人说话的时候，就很多很多的心念跟什么，就是可能感情什么感觉，还是什么动作什么，还要考虑对方什么，这样子的话是不是没有叫做处在当下？还是说我们要怎么样才叫做处在当下的？ Okay.
English
She's asking, uh, know what we are doing each moment. She's saying, uh, when we are mindful, we we were mindful of right now, each moment, what we are doing, right? For example, we are walking, or we are, um, seeing or hearing. But she said for complicated things like talking, uh, it's so many things happening.
English
How do you know? How do you— That's why I encourage to concentrate. Focus to the too much energy to the one object. If you focus to the one object, you cannot know many things. So then relax and aware this big habit. This awareness can know many objects. Then you can
English
practice with the daily activity. If you concentrate too much to the one object, then you cannot know other object. So the mind knows very fast.
ZH
禅师说，呃，她不提倡就是很专注，就是专注在一个所缘上面的原因也就是说，在一个复杂的日常生活的，我们经常做的，比如讲话这样，我们如果很专注在想捕捉每某一类的所缘，就会很困难。所以呢，就是说，呃，如果我们禅修呢，就是说放松的就是，放松的就是去，禅师经常讲是退后一步的，可以让心自然地观察，能观察到什么观察到什么，能观察到多个所缘就观察到多个所缘，比如讲话有很多时候发，很多事发生，那这样的话就会容易，啊，就日常生活中容易能，就是在当下有觉知。
English
So people, they practice the beginning, they learn from the concentration practice. So this is a become, become habit. So if you concentrate too much to the one object, uh, the mind cannot know other object.
English
And also people, why they use too much energy? Because they want to the mind stronger.
English
Actually, the mind, if you want to become, become stronger, no need to force too much. You need to long time to maintain the awareness. Naturally, the mind is growing because of, uh, this is the mind nature, right? And if your awareness better and better, naturally it more receive to the more, more object.
English
If your awareness becomes sharper and sharper, naturally it can know more things.
ZH
禅师说呢，呃，有几点。第一点呢，就是说我们在禅修练习当中，可能很善巧，呃，觉知某一类单一的所缘。那这样的话呢，因为欠缺对其他所缘练习，我们就觉得比较难。就日常生活啊，睁着眼睛啊，呃，比如说六根门都打开，五根门都打开的时候，我们就觉得困难。所以就是说，如果我们的心已经习惯去捕捉某一类的所缘，那就会其实有时候会妨碍你觉知其他的所缘。这个是，所以我们现在是，呃，禅师现在教的就是说不要去抓住，去使劲去抓那个某一类的所缘。这是第一。第二呢，就是说我们还有一个习惯呢，就是说我们会用力地去观察。因为我们想觉知强，因为我们想快，我们想做好一件事，我们就会用力，因为我们觉得，哦，正念会好一点，强一点，我认真一点。那反而呢，就是说会，呃，会会老，会累，或者就是带着染心去做。禅师说不是这样的。想觉知强不是说用力，呃，能让它好的，而是说是持续地慢慢累积，慢慢累积，持续的，它自然就会强。这个才是，才是真正能令到觉知强的这个，呃，这个过程，这个关键。
English
The mind nature is rising and passing away. But the mind, they left the energy to next mind. So good quality of mind or bad quality of mind, any mind state, if you allow this happening again and again and again and again, it's naturally this quality is increasing. So important thing is try to maintain the awareness continuously, then slowly the mind grow, naturally the growing.
English
No need to force. But important thing is long time to maintain.
ZH
禅师说呢，我们的心，每个心当下都生灭，都在生灭。我们生起的心呢，它都有不同的素质，对不对？有善心，有不善心。它当下生了，灭了以后呢，它虽然消失了，但是它是有对下一个心，它是有影响力的，对不对？它是很有它的因缘条件影响下一个心是怎么样的。所以呢，我们如果只是，就是每个当下去，呃，就是去觉知，就正确地去觉知，慢慢它会累积很强的惯性的动力。那这样它就会强了，而不是说每个当下用很用力这样。
English
So when you start to aware the some one object, we can use the main some main object, right? Anapana, or rising mind, use the main object. You can use the main object because we use the main object and awareness present. But not force too much. Continue, start with the main object and maintain the awareness. And if your awareness become better and better, then you can see same time anapana also, thinking also, sound also.
English
The mind slowly more receive the object.
ZH
还有一点就是说呢，心当正念强了的时候，会有一个现象，就是它自然会知道多个所缘了。就是如果我们刚开始的时候，比如第一天打坐的时候呢，我们可能，呃，刚开始就是说费很大的力气，就是专注在单一的所缘，呼吸啊等等这样。但是随着时间的增长，练习的增长呢，我们的正念会增强。会增强了之后呢，我们自然心就会知道多个所缘。
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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.…