Q&ANirodha Insight Meditation in Finland Retreat27 May 2019
Week 1 day 3 group C — Recognizing Mind States, Handling Confusion and Cultivating Wholesome Qualities
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 1 hr 19 min
Original audio: Burmese · English interpretation
0:00−1:19:49
Uses compressed audio.
AI-written summary
In this group interview, the teacher explains how to recognize judging minds and defilements without trying to eliminate them. He advises anchoring on neutral objects during mental storms and distinguishing genuine compassion from aversion that seeks to fix others.
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
- 21 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
- Viewing41 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
English
Okay. Um, okay.
English
Um, well, I seem to be getting into a certain trap in my, uh, meditation. And, well, the awareness, it's, it's fairly good. It's been fairly good so far, so that's not an issue. But when I start checking, uh, the quality of my mind and whether there are any defilements, I start to become quite doubtful.
English
Um, you know, first I'm like, okay, seems, seems good, no major defilements. But then I start to think that perhaps there are some rea- really subtle defilements that I'm not even aware of. And then, you know, maybe a negative, uh, thought pops up later, and I'm like, huh, there we go.
English
That's, you know, I've been, uh, having a version all, all day long, you know, but I wasn't just aware of it. And I, it, it seems like I kind of get trapped in this, um, cycle of thinking, and it's not really, uh, productive, and it doesn't really take me anywhere. So
English
my question is, I guess, how to get rid of this, and how to proceed from
[Burmese segment]
English
He says you're kind of looking for something, like you think there must be something unwholesome in the mind, but he said you forget that right then, when you're looking, the mind is wholesome. It's feeling clear, it's all right. The mind is being aware, which is wholesome, and all the qualities that come with being aware, they're there.
English
And he says, rather than think that there must be something unwholesome, look at what's actually there. Yeah. Yeah. And as we, you know, and as for the subtles, yeah, this is, you know, when the mindfulness gets better, you will notice the subtle.
English
And the subtle also is both, you know, can be both wholesome and unwholesome. Don't have a target, he said, what it should be. Just, just accept what you see. Yeah, so don't Don't have an, uh, don't have a fixed idea or a target for what your experience should be or what you're looking for.
English
You know, don't have, don't be looking for something. He said, keep your mind open to what is happening now. . Okay. Thank you.
English
He said what will be helpful for you is to, um, when you check your mind, you know? He says always to recognize that the mind is being mindful. He said that will help, especially in the long term, to always notice the awareness is doing its work.
English
? Okay. .
English
I don't know if I have any, like, specific question right now, but, or, I, I really recognize what, what you were saying, and I've been kind of struggling with the same thing. And also, um, that You don't have to ask a question.
English
Yeah. You just need to tell. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, you just need to tell him how you're practicing. Yeah. And that's all. And if there's something he sees that maybe you don't see, he'll point it out.
English
Yeah. The best thing is to be able to just tell him about your practice. Like, how have you been practicing? What does it feel like for you now? Mm-hmm. Now. Yeah, that's all. Yeah. . There's no need to squeeze things out, you know? Yeah. He says just whatever's plainly there. Yeah. Well, right now, what, like, what comes to my mind, or what I would like to talk about,
English
is this, that I've been, well, I've been struggling a lot with, with this, uh, it's also hard to, or difficult to say it out loud, but this, uh— Do you want to stop the recording? Will that help? No, it's fine. It's fine. Okay. But
English
this constant need to, in a way,
English
or I have realized this, this constant need to, to put others, or make others in my mind, to make others inferior to me, that I can feel that I am. Better. Better, yeah. And also, but how quickly it comes, like, in, in everything. Like, all the time.
English
Mm-hmm. And, and it, then, then I also, uh, recognize this, that I judge myself for doing that a lot. Yeah. And then, um, if I think that, that, or I have this,
English
or that I feel that it is also possible to kind of get rid of that, or that it doesn't exist, or that it's not, so then I kind of al-already make this goal that, that I want to get rid of it. Rid of it. And then I have, and then it's, it's already like something that, that I don't want it to be here, and that's, uh, making me judge myself even more for that.
[Burmese segment]
English
So he says, you know, don't try to get rid of it. Yeah. He says, the fact that you recognize it is already very good. Because it's only when you don't recognize it that it can kind of influence you, right?
English
So he says, but it's good because this is the, to, to know, because this is the nature of the mind. Everybody has this. Mm-hmm. Every mind has this. check .
English
So meditation, meditation is not trying to, um, make the mind better or get rid of things in the mind that are not good. It is to recognize what is happening in the mind. To know what is happening in the mind.
English
. Already the mind recognizes that this is not a skillful, um, action of the mind, right? He says just, that's, I mean, this is the beginning. Just keep knowing it. Don't, don't, don't expect a result. Just keep watching what it does. .
English
. And you don't have to try to change that mind, but do recognize it over and over again. And he says, when the mind recognizes what's happening over and over again, he says, the wisdom matures, and the wisdom will decide what it needs to do. .
English
? The wisdom will do its work, Sayadaw says. He assures you, we don't have to force anything to happen or force anything to change. We just have to persist in being aware. . It's like fire, Sayadaw says. When we touch fire, we know it's hot, right? And, um, he says, the mind just has to realize it's hot enough to let it go.
English
But you, to know it's hot, you have to keep knowing it.
English
So no matter how
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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.…