SAYADAW U TEJANIYA’S DAILY LIFE MEDITATION STYLE

“You can become enlightened in daily life.” — Sayadaw U Tejaniya

In the West, meditation is largely known as sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, in a quiet space at home or work, out in nature, or perhaps in a meditation hall.

Sayadaw U Tejaniya, a Burmese Buddhist monk and meditation teacher, takes a starkly different approach:

“Forget the idea that meditation happens only on a cushion or in the meditation hall,” he says. “Meditation is so important we need to do it all the time, from the moment we wake up until the moment we fall asleep.

“If you continue to practice daily, all day long—always with the commitment to try to bring awareness to every part of your life—it will happen.

“You can become enlightened in daily life.”

This collection of Sayadaw’s teachings are drawn from across his teachings, but especially from his guide to daily life meditation, Relax and Be Aware: Mindfulness Meditations for Clarity, Confidence, and Wisdom.

The sayings are ordered as Sayadaw teaches them, beginning with foundational principles and building towards a deep look into the roots of the mind, where suffering starts but also—with “relaxed but persistent effort”—it also can stop.

Click on the links to see each powerful pointer to ease and freedom in daily life.

Week 1: START WITH AWARENESS Always start with awareness A meditator’s job is to remember to be aware Wisdom is what this practice is about Rely on wisdom it will stand by you What the mind is aware of isn’t important Forget the idea meditation happens only on a cushion There is a progression in the growth of awareness

THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF DAILY LIFE MEDITATION It’s important to always meditate with four foundational understandings firmly in mind—right attitude, right effort, right interest, and right view. Click on the links below to see each week’s Daily Tejaniya messages on these understandings, and how to practice them.

Week 2: RIGHT ATTITUDE Check your attitude all the time Do not try to have the right attitude Whatever you experience is the right experience Don’t try to create a positive mind state Be natural and simple. Learn from every experience. Wait and watch with awareness and intelligence One meditator’s experience with right attitude

Week 3: RIGHT EFFORT The meditating mind is relaxed You don’t need much effort to be mindful This is all the energy that you need Conserve energy or you’ll run out of steam It’s possible to meditate in every situation While lying down, be sure to practice with right effort Craving, aversion, and delusion torture and torment us

Week 4: RIGHT INTEREST (1) A mind that naturally investigates reality Ask questions about experience in order to learn Asking questions awakens the mind We don’t ask questions to get answers Understanding is more important than experience Take an interest in every comfort or discomfort The mind needs to be directed

Week 5: RIGHT INTEREST (2) Questions give the mind good work Just ask one question at a time Investigate how you react to things Recognize the factors of a positive state When you wake up, ask a question What to do when the mind has no interest When the mind gets an answer, it lets go

WEEK 6: RIGHT VIEW (1) WHAT IS RIGHT VIEW? The mind is nature, not an “I” or a “me” We want to understand the nature of reality Come into intimate contact with life Awareness with right view brings wisdom Meditation is the work of the mind The sense of “me” is a natural process of mind Saying “not me” is sometimes hard to accept

WEEK 7: RIGHT VIEW (2) THE MIND THAT KNOWS VS OBJECTS THAT ARE KNOWN There are two things always involved in practice Don’t identify with any object you observe Right view sees thinking as nature, not “me” Thinking is just nature. Can we stop nature? Watch the mind, not the thoughts Observe the qualities—not the content—of thoughts When the body is hot, the mind can be cool

WEEK 8: RIGHT VIEW (3) THINKING AND FEELING WITH RIGHT VIEW Thoughts arise, that’s all Thinking doesn’t mean you’ve lost samadhi When the mind clearly sees an unskillful thought, it lets go Allow the mind to do its own work Only watch for identification in the mind We identify with thoughts for two reasons Don’t think of feelings as “my” feelings

WEEK 9: RIGHT VIEW (4) RIGHT VIEW OF CRAVING, AVERSION, AND DELUSION The three unwholesome roots are very old, very strong habits Burrowing down to the roots of the mind Likes and dislikes cloud the clarity of the mind Ask yourself: “Why is my mind thinking so much?” Two types of wisdom dispel the defilements We’re not interested in the content of thoughts “When my son was born”

WEEK 10: RIGHT VIEW (5) NOTICING THE INTENTION TO THINK Intention is the energy of the mind The energy of intention is always there Warm-ups to noticing the intention to think Managing pain with right view Pain is nature, neither good nor bad Meeting pain with interest and equanimity If it’s not “my” pain, it doesn’t hurt so much

WEEK 11: RIGHT VIEW (6) MEDITATING WITH YOUR EYES OPEN How to meditate with your eye open, and why When you see, know that “seeing is happening” Notice the difference between seeing and looking Why have we never noticed seeing? Why is being aware of seeing difficult? Being aware of seeing—Sayadaw’s Hawaii trip “They thought I was sleeping on the job!”

WEEK 12: RELAX To be relaxed is of prime importance Relax and be aware When you are relaxed it’s easier to be aware Strike a balance between being relaxed and being interested Interest brings energy to the mind When you want something to happen, you tire yourself out When there’s interest in knowing, effort is already present

WEEK 13: STAY RELAXED How to stay relaxed How to deepen in relaxation Meditation is observing whatever happens, in a relaxed way Trying to relax will make you tense Your responsibility is only this While speaking, stay relaxed and mindful of your intentions While eating, make sure the mind is relaxed

WEEK 14: BE SIMPLE AND JUST KNOW Be simple and just know Let experiences come as they may Even without close attention, we can know what’s going on Know this: awareness knows, objects are known Observing need right view and right effort If you’re striving for awareness, let it go if you can Always appreciate that experience can be known

WEEK 15: ALWAYS MEDITATE Always meditate As much as you can muster, be aware When you sit, know that you are sitting Know each thing that you are doing, when you are doing it Our aim is to know, to be aware, to awaken Awareness weakens the darkness of delusion Take the dhamma seriously. Practice with dedication.

