THE DAILY TEJANIYA — 2025
When You See Every Moment is New, That’s Reality. When you see every
moment is new, every mo-
ment is fresh, every moment
is changing, every moment
is arising—that's reality.
The Source of All the Problems in the World All the problems in the world
originate from the trio of craving,
aversion, and delusion. Keep an eye
on them. Watching the bad qualities
is the most important because when
you can keep them at bay, the good
qualities automatically come in.
Reading and Discussion Are a Part of Meditation Reading about medita-
tion, discussing meditation,
and reflecting on how to prac-
tice are all mind work, are
all part of meditation.
Think of Your Home as a Retreat Center (1 of 4) Think of your home as
a retreat center. When you
think of your home in this way,
your practice becomes smooth-
er. Keep checking your attitudes
and views, your thinking and
your background ideas.
In Daily Life Practice, the Benefits Become Real (2 of 4) When we meditate at home
and in daily life, the challenges
and benefits of practice become
much more real than when we are
on a meditation retreat. It takes
a real practice to deal with real
situations, and real unwhole-
some reactions.
Craving and Aversion are Stronger at Home (3 of 4) Craving and aversion are stronger
at home than away from home. Why is
is that? Because it's my home, my
favorite chair, my room, etc.
We’re More Careful with Strangers than People at Home (4 of 4) We are usually more careful and
aware with strangers, and with people
we meet infrequently, than we are with
our own family members, whom we see
all the time. We take them for granted,
and we don't pay attention to them,
even though it's the most important
thing we can do at home.
Not Wanting Suffering Creates the Most Suffering The worst thing that you
could possibly do is to think:
"How can I get rid of this?" Be-
cause the desire to not have any-
thing bad happen at all, is exactly
what causes the worst fears to a-
rise. The mind that doesn't want
any sorrow or suffering cre-
ates the most anxiety.
Learn to Be Interested in Difficult Situations Learn to be interested in
difficult situations. By being
present with them in a gentle
manner, you may suddenly un-
derstand what caused them.
Don’t Fight With Craving, Learn from It Don't fight with craving. Don't
say, "I shouldn't have craving." In-
stead, focus on your awareness of the
craving. You could say something like:
“Never mind if I still have craving, at
least I see it now. I might not be able
to handle it completely yet, but I can
learn something from it."
There is Never a Good Reason to be Angry There is never a good reason
to be angry. If a person says some-
thing that makes you angry, that's
their business. Instead of attaching
to words that arouse your anger,
get interested in your reactivity
instead. Study and learn.
Awareness Sees More Details When It Becomes Continuous Awareness become sharper
as you develop the habit of con-
tinuous awareness. It seems to ex-
pand and receive a lot more, much
more easily. You naturally become
conscious of many things at once.*
Everything seems to slow down
and you have time to watch it
all, and see in more detail.
* E.g., sensations of the body, thoughts of the mind,
and perceptions of the world, and the cause-
and-effect relations between all of these.
Whenever You Think You’re in Control, Think Again Whenever you think
you're in control of a situ-
ation, then craving, aver-
sion and delusion are ac-
tually in control.
Step Back and Let the Mind Do Its Work When I say, "Do the work,"
what I really mean is to step back
and allow the mind to do its work,
which is to meditate. When we bring
in awareness, we create space for
the mind to do this work.
Delusion Hides Reality and Gives a Substitute for It Delusion not only keeps
reality from us, but also gives
us a substitute for it. People can
live a whole lifetime in this way.
You can feel very fortunate that you
have this opportunity to practice
Dhamma, investigating what
is real and what is not.
You Observe Reality Because You Want to Understand There is no need to make
objects* disappear, and it is irre-
levant whether they disappear or
not. You are observing because you
want to know and understand
the nature of all phenomena.
* E.g., sensations of the body, thoughts of the
mind, and perceptions of the world.
If the Mind is Dull, Ask it One Short Question If you are struggling and the mind is
feeling dull, a way to investigate is to drop
one word, or a short simple question, into
the mind, such as "What is this?"* Hold
no expectations of an answer, all the
while maintaining awareness.
