Dhamma talkOther Dhamma talks9 Feb 2020
Use skillful thinking to practice
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 9 min
0:00−9:41
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The teacher explains that thinking is not a problem in Vipassanā practice. Skilful thinking combined with awareness supports the development of wisdom. Rather than trying to suppress thoughts, yogis should simply recognize them as mental objects without judgment.
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Transcript
EnglishCan you explain the difference between meditation and contemplation? Both together. Meditation is a contemplate also, including the contemplate also. Actually, I don't understand it very much for English words.
EnglishThey said mindfulness, mind, contemplate. They said citta nupassana, mindfulness of mind.
EnglishThe citta nupassana. They said contemplating the mind. Also, they use this meditation. The same.
EnglishRight, contemplate. Contemplate means to use your sub wisdom, right? Important thing is awareness and wisdom. Get the experience first, and think the wisdom together. That is meditation. So that's why I like the contemplating also used in some talks. But most of the practice, they said they don't allow you to think.
EnglishThat is the problem. This is for them, it's a samadha practice. Samadha is thinking is disturbing their concentration. Because the mind too busy, they cannot concentrate. The one point of concentration, they cannot get it. But Vipassanā, it's thought is very important.
EnglishRight thought. Right thought is very important. This right thought and awareness together, that wisdom comes. Then Vipassanā is an inside meditation, right?
EnglishSo contemplating, you can use, yeah.
EnglishBefore, I don't know. My teacher teaches me many times. He asks me many questions. I don't, cannot answer, then I go to practice. That makes contemplate. Some use some question. I don't know before. He asked me many questions. Why this happened? I never think this way. So go practice and think, why this happened?
EnglishThen the mind becomes more interested. Beginning, not interest. Beginning craving. A lot of craving practice holds tense. Ah, very tired. And later and later I understand, oh, craving cannot work. But you need interest, the process.
EnglishBut many concentration practices, they don't think anything. Just focus, focus, focus. A lot of people come this technique. That's why they want to, they come, they don't like thinking.
EnglishThat's why when I started yoga, beginner yoga you come, I always
Englishwrote to group, explained about thinking is not problem.
EnglishYes.
EnglishYes.
EnglishSayadaw, what is why thinking? Because we have. What? Right thinking is because of, because of, not wrong thinking, it's right thinking.
EnglishSo that's, I cannot explain easier. Wrong thinking means is if you think with the deluded,
Englishthinking with the craving, thinking with the defilement, and all are wrong thinking. So right thinking means is the mind thinking with knowledge or wisdom. That means is right thinking. Right thought, right view. Right thought is wisdom. But you know nova ephopa,
Englishdo you know nova ephopa? Right view, right thought, right belief, right speech, right action, right awareness, right? Right view and right thought is wisdom. Very important. That's why first, one, and two is right view and right thought. This is paññā. Right living hope, right speech, right action is sīla, morality.
EnglishRight awareness, right samādhi, right effort is samādhi first. So sīla, samādhi, paññā. So right view and right thought is wisdom. So
Englishthought, thinking is
Englishmust be have some right. But how do you know right?
EnglishWe start with the knowledge first, right? Nobody before, we don't know. Then the Buddha come, he Dhamma talk, he talking, explaining what is the rupa, what is the dhamma. Then we start to listening. Because he give me the, we give us the right information. So when we hear, then we start to think, and we start to practice.
EnglishSo we right mean is wisdom. So where they come from wisdom, only knowledge we started. Knowledge and intelligence, I said information, intelligence, insight. So this grow the wisdom. So we start with the information, knowledge.
EnglishKnowledge, we have a right information have, then we can think right way. Right? That's why we need to listening, read the book like that. The discussion also, this is right information come, right? Then when we hear that this right think information, then when we apply this, we can apply.
EnglishThat's the right thought.
EnglishOkay? Yeah. But most of the time, our mind, untrained mind, our thinking is not all the time right thinking. Sure. It's always wrong thinking. That's right. A lot of useless chatter. Yes, that's true. That's true. That is true. How to rise then? That's why you need to know about your thoughts. Don't believe your thoughts.
EnglishWe don't believe, but it comes, keep on playing the same thing. Yes, but you not follow. Now, before, whatever the mind say, you already don't do, right? Yeah. Yeah. Now, watch again. Who are you? Are you okay?
EnglishChecking, checking. Now you have awareness, right? So when they come, they talk, check again and look again. Before, we not checking. We all the time following. But they come all the time. That's right. Now we try to aware our thoughts.
EnglishThat's why difficult. So can we deliberately inject right thinking? Only you must have how much you understand already. If you have some wisdom, your mind understand something, then you can apply this.
EnglishThat's why beginner, we just applying the secondhand knowledge. Now you listening many what we are saying, then you start to think this way in practice. And later and later, you become, the mind become more understand, ah, this is right. So wait, take the time. Cannot change immediately the mind.
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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.…