Part Three : QA and Dhamma Discussion (USA)

Question and Answer and Dhamma Discussion 

with Overseas Disciple from USA 
(Part III)

You need to abandon your habitual understandings.  Started from the leader, your 'mind', you need to learn to abandon all the actions of 'doing'.  If not, your mind will always be busy with 'doing this and that', 'saying this and that', 'contemplating this and that', 'concentrating this and that', 'doing this and that good deeds', 'taking this and that precepts', etc.

If your mind only understand the action of 'doing', your power of 'doing' will be increased.  Your ability in doing kamma actions will also be increased.  But they are not the genuine mind power of 'abandoning'.

Your power of true 'abandoning' will be increased only when you have the right understanding and faith in 'abandoning'.  Hence, you need to start changing the actions of the leader, your 'mind'.

You will always be remained as ordinary yogi (meditator) as long as you practice meditation with the understanding of 'doing' and 'practicing'. You will also be contemplating on and practicing meditation like other traditional yogis.

If you observe 'sila' with conventional understanding in mind, you will only become one of those who take Uposatha (precepts) in conventional ways.

If you do good deeds with conventional understanding in mind, you will only become one of those who do good deeds in conventional ways but will not know how to do good deeds to achieve perfection (parami).

Starting from the leader, your 'mind', you need to learn to do the right actions such as using living and non-living beings for abandoning purpose. 

Change must be started from the leader, your 'mind'. Only then, you will learn to use physical (kamma) and oral (vaci) actions for abandoning purpose ... do actions with the power of abandoning in mind, say things with the power of abandoning in mind, etc.

Started from the leader, your 'mind', you must try to abandon all your physical actions.  By doing so, you will gradually be able to 'abandon' all the created actions such as worries, anticipations, suspicions, 'I', me, place, possessions, life, death, health, well beings as well as placing central emphasis on those created actions in your mind.

Placing central emphasis on life and death in your mind can be called as 'placing life and death as prime importance'. 

Use your state of health and sickness ….. Do not end your path over the state of health and sickness.

Placing central emphasis on health in your mind can also be called 'placing health as prime importance'.

In order to abandon those actions of your mind, you need to do 'abandoning' at all times ... be it whether you are healthy or sick.  Even while listening to dhamma teachings or while practicing meditation or etc, you still need to remember and contemplate on 'abandoning' in your mind.

You need to listen to dhamma teachings and practice meditation with the understanding of 'abandoning' in your mind.

The essence of this teaching is to change the duties and actions of the mind because mind creates everything. 

Becoming this and that is also the created action of your mind. 

Feeling healthy or sick is also created by your mind. By nature, your physical body will either be healthy or sick.  Mind will automatically interpret this nature as feeling healthy or sick.  Hence, those feelings are purely the creations of your mind.

If your mind is associated with pleasant feelings, you will feel pleasant.  If your mind is associated with unpleasant feelings, you will feel unpleasant. 

Unpleasant feeling is created by your mind.  Pleasant feeling is also created by your mind.

Good or poor concentration is also created by your mind.

The real duty is to stop doing all those created actions of the mind and perform the single most important action of 'abandoning' all the time.

When the actions of the leader, your 'mind', is changed, all the actions of the followers will automatically be changed.

If the actions of the leader is not changed, the actions of the followers will never be changed.

Since the leader is your 'mind', the leader must do the action of 'abandoning' continuously at all times.  Only then, the actions of the followers, physical and oral actions, will be changed.

If you know how to do the actions of 'abandoning', you will discover that doing 'abandoning' in your mind is not as difficult as you think.  You will always perceive 'abandoning' as difficult if you do not even try it out.

Use your mind sense ….. Do not end your path by wavering over tranquillity of mind and disturbance.

We habitually do all kinds of actions for 'doing' purpose.  This is the proof that our habitual understanding is not perfect and complete. We only possess the power of 'doing' but do not possess the power of 'abandoning' in our mind.

You have to train your mind to do 'abandoning' continuously, including abandoning the concept of using living and non-living beings for grasping purpose.  If you keep on training your mind to do 'abandoning' continuously, you will eventually understand 'the truth of abandoning'.

