Practice English Speaking&Listening with: 29/08/2020 สติคือสิ่งจำเป็นตลอดสายของการปฏิบัติ(Mindfulness is essential for all levels of practice)

Yesterday, another teacher, Luangpu Ian passed away.

He wasnt well known to Bangkok people,

but hes known in Surin.

He was from Luangpu Dunes lineage.

There were a lot of students of Luangpu Dune who trained students.

The most prominent ones were Luangpor Kim and Luangpor Kuen.

Luangta Panuek was a bit younger,

and then Luangpu Ian,

who passed away yesterday.

I was hoping to visit him before the Buddhist lent period,

but I had Bells palsy.

It required constant medical care,

so I missed the opportunity.

On Tuesday, I heard the news

that he was having serious symptoms,

and had stopped eating.

So, I went to see him on Wednesday.

He was sleeping, and his student whispered to him that

Luangpor Pramote came to visit you.

He nodded, but he couldnt speak.

His mindfulness was exceptional.

When I saluted him,

his student told him so,

and he raised his arms in lotus posture to accept it.

The results of his practice were clear.

He was 96,

and was about to pass away in a few hours,

but his mindfulness was still luminous.

He said, my body wont last anymore.

I could have only 5-6 spoons of boiled rice in the morning.

If I had more, Id throw up.

His body was lacking energy and sugar,

so he was slumbering,

but his mindfulness was full.

The mind was very wholesome and bright.

Another teacher passed with great elegance.

His students were trying to build a pagoda for him,

but it couldnt be finished on time.

When a teacher passes away,

it serves as a reminder to us not to be complacent.

When we have an opportunity,

we must take it and practice.

If we get stuck on our practice,

we can still ask our teacher.

If the teacher that we fully trust passes away,

well no longer have anyone to ask for advice.

We have to rely on our own observation.

The last teacher I learned from was Luangpu Suwat.

After the first Buddhist lent period of my monkhood,

I went to visit him,

and he passed away not long after that.

After my first year in monkhood,

I practiced by myself.

I carefully observed myself with principles that the teachers had taught.

Observing what actions led to cultivation of existing wholesomeness,

reduction of wholesomeness,

developing unwholesomeness,

or what prevents unwholesomeness to develop.

I observed constantly,

using yonisomanasikara (proper consideration).

If we no longer have a teacher that were fully confident of,

we have to use yonisomanasikara;

observe ourselves.

See whether each action

leads to growth of wholesomeness or unwholesomeness.

Is each action reducing unwholesomeness,

or developing new wholesomeness?

Observe yourselves.

In the scripture, the Buddha said,

kalya-mitta (virtuous friend) is all of ariya-magga (the path to liberation),

In another sutta (narration),

he also said yonisomanasikara is all of ariya-magga.

The full narration said,

morning twilight is the first sign of sun rising.

Having kalyana-mitta (virtuous friend)

is the first sign of ariya-magga (the path to liberation).

In another sutta,he said

the similar thing with yonisomanasikara (proper consideration)

in place of kalyana-mitta (virtuous friend).

So, there are 2 things he praised equally:

yonisomanasikara (proper consideration) and

kalyana-mitta (virtuous friend).

We struggle to find virtuous friends.

Some people told me when they reported about their practices that,

my virtuous friend taught me this and that.

I saw the friends face and

I wouldnt consider that person your virtuous friend.

You just assigned that title yourself.

Its hard to find a virtuous friend

during the period where teachers are hard to find.

The most important thing we must have is proper consideration.

Insightfully observe yourself.

What actions cause our unwholesomeness diminish,

and prevent new unwholesomeness from arising?

What actions give rise to new wholesomeness

and develop existing wholesomeness?

We have to observe which actions are worthy.

This is the characteristics of yonisomanasikara (proper consideration),

which is very important.

Some monks found that consuming too much food causes haziness,

so they reduced the intake.

They observed themselves as to which gives rise to mindfulness.

Mindfulness is wholesome.

Some monks can fast, but cant tolerate lack of sleep.

Some said a sleepless night would make him blurry for 3 days,

needing extra sleep to get out of blurriness.

So, they observe themselves.

They fast but they get enough sleep.

Some can practice without sleeping but cannot fast.

Some need both enough food and sleep.

Some can practice without fasting and without sleeping.

They observe themselves, not others.

They observe the actions that lead to development of their wholesomeness.

