QA and Dhamma Discussion with Overseas Disciple - 03

Teaching of Thabarwa Sayadaw U Ottamasara
 

Question and Answer and Dhamma Discussion with

Overseas Disciple
 

3rd September 2012

 

Part - Three



KKL  :  I personally believe that we can make donations only when we have capacity to donate.  That is the reason why we have to work hard to earn money in order to donate. May I know your opinion please?

Sayadaw  :  In reality, you can do good deeds as long as you have strong determination.  It is immaterial whether you are carrying out your created actions (endeavours) or doing good deeds, as long as you have strong determination, you will surely be able to do them (if you have will, you have ways). 

The perception of 'one can do good deeds only when one has capacity and capabilities to do so' is not the complete perception as it pays central emphasis only on 'having or not-having'. 

In reality, you should pay central emphasis on the cause (effort), 'doing or not-doing'.

Paying central emphasis on 'having or not-having' means paying central emphasis on the 'effect' (result).

If you have good 'cause' in mind or if you place central emphasis on good 'cause', you surely can do good actions or good deeds.  It also does not matter whether you are rich or poor, you still can do good deeds if you have strong determination to do so.



In terms of studying, you study without knowing whether you will become learned (academic) one day but you keep on studying just because you have strong determination to do so. 

In terms of doing business, you hop into the business weagon without knowing whether you will be successful one day but you keep on working so hard just because you have strong determination to do so.

In terms of seeking medical treatments, you spend tons of money on the best specialists, medicines and medical treatments without knowing whether your illness or disease can be cured but you keep on seeking treatments till you have nothing left to sell (penniless) just because you are willing to do so.

Those examples show that if you have strong determination to do something, you can, you surely can do it.

Similarly, in terms of doing 'dana', if you have will, you surely can do it.  It is more important for you to have will and determination to do 'dana' or good deeds.

Because our understandings are not complete (conclusive), we tend to centre our attention on 'having' capacity and capabilities to do good deeds.  For this, we work even harder to earn more money in order to donate. Along the way, we become sickly and die without even be given any chance to do significant good deeds.  Instead, we accumulate bad kamma (akusala) as side effect.

Our conventional understanding of 'dana' is not so accurate and correct.  Hence, the 'dana' as you traditionally understand does not encourage you to abandon your desire and actions (endeavours) to earn more money.

Likewise, no matter how much you observe 'sila' in conventional way, you still unable to abandon all your physical and oral actions.  One good example is those who take precepts in traditional way.  These people tend to take pride in how many precepts they can take or how long they can take how many precepts.  It shows that these people place central emphasis on 'doing' (taking precepts) without abandoning other actions beyond the precepts that they take, e.g. saying this and that, talking about this and that, etc while taking those precepts.

Observing 'sila' according to your understanding might not be the real and correct way of observing 'sila'.

In terms of practicing meditation according to your knowledge, no matter how much you concentrate or contemplate on or how long you have been practicing meditation, if you still cannot abandon your thoughts, worries, angers, frustrations, doubts, suspicions, greed, etc (actions of mind), your ability of practicing meditation, concentration and contemplation can still be considered as your ability of 'doing actions'.

As long as you cannot abandon the other actions of your mind, the meditation that you practice might not help you to achieve your ultimate goal of enlightenment and might not help you to attain insight wisdom.

The real and genuine 'sila' is abandoning power to all physical and oral actions and 'bhavana' is abandoning power to all mental actions ... an abandoning power to all the actions of your mind and this must always be your understanding.  One the other hand, it should also be called as abandoning traditional understanding and embracing on more complete understanding.

 

By doing so, your mind power of abandoning will gradually be improved and reached to the fullest.  Your ability of 'doing-only' will eventually be improved.

If you place emphasis on 'doing' actions, only your mind power of 'doing' actions will be increased.

Try to understand "what should be done" by using "what must be done."

 

To be continued .....

QA and Dhamma Discussion with Overseas Disciple - 02

Teaching of Thabarwa Sayadaw U Ottamasara
 

Question and Answer and Dhamma Discussion with

Overseas Disciple
 

3rd September 2012

 

Part - Two

 

KKL  :  You always remind people to 'do Good Deeds continuously'.  In my personal point of view, Good Deeds means dana, sila and bhavana.  Out of these three, bhavana, which we traditionally understand is - to keep your body in correct posture during meditation, observe our breathing closely (concentrate on your nostril), etc.  In your point of view, what really is the action during meditation and how to contemplate on?  Kindly explain .....

Sayadaw  :  As far as practicing meditation is concerned, the traditional understanding of most of the meditators (yogis) are not so correct because they traditionally understand meditation as 'doing'.  In truth and reality, practicing meditation means 'abandoning'.  Abandoning the doings or actions and doing the action of 'abandoning' only.

Traditionally, we are taught to 'do' something during meditation.  That is the reason why most of the meditators always try to do something during meditation.  Moreover, we traditionally believe that result can be achieved by doing or working hard, so we naturally try to do something to achieve desired result. 



The real meditation is 'abandoning', doing nothing but 'abandoning', abandon placing central emphasis on living and non-living things (beings).

Traditionally we use living and non-living beings with grasping, use living beings as my relatives, my family, my race (ethnic group or nationality), etc with the mind action of centering and attachment.  In reality, the ability that can use living and non-living things as abandoning purpose is a real and genuine 'dana'. 

