[LeThanhPhong]

(cont.) MOGOK SAYADAW'S WAY TO THE VIPASSANA PRACTICE (2-3)

http://www.myanmarnet.net/nibbana/thtutmg.htm

SECOND PART

        [ U Kyaw Thein paid respect to the Mogok Sayadaw and went to his allotted place, which was not far from the Sayadaw’s room. He then started to practise Anapana as he was instructed, but could not prevent his mind from roaming for the first half an hour. He over heard the dialog between the Mogok Sayadawand a traditional medicine practitioner who was attending to the Mogok Sayadawin his room. The practitioner was discussing about a certain medicine text and the Mogok Sayadaw:told him that Metta was even more effective than medicine. U Kyaw Thein (KT)could not help his mind from overhearing the conversation and began to divert his attention to eaves drop the discussion. ]

        Then the Mogok Sayadaw warned him from his room. "Maung Kyaw Thein, you are not mindful. Try to keep your mind from wandering."
        [ KT was amazed when he heard the Sayadaw’s voice as it was not possible for the Mogok Sayadaw:to see him from his room. There was another room in between his place and that of the Sayadaw. He did not know how he was caught, but became very astonished and concerned and tried his best to build up the concentration. He could not remember how long he had been meditating when he was summoned to see the Sayadaw. ]
        Mogok Sayadaw: Maung Kyaw Thein did you practise as I told you?
            Yes I did. I have kept my mind at the sternum Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Did it stay where it was kept then?
            No Sire, it didn’t at the beginning, but it stayed there later on.
        Mogok Sayadaw: When Anapana is practised for an hour and have obtained Samadhi, it was not possible if you did not have perseverance. That is Viriya (effort) and with this effort you have managed to sit for an hour. This is called Samma vayama, the right effort.
        Did your mind notice the movement of air at the sternum while you were breathing?
            Yes Sire, I did.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Right, you noticed the movement of air as you were mindful. This is called Samma sati, the right mindfulness.
            Yes Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: When you were practising Anapana did you mind wander to your home? Where did it go?
            No Sire, it didn’t go anywhere. It stayed at the sternum where it was kept.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Right, that was Samma samadhi, the right concentration. Your mind has stayed where it was kept.
            Yes Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: All right, you have developed Samadhi. However, you need to develop it further by breathing through the nose, but not through the mouth. When you are breathing do not try to notice if you are breathing with your right or left nostril, but try to develop Samadhi. You don’t need to follow other Samatha methods. If you breathe through the nose you must know that it is through the nose and if you take a deep breath you must know that you are doing so.
            Very well, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: You have been instructed to keep your mind to the sternum at first. Now you must watch as the air touches the nostrils, sternum and umbilicus while you breathe in and vice versa as it goes out.
            Yes Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: You must notice the outgoing and incoming air as if through the bellows and as a string of a lathe-file rubs the stick you must continuously watch the air at the place where it touches. You must notice when you breathe faster, and must know when it is slow. You must be aware when you breath is long/deep and also knows when it is short/shallow. However, you don’t need to watch the breath in a continuos stream. Just watch at the point of contact as if a saw cuts through the timber, but not along the edge of the saw. You must focus your mind at the point of contact of the air with the nostrils.
            I will, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: If you practise in this way and be mindful you can develop Samadhi within fifteen minutes when you become accustomed to it.
            Yes Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: You need to know that it is the Rupa (matter) that was doing the breathing and it is the Nama (consciousness) that knew what you were doing. When you can differentiate between Nama and Rupa the knowledge developed is called Namarupa pariccheda nana (analytical knowledge of mind and matter). Cleansing of views is also involved simultaneously, which is known as Ditthi visuddhi. Remember this carefully.
            Yes Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: When you meditate you must know the followings.

• You need to know that there are two components of the mind. Mental factors (Cetisaka) and consciousness (Citta).
  
• The mental factor (thought) must be in line with the consciousness when you contemplate.
  
• Do not let the mental factor go astray from the consciousness.
  
• Do not think of anything while meditating. Don’t let any thoughts come into the mind. If you can master your mind you can eliminate defilement (Kilesa). If you don’t you will neither be successful in your life nor can you eradicate the 1500 Kilesas.
  

