When awareness becomes natural by sayadaw u tejaniya

“This is the work of an eminently skilled meditation master who uses many
examples from his own life and practice to help us understand and free our
minds. There is both simplicity of expression and subtlety of understanding
in Sayadaw’s teachings, and they will be of great help to both beginning and
experienced meditators. Highly recommended.”
—Joseph Goldstein, author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening
“A wonderfully fresh and lively contribution, rooted in classical Theravadin
tradition and at the same time of practical and contemporary relevance,
illustrated by intimate, vivid personal examples of how dharma practice can
help us all learn how to live with more wisdom and kindness.”
—Larry Rosenberg, author of Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of
Insight Meditation
ABOUT THE BOOK
The flame of wisdom can be kindled in the midst of any life, even one that
might seem too full of personal and professional commitments to allow for it.
Such is the teaching of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, who himself learned to cultivate
awareness in the raucous years he spent in the Burmese textile business
before taking monastic ordination at the age of thirty-six. Train yourself to
be aware of the clinging and aversion that arise in any situation, he teaches.
If you can learn to do that, calm and deep insight will naturally follow. It’s a
method that works as well for sorting the laundry or doing data entry as it
does in formal sitting meditation. “The object of attention is not really
important,” he teaches, “the observing mind that is working in the
background to be aware is of real importance. If the observing is done with
the right attitude, any object is the right object.”
SAYADAW U TEJANIYA is a Burmese monk in the lineage of Mahasi
Sayadaw who teaches meditation at Shwe Oo Min Dhamma Sukha Forest
Meditation Center in Yangon (Rangoon), Myanmar. He’s unique among the
more high-profile monastic teachers of his tradition in that, though he began
practice under his teacher at age thirteen, he didn’t enter monastic life till

he was nearly forty—after an active career in his family’s textile business.
His teaching emphasizes the application of awareness to every aspect of
life, de-emphasizing the centrality of practice forms even as he teaches them
rigorously—and his style is relaxed, funny, and informed by his intimate
knowledge of the workaday world. He has taught in Australia, China, Great
Britain, the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Israel, New Zealand, Poland,


Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States.


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When Awareness Becomes Natural
A GUIDE TO CULTIVATING MINDFULNESS IN DAILY LIFE

Sayadaw U Tejaniya
Edited by Robert French
Foreword by Steven Armstrong

Shambhala
Boulder
2016


Shambhala Publications, Inc.
4720 Walnut Street

Boulder, Colorado 80301
www.shambhala.com
©2016 by Sayadaw U Tejaniya
Photographs ©2016 Zack Hessler
Cover design by Graciela Galup
Cover art: Cultura RM/Oscar Bjarnason/Getty Images
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Tejaniya, Sayadaw U.
Title: When awareness becomes natural: a guide to cultivating mindfulness in daily life / Sayadaw U
Tejaniya; edited by Robert French; foreword by Steven Armstrong.
Description: First Edition. | Boulder: Shambhala, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015032729 | eISBN 9780834840164 | ISBN 9781611803075 (pbk.: alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Meditation—Buddhism.
Classification: LCC BQ5612.T38 2016 | DDC 294.3/4435—dc23
LC record available at />

To my parents and my teachers


We meditate to develop right view.
This cannot be achieved by the ego; meditation must proceed naturally by
watching any experience just as it is.
This is the way to develop right view.
—SHWE OO MIN SAYADAW


Contents

Foreword
Introduction
PART ONE

Recognition of Wisdom
1.
2.
3.

Getting Started
Knowing the Mind
The Defilements
PART TWO

Wise Investigation of the Mind
4.
5.

Causes and Conditions
The Depression
PART THREE

A Commitment to Wisdom
6.
7.
8.

The Spirit of Practice
The Meditating Mind

Bringing Practice into Daily Life
Final Words
Glossary of Selected Pali Terms
Acknowledgments
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Foreword