If you do not do 'dana', you will use living and non-living things with grasping, you will resort to all sorts of methods and approach to earn money, you will use all sorts of ways and means to widen up your circle of friends and connections, you will take living beings with the mind action of grasping, etc.  This kind of understanding is not correct.

Doing real Good Deeds means abandoning the grasping.

 

 

Traditionally we understand kaya kamma (physical actions), vaci kamma (oral actions) and mano actions (mental actions) as 'actions to do'.  Due to this understanding, even during meditation, we automatically center our attention on 'doing this, doing that', 'saying right things and trying not to say wrong things', etc.  Those actions are called observing sila in traditional way.

The real and genuine sila is 'abandoning' ..... abandoning power to all physical and oral (verbal) actions. 

We normally do not know how to make use of living and non-living beings for abandoning purpose. That is the reason why we always use them for grasping purpose.

As far as kaya kamma (physical actions) and vaci kamma (oral actions) are concerned, we tend to do all sorts of actions (activities) up to our limits, we tend to say whatever we can say or whatever we wish to say, we tend to do everything until there is nothing which we do not know how to do, we tend to learn everything until there is nothing left for us to learn .... those are the norms of human beings.

 

 

The real sila is ... to try to 'abandon' all those created physical and oral actions without placing central emphasis on doing or not-doing.  Real sila emphasises only on the power of abandoning.  As long as you carry out your actions with the power of abandoning in mind, there is no problem.  But the problem is that we tend to do things without the power of abandoning in mind.  That is the reason why we cannot live without doing anything, saying anything, etc.  By doing so, in long term, some might develop signs of mental disorders.

Dana, which we traditionally understand is also 'doing something' ... human beings possess ability to do donations but unable to abandon the mind action of grasping on living and non-living beings along the way.  That is the reason why we always need to work so hard to earn money in order to make donations.

Dana	Ability that can use living and non-living things as abandoning purpose.
Sila	Abandoning power to all physical and oral actions.
Bhavana	Abandoning power to all mental actions.
Panna	Abandoning power to any attachment concerning with physical, oral and mental actions.

 

To be continued ...

Q&A and Dhamma Discussion with Overseas Disciple - 01

Teaching of Thabarwa Sayadaw U Ottamasara
 

Question and Answer and Dhamma Discussion with

Overseas Disciple
 

3rd September 2012

 

Part - One

KKL  :  Vererable sir, how should we contemplate if we experience pain during meditation?  Should we contemplate the pain as to be 'experienced-only'?

Sayadaw  :  The pain is to be experienced-only and not to take it as reality...you need to understand and contemplate in this way.  If not, you will be suffering from the pain and take the pain as if it is meant for feeling (suffering).  If the sensation is good, you will feel good but if the sensation is bad, you will feel frustrated.  In order to avoid this, you have to keep on understanding the truth of just to be experienced only and not to take the pain as reality.

Human mind can only do only one thing at a time or human mind can only focus on one thing at a time.  By trying to understand and contemplate on the truth and consider the pain as just to be experienced-only, you will be able to abandon placing central emphasis on pain as reality. By nature, the degree of physical pain could either go up or down, severe or weak, etc as it is beyond one's control.  In order not to place central emphasis on this nature, it is important for you to remember and contemplate on the truth of 'to be experience-only and not to centre you attention on them'.

You need to train your mind to do non-routine tasks or works.  In this way, your mind will stop working on usual and routine tasks or works.

KKL  :  If this is the case, should we contemplate as 'things got destroyed just because their time is up and things got created just because their time is up'?

Sayadaw  :  Contemplating on this way is not complete and conclusive but weak in truth as the content percentage of truth in this statement is small.  Superficially, the statement seems correct but it is not a complete and conclusive understanding. 'Just to experience only' is an ultimate truth.  The pain is to be experienced only and not to pay central attention on it as the truth.

'To be experienced only' is non-rejection.

'Not to pay central attention on it' is non-attachment.

Not only the pain that you experience during meditation, but also for all sorts of pains, sufferings and happenings due to kamma actions (kammic efforts), you always need to understand the truth of 'experience-only and not to take them as reality'.

As long as you understand and contemplate on the truth, your actions can be considered as 'you are using the truth in a correct or right way' and 'experiencing and enduring all the pains and sufferings in a right way'.  It is called 'changing the direction or actions of your mind).

Traditionally people tend to associate with all the good and bad feelings with 'I' ... this is good, this is bad, pain, ache, suffering, increasing, decreasing, etc.  Mind is always working along those traditional believes because it has been trained to do so over the years.  Hence, in order to abandon mind from doing traditional actions and dissociate mind from those actions, you have to try not to forget the truth of 'experiencing only and not to take those actions as reality'. 

 

 

Human mind has the ability to do multiple tasks.  Your duty is to try to abandon multi-tasking of your mind but keep on doing only one task of 'abandoning' those multi-tasking of your mind.

Depending on the severity of the pain, your mind will automatically be focusing on the pain and enduring the pain.  In order to abandon the habit of your mind, e.g. automatically focusing and enduring the pain, you have to keep on remembering the truth of 'experiencing-only and not to take the pain as reality'. 

In other words, you have to try your best not to forget but remember the truth of 'abandoning and not to take the pain as reality' in your mind.

'Abandoning' means to abandon all kinds of created actions and tasks which we always place central emphasis and attention on, e.g. pain, noise (sound), sight, taste, etc.  Your duty is to abandon placing central emphasis on those habitual actions and tasks by keep on doing non-habitual action of 'abandoning' continuously.

To be continued ...