* Another reminder from Sayadaw might help:
"Usually, when we ask, 'What is this?' we think
of concepts. In practice, when we ask, 'What
is this?,' we want to pick up nature.
Quiet or Noisy, Which is Better? When it is quiet or when it
is noisy, which is better? When
the mind judges, or has a prefer-
ence for something to be better, it
will automatically react if the op-
posite happens. Right view is not
to have a preference. Sound is
just sound. It's nature.
You Don’t Need to Know Every Detail of Your Experience You do not need to know every
detail of your experience. Just be aware
and know what you are aware of.
How to Be Ready for Pain When it Comes Acknowledge pain as a nat-
ural phenomenon, as nature. If
you can observe and learn about
feelings, thoughts, and body sensa-
tions—and how they are related—
you will be ready for pain when
it does come. And it will.
Put All Your Energy Into Awareness Awareness is where to
put your energy. Put all your
energy into awareness. Aware-
ness, awareness, awareness.
By Practicing This Way the Mind Stays Fresh When you are truly aware
you aren't focusing, yet you are
aware of objects.* By practicing in
this way, the mind stays fresh.
* E.g., thoughts of the mind, sensations
of the body, and perceptions (sights,
sounds, etc.) of the world.
What is Important is What’s Happening Right Now What is important is happening right now—that is all.
Nothing in the World Can Disturb You As a yogi, no object or exper-
ience ever hinders the practice.
Nothing disturbs your concentra-
tion or awareness. All experience is
supportive because it's something
you can be aware of, and therefore
can help you to develop stabil-
ity of mind and wisdom.
We Forget What is Wholesome and Right Sati* means to remember,
to recognize, not to forget. What
do we forget? We forget what
is wholesome and right.
* The Pali word "sati" is commonly trans-
lated as "mindfulness," while in this message,
Sayadaw explains its etymological roots.
If Craving Gets a Toe in the Door, Beware! If craving, aversion or delusion
get so much as a toe in the door,
they can leave you penniless. So,
please, take care of what wisdom
you have, and nurture it!
When Awareness is Present, Wisdom Comes Along The nature of the
mind is that when aware-
ness is present, then under-
standing whether something
is suitable or not, or bene-
ficial or not, comes along.
We Must Become Intimate With This Life We must look at life
as it is, become intimate
with this life, and come
to understand life.
Imagine Going All the Way Either there is momentum
on the wisdom side, or the momen-
tum will be with craving, aversion and
delusion. If you let go of wisdom's mo-
mentum, even for a bit, it takes a lot to
begin again. That's why you can't let
it stop. Imagine going all the way.
What is Our Relationship to Reality? (1 of 2) First, we must ask our-
selves: What is our relation-
ship to reality? What is our
understanding of life?
Meditation is the Only Sensible Approach to Life (2 of 2) Meditation is really the only
sensible approach to our reality
and the problems that arise from
living. We can use it as an escape,
or as an avoidance of life, or we
can use it as a practice to at-
tend carefully to life.
If You Can’t Clearly Observe, Don’t Force Yourself If you can't clearly observe,
don't force yourself to do it.
First, learn how to relax,
how to be comfortable.
Wanting to Understand is Wisdom, Wanting a Result is Greed Wanting to understand is wisdom,
wanting a result is greed.
Don’t Get Lost in the Movie of Opinions, Stories, and Ideas When we get lost in our ideas,
opinions, and stories about life,
we easily confuse them with life
itself. It's like forgetting that a
movie we are watching is just
a movie and not life itself.
Conscious Relaxation is a Form of Meditation There is never tension only in
the mind. It will always be trans-
lated into tension somewhere in the
body. If you consciously relax that
tension, it's a kind of meditation.
Are You Afraid to Open Your Eyes? Some yogis have told me
they are afraid to open their
eyes after a sitting meditation.