What follows is a practical guide for the wise application of mindfulness of mind
in our daily lives.
It is refreshing to hear the liberating teachings of the Buddha taught in a way
that is simple, nondogmatic, practical, and suitable for our times, our place, our
lives. U Tejaniya is just such a teacher. He discourages ambitious spiritual
athleticism. He cautions us from becoming meditative technicians. He doesn’t
mistake experience for wisdom. He points out the danger of seduction by
emotions and by attachment to false promises of “spiritual goodies,” such as
calm, concentration, clarity, and joy.
He offers instead the practice of perseverance and mindful awareness in our
daily lives, where we simply relax and attend to all experience, letting them all
come and go. From this, wisdom grows naturally.
I first met Sayadaw U Tejaniya in 2005 during six weeks of intensive practice.
During that time he offered me generous and extraordinary access to his
teaching. In those exhilarating first weeks and in continuing to train with him
over the ensuing ten years, I have benefited from his guidance and have
integrated his teachings to complement other meditative practices I offer. Many
Western dhamma students have found their way to Sayadaw’s teachings, and I
am happy to introduce you to these teachings here.
Uncharacteristically for Burmese monks, Sayadaw generously shares the
wisdom he learned from his trials and errors in life. U Tejaniya has had a unique

journey to becoming a meditation master. His dhamma biography proceeds in
fits and starts through the youthful follies of delinquency and drug use and
abuse. As a young adult, he was challenged with severe depression multiple
times. He experienced all the trials of an active householder’s life of family and
economic obligations. His life now includes taking on monastic commitments and
the responsibilities of guiding others along the way.
At every step on his path of awakening, U Tejaniya’s journey inspires us.
Through his experience we clearly see how the liberating wisdom of the Buddha


is available to us right now, whatever our lifestyle, through the steady and
determined application of mindful awareness. Informed and guided by his
lifelong relationship with his own teacher, the late Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw (“Gold
Cave Hermitage Monastic Teacher”), U Tejaniya continually experimented with
mindful awareness. By his practice of mindfulness, especially in remaining
mindful of his challenges, a natural wisdom matured into his unwavering
commitment to a lifestyle of awareness.
Sayadaw assures us that the process of kindling the flame of wisdom is
possible within the bounds of our full personal, professional, and civic
commitments. His evolving understanding of awareness and wisdom has
resulted in profound insights into the Buddha’s teaching on the four foundations
of mindfulness.
Sayadaw offers the information that supports the skillful application of
awareness of the mind’s activity in practice. He consistently emphasizes
recognizing the mind, whether in his initial instructions for understanding the
dhamma, in his teaching on awareness practice, or in writing about the
challenges we’ll meet on the path. He offers teachings on the most effective
attitudes of mind for practicing mindfulness and gives a realistic appraisal of the
possibility of liberation from suffering in our lives through the recognition of the
mindfulness of mind.

Sayadaw U Tejaniya teaches by offering a corrective understanding of
unskillful mindfulness practice more often than by offering yet another technique
for focusing attention. He often says, “Let the body be comfortable and the
mind, relaxed. Check your attitude of mind.”
Sayadaw complements practical information on why and how to practice with
careful attention to intelligent attitudes of mind. We learn how to relax, open,
allow, receive, acknowledge, and observe with interest in order to understand
each moment’s experience with deepening insight.
These instructions were collected from dhamma dialogues of Sayadaw guiding
small groups of lay students. They are therefore particularly effective for
householders who live a full emotional life, are encouraged to think
independently, need to solve life problems, and have to juggle the
responsibilities and commitments of a busy life. In the midst of all this, training
in mindfulness and in “awareness of mind” is essential if our meditation practice
is to mature to an established lifestyle of continual awareness.
Sayadaw says, “Consider meditation and the unfolding of wisdom more like a
marathon than a sprint. Be willing to learn from everything. This practice is for
life.”
May you be encouraged both by U Tejaniya’s words and by his example.
—STEVE ARMSTRONG


Introduction

The inspiration for this book has arisen out of my own curiosity of what life
brings, and my experiences in meditation practice. Since the age of thirteen,
when I first sat with my teacher Shwe Oo Min Sayadaw and received his
meditation instructions, my life has been filled with countless periods of both
suffering and happiness as I experimented with various forms of meditation
practice and ways of life before I was compelled to take refuge in the vipassanā