Observing wholesomeness is easy: does mindfulness occur frequently?

Mindfulness is the indicator.

Whenever theres mindfulness, the mind is wholesome.

Samadhi (stability and concentration) isnt the indicator.

A peaceful mind isnt necessarily wholesome.

Be careful here.

But if youre mindful,

and able to observe the body and the minds actions,

this is definitely wholesome.

But if the mind is peaceful, bright, but engrossed in stillness and comfort,

the mind may be deluding.

Theres moha-samadhi (delusional stability).

So, to observe wholesomeness, observe mindfulness and panna (wisdom).

These 2 are definitely wholesome.

Viriya (rIght effort) is definitely wholesome.

Saddha (confidence/conviction) without blind faith is definitely wholesome.

But you cant judge wholesomeness using samadhi (stability).

Sometimes I observe some students

practicing samadhi (stability and concentration) very diligently,

and I think some of their practices are useless.

They are practicing mijja-samadhi (wrong stability and concentration).

This happens when your mind becomes hazy and sleepy,

Or, when practicing,

you see mental visions of ghosts, angels, hell, or heaven;

Thats also not samma-samadhi (right concentration).

All samma (right) ingredients must be conducive for the enlightenment process.

Otherwise, theyre not right.

Samma-Ditthi (right view) must support development towards enlightenment,

and so must Samma-Sankappa (right thoughts).

There are 2 types of samma samadhi (right concentration)

that support development. There are 2 types.

One is called Aramanupanijhana (object-focusing concentration) and

the other is Lakkhanupanijhana (characteristic-focusing concentration).

They both consist of mindfulness, which is very important.

Whenever theres a lack of mindfulness, the mind isnt wholesome.

When you become sleepy and listless,

forgetting your mind and your body, thats not right.

It lacks mindfulness.

So, when we want to practice,

you must practice sati (mindfulness).

To practice mindfulness well, practice observing phenomena,

because the cause of sati (mindfulness) is the ability

to recollect phenomena accurately.

In order for the mind to recall phenomena well,

the mind must see the phenomena frequently.

Samma samadhi (right concentration),

which supports the enlightenment process, has sati.

And this sati (mindfulness)

must be satipatthana (mindfulness that recollects phenomena),

which recollects the physical and abstract phenomena.

Sati that doesnt recall phenomena isnt satipatthana.

If its not satipatthana, it is not samma-sati (right mindfulness).

The Buddha elaborated on samma-sati (right mindfulness)

with satipatthana (mindfulness that knows phenomena).

Satipatthana recollects your own body and mind.

You must practice.

For example, knowing that the wind is blowing leaves,

the birds are flying, or the snakes are slithering

are not samma-sati (right mindfulness).

Samadhi (stability and concentration) that arises is looking outwards,

because sati (mindfulness) is looking outwards.

If your sati (mindfulness) knows the internal physical and abstract phenomena,

samadhi (stability and concentration) that arises

will be samma-samadhi (right concentration),

which can observe your own body and mind.

If mindfulness observes one phenomenon

getting lost, forgetful, or over-focusing,

that is Aramanupanijhana (object-focusing concentration).

If the mind wanders off and we know,

mindfulness observes the mind that wanders off,

Lakkhanupanijhana (characteristic- focusing concentration) will arise.

We need mindfulness that observes the mind and the body.

Without it, samma-samadhi (right concentration) will not arise.

Full samma-samadhi (right concentration)

arises from full samma-sati (right mindfulness).

They support each other.

When we practice, we practice mindfulness.

To have all the right ingredients for enlightenment,

have mindfulness observing your own mind.

When it wanders off to think, whats behind the thought?

When you speak, whats behind the speech?

When you do something,

whats behind the action?

Be mindful of what drives our thoughts.

If youre mindful of whats driving thoughts,

your thoughts will be right.

It wont be tainted by impurities of greed, aversion, or delusions.

Observe that most people have low-quality thoughts,

because their thoughts are tainted by these impurities.

So, when you read Facebook posts

that people argue or discuss some topics,

youll see that people were biased when they wrote things.

If you are a practitioner,

before you participate,

you need to observe yourself first

that you are not doing it because of your greed.

For example, if you like this politician,

no matter how stupid his words and actions are,

youll still like him.

This is bias.

If another politician is someone that you hate,

no matter what good actions he does, youll still judge them as bad.

This is the bias caused by your aversion.