The truth of doing is 'created truth'. Concentrate this and that, contemplate on this and that, go here and there, say this and that, do perceived good things, avoid doing perceived bad things, I, you, my belongings, your belongings, all are called created actions and hence they have the power of created truth.

Carrying out actions with 'I' in your mind has the power of normal human being.

Doing actions with 'educated person' in mind can be considered as merely using the created power of the majority of educated persons.

From using limited power of created truth 'doing', you should switch to using unlimited power of original truth 'abandoning'.

By being associated with original truth, your mind will gradually be able to use unlimited power of original truth and gradually be able to abandon using limited power of created truth.

Being associated with original truth is like consuming multi-vitamins.  If you consume not so powerful multi-vitamins, you will only feel slight improvement in your body. If you consume powerful multi-vitamins, you will surely be benefitted fully by consuming them.

If you associate your mind with limited created power, your mind will receive limited created power.  If you associate your mind with unlimited original power, you mind will definitely be benefitted fully from unlimited original power.

Habitually, we do physical actions, oral actions and mental actions by using limited created power.

The purpose of my teaching is to guide you to switch the power ... to guide you to use unlimited original power of your mind when you do actions, to use unlimited original power when you talk, etc.

Use your knowledge. Do not end your path by wavering over understanding and not understanding.

By nature, all the minds are the same ... be it mine, yours, human beings, animals ... the basic concept of the mind is the same.

All the physical bodies are the same, made up of bone, blood, veins, muscles ... be it young, old, man, woman ... the basic structure is the same.

Though people are using different languages, e.g. Myanmar language, English language, etc, the basic intention of using language is the same ... to communicate.

The essence here is to change our way of doing actions and to change the power of using mind, life, money, etc.

As a beginner, you have to put in your best effort to get use to this method thought it is difficult.  You find this way as difficult just because you are unable to abandon your habitual way of doing actions in your mind.

Mind always keep habitual and usual way of doing actions ... every mind has it ... worries, suspicions, doubts, anticipations, doing deemed right or wrong things ... as long as you cannot abandon those habitual created actions of your mind, you will never be able to do 'abandoning' successfully.

If you keep on doing 'abandoning' in your mind continuously, you will gradually be able to stop doing habitual and created actions of your mind.

As long as you manage to abandon your habit of doing routine actions of your mind, you will gradually be able to do 'abandoning' in mind more successfully and perfectly.

You might feel uncertain and unsure during initial phase.  You might also experience mental stress.  If you cannot overcome those initial difficulties, you might never be able to experience the change.

You should strive to practice till there is no more need to practice and you become absolutely free from desire.

As for me, I have always been solving countless of same problems and issues of yogis (meditators) on regular basis over the years, like teachers and educators who are always handling the issues of illiteracy.  The more you have encountered the same problems over and over again, the better your power of solving those problems and issues.

Since I have always been solving countless of similar problems and issues of yogis and disciples over the years, I become expert in this field of solving the problems and issues of 'mind'.

Whichever field you choose to be in, if you keep on training continuously and diligently, you will gradually become champion in that field.

Like sportsman ... if he keeps on training on the sports which he is interested in, he will gradually become champion in that sports.

As for me, I have always been practicing as well as helping and teaching yogis and disciples to understand and comprehend with real sila, samadhi, panna and bhavana in a right way, I become expert in this field.  As such, I can help, guide and coach more effectively now.

Moreover, I am leading my yogis and disciples by example, by doing limitless good deeds continuously and diligently for many years.  I am also leading and guiding those who are interested in and those who wish to practice true dana, sila and bhavana. 

Since I am in this doing good deeds or merit making circle and personally involve in handling these issues for many years, I now can solve these issues more effectively than others.

Traditionally people can do any kinds of dana (good deeds or donations) at any time and place, observe sila at any time and place by taking precepts, practice meditation at any time and place by following the methods and instructions from the manuals ... all are not difficult actions.  You can do those actions either at home or on your own or you can simply go to any of the meditation centres to do it.  Not that difficult.

To be continued