When I ask why, they say, "Be-
cause when I open my eyes my
samadhi is gone." That's not
very good samadhi.*
* Sayadaw defines samadhi as "calm-
ness, stillness, or stability of mind."
Watch Out for Craving in the Practice If the mind is dissatisfied
with the practice it is likely
that you want something. Be-
cause of wanting, you might
then try to force the prac-
tice. This is not helpful.
Are You Trying to Understand the Mind or to Control It? Usually when meditators prac-
tice meditation, they are not that
interested in learning the truth of
body and mind. They are trying
to control the body and mind.
Meditation and Eagerness are Opposites Why does the mind
become eager? Is it nec-
essary to hurry? Medita-
tion and eagerness are
opposites. Don't let the
eagerness rule.
Thoughts Are Just Thoughts, Feelings Are Just Feelings Keep reminding your-
self that thoughts are just
thoughts, feelings are just
feelings. The more you prac-
tice, the more you under-
stand the truth of this.
To See Reality Clearly You Need Right View To see reality clearly,
you need to have right
view: the understanding
that the mind is nature,
not an "I" or "me."
If You Seek a Happy Life, Always Be Aware If you seek a happy
life, always be aware. When
you maintain awareness, the
mind remains clear and
happiness abounds.
Right Now, Are You Aware of Your Posture? Right now, are you aware
of your posture? Can you feel
your feet? Notice how little en-
ergy or effort you need to know
any of this. This is all the ener-
gy you need to remain aware,
but remember, you need to
do this all day long.
Start With Mindfulness, Follow Through With Investigation In the beginning, you start by
just being mindful. Then, once you
are skilled at bringing awareness to
the present moment, you can start
to observe, and to investigate
what you are aware of.
Don’t Try to Avoid Experience or Objects Don't try to avoid experiences
or objects;* try to avoid getting en-
tangled in craving and aversion.
* E.g., thoughts of the mind, sensations of
the body, perceptions of the world.
The Mind Does Not Belong to You, But You Are Responsible For It The mind does not belong to you,
but you are responsible for it.
Be Mindful of Your Intentions While Speaking When you speak with aware-
ness, relaxed and mindful of your
intentions, your way of speaking
becomes less emotional.
We Must Watch the Mind All the Time We have to keep tabs on the
mind. Always be aware of what's
going on, and keep working
at it. It's a full-time job.
You Need to Keep Investigating All the Time Your experience is constantly
changing. Right and wrong views
keep coming and going, so you need
to keep investigating your experi-
ence, moment to moment.
Don’t Let Your Attention Be All “Out There” When you are not really in-
terested in what is going on "in
here," and your attention is all
going "out there," thoughts and
emotions will come unnoticed,
and things will build up.
Get in Touch with the Natural Flow of Awareness If we can get in touch with
the natural flow of awareness,
working with the awareness that
is, we can be mindful in an
easy and natural way.
Don’t Overdo Your Mindfulness When we practice with a
super-conscious kind of mind-
fulness—when we always tell
ourselves, "Now I am going to
be mindful"—we will distort the
picture, and our experience
will be kind of stultified.
Shoot for 50/50 Awareness YOGI:
I try to maintain internal awareness
but when the awareness wants to go
outside, it affects that awareness.
SAYADAW:
The outside is important but so
are you. Why not be aware of both?
Why not go for 50/50?
How to Make Good Decisions (1 of 3)
YOGI:
How can I be more decisive in my
thoughts and actions? How can I learn
to make decisions more quickly? SAYADAW:
Do you need to make decisions
quickly or correctly? Is it more impor-
tant to be fast or right? If there is no crav-
ing or aversion in your mind, and if you
have awareness and understanding, the
mind knows what to do because you are
ready, and the understanding
is already there.
How to Make Good Decisions (2 of 3) If there is any agitation in your
mind, you cannot make the right
choice. Whenever you need to make
a decision but find your mind is agi-
tated, wait until your mind is
calm, and only then decide.
How to Make Good Decisions (3 of 3) Never decide based
on liking or disliking some-
thing. Wisdom knows what
needs to be done.
