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Q: Is it advisable to
read a lot or study the scriptures as a part of practice?
A: The Dhamma
of the Buddha is not found in books. If you want to really see for
yourself what the Buddha was talking about, you don’t need to bother with
books. Watch your own mind. Examine to see how feelings come and go, how
thoughts come and go. Don’t be attached to anything. Just be mindful of
whatever there is to see. This is the way to the truths of the Buddha. Be
natural. Everything you do in your life here is a chance to practice. It
is all Dhamma. When you do your chores, try to be mindful. If you are
emptying a spittoon or cleaning a toilet, don’t feel you are doing it as a
favour for anyone else. There is Dhamma in emptying spittoons. Don’t feel
you are practising only when sitting still, cross-legged. Some of you have
complained that there is not enough time to meditate. Is there enough time
to breathe? This is your meditation: mindfulness, naturalness in whatever
you do.
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Q: What can I do about
doubts? Some days I’m plagued with doubts about the practice or my own
progress, or the teacher.
A: Doubting is natural. Everyone starts out
with doubts. You can learn a great deal from them. What is important is
that you don’t identify with your doubts. That is, don’t get caught up in
them. This will spin your mind in endless circles. Instead, watch the
whole process of doubting, of wondering. See who it is that doubts. See
how doubts come and go. Then you will no longer be victimised by your
doubts. You will step outside of them and your mind will be quiet. You can
see how all things come and go. Just let go of what you are attached to.
Let go of your doubts and simply watch. This is how to end
doubting.
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Q: What about other
methods of practice? These days there seem to be so many teachers and so
many different systems of meditation that it is confusing. A: It is like
going into town. One can approach from the north, from the south east,
from many roads. Often these systems just differ outwardly. Whether you
walk one way or another, fast or slow, if you are mindful, it is all the
same. There is one essential point that all good practice must eventually
come to – not clinging. In the end, all meditation systems must be let go
of. Neither can one cling to the teacher. If a systems leads to
relinquishment, to not-clinging, then it is correct practice. You may wish
to travel, to visit other teachers and try other systems. Some of you have
already done so. This is a natural desire. You will find out that a
thousand questions asked and knowledge of many systems will not bring you
to the truth. Eventually you will get bored. You will see that only by
stopping and examining your own mind can you find out what the Buddha
talked about. No need to go searching outside yourself. Eventually you
must return to face your own true nature. Here is where you can understand
the Dhamma.
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Q: I still have very
many thoughts. My mind wanders a lot even though I am trying to be
mindful.
A: Don’t worry about this. Try to keep your mind in the
present. Whatever there is that arises in the mind, just watch it. Let go
of it. Don’t even wish to be rid of thoughts. Then the mind will reach its
natural state. No discriminating between good and bad, hot and cold, fast
and slow. No me and no you, no self at all. Just what there is. When you
walk on alms-round, no need to do anything special. Simply walk and see
what there is. No need to cling to isolation or seclusion. Wherever you
are, know your self by being natural and watching. If doubts arise, watch
them come and go. It’s very simple. Hold on to nothing. It is as though
you are walking down a road. Periodically you will run into obstacles.
When you meet defilements, just see them and just overcome them by letting
go of them. Don’t think about the obstacles you have passed already. Don’t
worry about those you have not yet seen. Stick to the present. Don’t be
concerned about the length of the road or about the destination.
Everything is changing. Whatever you pass, do not cling to it. Eventually
the mind will reach its natural balance where practice is automatic. All
things will come and go of themselves.
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Q: You have said that
samatha and vipassana or concentration and insight are the same. Could you
explain this further? A: It is quite simple. Concentration (samatha) and
wisdom (vipassana) work together. First the mind becomes still by holding
on to a meditation object. It is quiet only while you are sitting with
your eyes closed. This is samatha and eventually this samadhi-base is the
cause for wisdom or vipassana to arise. Then the mind is still whether you
sit with you eyes closed or walk around in a busy city. It’s like this:
once you were a child, now you are an adult. Are the child and the adult
the same person? You can say that they are, or looking at it another way,
you can say that they are different. In this way samatha and vipassana
could also be looked at as separate. Or it is like food and faeces. Food
and faeces could be called the same and they can be called different.
Don’t just believe what I say, do your practice and see for yourself.
Nothing special is needed. If you examine how concentration and wisdom
arise, you will know the truth for yourself. These days many people cling
to the words. They call their practice samatha. It is essential to do
samatha before vipassana, they say. All this is silly. Don’t bother to
think about it in this way. Simply do the practice and you’ll see for
yourself.
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Q: I feel sleepy a
great deal. It makes it hard to meditate.
A: There are many ways to
overcome sleepiness. If you are sitting in the dark, move to a lighted
place. Open your eyes. Get up and wash your face or take a bath. If you
are sleepy, change postures. Walk a lot. Walk backwards. The fear of
running into things will keep you awake. If this fails, stand still, clear
the mind and imagine it is full daylight. Or sit on the edge of a high
cliff or deep well. You won’t dare sleep! If nothing works, then just go
to sleep. Lay down carefully and try to be aware until the moment you fall
asleep. Then as you awaken, get right up. Don’t look at the clock or roll
over. Start mindfulness from the moment you awaken. If you find yourself
sleepy everyday, try to eat less. Examine yourself. As soon as five more
spoonfuls will make you full, stop. Then take water until just properly
full. Go and sit. Watch your sleepiness and hunger. You must learn to
balance your eating. As your practice goes on you will feel naturally more
energetic and eat less. But you must adjust yourself.
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Q: I have been
meditating many years now. My mind is open and peaceful in almost all
circumstances. Now I would like to try to backtrack and practice high
states of concentration or mind absorption.
A: This is fine. It is
beneficial mental exercise. If you have wisdom, you will not get hung up
on concentrated states of mind. It is the same as wanting to sit for long
periods. This is fine for training, but really, practice is separate from
any posture. It is a matter of directly looking at the mind. This is
wisdom. When you have examined and understood the mind, then you have the
wisdom to know the limitations of concentration, or of books. If you have
practised and understand not-clinging, you can then return to the books.
They will be like a sweet dessert. They can help you to teach others. Or
you can go back to practice absorption. You have the wisdom to know not to
hold on to any thing.
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