Sometimes, your thoughts are without knowing right from wrong.

This is caused by moha (delusions/ignorance),

which is the most harmful.

Thoughts full of moha (delusions/ignorance)

are worse than raga (greed) and dosa (aversion).

If your greed or aversion are behind your thoughts,

once mindfulness observes greed or aversion, greed or aversion will cease.

But thinking with moha (delusion/ignorance),

like thinking that kickbacks paid to politicians or officials are ok,

as long as they can do something useful.

This is a thought driven by moha , not knowing right from wrong.

As a Buddhist, we avoid committing even little unwholesome actions.

So, if you hear someone say:

corruption is ok, as long as it benefits the public,

know that this isnt ok.

If someone says this with conviction,

that thought was tainted by moha (delusions/ignorance).

But if he knows that corruption isnt ok,

but he benefits from it,

and tries to justify it with that speech,

his thoughts were full of greed.

So, judge yourself before you speak.

This is important.

Observe yourself well.

If youve studied with me, judging yourself isnt difficult.

Just observe your mind.

Is it overcome by greed, aversion, or delusions and ignorance?

Has the mind just wandered off?

Practice often.

Be mindful of these phenomena.

(Bird chirping) This is a hornbills sound.

Did your mind wander off?

If it did, know so.

Otherwise, you may turn your head towards it

until you break your neck,

and be reborn in next life as a baby hornbill.

Thats not good.

Know whats behind your thoughts.

If you do so, your thoughts will be the right thoughts.

They consist of loving-kindness,

free from vengefulness,

and free from delusions.

Samma Sankappa (right thought) arises,

and samma-vaca (right speech) will be there.

Wrong speech arises from wrong thoughts.

Wrong thoughts arise

from not being mindful of impurities.

So, right thought gives rise to right speech and samma-kammanta (right action).

When we have right thought, right speech,

and right action, samma-ajiva (right livelihood) will result.

When these things are right,

samma-vayama (right effort) will result.

Well have the effort to eradicate existing unwholesomeness,

prevent arising of new unwholesomeness,

build new wholesomeness,

and develop existing wholesomeness.

This is samma-vayama (right effort).

It all links back to knowing whats behind our thoughts.

These good qualities rise sequentially

and overall wholesomeness grows.

When we have this quality,

mindfulness will get better.

Then, when the body moves,

mindfulness knows.

When the mind moves, mindfulness knows.

The right effort focuses on knowing the body and the mind frequently.

Eventually, samma-sati (right mindfulness) will grow.

So, right effort gives rise to right mindfulness.

At the moment of samma-sati (right mindfulness),

whatever physical phenomenon arises, sati (mindfulness) will know it automatically.

The same goes for abstract phenomena.

It happens automatically.

If you study with me,

and your mindfulness isnt yet automatic,

I view that your skills arent good enough.

But if wholesomeness, unwholesomeness,

pleasure, or pain arises and the mind knows without any intention,

that is sufficient mindfulness.

At the moment of knowing a phenomenon correctly and accurately,

samadhi (stability and concentration) of the type

thats used for vipassana (insight) practice arises.

This type of samadhi arises not only from knowing the mind that wanders off.

If the mind becomes greedy, and the mind knows that its become greedy,

greed will cease and the stable mind will arise.

This applies to all phenomena.

So, samma-sati (right mindfulness) is the ability to recognize phenomena.

And this gives rise to samma-samadhi (right concentration).

This samma-samadhi does not occur all the time.

Sometimes, the mind lacks strength.

If it sees the mind wandering off, mindfulness occurs.

After that, the mind will enter peacefulness

as deep as jhana (deep concentration).

The mind can have aramanupanijhana (object-focusing concentration).

Or it can have lakkhanupanijhana (characteristic-focusing concentration),

which is the tool for wisdom cultivation.

The mind can switch between these 2 types of samadhi.

One can do wisdom cultivation and the other only has peacefulness.

Earlier this morning, before I let outsiders enter this hall,

the monks were busy with their meals.

I was checking up on them.

Some said they had some weird symptoms.

I told them that today, their samadhi (stability and concentration) is good.

The minds have both samadhi and strength.

The samadhi is also the wisdom cultivating type.

The resting-peaceful type of samadhi is for resting.

Developing mindfulness constantly will lead to peaceful stability.

But once the mind has enough strength,

samadhi will transform into wisdom cultivation type.