Practicing Dhamma is Not Having Special Experiences Many yogis become very happy
when they have a certain experience,
and very disappointed if they don't.
This is not practicing Dhamma. Prac-
ticing Dhamma is not having any spe-
cial experience—it is learning from
every experience you have.
Thoughts Arise and There is Only One Problem Thoughts arise, that's
all. The only problem is,
we think they shouldn't.
Say of the Mind and Body: This is a Process of Nature Sometimes, when relating to the
mind or body, it is not helpful to say,
"This is not me or mine," because the
mind finds this very hard to accept. In
such cases, saying, "This is a process
of nature," is much easier to accept.
Don’t Get Carried Away by Thinking and Planning Thinking is an essential
activity of the mind. We just
need to be careful not to get in-
volved, not to get carried away,
by thinking and planning.
First, Take Care of Your Mind You have to take care of
your mind first, and then
you can relate to others.
Awareness Alone is Not Enough (1 of 2) Awareness alone is not enough!
Having a desire to really understand
what is going on is much more impor-
tant than just trying to be aware. We
practice meditation because we
want to understand.
Don’t Just Sit There and Expect Results (2 of 2). You need to learn from what you
are doing, not just sit there and ex-
pect results. You need to be aware
of and learn from what is happen-
ing right now. You need to look at
the process of meditation itself.
Be Careful of Acquiring Knowledge It is good to acquire a lot
of knowledge. But the personal
needs of yogis vary greatly, so you
must choose carefully what to
apply in your own practice.
Be Relaxed in Every Posture YOGI:
Should I be relaxed in every posture?
SAYADAW:
Yes. If you can be both relaxed and
aware while lying down, you can bring
this state of mind into every posture and
movement. If you fall asleep, you know
you've still got some tuning to do.
Don’t See Sleepiness as a Problem If you see sleepiness as a
problem, the mind will think
about the past and get you into
trouble. You need to see the cause
of sleepiness in the present mo-
ment. You want to know what
has happened in the mind that
is making it sleepy now.
What Do You Do, Complain or Meditate? YOGI:
I am finding the heat un-
bearable these days.
SAYADAW:
So what do you do? Com-
plain or meditate?
Remind Yourself That Desire is Natural Remind yourself that desire
is a natural phenomenon—it is
not your desire. This will create a
little distance and allow you to
observe it more objectively.
With Awareness You’re Never Bored When awareness is really
present—here and now—
the mind is never bored.
When the Mind is Simple, Wisdom Can Develop Only when the mind is
simple can wisdom devel-
op. A complicated mind—a
mind engrossed in thoughts,
plans, and expectations—
blocks off wisdom.
Don’t Dwell on Your Experiences in Meditation Don't pay too much attention
to the experiences you have during
meditation. But do make an effort to
keep watching the mind. If your at-
tention is more on the mind, it will
be easier to notice whenever any
form of craving sneaks in.
Observe Emotions, Don’t Participate in Them (2 of 3) Whenever you are experiencing
an emotion, ask yourself: "Am I go-
ing to feel the emotion or be aware of
the emotion?" In other words, are you
going to watch it as an uninvolved
observer, or are you going to parti-
cipate in the emotion?
When You’re Confused, Watch the Confusion (3 of 3) YOGI:
Sometimes my mind feels very con-
fused and I don't know what to do.
SAYADAW:
If you try to think of solutions when
in a confused state of mind, you will on-
ly get confused answers. So don't try to
do anything; don't even try to medi-
tate. Just watch the confusion.
Don’t Worry Over Naming Your Emotions YOGI:
I often find it difficult to name my
attitude or emotions. I can feel whether
they are positive or negative, though. Is
it sufficient to be aware of that?
SAYADAW:
Yes, it is. It's not so important
whether you can name your atti-
tude or emotions, or not.
When Dhamma Takes Over, Personal Exertion Ends We always need to remember
the difference between personal exer-
tion and Dhamma taking over. As long
as we are striving, as long as we are try-
ing, we believe that "we" are the ones
that produce the effort that creates the
result. However, when Dhamma takes
over, there is no striving to get any-
where—there is just a doing of
what is necessary.
