26 March 2014

Sacca Dhamma Teaching At Wat Ananda Metyarama Thai Buddhist Temple, Singapore (13th March 2014)


Sacca Dhamma and Middle Way
Teaching of ThaBarWa Sayadaw U Ottamasara
at Wat Ananda Metyarama 
Thai Buddhist Temple, Singapore
13th March 2014 (pm)


We should try to let go of our physical, verbal and mental actions. All these actions are to do-only, not neither to be rejected nor to be attached.

As human beings, some have strong attachment for physical actions. Some people love speaking and some like thinking. In order to be doing-only we should try to abandon our own actions. Abandoning actions is ... 'not doing anything' ... neither attaching nor rejecting. If we are lazy we don’t want to meditate, this is because of attachment for the practice of meditation. If we are not mindful we are rejecting the right action.

If we have intelligence to understand the practice of meditation we must be able to follow the Middle Way. If we are not interested in the teaching of the Buddha, we are wasting our valuable time. The life of Buddha and his teachings are very precious.  We should value Buddha and his teachings.

The practice of mindfulness on our mind and body is necessary. Meditators should pay attention to Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha. We should keep Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha in our mind.

If we can keep Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha (Triple Gems) in our mind, we will become Noble Persons. Thinking about money, food, medicine and family are our normal works.  Most of the beings (human beings) are thinking about themselves, food and shelter.  This is the reason why most of the living beings cannot keep this Triple Gems in their mind.


With this right understanding, let go off everything from the mind. Many food and medicine are not essential for the meditator (yogi). If we meditate, we do not need food for the whole week. The practice of mindfulness with detachment, or the Middle Way is complete by itself.

Eating, sleeping, speaking, thinking with attachment is not the right way. Most of us are following this traditional way. This is why we never feel satisfied with ourselves and with our actions.

Our attachment is demanding eating after eating, sleeping after sleeping, thinking after thinking, working after working. We should meditate with this right understanding. We must use the right understanding to meditate. If we are following the right way, our own right understanding will arise.

We should close our eyes gently. Whenever we use our eyes, it should be gentle. Using with grasping as 'my' or 'yours' is our habitual mistake. Be gentle in using the mind and the body. Using with grasping or using with the idea of someone or something is wrong. The truth is ever new impermanent nature, no something, no someone, no 'I' no 'you', not 'mine' not 'yours'.

Relax the mind and the body. The action of relaxing is to do-only without attachment. In order to be doing-only, we must let go of all the tensions and then we must abandon the centering of this action. 


The action of relaxing and mindfulness are important. In order not to attach to this action, try to abandon paying attention to this action. It is necessary to be mindful of whatever appears in our mind and body.

Keep the breath in mind. Begin the practice of mindfulness with your natural breath. Breathing is to be using-only. In order to be using-only, we must be mindful on the present breath and try to stop paying attention to it. Be mindful all the time and stop paying attention to ourselves and to our actions.

We must keep on and on doing good actions. No need to pay attention to what we are doing and to what happens to us. The practice of mindfulness is right action. Mindfulness need to be going on and on. Stopping the practice of mindfulness is wrong. Thinking about the practice of mindfulness is also wrong.

Learning or practicing Dhamma is right action. In order not to reject, we must keep on mindfulness. In order not to attach, stop paying attention to our present action of mindfulness and our experience. The action of mindfulness must be free from the idea of something or someone.

Seeing from the ground or seeing from the sky might be different. All our views or knowing are based on one place, one time and on one person. The view of someone or something is incomplete. In order to understand the original impermanent nature and permanent nature, we must be able to detach from the idea of someone or something. 


I am guiding how to follow the Middle Way. The Middle Way is free from rejecting or attaching. It might be difficult to follow the Middle Way. Knowing about the Middle Way is a great chance. We should not miss this chance. Most of the people have no chance even to understand the Middle Way. We all have a chance to know the Middle Way.  That is why we must follow it.

We should invest (dedicate) our intelligence, our ability and our life to follow the Middle Way. Thinking about Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha (Triple Gems) is very difficult for most of the people. Most of the people are busy with normal works and normal people.  Because of the strong attachment to the modern age, modern people and modern works, they do not pay attention to Buddha and his teaching.

We should not reject the modern world so also we should not reject Buddha and his teaching. Although we cannot escape from the modern age we should try to detach from it. Using with attachment is wrong. Doing with attachment, experiencing with attachment is wrong. All the causes and effects are to do-only, to use-only, to know-only and to experience-only, without attachment.

We should keep our mind clean and pure all the time. We might be old, be sick, and die. No one can escape from that process. But we can be free from the idea of: 'I am young, I am old, I am sick, and I will die'.  All the good and bad effects are to experience-only, not to grasp as something which we own.

The truth is ever new impermanent nature. Not something, not someone.  The ability to know, to remember, to feel, to make actions is not made by someone or something; these are abilities of the ever new impermanent nature. No one is listening, no one is teaching, only the ability or power of ever new impermanent nature is happening. Try to stop the habit of thinking about someone or something. This is the practice of detachment.




End of the teaching.