Q&ANirodha Insight Meditation in Finland Retreat26 May 2019
Week 1 day 2 group A — Working with Greed and Aversion
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 1 hr 34 min
Original audio: Burmese · English interpretation
0:00−1:34:03
Uses compressed audio.
AI-written summary
In this group interview, yogis discuss recognizing lobha, aversion, and wandering thoughts without suppressing or indulging them. The teacher explains that letting go means allowing experiences to be as they are without resistance. Persistent mindfulness and wisdom naturally resolve defilements over time.
Topics
Talks in this retreat
Nirodha Insight Meditation in Finland Retreat · 33 talks
- 146 minWeek 1 day 1 — Cultivating Wholesome Qualities and Right View25 May 2019
- Viewing21 hr 34 minWeek 1 day 2 group A — Working with Greed and Aversion26 May 2019
- 31 hr 1 minWeek 1 day 2 group B — Wrong Attitude and Working with Worried Mind26 May 2019
- 41 hr 20 minWeek 1 day 3 group C — Recognizing Mind States, Handling Confusion and Cultivating Wholesome Qualities27 May 2019
- 52 hr 9 minWeek 1 day 4 group A — Differentiating Functions of Mind and Reality vs Concept28 May 2019
- 655 minWeek 1 day 4 group B — Wisdom, Specific Characteristics, and Natural Awareness28 May 2019
- 71 hr 33 minWeek 1 day 5 group C — Cause and Effect, Right Effort, and Letting Go of Expectations29 May 2019
- 82 hr 20 minWeek 1 day 6 group A — The Meditating Mind, Balancing Effort and Observing Defilements30 May 2019
- 91 hr 4 minWeek 1 day 6 group B — Superficial Awareness and Observing Reactions to Suffering30 May 2019
- 101 hr 53 minWeek 1 day 7 group C — Recognizing the Mind at Work and Working with Lobha31 May 2019
Transcript
EnglishSo I— I have something to check for understanding, an experience I want to check for understanding. Yes. Is this okay? Do I need to bring it closer? No. It's okay, okay. So, um,
Englishsorry, I need to center for a second. I, um, there was at one point, I remember one time I had, like, really strong pain, stomach pain, and I was trying to bring awareness to it. Um, and the process during it, I noticed when I was— even though I was doing it, there was a lot of aversion and greed, aversion for the pain, and the greed that hoping the awareness would make.
EnglishIt go. The pain go away. So when I was doing that, sometimes when I focus too much on the pain, it gets too much, so then I would go to a neutral object. Yeah. And then when it gets lessen, I'd go back to the pain. And it was like this back and forth, back and forth, and I was trying to be aware, but I was really struggling because of— because of the pain. Yeah. And what I've noticed about a couple hours after the pain subsided, that, um, when I looked back, my mind actually picked up a lot more information than I realized I did.
EnglishYeah. So it was actually aware a lot of the patterns, the reactions, what was happening. Yeah. But because of the wrong attitude, because of the aversion, I wasn't able to see. At that time. All the— the mind, the awareness at the time. So I'm— I'm curious because I notice sometimes, at times, I might be just doing something and suddenly insight would come, but it— it seemed like it came out of nowhere, that I couldn't— I'm not aware of the buildup of the insight.
EnglishAnd. Insight. Does that make sense? Doesn't build up, yeah. Okay, so there goes. So I'm curious, so I'm having— I'm kind of creating this assumption that, and I'm checking that, is it that actually when our mind's collecting information, that's how— so in my mind, I thought it's like building up so that suddenly understanding would come.
EnglishMm-hmm. Um, but because of my lack of awareness, I don't see it collecting the data and— and coming toward an insight or coming toward an understanding. No, you don't. No, it doesn't work that way. Okay.
[Burmese segment]
EnglishYeah. Yeah, I see. I just said don't— don't make any assumptions about how you think insights, you know, happen. Just, if you know the insight happened, just recognize that.
EnglishIf you recognize the, you know, the amount of awareness the mind had then or before, that's all fine, Seata says. And the, you know, the more you carry on being aware and the more insights you have, and depending on the type of insights you have, you will also have insights into
Englishhow the insight, if you want to call it, built up. Because some of it can take a long time of. Like anything, yeah. Of gathering information. And you can sometimes sort of see which informations came together to bring that insight. Yeah. Although at the time the information gathering is happening, you won't know that it's building up to an insight.