practice that my teacher originally instructed me in and that I practice and
teach today.
When the idea for this book first came about, it was suggested it be a
biography. It soon became apparent that, as my practice—and indeed my life—is
ongoing, a book of practice covering my mistakes and achievements, my years of
depression and the understanding and wisdom that arose out of these
experiences, would not only be more appropriate but perhaps more inspirational
to yogis. So as a book of practice, we will deal mainly with practical matters.
Dhamma theory and doctrine will be an important part of your ongoing practice,
but for now we will concern ourselves mainly with the fundamental aspects of
mindfulness practice. Nothing could be more natural than this practice of
meditation.
As a teacher it is my job to present the teachings of the Buddha in a way that
will both inspire and motivate yogis to try to capture and build upon that elusive
thread of wisdom that draws us into meditation practice in the first place. My
teachings are nothing new; they are based on the four foundations of
mindfulness: awareness of the body, awareness of feelings, awareness of mind,
and understanding of dhamma, or nature (i.e., understanding of the nature of
mind and matter). These four foundations were set forth in the Buddha’s
discourse on mindfulness, the Satipatthāna-sutta. How I offer these teachings is
a reflection of my life and practice, and the way in which they are presented is
to accommodate the ever-changing lifestyles of the modern yogi.
With this book I will be presenting the same teachings as in my previous books


but with more emphasis on integrating the practice into daily life. We will look
at some of the subtleties of daily practice with examples from yogi experiences
of the many hidden and subtle traps a yogi can encounter along the way. There
will be a strong emphasis on wisdom, the wisdom we already have and the way
we can apply, develop, and grow this quality of mind; most importantly, I will

also emphasize how to develop the skills to recognize, even when faced with the
most difficult of circumstances, this wisdom that already exists in our minds and
that will help us continue and build our practice.
The problems and experiences that yogis bring to my interviews often come
with a certain amount of conflict. The resulting pain, both emotional and
physical, that goes with this often leaves them confused as to where to turn
next. When trying to convey to the yogi where he or she is attached, I will often
use stories from my past experiences or stories from other yogi’s experiences to
bring some clarity to the situation. These stories will be used liberally
throughout this book to convey to yogis a way in which they can change an
attitude or recognize a wrong view that will trigger a response that may allow
them to recognize the defilements that are tainting and confusing their minds.
The first chapter of this book, “Getting Started,” and the book as a whole are
relevant not only to yogis who are sitting their first meditation but also as a
refresher to the most advanced yogi, who still has the ability to forget that in
each moment we are always “getting started.” If we can bring both awareness
and wisdom to each moment in a continuous and sustained way, then nature will
take over; this will then give us the momentum to move forward with our
practice, with the only effort required being a genuine interest in seeing what
meditation can uncover and bring to our lives. So please—be aware, reveal
some wisdom, and begin your practice.


PART ONE

Recognition of Wisdom



1

Getting Started

F

ask ourselves: What is our relationship to reality? What is our
understanding of life? From this, we will find meditation is really the only
sensible approach to our reality and the problems that can arise from living. We
can use it as an escape or avoidance from life, or we can use it as a practice to
attend to life. When we start bringing awareness to the way we live, it soon
becomes apparent that we really have little understanding of ourselves or the
environment we live in; we are facing a constant battle just to maintain a little
happiness in our lives. The problems that we create out of fear, boredom,
loneliness, routine, despair, and repetition (to name just a few) are the reality
we face. Life is a serious business, so it takes a serious mind to investigate and
understand what makes us suffer. Before we can bring about a shift from this
reality, we must first look at “what is” and understand it; we must look at life as
it is and come into intimate contact with it. It is not just about accumulating
knowledge or seeing life as an abstraction, but more about a simple
understanding of what it is really like to live life as a human being.
It is only a quiet, dedicated, and meditative mind that can penetrate and find
true understanding into these difficulties that we create in our lives, and from
this see through the confusion and chaos that can dominate our minds. With this
understanding, the wisdom that is inherent in us all is slowly revealed. The joy
that comes from recognizing this wisdom will create interest and understanding,
which in turn will motivate us to reveal more. This then allows us to look deeper
into how we experience life and our relationship to the world around us. From
this position of wisdom, life becomes more meaningful and more stable, and
happiness can then flow in a more natural way.
IRST, WE MUST