Don’t Try Hard to Look for Awareness Don't try hard to look
for awareness; relax and
see it's already there.
Detach in the Good Times, Accept in the Bad When things are good, learn how
to detach from them. When things are
not good, learn how to accept them.
The First Person to Suffer Your Anger is You When by observing our an-
ger we understand the suffer-
ing it always causes us, it be-
comes easy to feel compassion
whenever we are confronted
with an angry person.
Right Thought Calms the Mind and Body When you experience an in-
tense emotion, remind yourself:
"This is not me, this is the nature of
this emotion." This right thought
calms the mind and body.
Don’t Try to Get Rid of Anger, Try to Understand It If there is anger and you decide
to investigate this emotion, you are
setting the mind in the right direc-
tion. If, however, you decide to try
to get rid of this anger, you are di-
recting the mind wrongly.
Insight Meditation is a General Purpose Practice Insight meditation is a "gener-
al purpose" practice. We can take
it anywhere and it can be practiced
in all conditions. We can use it while
living life. It is so simple and can be
summed up in a few words: Let it
be, observe, and learn.
Calm the Mind to Observe the Mind The purpose of calming
the mind and the body, is to
enable you to observe the
mind and the body.
The Work of Awareness is Just to Know (1 of 2) The work of awareness is just
to know. The work of wisdom is
to differentiate between what is
skillful, and what is unskillful.
Awareness Alone is Not Enough (2 of 2) Whenever you have wisdom
you are aware; but just because
you are aware does not necessar-
ily mean you have wisdom.
When You Observe Something, Don’t Identify With It Whenever you observe something—
such as thoughts, sensations, perceptions
or emotions—don't identify with them;
don't think of them as "I" or "mine." Ac-
cept them simply as something to know,
to observe, and to understand.
Don’t Be Concerned with Good or Bad Experience, Per Se You should not be concerned
whether you have good or bad
experiences. You should only be
concerned about your attitude
toward these experiences.
Don’t Look for Something You Think You’re Supposed to See Looking for something you
think you're supposed to see isn't
mindfulness meditation. Mindful-
ness meditation is being aware
of whatever comes your way.
What You See, You Cannot Be There is a saying that sums
up the awareness of objects very
well: "What I see, I cannot be.”
Don’t Identify With the Mind, Observe It The mind is always doing
its work. If you identify with this
process, it becomes very complicated.
Instead, just recognize that the mind
is making certain choices, and doing
different things. Then it becomes very
easy to observe and investigate
how the mind works.
Are You Relaxed? Check Your Facial Sensations If you are aware of your
facial sensations, you will be
able to know whether you are
relaxed or not. When you are
focusing too much it will show
on your face. When a person
is really relaxed, the face is
very clear, soft, and calm.
Don’t Try to Maintain Equanimity Don't try to maintain equanimity;
only try to maintain awareness.
With Joy and Interest You Are Doing Fine As long as you find joy and interest in the practice,
you are doing fine.
What Is Happening? What Is It Happening? The Mind Wants to Know. "What is this?" "What is happening?" "Why is it happening?"
Any one of these questions always
helps. When the mind asks a question
to which it doesn't yet know the an-
swer, it always awakens the mind—
because the mind wants to know.
Learn from What is Happening Right Now YOGI: Sometimes I lose interest because
I cannot see any progress.
SAYADAW:
That's because you are not learn-
ing. You are not really interested in what
you are doing. You expect results. You can't
just sit there and expect results. You need
to be aware of and learn from what is hap-
pening right now. You need to look at
the process of meditation itself.
Investigate in Meditation in Order to Learn Practitioners often forget to inves-
tigate in meditation, by asking questions
about their experience in order to learn.
But mindfulness is meant to facilitate un-
derstanding. You have to use wise think-
ing to decide how to handle things.