EnglishWhen we don't know something, Seata says, just, you know, just know that we don't know that. Don't try to look for that answer. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Um, and then the second thing, um, is when I was at Sôm, um, I was asking how I— I was— I was reporting to Seata how I was, um, noticing that although my awareness was more consistent, I noticed there was a lack of interest, a lot of things.
EnglishLike, for example, not as interested in social activity, not as interested in engaging, and all that stuff. And then Seata just said that's because the wisdom is not enough. And I— I thought I knew that conceptually, I didn't know how to address it. And at the time, a very experienced yogi came to me and talked to me afterwards, and she just said, "Be really careful, um, when you're practicing."
EnglishBecause she notices a lot of times people who practice for a while, they look like they're like zombies. And when she said that, immediately I got clarity on— what I think was happening was that when I have very— when strong, like, for example, strong negative reaction happens. Yeah. There's greed and aversion of my awareness wanting to reduce the, the, um, like I— I wasn't having the right attitude when I look at the— those negative, uh, emotion.
EnglishYeah. So there was like wrong view, and therefore I— because of my mind trying to kind of stop it from the negative. Building, yeah. From building. Yeah. And then also when some, let's say, a positive reaction happens, or a happier action. Yeah. I— I unconsciously want to kind of bring it down.
EnglishBecause I think I shouldn't have. And— and I— I was aware that I was doing that, but having her said that to me, it— it brought, like, it made more sense to me now when Seata says something about making, like, having just a little bit of effort, not too much effort. Because even when you're trying to be aware of how you're trying to be aware. And that helped my, um, the— the sort of that feeling of dullness that I was experiencing.
EnglishSo it made it, the dullness lessened. Yeah. Yeah. And I'd had a question in there, but I can't quite remember now what the question was. Maybe you can translate now and then I'll think about it.
[Burmese segment]
EnglishThe longer we practice, Seata says, the more we notice the greeds that operate as we practice, you know.
English And it's important, Seata says, to notice how we are practicing, you know. It's important to see that greed or the aversion that comes.
EnglishSo I think, um, I'm not questioning. Yeah. He says, and. And the moment we underst— I mean, the practice itself teaches us.
EnglishWe start to notice this, we try to adjust, and sort of all this sort of thing. And he says, and the more we understand, the more our practice will change. So, you know, we won't always practice this way. We'll learn things, and then the mind will learn to adjust the way it watches what it watches, and so on. Yeah. Speak away. I think, so I'm still trying to, I.
EnglishAnd the right practice effect. Effect. One of the. Effects of right practice, Seata says, is that you'll find yourself more interested in practicing. You'll find yourself happy to practice, happy to be aware, interested in it despite everything it notices. Yeah.
EnglishSo I think what's happening, I'm noticing now, is because I'm, um, I tend to be less grasping when I'm aware. That— that action of less grasping. Yes. So it feels a lot looser. But at the same time, it feels a bit more, um, I'm not as cl— it's not as clear to me now, the awareness.
[Burmese segment]
EnglishYeah. Seata says
EnglishSeata says it, um, yeah, that's why he— he talks about not using too much energy, but being persistent and, um, uh, persistent over a long period of time. Um, one of the side effects of that is that, Seata says, if we're not persistent, it will remain slightly unclear all the time.
Keep listening by topic
Suggestions for what to listen to next · Based on the topics of this talk. No account history needed.
- Q&A group A — Investigation and Right Attitude Toward Unpleasant StatesSayadaw U Tejaniya1 hr 44 min
Shares topics with this talk
- Day 9b interviews — Thinking the Vipassanā Way and ObjectsSayadaw U Tejaniya1 hr 58 min
Shares topics with this talk
- Group E session 2 — Greed, Aversion, and Stabilizing the Mind with Right ViewSayadaw U Tejaniya1 hr 43 min
Shares topics with this talk
- 03 Zoom Q&A group A — Awareness of Thinking, Handling Restlessness, and AttitudeSayadaw U Tejaniya1 hr 57 min
Shares topics with this talk
- Questions and answers — Concept vs Reality and Noticing the Attitude Towards SufferingSayadaw U Tejaniya1 hr 32 min
Shares topics with this talk
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.…