Q&AInsight Meditation Society Retreat30 Apr 2012
Q&A group D 1 — Working with Pain, Mental Feelings and Asking Questions
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 1 hr 56 min
Original audio: Burmese · English interpretation
0:00−1:56:21
Uses compressed audio.
AI-written summary
In this group interview, the teacher explains how to work with physical pain and mental aversion using right attitude and neutral objects. Guidance covers inquiring with gentle questions, distinguishing feeling from awareness, and maintaining natural effort rather than forcing narrow concentration.
Topics
Talks in this retreat
Insight Meditation Society Retreat · 28 talks
- 21 hr 45 minQ&A group A 1 — Awareness Instead of Focusing, and Appreciating the Awareness29 Apr 2012
- 31 hr 58 minQ&A group B 1 — Observing the Thinking Process and Difficult Emotions29 Apr 2012
- 41 hr 53 minQ&A group C 1 — Natural Process, Delusion and Open Awareness29 Apr 2012
- 546 minQ&A Monday morning — Not Focusing Too Much, Seeing Versus Looking, and Being Aware of Thinking30 Apr 2012
- Viewing61 hr 56 minQ&A group D 1 — Working with Pain, Mental Feelings and Asking Questions30 Apr 2012
- 71 hr 47 minQ&A group E 1 — Seeing Everything as an Object and the Role of Wisdom30 Apr 2012
- 81 hr 47 minQ&A group F 1 — Removing Greed from Effort and Awareness1 May 2012
- 91 hr 48 minGroup A 2 — Functions of Mind and Dealing with Defilements2 May 2012
- 101 hr 55 minGroup D 2 — Investigating Strong Objects, Torpor, and Thinking Mind3 May 2012
- 1140 minDhamma everywhere — Object, Awareness, and Right View3 May 2012
Transcript
EnglishIt's all yours.
EnglishWhoever wants to speak. Yes. Um, my chat's in, um, Sayadaw's book. Okay. Um, there are a number of questions that are suggested to be posed during the sitting. Uh, and there are two questions that go together somewhere. Uh, uh, what is happening, and how is it working? Mm-hmm.
EnglishAnd I'm, I I think I'm applying the what is happening fine, but the how is it working. What is it supposed to mean? What's that supposed to mean? Yeah.
EnglishIt's not so much—sorry—not so much how is it working, but maybe to see what is working. He says there are activities of mind and, um. For example, you know, there are feelings in the mind. They do the work of feeling. And there are perceptions in the mind, and these minds do the work of perceiving.
EnglishUm, there are minds that do the, you know. Choosing. So different activities of mind. Mm-hmm. Paying attention. Thinking. So. So what function they're fulfilling, kind of. Yeah, to recognize. Recognize the function they're fulfilling. Yeah.
EnglishWhat work is being done. Being done. Yeah.
EnglishYes.
EnglishUm,
EnglishI don't know exactly how to how to put it. I'm just having, um,
Englisha hard time with my practice. Um,
EnglishI, uh,
EnglishI'm just sort of constantly having, uh,
Englishand my experiences are, are seem to be, um, for the for the most part, painful, uh, physically and mentally challenging, uh, unpleasant. Mm-hmm. Um, and, uh, you know, I've been, been practicing for a while. Mm-hmm. So it hasn't. But, uh,
EnglishI just can't I I'm having a hard time, um, you know, separating out, um,
Englishseparating the, you know, what's, what's sort of what's happening in the mind. Or the, you know, from, from the object. Um. Sorry. Um, what do you think is the object? I don't it's very muddled. Um, I just know that I, I really I, I just at this point, I, I sort of hate what's going on. Yeah.
EnglishUm,
Englishand, uh, it doesn't seem like there's a it just it, it feels like a big, a big mess of, of that. And it's, uh, it's very challenging to, you know, to be with, uh, what's happening and, um. Mm-hmm. Uh, it, it feels like, you know, all I can do is sort of
Englishstay here, you know, and just, just be here. And even then, that's, that's very challenging. So. You say you are aware of everything that's happening, but it's very hard to, to, to have to, to suffer these experiences.
English So, so I'm assuming that you have tried to bring some right view to it, and it's not helping it to be any easier to observe.
EnglishYes? Yeah. So he says, in that sort of situation, are you able to then leave the experience of the painful stuff in the mind or body? And are you able to, um, choose an object that is more or less neutral for you and just bring your attention to that continuously?
EnglishSo in this case, you're choosing, not doing a choice less anymore. Yeah. You're choosing something that will calm the mind a bit better. So then whatever else happens in the mind and the body that's painful, they'll kind of do their own work, but you sort of do your own work, which is to bring your attention to something that's more.
EnglishYeah. More neutral for you? Um. Can you do that? Uh, I, I, I haven't had very much luck doing that. I, I, I understand, um, yeah, what you're saying. Uh, you know, the it all just seems to be, uh it-it's hard to find any, you know, a-any, any object or, um, the best luck I ha I have is just, I don't know, going outside for, for walks and basically trying not to pay attention to, you know, what's going on an-anywhere in my experience, you know, to walk and look outside.
EnglishI mean, that's sort of the best luck I've had so far. The experience you're having is in itself painful.
EnglishUm, if you have judgments about that, um, on top of. I did the fine loan, you know. Yeah. On top of the experience itself, like you wish it wasn't like that, you wish it would go away, this is so difficult, and, and all that, he says, just makes it harder.
EnglishIf you can't, um, I suppose you've tried, um, reminding yourself that, you know, that this is nature and that sort of thing.
EnglishUm.
[Burmese segment]
English Have you tried doing Anapanna?
EnglishIs that a practice that's helpful for you? Um, I mean, I've, I've done it a lot in the past. Um, I find that now there's, uh, so much physical discomfort in the body that it's hard for me to, to stay with that for a while. And in addition, um,
Englishuh, it's, it's hard any, any sort of task that I put my s put give for myself. Um. Maybe to understand better, if you don't mind, can you tell us what exactly your body is suffering from and how it is? Is it suffering all the time?
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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.…