Don’t Watch the Breath Just to Calm Down Most yogis watch the breath only to
calm the mind down. As a result, they may
watch the breath for years, yet not know much
about it. It's because the mind is not interested;
it just wants to calm down. In practicticing vi-
passana—insight meditation—the motivation is
very different: the mind wants to understand. It
wants to understand what is happening, and if it wants to understand, it can understand.
If You Think You Can Take it Easy You Will Suffer If you think you can take it
easy, you will suffer.
Notice Craving and Delusion When They Are Still Specks When you know the peaceful mind
continuously, and you know everything
that's happening in the mind, you'll also
immediately notice when a speck of craving
or aversion comes to disturb that peace. At
this point, you can immediately recognize
the thought that preceded that shift from
a peaceful mind to an agitated mind.
Don’t Jump to Conclusions About What You Observe Don't jump to conclusions
about what you observe. Simply
keep observing and investigating
your experience thoroughly and
continuously. Jumping to conclu-
sions will prevent your under-
standing from deepening.
Use Natural Wisdom Instead of Increasing Your Effort Meditators often forget to use their
natural wisdom when they meditate. Inves-
tigate and use your natural wisdom to check
if awareness is present, instead of blindly ex-
erting more effort. Here are questions to con-
sider: Do you know your level of effort? Is
there stability of mind? Do you know what
that experience is like? Do you know your
natural wisdom? Is it at work?
Meditators Aren’t Usually Interested in Learning the Truth Usually when meditators
practice meditation, they are
not that interested in learning
the truth of body and mind.
They are trying to control
the body and mind.
“My Mind is Uninterested, What Should I Do?” YOGI:
You encourage us to enliven our
practice by asking questions. But
this doesn't seem to work for me;
my mind seems uninterested.
What should I do?
SAYADAW:
Ask the mind why it's not interested!
[Laughter]
“Why is Awareness Not Continuous in My Life?” If we ask ourselves very simply, very
honestly, "Why is awareness not continu-
ous in my life? Why does it not become na-
tural?" It's because in a sense we want to
have craving, aversion and delusion in our
lives. We want to live with them, we are
comfortable with them.
There is Nothing More Valuable Than Dhamma (1 of 3) There is nothing more interest-
ing than using Dhamma in daily life.
People who use the practice in every-
thing they do will know its value as
something they cannot do without.
This Will Help You Do Well in Life (2 of 3) When your understanding of the
true nature of things grows, your val-
ues in life will change. When your val-
ues change, your priorities will change
as well. Through such understanding,
you will naturally practice more, and
this will help you do well in life.
Wherever You Go, Whatever You Do, Stay on Retreat (3 or 3) It is imperative that we treat
our home, workplace, and social en-
vironment as "retreat centers."
The Skillful Move is to Keep Awareness Continuous Trying to keep awareness contin-
uous by trying to keep objects* contin-
uous is a common mistake. Fixating on
objects in this way is unskillful because
we form craving for objects we like, and
aversion towards objects we dislike. The
skillful move is to keep awareness,
not objects, continuous.
* Thoughts, emotions, sensations, perceptions, etc.
Only When the Mind is Simple Can Wisdom Develop Only when the mind is sim-
ple can wisdom develop. A mind
which thinks, expects and plans
blocks off wisdom.
Once You Handle Craving and Aversion, Happiness Naturally Comes Most yogis make the mistake of
expecting good experiences, instead
of trying to work with craving and
aversion. Once you are able to han-
dle craving and aversion, good ex-
periences will naturally follow.
In Meditation, Just Relax and Be Aware The first instruction I give to
yogis is to relax and be aware; to
not have any expectations or try to
control the experience; and not to
focus, concentrate, or penetrate.
Instead, I encourage yogis to ob-
serve, watch, and be aware.
Stay Aware of Your State of Relaxation Stay aware of your state
of relaxation. If you are con-
tinuously aware of your state
of relaxation, you will become
even more relaxed.
Make Wholesome Qualities a Power of the Mind When we continuously
cultivate wholesome quali-
ties of mind, those qualities be-
come stronger, and come more
naturally to the mind. They be-
come habits of the mind, and
powers of the mind.