This type of samadhi wont force the mind to be still.

It doesnt wander off, nor does it overly-focus.

The mind will work naturally.

So, students may be confused once they get to this stage.

They feel that their minds were diffused but

I tell them that theyre practicing well.

Earlier, Luangpor Pudh also taught me that

samadhi (stability and concentration)

thats doing wisdom cultivation looks similar to a diffused mind.

The difference is,

without samadhi, the mind works and the mind doesnt know its actions.

If the mind works and you dont know, its a diffused mind.

If mindfulness knows the minds actions, then its wisdom cultivation.

Theyre different.

So, today, I praised many monks that

their minds have strength, samadhi, and are doing wisdom cultivation.

Some monks told me he thought his mind wasnt good.

It had some weird peacefulness,

and the peacefulness existed with a lot of diffusions.

I told him that thats what Luangpor Pudh taught.

The mind thats doing wisdom cultivation wont sit still.

If the mind was too still,

the teachers would criticize you, or knock on your skull.

If the mind had no samadhi (stability and concentration) at all,

the teachers wouldnt chide you, because youre beyond saving.

So they wouldnt teach you.

After practicing and the mind becomes too still or clinging on emptiness,

theyll tell you that its wrong and you must cultivate wisdom.

For the forest monks,

they start by silently reciting Buddho until the mind becomes still.

If the mind gets stuck on this stillness or emptiness,

theyll advise you to examine your body.

Thinking and scrutinizing the body to stimulate the mind to work.

Its a trick to let the mind start wisdom cultivation.

But if you start your practice by observing the mind,

the mind is always everchanging.

Once you obtain enough samadhi (stability and concentration),

you see that the mind is sometimes still and empty, and sometimes the mind acts,

but the mind is also the observer.

Keep practicing and you will develop

until mindfulness, samadhi (stability),

and wisdom cultivation arises automatically.

You must practice until these things occur automatically.

Your practice will then be proper.

If you still have intention to practice,

the practice is tainted by your greediness to practice.

Its still contaminated by impurities.

Before getting to this level of practice, keep observing.

Observing whats behind our thoughts.

Well then be free from biases.

This includes biases for or against everyone, including yourself.

Some students berate themselves all day for having too much impurity,

and wonder why other people seem to have less.

They think, why am I having such a hard time

when others gain comfort in their practices.

This is so because everyones different.

Some philosophers said all humans are equal.

Thats not true.

Humans have never been equal.

Some people were born rich, some poor.

Some have good looks, some do not.

Some have good looks but are dumb.

Some are both good looking and smart.

Some arent great looking but smart.

Our endowments are not equal.

The view that all humans are equal isnt true.

Its an ideology.

But the truth is far from it.

So, theres no need to be zealous about democracy.

Dont be deluded. It doesnt exist.

Observe your mind until you see it clearly.

Whats behind your thoughts, speech, and action?

Once youre skillful at observing your mind,

your speech will be right.

Your actions will be right.

Your livelihood will be right.

Your practice, which is your effort will be right.

Luangpu Mun taught this:

When you have mindfulness, you have effort. When youre mindless,

you dont.

Sati (mindfulness) is always necessary for the practice,

from the beginning until the end.

So, have mindfulness observing whats behind

your thoughts, speech, and actions.

If you can do this,

existing unwholesomeness will cease. New unwholesomeness wont arise.

New wholesomeness will arise.

Existing wholesomeness will develop.

Your sati (mindfulness) that used to be hard to arise

will arise automatically.

Your samadhi (stability) that used to be dull and cloudy

will turn into samadhi that enables wisdom cultivation.

These good qualities will develop.

The no-good wisdom that only exists in your thoughts

will become the wisdom that

automatically arises from observing the truth of the phenomena.

So, Im giving you the homework.

Observe whats behind your thoughts,

your speech, and your actions.

Thats your practice.

With it, we will have right effort:

effort to eliminate existing unwholesomeness

and develop more wholesomeness.

We have the right goal.

We arent practicing to be good, happy, or peaceful,

but we practice to eradicate unwholesomeness

and develop more wholesomeness.

We dont practice for other things.

Well achieve this if we have mindfulness knowing the body and the mind.

By knowing so, satipatthana (mindfulness practice) arises.

This mindfulness is of a high level.

Some teachers call this maha-sati (great mindfulness).

The word maha-sati doesnt exist in the scripture,

except as the name of a sutta (narration).