WISDOM

Wisdom is what this practice is about. It is the elusive and hard-earned quality


of mind we so desperately try to achieve. When found, it will become the
compass that shows the way as we try to penetrate and understand the three
mind-defiling elements of greed, aversion, and delusion. The antidote to delusion
is wisdom, and the byproduct of wisdom is happiness, not the sensory happiness
that we spend most of our lives chasing but genuine wisdom happiness that
comes from the insight, information, and knowledge gained by being continually
aware. The wisdom that must be present in the mind when meditating should at
its most basic level be the information you will receive from reading or listening
to dhamma-related topics (suttamayā paññā). The wisdom that comes from
curiosity and interest must also be present. This investigative faculty of mind
(cintāmayā paññā, also called dhamma vicaya) is necessary for developing
further wisdom. Experiential wisdom (bhāvanāmaya paññā) arises out of a
mindfulness practice that has both suttamayā paññā and cintāmayā paññā firmly
in place. We can visualize the mind as a river, with many currents and streams
flowing into it. Wisdom, like the river, is flowing or transient and must be
renewed, or it can diminish. This renewal can only come about through the
application of sati, or awareness. Without the presence of sati, no kusala
(“wholesome”) mental qualities (cetasika) can be present in the mind. Wisdom,
along with faith and energy (viriya), is what acts and initiates momentum into
our practice.
We must have some understanding of what is at work when we meditate.
What are in play are the five spiritual faculties (indriya): awareness (sati),
steadiness/stability of mind (samādhi), wise/right effort or energy (viriya), faith
and confidence (saddhā), and wisdom (paññā). In the process of mindfulness

meditation, we are working to cultivate and grow these spiritual faculties, so
they work in balance. If they are not in balance or if one is below where it
should be for some reason or another, then the others are going to struggle to
keep the mind in a state of equanimity.
We always start with awareness; it is that which grounds us and allows kusala
mind states to arise. All kusala minds (satisampayutta) arise together with sati.
When we have awareness, we also have the opportunity to learn and allow the
wisdom aspect of our mind to flourish. Wisdom is that which sees clearly, and
with the addition of awareness, we can have the faith and motivation to keep
exploring and moving into the unknown and uncharted regions of our minds. It is
not enough to be satisfied with the wisdom we have; we must have faith and the
openness to receive the wisdom that is not yet realized.
When the mind is balanced and strong, and awareness becomes natural, the
wisdom you have acquired is always available; no effort is required for it to
arise. When the observing mind gets stronger, wisdom can deal more easily with
defilements (greed, anger, and delusion). As wisdom grows the mind becomes
purer and more equanimous. You will eventually start experiencing periods of
clarity and equanimity where you will start to have a different view of your mind
and the world. You will start to experience insight. With insight you will see it is


the spirit of discovery and not the events and circumstances leading up to it that
will constitute the insight. It is very hard for someone who hasn’t experienced
this to appreciate the wondrous nature of the flowering of this understanding;
there is no mistaking it when it happens.
When insight arises you will find understanding where previously it was only
superficial. Insight happens spontaneously; you cannot will it to happen. The
experiences of someone leading up to an insight and the insight itself are two
different things. Two people having the same experience does not mean they will
both have insight. When the conditions are ripe, then insight will arise. You will

have your own distinct experiences and your own distinct insights. You will then
understand the vast differences between what you have heard and read of
insight and the actual insight itself. You can explain the effect and experiences
an insight has on you but not the depth of understanding you gain from it.
Experiencing reality through the lens of insight will have a profound effect on
your life and practice and the way you view the world. The wisdom that is
acquired in this way will immediately alter the way in which you relate to things.
However, a word of warning: an insight is not permanent; it only lasts for the
moment that it arises. What does remain alive is its potential and its quality; its
imprint on our minds is its legacy. Unless we keep nurturing this quality, it can
recede. Only continued diligence, faith in the practice, and sustained awareness
will keep it alive. Recalling the insight and the events leading to it will make sure
the wisdom you have acquired from it will keep working and growing for you.
BE OPEN TO WISDOM

Making an effort to be open for wisdom to arise in any moment is essential. This
is not a contrived effort, nor is it a blind acceptance of what is actually
happening in the moment, but more a passive investigation of what is happening
in the mind in that moment. Consequently we have an overview from a
perspective of objectivity that allows the insight to arise; we have created space
by stepping back from the object. We are now seeing the activities of the mind
and our experiences with fresh eyes, and we are bringing in the wisdom of a
beginner’s mind: curiosity, asking how to be more raw in the moment, and not
assuming that the experience is what we always assumed it to be—all this,
without excessive questioning or intellectualizing.
It is also very important to bear in mind the impact this acquired knowledge
will have on our practice. All this information keeps working in the back of our
minds and influences the way we think and the way we view things. Make sure
you really understand the basics, and also make sure you are aware and know
what you are doing. Whenever you are uncertain and not sure how to proceed,

