Guided
Insight Teaching
of
Venerable Ashin Ottamasara
Delivered
at Buddhist Society of Victoria (BSV), Melbourne, Australia
On
15th May 2015
I come from
Myanmar. I am a Buddhist monk. I have been teaching meditation for over
thirteen years as a monk. I make annual dhammaduta trips to Malaysian and
Singapore to conduct Dhamma dialogues and Vipassanā Insight meditation
retreats. I also make annual dhammaduta
trips to Vietnam and conduct Vipassanā Insight meditation
retreats in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city. I have been helping experienced
meditators in Myanmar to develop their practice. Most of my teachings are about
right understanding concerning with meditation and mindfulness and detachment.
My teaching focus on the wisdom. Now we will meditate for about one hour and
then you can ask any questions.
Close the eyes
gently, relax the whole body and mind. Keep the body and head upright. Always
lift up the body weight. Don’t let it be heavy down on the ground. Keep the
head and whole body straight. Don’t let the head bow down. When we are sitting
meditation our body posture is very important. We should try to use our body
and mind as using-only or as it should be. We should not use our life or body
and mind as we like. We are always using our mind and body with the idea of my
life, my body, my mind. We should be careful not to forget the Truth which is
not something, not someone, no “I”, no “you”, no “mine”, not “yours”.
In our daily life,
as a lay person, we are always using the idea of something or someone. Or “I”
or “you”, “mine” or “yours”. We dare not lose using the idea of something or
someone. Or “I” or “you”, “mine” or “yours”. This is because of strong
attachment for these ideas. Try to meditate without the idea of something or
someone. We should not meditate only for oneself. Meditation is for all, for
each one. We should meditate with this right understanding. The Original Truth
is just Ever New Impermanent Nature. Which is not something, not someone, no
“I”, no “you”, no “mine” or “yours”. We should meditate and do everything with
this right understanding.
We should meditate
in all postures, including sitting meditation. Try to meditate as it should be:
doing-only, using-only, experiencing-only, and knowing-only. We should not
meditate as we like; we should not meditate as we understand; we should not
meditate as we are used to. Try to meditate without attachment. Most of us are
used to meditate with attachment on something or someone. Desire to
meditate like this or like that is attachment. Desire to meditate in this place
or hat place is also attachment. Desire to meditate at this time or at that
time is also attachment. We should be able to meditate by using any method at
anytime and anywhere.
My teaching is;
doing-only without attachment. Keep on practicing meditation and also try to
detach from the idea of something or someone. Don’t do it forcefully, let it be
naturally. If we are doing as we like, there will be no harmony within us. And
then there will also be dispute or quarrels between each other.
Lift up our body
weight. Lift up our hands and legs also. Don’t press it down on the ground. The
practice of meditation is mostly concerning the mind. We should be mindful with
detachment; detachment from oneself or ourselves; detachment from each of the present
action. Must detach from all our physical, verbal and mental actions. The Truth
is just cause and effect of Ever New Impermanent Nature. No one is teaching and
no one is learning. There is just the cause of doing good deeds and the effect
of good results is happening.
If we are strongly attached to our daily
activities of a layperson we cannot meditate. We should try to detach from our
daily activities by sitting meditation without moving. The more we are attached
to our habitual job, the more the practice will be difficult. The present
condition of difficulty or easiness is not to be attached; keep on practicing
meditation. Without attachment on anyone, any method, anywhere, any time
and any condition or situation.
The second step is
to be mindful on our normal breath. Focus on our own normal breath. This
practice intends to detach from the six external senses. If we are not mindful
on our breath, the mind will be busy with the external objects. All six senses
or objects are to use-only, not to be attached such as something or as “mine”.
Attachment to the objects or senses can cause the mind to be unstable and
impure. Focus on the breath and try to detach from the senses and objects
outside. This is the practice of concentration. If the mind is unstable, there
will be a lot of desire. Try it by yourself, try hard.
We can focus on
the most evident one; if there is pain just focus on that pain. If the mind is
unstable, just focus on that mind. We don’t grasp to something or someone. Try
to do it naturally. Be careful not to be thinking of something or
someone. Try to be doing-only, without any attachment. We are able to attach to
something or someone, we should be able to detach from something or someone
also. Keep straight the head and body. Lift up the body weight, don’t let it be
heavy down on the ground. Try to be mindful to the most evident thing which is
now happening in our body or mind. Each of the action of mindfulness should be
doing-only without attachment for something or someone.
The first step is
to focus on the natural action of happening. This practice intends to make us
abandon our deliberate actions. If we cannot abandon our intentional action, we
cannot understand the Original Truth which is Ever New Impermanent Nature. It
is necessary to do and to abandon each of our action. By doing many things we
develop our ability. By letting go off these actions, we develop the ability to
abandon. When we have to do something, we have to use the ability to do; when
we use something, we have to use the ability to abandon.
If we dare not use
our belongings there will be problems in the mind when we use our belongings.
If we dare not lose our life, we will be afraid of our death. We should be able
to lose everything and everyone. Ability to lose or abandon everything or
everyone or every action is more important than the ability to do. Let go off
all our habitual actions and try to find out the Original Truth of Ever New
Impermanent Nature. Be mindful on the normal breath. Stop doing in and out
breathing deliberately.
Try to abandon all
our normal action and focus on our natural happening and action. The Truth is
not something, no someone, no “I”, no “your”, not “mine”, not “yours”. Just the
Nature of Ever New Impermanent Nature happening. Lay people can never sit in
meditation if they cannot abandon their habitual actions. Therefore, the
laypeople should meditate in sitting posture. They will have Original Truth
detach from their normal actions.
The mind can never
be stable and clear if it cannot use the object or sense outside. By focusing
within us or on our natural breath, the mind should detach the six senses or
objects the mind can never understand the Original Truth which is Impermanent
Nature if it cannot abandon its actions. In order to understand the action and
happening of Impermanent Nature, the mind should abandon his normal actions.
The last step is
to detach from the past, present and future. The time we use is just Created
Truth. Which has limits… one second, one minute, one hour, one day, one weeck,
one month, one life. Each one has limits. The real time or Original Truth
has no limits. Try to accept the Truth of present moment and then try to detach
from the limited time.
Don’t dwell in the
past, don’t dream of the future. Don’t’ think the present time, present
action and present happening are also real. If we are student we should study
our lessons but we should not attach to ourselves, to our actions and to our
experiences. We should try to be doing-only, using-only, experiencing-only and
knowing-only. With detachment or without attachment. All the Created Truth are
to use-only, no to reject nor to attach.
The Original
Truth, Impermanent Nature is not something, not someone, not one time and not
one place. To understand the Original Truth, we must be able to detach
from each person, each time and each place. The Truth is just Impermanent
Nature. Not one person, not one time, not one thing neither one time and also
not one place.
We can use
anything but we should not attach to these things; we can deal with everyone
but we should not attach to each one. We can use every time, past,
present and future but we should not attach to the time. We can stay anywhere,
we should not be attached to the place. This practice is the solution to the
problems of ignorance and attachment. We all have to suffer because of our
ignorance and attachment. I use this teaching to change from ignorance and
attachment to Right understanding and detachment.
End of the
teaching.