There are many satipatthana (mindfulness) suttas.

Some are short. Some are long,

but the complete version is called

maha-satipatthana sutta (great mindfulness narration).

So, some teachers use the word maha-sati (great mindfulness)

or maha-panna (great wisdom)

to describe automatically arising mindfulness, stability, and wisdom.

If these still dont arise automatically, they arent yet maha (great).

You only are a buddhist scholar level 3, or whatever level. (A Thai joke)

If you want to be a maha (great or big scholar),

you must practice until automatic mindfulness,

stability and wisdom arise.

The beginning point is to observe your thoughts.

After a lot of practice, mindfulness will arise automatically.

Right effort will also arise automatically.

Theres no other goal for practice.

Dont practice for magical ears, eyes, an ability to read peoples minds,

an ability to know the long past or the future,

an ability to see peoples next lives,

an ability to see how many levels there are in heaven and hell.

Your mind wont be interested in these things,

because knowing these things isnt helpful for your liberation.

If your mind will have such ability, it will arise automatically.

Theyre just mental toys, or extra bonuses.

We dont practice these special abilities intentionally.

We practice to eradicate our impurities and develop wholesomeness;

doing this is samma-vayama (right effort).

After a lot of practice,

youll be more skillful.

When the body moves, mindfulness knows immediately.

When the mind moves, mindfulness knows immediately.

Mindfulness knows these things automatically.

Your mindfulness will become full.

Once mindfulness becomes full,

samma samadhi (right concentration) will occur.

Full samma-sati (right mindfulness) causes full samma-samadhi.

This is not an ordinary sati (mindfulness),

but it must be satipatthana,

which is mindfulness knowing the physical and abstract phenomena.

All samma (right/proper) qualities consist of mindfulness,

and it leads to an enlightenment process.

It doesnt lead to anything else.

Its the mindfulness that observes your own physical and abstract phenomena.

If you ignore this,

theres no opportunity to attain enlightenment.

When I met Luangpu Ian

and had a dhamma chat with him,

I told him that

Luangpu Dune taught me that

when you find the observer, destroy it. when you find the mind, destroy it,

youll then be completely pure.

But destroying the observer isnt directly attacking it.

We destroy it because we see the truth that

the mind also has trilaksana (three characteristics of phenomena).

Once you see that, the mind will let go of itself.

Luangpu Dunes words for this are to destroy.

It actually is the mind letting go of itself.

The end of suffering is there, when the mind lets go of itself.

That was our conversation.

We talked about the minds.

When I visit a teacher, we dont talk about other things like,

are you doing ok? or something like that. Its a waste of time.

When I met Luangpu Ian,

I saluted him and he acknowledged.

His mind then enters deep samadhi (concentration) to rest.

My mind also went into samadhi.

Its a visit without words.

His students asked whether I wanted a conversation,

but I said theres no need.

I wanted him to rest

and didnt want to disturb him.

True practitioners dont talk much.

True practitioners practice mindfulness much.

When I was with Luangpu Ian,

I was observing my mind and my body.

Once the appropriate time came,

I saluted him as a farewell.

His student told him that

Luangpor Pramote is leaving.

Hes saluting you.

Luangpu Ian acknowledged.

His mindfulness was complete.

We need to practice until our mindfulness,

samadhi (stability and concentration), and panna (wisdom) are all automatic.

Keep practicing.

Thats it for today.

Its time for questions.

Number 9

I have tried to formally practice, but I couldnt do it everyday;

I was exhausted from work.

When I practiced, my mind was diffused,

but I tried to be mindful and bring the mind back to its base.

Id like to know

whether thats considered reeling the mind back in or not?

I can see the aggregates separate, but not frequently.

Id like to ask for your advice.

Youre practicing correctly.

But when youre tired from thinking all day,

its impossible to attain peacefulness from sitting meditation.

We try to practice in little chunks of free time we have during the day.

When you walk to the restroom, be mindful.

Accumulating many short practices

will give mind strength.

So, when you practice more in the evening,

the mind wont fall asleep easily,

because the mind has got chunks of rest

or wisdom cultivation during the day.

So, add more short sessions of practice during the day.

Practice 5 or 10 minutes depending on the free time you have available.

Do it by being mindful and observing the minds workings.

If you cant observe the mind, observe the body.

After a lot of work, your mind may feel dizzy,

and mindfulness cant observe the mind. So, observe the body instead.