We Begin to See We Are Nature Itself No matter how difficult life
becomes, we must keep practic-
ing continuously. This is the only
way. Eventually we begin to see
and be part of a simpler reality
that we are not separate from,
but is actually nature itself.
Awareness is Really Helpful When You Are Tired Awareness is really helpful when
you're tired, because you can just rest
in the awareness of the tiredness.
Keep an Eye on Craving, Aversion, and Delusion All the problems in the world
originate from the trio of craving,
aversion and delusion. Keep an eye
on them. Watching the bad qualities
is most important because if you can
keep them at bay, the good qual-
ities automatically come in.
Keep Checking Whether Awareness is Present The way to keep awareness
continuous is to keep checking
whether awareness is present. If
we weren't aware of awareness
before we checked, we suddenly
become aware when we check.
Let a Gentle Awareness Work Steadily in the Background A gentle, general awareness allows us to
do the activities we need to do, while a light
recognition of what is happening works stead-
ily in the background. This very gentle aware-
ness will eventually gain momentum. When
it becomes a natural, continuous awareness,
you'll feel like you are living in this aware-
ness in everything that you do.
Persistence is the Essence of Right Effort It is very important to keep trying to
maintain the intention to remain aware all
the time. This points to the essential quality
of right effort: persistence. It's not a force-
ful effort but rather an inner determination
to sustain the tiny bit of energy you need
in each moment to know you are aware
and to keep that going.
We Need to Maintain the Quality of Our Minds Craving, aversion and delusion
make the mind tired. That's why we
should not let the mind be idle. That's
why I am telling you to practice con-
tinuously all day. We need to main-
tain the quality of our minds.
Strike a Balance Between Relaxation and Interest As you maintain continuous
awareness of whatever is happen-
ing, strike a balance between being
relaxed and being interested. When
you are relaxed, it is an enjoyable
and interesting experience.
Curiosity Arises as Needed in Meditation If your mind is naturally
inquisitive, you are someone
who likes to figure things out
for yourself. When you medi-
tate, that natural quality of
your mind will come out
whenever necessary.
The Right Time to Meditate is All Day Long (1 of 2) Forget the idea that meditation hap-
pens only on a cushion or in the medi-
tation hall. The right time to meditate is
all day long, from the moment you wake
up until the moment you fall asleep.
The Right Time to Meditate is All Day Long (2 of 2) The effort that is required to
meditate should be just enough
to maintain a light awareness of
the six sense objects* as con-
tinuously as possible.
* Sights, sounds, tastes, touch,
smells, and thoughts.
Continuous Daily Practice is When Your Life Changes You may learn a tech-
nique at a retreat, but it's on-
ly when you go home that you
can apply that technique con-
tinuously, all the time. That's
when your life changes.
The Mind Starts to See from a New Perspective. Gathering momentum of awareness
is important because when things con-
tinue under their own steam, you can
really see that you are not involved—
that this process is just happening.
More and more, the mind starts to
see from this perspective.
Learn to Be Aware of the Sense of “I” or “Me” The sense of "I" arises continuously,
and can be observed like any other ob-
ject* of the mind. You can learn to be
aware of its presence or absence.
* E.g., thoughts, sensations, perceptions, emotions, etc.
No Experience in the World Needs to Disturb You As a meditator, no experience in
the world needs to disturb you. In-
stead, every experience, whether pleas-
ant or unpleasant, is something we can
be aware of, and so can use to develop
more confidence, energy, mindfulness,
stability of mind, and wisdom.
As Awareness Becomes More Continuous, Wisdom Starts to Work As awareness becomes more
continuous, the mind develops
a sense of curiosity, and a nat-
ural tendency to investigate.
Keep Constant Watch on Craving and Aversion If we think something is good,
we attach to it, and that's craving.
If we think something is bad, we re-
sist it, and that's aversion. When you
are continuously aware, we call that
watching. You are watching when
you are continuously aware.