clarify your understanding with a teacher. It is important to have the right
information, also the right motivation and the right thinking to practice with
wisdom. Wisdom can only emerge when we have enough information. How do
we acquire this information? It can only come when we use awareness with


interest and inquiry. When the information is complete, insight will arise.
Some minds are more naturally inclined toward investigation. We are all
naturally intelligent in different ways. You will notice that if your mind has more
interest in something, then there is very little effort required to be aware and
stay interested; your mind will start innovating and find better and more
efficient ways to get things done. This is a natural process of mind, and the same
happens with meditation. One day my teacher asked, “Why is there rising and
falling of the abdomen?” I knew theoretically and experientially that it was
because I was breathing. My teacher then asked, “Why is there breathing?” I
couldn’t answer that because it wasn’t in my experience; I didn’t know. I gave
answers from the top of my head: “Because it’s natural and you want to live?”
But it wasn’t experiential, and my teacher didn’t accept the answers, so he told
me to go away and investigate. It took me a week of watching and investigating
before the answer suddenly came. It was very clear to me but very simple.
When I was breathing, I could see the wanting to breathe, the intention. This is
what it can take to bring about understanding—one week of investigation to see
that because there is the desire to breathe, breathing is happening.
Do not limit yourself. Always leave the door open for new and deeper
understandings. No matter how experienced you are or how much more
knowledge you have than everyone else, never be satisfied with the
understandings or depth of insight you have experienced. Wisdom is limitless;
there is always room for more. Once wisdom has been experientially
understood, then there is no need to call on it as much because it becomes a
part of your overall right view. Wisdom then becomes consolidated and the mind

is not changing from right view to wrong view as much. However, this is only
true if the wisdom is being refreshed by continual practice. In unguarded
moments and in different contexts, the wrong view can still manifest and make
us suffer. It takes a lot of dedicated commitment to mindfulness practice to learn
the lesson repeatedly and for it to become entrenched in every sphere of our
life. Sometimes wisdom gained can be very context specific.
You should treat wisdom as you would your life savings: invest it wisely and
expect a healthy return. This practice is about wealth acquisition and then
managing it wisely. The key is to hold onto that wealth and if possible increase it
with interest. When we realize there is less suffering because of the wisdom and
understanding that has been gained, then hopefully the mind will become
interested and want to know more. This gives us the motivation and momentum
to move forward in our practice. If the defilements 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.
JUST RELAX

The first instruction I will give a yogi who is new to this practice is to relax and
be aware, to not have any expectations or to control the experience, and to not


focus, concentrate, or penetrate. Instead what I encourage him or her to do is
observe, watch, and be aware, or pay attention. In this practice it is important
to conserve energy, so you can practice continually. If the mind and body are
getting tired and tense, then you are putting too much energy into the practice.
Check your posture; check the way you are meditating. Are you comfortable and
alert? You may not have the right attitude. Do you want something out of the
practice? If you are looking for a result or want something to happen, you will
only tire yourself. It is so important to know whether you are feeling tense or
relaxed; check in repeatedly throughout the day; this also applies to daily

practice at home or at work. If you don’t do this, then tension will grow.
Whether you are tense or relaxed, observe how you are feeling; observe the
reactions. When you are relaxed, it is much easier to be aware; not so much
effort is required, and it becomes an enjoyable, pleasant, and interesting
experience.
SATI (AWARENESS)

What attitude or mind-set should we bring to our practice? In part one of this
book, we will define some different qualities of mind that are at work when we
meditate. We must first start with an attitude of awareness itself (sati). This is
the body of the practice and gives balance to the other faculties. Many yogis
think that being aware means we focus on an object and give awareness to it
with a great deal of energy. In actual fact we don’t need that much energy. The
awareness we are seeking is unprompted: we are not digging for it; we are
simply residing in the ebb and flow of nature itself. Awareness is remembering,
not forgetting what it is to be aware, just simply knowing that you are aware.
For example, you are sitting or lying down reading. Do you know that you are
sitting or lying down? Do you know that you are reading? Yes? Good! That’s
awareness. How much energy did that require? Was it tiring or difficult? No?
So, you can meditate. When we wake up in the morning and open our eyes, we
start seeing, but we don’t recognize that we are seeing, because our awareness
is not there.
When I talk about awareness, I like using words like recognize and notice; I
don’t like to use words like concentrate and focus; they are too harsh. Sati
means to remember, recognize, not to forget. What do you forget? What is
wholesome; what is right. The innate nature of our mind is wakefulness, where
nothing is created; there are no conditions, just bare awareness; we can reside
in this.
What type of awareness does a meditator need? Well, if you are aware, then
that is enough. There is no need to try hard or focus or look for fine details in

what you are experiencing. The most important thing is to grow the strength of
mind by being continually aware. When the mind becomes stronger, it will
naturally do its own work. To be able to see the finer details is the work of
wisdom; this will happen naturally when the mind becomes stronger.


