23 November 2015

Habitual Created Lifestyle and Kamma Actions

Habitual Created Lifestyle 
and Kamma Actions


QUESTION  :  Based to the situation in USA, where we are living now, if we do not have money and anything to eat, nobody will even be bothered to provide us with food or help us solve our financial woes.  Yes I would like to invest my time in practicing meditation but if I do not do anything for living and if I do not have any income, nobody will feed me or help me financially.  Following this method can especially be challenging in USA.  How best can we handle this scenario?  Please kindly teach me ...

Sayadaw  :  These worries and perceptions are also the created actions of your mind which can be abandoned. You surely can stop your mind from doing those actions.  Your mind grasps firmly on those created actions just because you place your mind into that created actions and instruct your mind to do those created actions non-stop.

As long as the leader, your mind, is doing created actions, the followers will also be doing the created actions of earning money, depending on yourself, etc.

Once you change the actions of the leader and start doing the 'abandoning' actions in your mind and start making use of the mind power of 'abandoning', you will no longer need to grasp on to your perception such as to depend on yourself, to work endlessly, to earn money, to support yourself and your family, to worry for your financial situation, etc. 

The mind power of 'abandoning' is complete and exhaustive.

You are worried over unnecessary created issues just because you do not have the power of 'abandoning' in your mind.

So long as you are using your created mind power, 'doing', you will never be able to do limitless good deeds and you will never be able to experience the contentment and happiness in life. 

Due to your hard work and created power of 'doing', you might achieve positive achievements but they are not complete and original. 

The achievements born out of the mind power of 'abandoning' is more complete and exhaustive.  Complete and exhaustive means you will no longer need to worry over those created problems of life such as who will feed me, where to live, how to support my family financially, etc.  Those created problems will automatically be solved.


As I always say ... though it seems difficult, you still need to put in your best effort to do 'abandoning' in your mind,.  As long as you can do 'abandoning' in your mind, amazingly, you will gradually achieve positive outcomes and experience them in one way or another.

No matter where you live, be it in Myanmar or elsewhere in the world, if you do not just look at the people from their external physical appearance and skin colour but try to look into their mind, all the people in the world are the same in terms of mindset, worries, anxiety, etc. 

For this reason, if we can practice the mind action of 'abandoning' in Myanmar, you can surely be able to practice in USA or elsewhere in the world.  What I mean is that, although you are not living in Myanmar, it will not be so difficult for you to change your mindset and start practicing 'abandoning' even while you are living in USA.

Since you are living in USA, naturally, you might tend to adopt and copy the mindset of the people living in USA.  If you manage to 'abandon' your copied (adopted) mindset successfully, you might also be able to help others who are facing the same problems and difficulties as you.  Once you successfully 'abandon' your copied mindset, you will no longer need to experience those country specific created problems and issues anymore.

During the initial phase, we definitely need to have the pioneer who has keen interests and enthusiasm in learning and practicing this method.  We need to start from somewhere and someone so that later on, practicing this method will no longer be perceived as difficult and unachievable task.

Your current lifestyle and perception of life is not perfect and complete.  That is why you always feel the exhaustion and burnt out due to non-stop working.  Every single member of your family is also feeling the physical exhaustion and mental stress due to various created problems.

If this habitual created life style is complete and working fine for everyone, there is no urgency for us to look for any alternatives.  You have everything which life can offer does not necessarily mean that you are blessed with full and happy life.  Hence, you need to try your best to change your life direction, ambition and lifestyle instead of simply resign to fate and accept the current situation.

If there is no better choice and alternative, you can simply resign to your fate without doing anything. 

In contrast, you are now given much better choice and alternative to change your mindset and lifestyle completely.   


Instead of depending only on yourself and thinking for yourself, you should also try to help others to solve their problems and overcome their difficulties.  You need to do good deeds by helping others.  In return, others will also do their good deeds by helping you as well as helping others too.  My logic is that ... you help him so that he will also help you in return or vice-versa.  As a result, both of you will feel the completeness.

I am trying to establish more complete social environment here at Thabarwa Centre by using this logic.  This method is workable and also be able to withstand the test of time.

In contrast, the theories of the world (loka) is based only on the created logic such as you can enjoy decent living only when you can earn decent income to maintain your lifestyle, you can feed your mouth only when you have money to buy food, you can have steady income only when you have permanent employment, etc. This kind of created logic and lifestyle produce many side effects. 

In reality, my view and philosophy of life is useful and even more suitable for present days. 

By working up to your maximum capacity, your living standard and quality of life will definitely be improved and you will definitely become financially sound but you are still unable to solve the problems and issues of your mind.

If every human being has only external physical body to deal with, this way of lifestyle might not impose any problems and side effects.  But we also need to take care of our mind.  It is also necessary for our mind to be health and free from any problems and side effects.

As long as you can change your mindset, you can change everything.  By nature, human beings do not know how to handle issues of their mind well.  This is the reason why they only try to change physical things such as, their outside appearance, environment and the world as well as changing job, car, house, country, etc.

In Vipassana Insight teachings, we place mind as prime importance.  As long as you change your mind, others will automatically follow.  The most important requirement as per Vipassana Insight teachings is 'to practice and attain right habit of mind'.


Talking about USA, you have all kinds of things provided for material comfort but lacking in proper handling of the affairs of the mind.  If you can manage to fill up your own gap, you will also be able to fill up the gap of others.   This can be the most fulfilling actions of your life and also the most essential deeds for all mankind.

Doing actions by using the power of kamma actions is not complete. Learn to use the power of 'abandoning' which has the power to abandon all kamma actions.  

Using the power of kamma actions such as likes and dislikes, can do this and that, like this and that, think this and that, say this and that, invent this and that, etc has so many side effects.  This is the reason why you need use your mind power of 'abandoning' while you are doing created actions such as talking, thinking, working, earning money, etc.

Due to the reason that all created actions are related to kamma actions, if you want to change the direction of your life, you need to oppose all the created powers which are related to kamma actions.

As long as you have ability in using the right power, it is immaterial whether you are doing which created kamma actions, such as thinking, working, talking, and as long as your actions become 'doing-only', If you reach to that level, I can safely say that you possess the necessary power to do all your actions correctly. This is the real and ultimate original truth. 

Created truth which I am talking about includes being healthy is good but being unhealthy is bad, being rich is good but being poor is bad, being famous is good but being unknown is bad, etc.
                                                                                              
Though both are truths, the power and strength is totally opposite.

Naturally, human beings tend to depend on the created truths.  My philosophy and teaching method is based solely on the ultimate truth or original truth. 


You might ask 'why do we need to know and understand original truth?'  Just because all the created truths are not complete and do not produce conclusive results.

Since created actions are incomplete and non-conclusive, you still need to learn Vipassana and practice insight meditation.  As doing this action is complete and produce conclusive results, you will no longer need to do created actions anymore.  You can live without doing any created actions.


Even when it is necessary for you to do created actions, you will merely be doing them for the benefit of others.  You might not even need to know created knowledge and learn created education since they are not complete and exhaustive.