Observing With Interest Brings Us Energy and Joy Observing something with inter-
est gives us energy and joy. Interest
brings energy to the mind naturally,
without straining, focusing, or exertion.
It requires no individual effort, and
so we can bring interest continu-
ously without getting tired.
Learn to Observe the Observing Mind Patiently watch impatience. Learn
to observe the observing mind.
There is No Need to Put Too Much Effort Into Practice So, you all understand right view,
yes? Right view is the understanding that
that the mind is a just a phenomenon of na-
ture, not an "I" or "me." There is no need to
put too much effort into the practice, just to
bring this understanding with you through
every movement, posture, and activity.
How to Know That You Are Aware (1 of 3) What do you do to know that
you are aware? Most people think
they need to return awareness to an
object, such as the breath, or a body
sensation. They have the idea, "My a-
wareness is gone, I must have it back
again." This is a tiring way to prac-
tice. I will give you a simpler, more
relaxed way—just remind your-
self, "I am aware."
How to Know That You Are Aware (2 of 3) There is only the nature of
the mind, and the nature of
the body. That's all there is.
If you don't forget this,
you are aware.
How to Know That You Are Aware (3 of 3) If you know what is going
on, you are aware.
The Present Experience is Always the Right Experience Whatever you are experiencing in this
moment is the right experience. Be happy
there is knowing and awareness, as this
in itself is already wholesome.
Observe the Interactions of Thoughts, Feelings, and Sensations Try to observe the interplay
of thoughts, feelings, and body sensa-
tions. How are the mind and the body
related? What causes and effects occur
between thoughts, feelings, and sensa-
tions? Your practice is to learn about
these connections. So just ob-
serve, and learn.
Advice for When Thoughts Become Incessant (1 of 2) When thoughts become incessant to
the point you can no longer observe
them, stop looking at the thoughts,
and watch the underlying feelings
or bodily sensations instead.
Incessant Thinking and Peace Are Both Within the Mind (2 of 2) Thinking, including incessant
thinking, is within the mind. Peace,
too, is within the mind. Understanding
this allows you to watch them both as
objects of the mind, rather than as
something personal—as "mine."
Don’t Just Blindly Meditate—Innovate! I want you to meditate and think,
not just blindly meditate. Use aware-
ness intelligently. Don't just follow
the instructions; expand on them.
Innovate!
Don’t Try to Create Any Experience, Just Observe What Is Don't try to create anything,
such as a particular mind state,
or experience. Trying to create like
this is greed. Meditating is acknow-
ledging and observing whatever hap-
pens—whether pleasant or un-
pleasant—in a relaxed way.
How to Fall Asleep at Night (1 of 2) YOGI:
I find it very difficult to con-
trol or watch the mind when I
am in bed, ready to sleep.
SAYADAW:
Your mind is wandering because it
does not have an objective, at that time.
You need to aim at remaining aware un-
til you fall asleep. Try it and see how it
makes you feel in the morning.
How to Wake Up in the Morning (2 of 2) Many people start their day with-
out realizing they are aware. So here's a
suggestion: As soon as you wake up, while
still in bed, consciously breathe in and out
for four or five minutes. The mind will be-
come alert, and you will know you are
aware. Then, with awareness, get up.
The Mind is Not Yours But You Are Responsible for It The mind is not yours, but you
are responsible for it.
The Experience of Calmness is Not So Important The experience of calmness
is not so important. It is more
important to know and under-
stand why calmness does or
does not arise.
For Inner Understanding, Widen Your Internal View Merely knowing one aspect of an exper-
ience will not lead to insight. If our goal is
understanding, we need to know as many
objects as possible—thoughts, feelings, sen-
sations, perceptions, etc. We need to learn
the nature of these objects; their cause-
and-effect relationships; and their roles
in the mind and body processes.
Why Are We Asked to Practice All the Time? Why are we asked to practice from
the moment we wake up until the moment
we fall asleep? It is because the mind is col-
lecting data through moment-to-moment
awareness. When the data collection is
complete, understanding will arise.