Your work is to keep the mindfulness continuous. Be vigilant concerning the
amount of energy you are putting into each moment of awareness. When you
remind yourself to be mindful or think about being mindful, then awareness is
automatically there. We are becoming mindful without expending a lot of
energy, just the power of right thought. If the intention to be mindful is always in
the background of the mind, then this is what we will eventually always come
back to.
So what do we need to be aware of? What do we need to investigate? We all
have good qualities of mind and bad qualities of mind; the bad qualities we call
defilements. The practice of meditation is about cultivating the good qualities
we already have and giving them strength. The practice of satipathānna
meditation means we use sati, or awareness, to grow these good qualities of
mind. When we meditate, it is comprised of two parts; there is the object that
you recognize and know and the mind that does the knowing—the observed and
the observing. The work of meditation is done purely by the mind; that is the
meditation; it is not the objects that are being known or observed that define
the meditation.
In the Satipatthāna-sutta, four basic objects are mentioned: body, feelings,
mind, and dhamma (nature). These objects that can be observed are always
there, ever present. What is not ever present is awareness (sati) or a mind that
knows these objects; also what is not ever present is samādhi, or stability of
mind. Faith in the practice (saddhā), wisdom (paññā), and right effort (viriya)
are also not always present. If awareness is not present, then for sure moha
(“delusion”), lobha (“greed”), and dosa (“aversion”) will be. It is like only having

one chair and two people racing to sit in it: if sati and samādhi are occupying it,
then the defilements are going to be left standing—the chair is already occupied.
Awareness is constantly arising and passing away; it is not permanent. I often
hear that meditators are constantly being asked by teachers to observe arising
and passing away. One yogi said to me, “Sayadaw, I have reached a point where
my awareness is there all the time, and it is not passing away.” I said, “Don’t
make it pass away; you worked so hard to get it there; just be patient, rest in
awareness, and when there is enough wisdom, you will understand that it arises
and passes away as well.” You will see that it is not a physical seeing of
something coming and going; it is an understanding, an insight. When it is not
possible to be aware of awareness, we need to lightly use an anchor, something
in the body or awareness of the breath, something that is easy for your mind to
be aware of, just to build continuity. So, arising and passing away? Don’t put too
much emphasis on this; insight will arise when the mind becomes balanced and
the conditions are right.
This mind that does the practice—isn’t it more important to look after that
mind than to look after the objects that are being observed? Our biggest
mistake as meditators is to practice with our defilements. These defilements—
lobha and dosa (greed and aversion)—are qualities of mind, and it is these


qualities that more often than not will be shaping a yogi’s attitude to practice
and thus causing unnecessary suffering. For example, if I were to wear a pair of
red tinted spectacles, then everything I see will be tinted red. This is the same
when practicing with any of the defilements dominant in the mind; the way you
view life will be dominated by whatever defilement is present.
By being aware, you can begin to know you have a mind. We can let the mind
do its job. You can know or see the mind through various functions—knowing,
thinking, experiencing, feeling, wanting, focusing, and so forth—and awareness
itself, as I have explained. Do you know that the mind is paying attention,

knowing that you are reading? What is the mind doing that you are able to know
this? You know because the mind is aware and paying attention to it now. This is
not thinking; it is simply being aware. When you go to the toilet, what comes
first: the pee or the poop? See if you can be aware of this next time you go.
When you open a door and walk through, what enters first: your foot or your
head? Wrong—it is your hand! I know it is an unfair question, as I didn’t mention
the hand. We have to work to be aware, to remain aware, but we mustn’t use
the awareness to change the experience. My teacher’s instructions around this
were quite simple: “Don’t try to do anything, don’t try to prevent anything, but
don’t forget what is happening.”
My brother came from America for a visit; we were socializing upstairs at my
parents’ house when I noticed he was quite agitated. I asked him what was
wrong, and he said, “I have lost my watch. I took it off because I was sweating;
it’s very expensive, and I’ve looked everywhere but just can’t locate it.” I told
him to go and look on the dining table downstairs, and he would find it. He went
down, and sure enough there it was. He said, “How did you know that? Have
you developed psychic powers?” No, I hadn’t developed any special powers. I
was simply very aware when I first arrived and noticed things that were out of
the ordinary in the room. Everything I saw went straight to my memory, and
when he mentioned his watch, I recalled seeing it. This is awareness at work.
The mind knows and will use a concept, memory, to help us function in any given
moment. Functional concepts are necessary for our well-being, and having
awareness of them can enhance the mind’s ability to build wisdom.
JUST LIGHT AWARENESS