When I was a layperson, I observed my body on the way to the restroom.

But my mind gained enough strength to observe the mind on the way back.

Keep accumulating small pieces of practice like this.

Doing so helps your practice in the evening;

the mind wont fall asleep.

If the mind still needs more rest, it will do so with mindfulness.

Once it has enough strength,

itll start to do wisdom cultivation with mindfulness.

What youre practicing is correct.

Its got much better.

The mind has good samadhi (stability and concentration).

Once the mind is stable,

the khandas (five aggregates) may split and the mind can do wisdom cultivation.

If the mind becomes stable and still, because its too tired.

If the mind wants to rest, dont force it.

If you try to force it you may get a headache.

Number 10

When Im practicing in sitting posture,

I feel that my breathings are restricted.

Breathing isnt comfortable sometimes,

but some days they are comfortable and the mind is peaceful like right now.

Sometimes I also see the mind that clings to Buddho, is peaceful

but I feel that mind is overly-focused.

What should I do to stay on the correct path?

Knowing phenomena as they are, is the correct way.

If you recitie Buddho and the mind overly-focuses on it, know so.

If the mind is diffused, know so.

Thats ok. Keep observing.

Right now youre excited and overly-focusing, know so.

Know the phenomena as they are.

Your mind gets diffused easily.

You must have a home base for your mind.

It can be reciting Buddho, breathing, or something else.

The same practice doesnt yield the same results every day.

Some days the mind will be peaceful.

Some days the mind will be diffused. Thats normal.

We have a duty to offer our practice to the Buddha and we do so.

Whether the mind is calm or not, we keep practicing.

If you expect peacefulness every day, greed has already arisen.

Whats behind your practice is greed.

Know whats behind it and youll develop.

What youre currently practicing is good. Practice more.

Number 20

I practice by silently reciting Buddho.

I feel my mind isnt cultivating wisdom much.

Please advise me on how to improve.

Keep practicing reciting Buddho.

The mind doesnt have enough samadhi (stability and concentration)

to cultivate wisdom.

It tends to diffuse easily.

Many monks practice reciting Buddho for years.

Theres a student of Luangpu Tui who told me a story.

Luangpus first teaching was to recite Buddho.

He did it constantly for a year.

One day they met each other on the begging for alms routes.

Luangpu Tui told him be mindful.

It took him a year to go from reciting Buddho

to start practicing mindfulness.

Your mind gets diffused easily

because you dont have enough samadhi.

Buddho frequently and continuously.

If the mind becomes diffused during reciting, know so.

If it becomes peaceful, know so.

When reciting,

if the mind becomes happy, sad, wholesome, or unwholesome, know so.

Keep observing the mind when reciting Buddho.

The mind will slowly develop and will start doing wisdom cultivation.

Number 21

The practice object you gave me was doing the chanting.

I have been doing that for 2 years.

One day, I saw that the body thats chanting,

the conflicting feeling in the chest,

the floating thoughts,

and the observer all separated, and none of that was self.

When I got curious about where self has gone,

I saw the grabbing of the observer and then self arose.

I then knew that

this grabbing is the cause of all the suffering.

Afterward, my mind got restless trying to let go of this grabbing.

Id like to ask for further advice.

Youre practicing correctly.

When the mind grabs something,

it is called upadana (attachment).

When the mind grabs something, the mind struggles,

this is bhava (becoming).

Self then arises. This is called jati (birth)

and suffering results.

You saw the process correctly,

but dont crave to see it again.

Dont make an effort to try to see it again.

Our duty is to practice mindfulness.

Continue chanting.

But hoping to see it again while chanting wont work.

The greed has already arisen;

it excludes mindfulness, stability, and wisdom.

Know whats behind your chanting.

It is the same thing thats behind your thoughts.

If you know it, the mind will become purer,

and samadhi will arise.

Wisdom cultivation will then follow.

Keep practicing,

but dont hope for good results every time.

Youll never get any that way.

Be neutral to whether you will see it again.

Just work on the cause, which is practicing.

Your mind is diffused right now. Can you see it?

Know this phenomenon.

Number 30

I formally practice by doing Luangpor Tians 14-step hand movements.

Right now I added silently reciting chanting verses for about a minute.

Ive been doing this for 7-8 months.

The verses frequently get played back and the mind also wanders off.

Id like to ask for your advice.

You practice correctly. Its good.

