SAYADAW U TEJANIYA’S DAILY LIFE MEDITATION STYLE

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, Sayadaw says, to always meditate with four essential understandings firmly in mind—right attitude, right effort, right interest, and right view. Click on the links 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 let’s 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

WEED 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: GUIDED MEDITATION #1—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: GUIDED MEDITATION #2—HOW TO 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 while mindful of your intentions