The reason we are going to practice this light awareness is because we will be
doing it all day long, every moment. Because the very essence of mindfulness
practice is to be mindful continuously, there is no space in our lives not to be
mindful. If we expend a lot of energy trying to be mindful, we will very quickly
run out of steam, and by the time evening comes around, we will be dull and

tired and want to hit the bed early. So you need to know how to maintain your
energy, using only what is necessary. The mind can become tense and tired
when it observes objects with too much energy. When you are aware of your
awareness, then the mind is not focusing on the objects, just lightly touching


them. There are times when we need to be more actively aware, put more
energy into it—that is, remember to watch the correct object (the
emotion/feeling) instead of getting caught up in the story. For example, when
there is turmoil and chaos in the mind (such as anger), at these times it is not
just being passively aware but being more active, watching, watching, watching,
injecting right view, being interested in what is happening in the mind and body,
thoughts, feelings, sensations. Watching the mind activity arise and do its own
work—this is skillful practice.
You older yogis may relate to this. Have you ever gotten up in the morning and
taken your blood pressure pill only to say to yourself ten minutes later, “Now
have I taken my pill this morning?” You took the pill out of habit with no
awareness present; it did not go to memory because your conscious memory
does not remember; your mind was elsewhere. Maintaining continuous
awareness does not happen by chance; there are causes and conditions for this
to happen. If you find that the momentum of awareness is no longer there, then
just accept this; awareness is just not happening for you; it is just nature. Check
the mind; investigate the causes, and you will begin to recognize conditions or
processes in the mind that will make awareness more continuous and conditions
that break your momentum. Mindfulness lays the foundation for faith and
wisdom: too much faith and we can become dogmatic and overenthusiastic; too
little wisdom and the defilements turn up to party. Awareness is at the fulcrum,
the point of balance, like a seesaw. Your work is to learn from your experience
and understand what brings about imbalance in the mind.
We can become forgetful, like the older yogis who forget their pills. So we

need to sharpen up our awareness. This doesn’t mean we should force it, but
just take a little more interest in each activity. For example, when putting on or
taking off your T-shirt, notice: Which arm do I put in the sleeve first? Is it the
right or left? Do I put my head or arms in first? Know that you are dressing;
know that you are in this environment, putting on a garment. This is very simple
and takes very little effort. When you are parking your shoes somewhere, be
aware of taking them off: which one am I taking off first? Know the movement
involved with these activities. This way you won’t be wandering around later,
asking, “Where did I leave my shoes?” Make an effort with this, and it will soon
become habit, automatic. This way your mindfulness develops momentum and
you will have fewer problems with forgetfulness.
Many yogis when they first start out in practice can sometimes say, “Oh, I
need to take a break from awareness.” It just feels too hard for them; their
practice is starting to grow legs and move along. They start to notice how life is
harder, more difficult; there seems to be more chaos in the mind. Because there
is more awareness, they are noticing the chaos that has always been there.
Initially if our practice is not very strong, the defilements are very much in your
face—defilements everywhere. They’re very obvious: this is greed; that is
aversion, and so forth. When awareness gets stronger, the defilements get more


cunning; they can no longer come at you with a frontal assault, so they
transform themselves, disguise themselves, and try to sneak into your
awareness through the backdoor. They are there and you don’t even know it. As
your wisdom deepens, you are more able to recognize these subtle defilements,
and your awareness takes less effort; awareness and wisdom have struck up a
partnership and are working in tandem.
The main problem meditators have with practicing light or gentle awareness
is they have no patience; they just don’t trust it. They then go back to putting in
a lot of effort, but that doesn’t last long; they find they can’t function properly