WEEK 16: CHECK YOUR ATTITUDE Accept, observe, and learn from every experience Whatever you are experiencing is the right experience With the right attitude you learn from every experience Right attitude has no preferences Is the mind observing with wholesome qualities? Unskillful mental qualities are uprooted in two ways Meditation includes purposeful inner investigation

WEEK 17: LET WHAT HAPPENS HAPPEN Let what happens happen Any tension indicates craving, aversion, or delusion Keep an eye on the three unwholesome roots Just be natural and simple. Learn from every experience. Notice when the mind is free of liking and disliking Don’t try to have the right attitude Meditation is the work of the mind

WEEK 18: KNOW THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE Turn your attention to awareness Don’t try hard to look for awareness Learn to observe the watching mind The objective is to know the whole experience (1) There is a natural progression in the growth of awareness Notice awareness more than the breath It is essential to allow the mind to expand

WEEK 19: KEEP AWARENESS CONTINUOUS The mind can’t be known by our physical senses Going from flower to flower for pleasant scents Observe the mind by observing what it does Stay with awareness all the time Don’t get involved in objects—stop now! Awareness is like a good satellite dish Know the knower not the known

WEEK 20: SAYADAW’S TEACHING IN SEVEN MESSAGES The origin of all the world’s problems This is reality What is our understanding of life? Wisdom is what this practice is about Awareness knows, wisdom knows what to do You just need to develop continuous awareness. That’s all. This will help you do well in life

WEEK 21: DON’T IDENTIFY WITH ANYTHING AS “I,” “ME,” OR “MINE” It’s only important to recognize one thing Don’t identify with anything as “I,” “me,” or “mine” Is Chinese anger different from Indian anger? The unwholesome roots wither as identification fades Become aware that “thinking is happening” With awareness, many things in life cease to be a problem Maintain an “on retreat” perspective at home

WEEK 22: JUST LIGHT AWARENESS Just light awareness Just be aware and know what you are aware of It feels like you are living in awareness Awareness has a birds-eye view We cannot focus on awareness When mindfulness gains momentum, there is no more personal effort When I was helpless, ‘just light awareness’ worked

WEEK 23: DON’T STRUGGLE WITH YOUR THOUGHTS Don’t struggle with your thoughts Don’t try to stop your thoughts Reside in awareness and see what comes along Value awareness above all If the mind is aware of thinking, some stability is there Watch the feeling, not the thought that’s causing the feeling Don’t go too far into any thought or story

WEEK 24: NOTICE THE AWARENESS MORE THAN THE BREATH Do everything with awareness Notice the awareness more than the breath Let the dhamma do its job Is there a “place” of awareness? When you are thinking, go back to the awareness You Will Naturally Become Aware of Many Things at Once Practice Like This to Keep the Mind Fresh

WEEK 25: “NOT ME, NOT MINE” IS RIGHT VIEW OF EVERYTHING “Not me, not mine” is right view of everything Whatever you experience, understand it with right view Right view needs to be present even before awareness Right view can’t be achieved by the ego, the sense of ‘me’ The mind is nature, not an ‘I’ or ‘me’ The process of mind and matter is not ‘me’

WEEK 26: THE KOANS OF SAYADAW U TEJANIYA Don’t try to calm the mind Don’t ask questions to get answers Be careful acquiring knowledge Never try hard to see anything Don’t try to maintain equanimity The mind is not yours, but you are responsible for it Examine your cravings and aversions

WEEK 27: THE HEART OF SAYADAW’S DHAMMA Train yourself to continuously look inward First we must ask, “What is our understanding of life?” All the problems of the world originate from this trio When you see every moment is new, that’s reality Everything you need is surrounding you this moment Keep the mind positive every moment This moment is your reality

WEEK 28: THE POWER AND JOY OF DHAMMA VICAYA The mind is naturally interested in itself Asking questions awakens awareness Investigate your experience in order to learn Once you understand this process you will feel joy Always ask questions about the mind! If you leave the mind undirected, there will be chaos When we are practicing correctly, life is always new

WEEK 29: AWARENESS IS A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW Awareness is a bird’s-eye view Only a bird’s-eye view has full understanding Awareness can expand and receive more, much more easily Wisdom always takes a distant stance Is something lost when ‘wisdom steps back’? If you love with everything, you will really love Shwe Oo Min’s bird’s-eye view of everything

WEEK 30: GREET PAIN SKILLFULLY WITH RIGHT VIEW Greet pain skillfully with right view When there is pain, observe the mind The feeling of ‘pain’ is in the mind When pain isn’t ‘my’ pain, it’s no pain at all The more relaxed the mind, the less intense the pain It’s not important for aches and pains to disappear Sayadaw’s experience with knee pain

WEEK 31: LET GO OF STORIES Let go of stories If craving or aversion arises, it’s not a problem Don’t believe in the stories told by craving and aversion There is hearing, there is knowing, this is nature What differentiates a meditator from a non-meditator? The natural mind is pure Craving, aversion, and delusion are not innate to the mind

WEEK 32: THINGS ONLY HAPPEN WHEN CONDITIONS ARE RIPE Things only happen when conditions are right Don’t try to have insights Insights will be different than you imagine

Note: These daily practice postings will continue until December 31, 2026, when the journey is completed through Sayadaw’s guide to daily life meditation, Relax and Be Aware: Mindfulness Meditations for Clarity, Confidence, and Wisdom.