Q&ANirodha Insight Meditation in Finland Retreat31 May 2019
Week 1 day 7 group C — Recognizing the Mind at Work and Working with Lobha
Sayadaw U Tejaniya · 1 hr 52 min
Original audio: Burmese · English interpretation
0:00−1:52:52
Uses compressed audio.
AI-written summary
A group interview covers maintaining mindfulness in daily life and recognizing mental activities. The Sayadaw explains the workings of greed (lobha), how to investigate the mind during states of samādhi, and the importance of holding a right attitude free from attachment.
Topics
Talks in this retreat
Nirodha Insight Meditation in Finland Retreat · 33 talks
- 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
- Viewing101 hr 53 minWeek 1 day 7 group C — Recognizing the Mind at Work and Working with Lobha31 May 2019
- 1137 minWeek 1 day 8 — Practicing at Home and Cultivating Wholesome Qualities1 Jun 2019
- 121 hr 47 minWeek 2 day 1 group A1 — Talking Meditation and Working with Defilements1 Jun 2019
- 131 hr 10 minWeek 2 day 1 group A2 — Wisdom at Work, Subconscious Mind, and Decision-Making1 Jun 2019
- 1459 minWeek 2 day 2 group D — Recognizing Thoughts as Mind and Working with Judging Mind2 Jun 2019
- 1528 minWeek 2 day 2 group E — Maintaining Awareness and Observing Mental Habits2 Jun 2019
Transcript
English
Well, my practice yesterday was actually a bit fine. Um,
English
random thoughts kept coming up, turning up every now and then. Yeah. And this time was, um, a bit funny, like me pranking the math teacher.
English
Revenge aid.
English
will come, Seada. Since when the mind is quiet, it will remember all these things from childhood and stuff. Though this morning my mind started, like, coming up with a list of things to do.
English
Yeah. Because I'm leaving tomorrow, and like, yeah, when I go to my normal life, what it would be like. And it's like really started sorting out what, what should be done. And that's exactly what Alexis actually mentioned earlier today.
English
He said, he said it's important not to get lost in it. We need to do the planning, but we can also be conscious of what's necessary. How much is necessary planning? Because the mind can tend to just go over and over the same thing again and again. Mm-hmm. Not necessarily. And in addition to that, I was thinking and wondering about
English
enlightenment, actually. That's pretty much it, really, right? It says, "Only think about practicing. Don't think about enlightenment." See, this is when the mind turns 180°.
English
It will go ding, enlightenment. . 100°C app phu ? 100°C . He says, like, when water reaches 100°C, it will boil. Just like that. Yeah. So app phu ly ? We just need that
English
it to reach the threshold. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because, uh, Ananda, like, in my understanding, being enlightened in a sense is, um, freedom from bondage, from the bondage of, uh, causes and conditions. Which means, like, in other words, libera- like, mind liberation. Like when you're,
English
when you break free from the matrix.
English
. Take the red pill. Enlightenment matrix ? He says, it's, it's not like a big bang, Seada. It's just you collect little bits of freedom along the way.
English
Mm-hmm. Until you reach the threshold.
English
Um,
English
also I was wondering about the group effect, since we're actually a group of people practicing together here. And, um,
English
and, well, there is silence, indeed. And we're trying to limit that verbal sort of communication. However, there is a whole realm of non-verbal and subconscious communication going on. Yeah. So does that, uh, by any means affect the practice, or the attitude to practice?
English
Like, for example, yesterday I noticed that I was walking slowly. Mm-hmm.
English
And then I just, like, abruptly said to myself, "Oh, hey, that's—" You can be mindful while just maintaining your own pace. Yeah. And then I figured that that was actually me mimicking someone that I actually saw. Saw, yeah, yeah, yeah. So does that really affect the, like, being with other people, practicing with other people?
MY
What does that affect the practice or the attitude to practice?
[Burmese segment]
English
Yes, of course, he said. That's why practicing on retreat and trying to practice at home is also so different, because we are affected by the people around us. Mi pin. Yeah, there's a lot of support for practice.
English
Everything reminds you to practice, and at home. Yeah. Yeah. . At home, nobody is going to help us to practice. Everybody is just going to, you know, disrupt the practice. . All kind of. And, um. Pull us off that ladder.
English
So we, we really need to be strong. Find the strength within ourselves to maintain our own path
English
and practice.
English
Yeah, that's actually was my follow-up question. Which is, like, which is, which is, which one is more beneficial? Is it, like, practicing in, in, in solitude alone, or. hao. In, in, in, like, with other people? Like on this retreat, for example. hao .
English
It's not fixed. Depends on your circumstance.
English
What's helpful for you at that time? Maybe in the beginning it's helpful to have, um, other people around practicing as reminders to practice and give us motivation to keep at it. Um, and if we feel quite confident in our own motivation to practice, then maybe we don't need. hồi ? We don't need that external motivation, and we find it much easier even if we do it on our own.
English
pi. , pi. . Group sitting pi. Group meditation . Yeah, he encourages us. pi. Yogis, for example, when they go home, to have reminders of practice. Like to get together with other yogis that they know, to have group sittings every week or something. Just so, you know, you have a reminder every week to keep trying.
English
Yeah.
English
And, you know, you have company, people who are trying. My last question is, um, silence in general, at least personally, it anchors, uh, sadness. Sadness? To me. Yes, yes, yes. For some reason. If it's associated with sadness for you. Yeah, yeah, especially like when I'm surrounded by people and everything is silent. Silence, yeah.
English
And it's, it's a bit sad. That's what, what it reminds me of. Yeah. Makes me tense. And in a. a different view of silence, Seada
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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.…