and start doubting how they are going to live their lives if they have to be aware
with that much effort. But with gentle awareness, you can continue to function;
you can do all the things that need to be done with just a light recognition at the
back of the mind all of the time.
In my youth, and later when experiencing depression, I didn’t practice gentle
awareness because I knew it would work; it was just that I was so helpless at
the time. I was in so much depression it was the only way I could practice; the
mind was too tired to do any more than that. Another reason we find it hard to
practice in daily life is that we put in so much personal effort that it is not
sustainable. Personal effort feels like you can only be aware or lost in the work
you are trying to do. But with gentle awareness, although not continuous in the
beginning, it soon gains momentum to become natural and continuous. It really
feels like you’re aware while doing everything; you are actually living in this
awareness. That is when I understood the true nature of vipassanā meditation
and started to believe it possible to become enlightened in daily life.
In meditation, when investigating the mind, it is only important to recognize
when there is identification with an object and when there is not. It is the
meditator’s job to stay with awareness and not be so concerned with the object
itself or to immerse into the object; just remember to be aware. Only with
awareness and openness can we know more. When we meditate, it is in fact the
five spiritual faculties working together; sati is that component of the five
faculties that helps the mind to remember the present moment. Again, the five
faculties are faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom, which I
usually prefer to call confidence, right effort, mindfulness/awareness, stability of
mind, and wisdom. We can use sati-sampajañña (“clear comprehension”)—that
is, awareness plus wisdom—to know or to remember when these five faculties
are not in harmony and with wisdom itself apply balance to the other three
faculties. The Buddha’s advice was to treat the five faculties as if they were the
strings of a finely tuned musical instrument. We must constantly adjust and tune
each string so as to bring out the best of the instrument.

This process will begin with sati alone. It sees what is happening over and
over again, gathering data as we go along. Wisdom then begins to awaken and
sees the nature, the patterns, the causes and effects, the principles at work, and
the overall process that takes place. From this we learn and know when the


mind is out of balance and when it is in balance: what it feels like, the clues (if
any) of conditions leading up to either state of balance or nonbalance. With this
we bring acceptance and the ability to work with both in lesser and then slowly
greater degrees, as it may be. There are always fluctuations as contexts and
conditions change and new lessons need to be learned about similar principles.
However, please don’t be too concerned if you lose awareness; if the intention
to be aware is present, then that is enough; the mind will always return to
awareness, thus establishing momentum.
OBJECTS

I have mentioned four categories of objects. An object can be understood in
different ways. You can only be aware of what you are experiencing through the
six sense doors. The mind is only capable of experiencing what arrives at these
six sense doors. There is no seventh sense door. Whether you are on retreat or
at home, you only have six sense doors. So if you use these six sense objects—
sight, sound, smell, touch, taste, and mind objects, and the feelings and
sensations that emanate from these sense objects (e.g., thinking, feeling, greed,
aversion, delusion, wisdom, awareness, etc.)—as things to be aware of, then you
will be meditating. Of these objects five are physical and one of them is mind, so
if you notice that you are seeing, hearing, feeling something physically or
mentally, then in all those moments you know you are being mindful. All you
need do is notice; you don’t need to put much energy into it; just look at it
casually and notice when awareness is present. The only difference between
those who are trying to be mindful and those who are not is that the former

recognize that they are aware of themselves, recognizing their own experience.
When a car passes by, what differentiates the meditator from the nonmeditator?
The meditator knows both that the car passed by and knows the experience of
seeing, feeling, hearing, and interpreting the experience, thoughts, or thinking
mind, and so forth (some or all, as the case may be). The nonmeditator just
knows a car passed by.
So now you are going to start paying attention to your six sense doors, and you
know how much energy is necessary for mindfulness. Please don’t do anything
that is going to tire you physically or mentally. If we are tired and not mindful of
ourselves, then our attention is 100 percent on concepts that are outside of us.
We have talked briefly about the six sense objects, so now let’s look a little
more deeply at what the term object actually means in the context of vipassanā
meditation. The object is that which is being known by the mind, that which is
being seen (i.e., known by the observing mind). The role the object has is simply
to be that which is being known. Because if it is only an object that is being
known, then it cannot be judged either good or bad—it is just an object. It just
is. So when it is quiet, you know quietness, and when it is noisy, you know
noisiness. It’s just being known; it’s neither good nor bad. In any given moment,
there is no shortage of objects knocking at the six sense doors that the mind can