Teaching of
ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara
Question and
Answer and Dhamma Discussion
with Swiss Yogi
at ThaBarWa
Centre (45th Street)
25th April 2013
Dhamma Teaching
Try to know about your mind. We are
always busy with our mind and body but what we know about it, it is something
which we own. We think this body as being our own; mind as our body. That
understanding is wrong. The truth is: to use-only; mind and body is to
use-only. Not something, not someone. We are used to understand mind and body
as something which we own.
Practicing meditation is in order to
know the truth about the mind and body which we are using. In fact the mind and
body is to be used-only; all oral, physical and mental actions are to be
done-only. Whatever happens to the body and mind is to be experienced-only; not
to be thought as being something or someone. It might be hot or it might be
cold, you might be sad or you might be happy, whatever happens to your body and
mind try to experience-only. Don’t think it as being reality; don’t think it as
being something or someone.
We are using the wrong
understanding; the aim of meditation is to be free from the wrong
understanding. In order to be free from the wrong understanding you have to
meditate, to keep precepts and to do good deeds. Doing good deeds is using our
life, our qualities, and our intelligence not only for yourself but for
everyone, for all.
If you are working for yourself it
is not doing good deeds. If you are working for other people, for everyone, you
are doing good deeds. If you are doing
what you want to do, if you are saying what you want to say, if you are staying
where you want to stay it is not doing good deeds. Taking precepts, not to hurt
other people, not to tell lies, not to take others belongings, not to drink
alcohol. Whatever you do, you should pay attention not to break the precepts.
Meditation is especially concerning
our mind. We use our mind for our own desire, not for doing good deeds. Doing
good deeds means try to meditate. You have to relax your mind and body; you have
to close your eyes.
Instead of thinking about something,
just pay attention to your nose. We are always breathing so there is touching
sensation under our nose caused by the breath. You must be mindful to the
present touching sensation under your nose. This practice intends to know about
the truth about our mind. If you are
paying attention to the place, to your family, to your country this is not
doing good deeds. You misunderstand yourself as being someone. You misunderstand
your mind as being your own; that understanding is wrong. If we don’t meditate,
our understanding is naturally wrong.
By relaxing the mind and body, you
must try abandoning grasping to the mind and body. Whenever we use our mind and
body there is grasping, grasping as being our own; grasping as being our mind
and body. In fact our mind and body is just to use-only, not to reject, not to
be attached to but to use-only. Paying attention to our breath is also to know
about the body which we are using. In fact, the truth is: ever new impermanent
nature, not something, not someone.
Because of not knowing the truth of:
ever new impermanent nature, we misunderstand our mind and body as being
something or someone. If we don’t meditate, our mind will be mindful to the
sight, to the sound, to the taste, to the body; our mind will be busy with the
normal life. With meditation we have to be mindful to the body and mind and in
this way we will be able to understand about the truth which is: ever new
impermanent nature.
The aim of meditation is to be
mindful to the inside. If you don’t meditate your mind will be busy with the
outside of the body. When you meditate you have to be mindful to the inside of
the body. In this way you can understand about the mind and body. You think
mind and body as being your own but the truth is: ever new impermanent nature,
not something, not someone. Although we are using our body and mind we don’t
know about the truth of the mind this is why our understanding is wrong. The
truth is: ever new impermanent nature,
always changing. Not something, not someone.
Question and Answer
Question : How
to meditate when sitting meditation?
Sayadaw : You must try to know whatever happens to your
body, to the mind, naturally. The body is always changing; the mind is also
always changing. What you must do is to know the present happening all the
time. Know the present situation simply, without the idea of “I” or “you”,
someone or something. Don’t think about yourself or other people don’t think about
time and place. Just try to meditate-only. If you are happy try to know your happy
mind simply, without the idea of someone or ‘I’.
You must not reject whatever happens
to the mind and body and also you must not attach to whatever happens to your
mind or body. Mind and body is not much different one from another. What you
must do is to know the present happening, be mindful to the present situation
of the mind and body. When doing so you must be careful not to attach or to
reject the present situation.
Try to be free from rejecting the
present situation.
You might feel well or you might
feel sick, whatever happens you must be mindful to the present situation. Must
not be happy or be sad. In this way, you will understand the mind is not your
mind; mind is just mind; to use-only, not neither to reject nor to attach, not
something, not someone. In order to know about the truth about the mind you
have to meditate.
The idea of something or everything,
someone or everyone, this is the problem. The truth is no something, not
someone but to use-only, to do-only, to know-only and to experience-only.
Because of attachment we have to
take care of ourselves, in fact the truth is: no self, non-self. You think there is self, there is someone.
The truth is: no self. Because of attachment you see something, your see
someone, you see the tree and the sky. Because there is attachment.
Whatever we do, we do it with
attachment, attachment for living beings and non-living beings. This is why;
whatever we see is something because of attachment for something. Because of
attachment for the place you know “this is a country”. This knowing is coming
from the attachment for the place; attachment to belongings: “this is my
luggage”, ‘”this is my friend”, this is because of attachment.
Whatever we do there is attachment
this is why we cannot know the truth which is: ever new impermanent nature. If
there is no attachment you can see the truth of ever new impermanent nature
clearly. When we see, we see something or someone, because of attachment we
cannot see clearly the truth of impermanent nature; because of attachment for
something or someone; attachment for living beings and non-living beings.
Whatever we see, it is living beings
and non-living beings because of attachment to it. If there is no attachment
for it, seeing would be seeing-only, earing would be earing-only, doing would
be doing-only. Because of attachment to male and female you see “this is a
male”, “this is a female”.
If there is no attachment you can
see the impermanent nature. The truth is:
ever new impermanent nature. Not the body, not the mind. Ever new
impermanent nature. When you will know that truth there will be no attachment.
If there is attachment, there is non-enlightenment. If there is detachment
there is enlightenment.
The aim of meditation is to be
enlightened. To know the truth: ever new impermanent nature and permanent
nature. All is created truth: mind and body, life, living beings and non-living
beings, all is just created truth. No created truth is permanent. The original
truth is ever new impermanent nature and permanent nature, which is permanent.
Question : Did
you say the aim of meditation is end of attachment?
Sayadaw : The aim of meditation is to be free from
attachment. Attachment is always in our mind. Attachment to living beings and
non-living beings, attachment for the life. It is because you think it is
real.
End of the interview.