So, keep reciting in your mind.

Knowing that the mind has wandered off

when youre reciting is the correct practice.

Keep practicing.

Dont be greedy for results.

You are practicing very well.

Your mind has samadhi (stability and concentration).

Do you feel it?

Can you tell?

Your samadhi got a lot better.

Its no longer dull and dumb.

Its full of strength without any intention to be stable.

The mind then sees the mind acting on its own.

Has your mind just wandered off? Did you see it? This is it.

Keep practicing.

Your current practice is good.

Number 31

I try to keep the moral precepts

and try to make actions and speech in sucarita (good conduct).

I try to practice in my daily life,

but I cant formally practice for a long period of time.

Id like to ask for your advice.

Formally practice, even if its for a short time.

When you become more skillful, the practice will be longer.

Dont ignore formal practice even if you practice while living a daily life;

your strength wont last.

I had been formally practicing since I was 7.

I did it for 22 years

before I started doing wisdom cultivation in daily life.

Back then, I looked down on samadhi (stability) from formal practice

and stopped doing it.

22 years of my samadhi

allowed me to cultivate wisdom in daily life for only 2 years.

Your mind still doesnt have enough samadhi (stability).

Keep doing formal practice.

Dont aim for peacefulness.

If you practice without greed for wholesomeness,

the mind will slowly become peaceful and gain more strength by itself.

But if you practice with greed,

nothing will happen except a diffused mind.

After the mind gets diffused for a long time,

youll feel that formal practice is useless,

and aim to practice mindfulness in daily life.

I have made this mistake before.

I was observing my mind.

When I saw it wander off, I thought I knew so,

but the mind has wandered off from its base.

The impurity then ceased, and the mind stayed unstable

and I felt empty for over a year.

The mind was comfortable, open, and clear.

At first, I thought it was good,

but after a while, I sensed that something was wrong.

The Buddha taught that phenomena are impermanent,

but I felt the comfort was permanent.

He also taught that its full of suffering,

why did I see happiness?

He said its not under our control, but why did I feel it was under my control.

I sensed that somethings wrong

because I had yonisomanasikara (proper consideration).

What I was experiencing was in conflict with the Buddhas teachings.

So I mustve been wrong, but I couldnt figure out what it was.

I then had an opportunity to visit Luangta Maha Bua.

Back then there werent so many people surrounding him.

I asked him that my teachers taught me to observe my mind.

I was doing so,

but I felt that nothing had developed for a year.

Luangta told me that

you thought you were observing your mind, but youre not doing so.

You must trust me.

I have already walked the path myself.

This is important. Nothing beats parikamma (silent reciting).

I saluted him

and stepped back a few meters so he could have his meal.

I started silently reciting Buddho,

but the mind got tensed up.

My mind disliked silently reciting Buddho.

I felt that this wasnt right, either.

So, I carefully consider the teaching.

There must be a reason why the teacher just taught me to silently recite.

The effect of silently reciting is samadhi (stability and concentration).

So that means I lacked samadhi.

So, I adjusted the practice a bit to suit my skills.

The silent reciting was good for him,

but it tensed me up.

It didnt suit me.

But I was used to silently reciting Bud reciting Bud

and dho while breathing out.

Luangpor Lee taught me that since I was little.

So, I started observing my breathing.

After a few cycles, the mind attained samadhi (stability and concentration)

and I suddenly realized that

my mind was without proper samadhi for more than a year.

So, practicing in daily life isnt sufficient.

You also need formal practice.

During formal practice, dont care whether the mind is peaceful.

Offer your practice to the Buddha, showing your respect to him.

Make it the time to make an offer to the Buddha.

Whether todays flower is beautiful doesnt matter.

Neither is the peacefulness from our practice offering.

We offer him what we have.

Doing this will develop your samadhi (stability).

Your formal practice time may also get longer.

Its not gonna be just 15 - 20 minutes like before.

Even today, sometimes I silently recite Buddho

when breathing right after I lie down in bed,

and I forget to fall asleep because the practice is so peaceful.

Not sleeping for a day or two is ok,

but if its longer, the body gets weaker and sleep is needed.

Some monks resolve not to sleep.

I know Luangpu Pleung who resolved not to sleep.

When I met him, he told me he hadnt slept in 13 years.

He resolved to keep nesajjika (not sleeping) practice.

I asked whether he resolved to do this to make more effort to practice,

and he told me it wasnt for practice.

He just felt more comfortable without sleep.

If he fell asleep, he didnt feel good after he woke up.

It was strange.

If you guys dont sleep youll feel uncomfortable, dont you?

At least youll have mental discomfort.

If you lack sleep,

you can become stressed without having any physical problems.

But Luangpu Pleung hadnt slept for 13 years.

I asked him further

whether there was no sleep whatsoever.

He said during the cool season, if it got too cold,

the mind entered a trance for a very short period.

After it woke up, he could stay awake all night.

So, there were some really short sleeps.

Everyones different.

If we try to imitate his practice, well probably die quickly.

For him, having too much sleep was uncomfortable.

So, you do formal practice diligently with patience.

Dont hope for anything good.

Offer your practice to the Buddha.

If youre not greedy, youll make progress faster.

Practicing with greed in your mind isnt good.

Ok, next.

Number 38

I feel that I struggle less during practice.

I formally practice by doing morning chants.

I observe the mind that wanders off

and practice observing the mind and the body.

When impurities arise, I know so.

Recently, right after waking up,

I notice a phenomenon that the mind and the body are separated.

I feel the struggle of the body and the mind.

They struggle by themselves.

I dont practice sitting posture now,

because right after I start, the mind feels squished, becomes diffused,

and I fall asleep.

Please advise me further.

You must formally practice.

Otherwise, your mind wont have enough samadhi (stability and concentration).

Do you feel that you dont yet have sufficient samadhi right now?

Its a bit too weak.

Formally practice and be neutral to whether youre peaceful,

just like what I just told another person earlier.

You have accumulated a lot of good qualities,

but without sufficient samadhi, enlightenment wont arise.

This is so because samadhi

is the container for 7 other components of the Noble path.

Enlightenment cant arise without samma-samadhi (right concentration).

So, you must practice formally. Dont neglect this.

Continue practicing without greed.

Practice as an offer to the Buddha, and your mind will gain strength.

Your minds qualities are much better than before.

Your mind has more strength and stability,

but its a bit blank and not truly stable.

Can you tell? Good.

Thats what can be improved: insufficient samadhi.

But dont try to force it.

Forcing the mind to be peaceful will make you stressed.

By seeing the body and the mind as burdensome is seeing suffering.

The five khandas (aggregates) are burdens.

Someone carrying a burden is suffering.

The fully enlightened ones have put down the burden,

and will never pick it up again.

They are free from all suffering.

So, you share the right view with the fully enlightened ones.

What do you see?

You see that the body and the mind are a burden.

But enlightenment still hasnt arisen

because you still lack samadhi (stability and concentration).

Number 59, the last one

This is my result from 2 years of practice.

I find the mind isnt yet strong. It is running away from suffering.

The mind caves in too many impurities.

Recently, when mindfulness arises,

I think it gets stuck in some emptiness or nothingness.

Please advise me.

That you see suffering is something good.

The Buddha taught us to know suffering, not running away from suffering.

To cultivate wisdom is to observe the body and mind, which are suffering.

In real life, theres a lot of suffering,

and youre tired of it.

So, when you practice, the mind runs away to observe emptiness.

Is that good? Its good in a worldly sense.

We get away from stress that can drive us nuts.

But is it good in a dhamma sense?

Its not totally good.

To be good in a dhamma sense is to be able to cultivate wisdom

and not running away from the truth.

The one who runs away from problems cannot really solve them.

Do you know ostriches?

When predators appear, instead of running away.

They put their heads underneath their wings.

After doing so, they no longer see the predators,

and they feel safe.

Predators love this.

They can hunt other animals first and return to the ostriches later,

because they wont move.

We do the same thing when we practice. Were scared of the suffering,

so the mind focuses on emptiness.

But you wont be able to run away from it,

because suffering is the truth of life.

Dont be attached to the joy of emptiness.

Otherwise, youll suffer even more in daily life

and this makes the situation worse.

Be more patient.

Adjust the practice.

Once the mind has gained some strength, come out from observing emptiness

and see the truth of the body and the mind.

When the mind becomes exhausted, go back to observe emptiness.

Switching between observing these 2 things is much better

than only observing emptiness.

If you only observe emptiness, one day youll be taken by a predator,

which is Kilesa-Mara (impurities as a destroyer).

They will hunt you down.

Understand? Ok. Practice more.

I believe thats all. You may leave.