            Yes Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: I will give you an example how to master your mind.
        Suppose a herd tender wanted to tame a raw cow he needs to put a post firmly into the ground, insert a rein into the cow’s nose, and tie it to the post and tame her. Likewise, you must tame your mind by fixing it to the cord of mindfulness (Sati) and tie it up to the post of the object of contemplation in your practice. Do you understand?
            Yes Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: I’ll give you another example. If you want to catch a lizard that went into a burrow that had six holes, you need to close five holes and wait at the sixth. The analogy to this procedure would be to close all the five sense doors, namely your ears, eyes, nose, body, your tongue and then to wait at the last door, which is your mind. You will surely catch the thought as it occurs, just like you catch the lizard. Is that clear?
            Very well, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: All right, you keep them aside for a while. You go back and continue your practice to develop the concentration further. Then you can sleep after it.
[ U Kyaw Thein paid his respects and did as he was told. ]
[ The next day he went to see the Mogok Sayadaw at five in the morning while the Sayadaw was having breakfast. There were other experienced Yogis who came to meditate and they were interviewed and assessed by the Sayadaw after the breakfast. When his turn came the Sayadaw paid more attention, as he was a beginner. ]
        Mogok Sayadaw: Maung Kyaw Thein when did you start the meditation last night and when did you stop?
            I started at 11.30 PM and stopped at 1AM, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: How was your Samadhi?
            I could manage to get it Sire, but barely.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Why was that?
            I must admit that I felt sleepy Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Shame on you. That was due to excess in your determination. You must have persisted to meditate in your sitting posture. You should have changed it and did walking meditation instead, if you felt sleepy.
            Yes Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: It is all right to change the posture for beginners. As you become more experienced you may not need to change the posture when you feel sleepy.
            How would I do it Sire? I don’t know how to evade sleepiness without changing posture.
        Mogok Sayadaw: When you become sleepy how was your breathing? Was it quicker or slower?
            It was slow and shallow, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Right, the breathing will be slower and you feel sleepy. Then what about your Sati at that time?
            It was poor, Sire. I was not mindful at that time.
        Mogok Sayadaw: "Ca catawva acasati, ca tawva pacasati." As mentioned in the Maha Satipatthana Sutta a Yogi who practises Anapana must breathe in and out with mindfulness. But you have lost mindfulness, you must never let it go.
            I admit I lost mindfulness, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: You must breathe in fully and then breathe out fully. (You must notice as soon as the breathing becomes slower and correct it by breathing fully again. If you do not notice as soon as the breathing gets slower you may go into torpor and soon become sleepy) You must never let the mindfulness escape. If you breathe fully in this way for ten to fifteen minutes you can become alert again.
            Yes Sire, now I understand.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Another thing is, when you become angry don’t you breathe more harshly?
            Yes I do, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Right, why does the breathing become quick and harsh?
            I have no idea, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Maung Kyaw Thein, you note this down well. When you are angry your blood in the heart is bright red and hot. As the heart needs to beat faster it needs more energy and you have to breathe much faster. (Thus, the blood became redder and hot due to increased turbulence and flow)
            Yes Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: When you recover from anger don’t you feel that your body is weary and tired?
            It is, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Why is that?
            I don’t know, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Because your heart beats much faster, but you do not realise it during the anger as you are not aware. Only after it you came to know about the situation and you become weary and tired.
            Exactly Sire, I have the experience.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Sometimes when you are carried away by greed or desire, you say you do not have the time to become tired, don’t you?
            Yes I do, Sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: That is you have followed your desires instead of your mind.
            Yes sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: When you meditate Anapana you must relax your body and your muscles. Only then you can breathe regularly and correctly. The Buddha said "Pacambayan Kayasankharan." That is you must breathe neither slowly nor quickly, and neither shallow nor deep, but regularly.
            Yes Sire, I will follow your instructions, but what shall I pay more attention?
        Mogok Sayadaw: You remember this very carefully. It is only Sati (concentration) that is never in excess. Saddha, Samadhi, Viriya, Panna (faith, concentration, effort and knowledge) must be developed simultaneously. If you could not develop them simultaneously and equally they would not be well balanced and either Uddhacca (distraction) or Htina middha (torpor or sloth) would result. At present, you have been instructed to meditate just to develop Samadhi. Don’t let it mix with anything else!
            Yes Sire.

THIRD PART
        Mogok Sayadaw: You continue with the meditation after you have your breakfast. Only then you will develop the Samadhi. When you meditate let faith, knowledge, concentration and effort be well balanced as I have told you earlier. I am taking my time to explain in detail as you are a beginner. What’s so difficult to about practising Anapana. Go and practise till your Samadhi is strong and then come back.
        [ When the Mogok Sayadaw left U Kyaw Thein had his breakfast and continued his practice from six to eight in the morning. However, he did not have strong Samadhi despite the extended practice and he had to try repeatedly using all available means. ]
        [ After eight o’clock U Kyaw Thein helped preparing the meal for the Mogok Sayadaw together with those who came to the monastery for offering the necessities for Sangha. When everything was done he went to the Mogok Sayadaw:at nine o’clock to be assessed on his progress. ]
        Mogok Sayadaw: How are you doing Maung Kyaw Thein? Have you developed good Samadhi?
            Yes my Lord, I have developed a strong Samadhi now.
        Mogok Sayadaw: What position have you taken to meditate?
            Sire, I have done sitting meditation at the first hour and then did the walking meditation for the rest of the time.
        Mogok Sayadaw: You didn’t look like you have strong Samadhi though you said so.
            Can you, my Lord, tell exactly if a person has Samadhi or not just by looking the external appearances?
        Mogok Sayadaw smiled and replied "Dear Maung Kyaw Thein, I will explain to you later how different a person looked if he had the Samadhi. Take a bath after you have your meal and then make sure that you have no inconveniences. Otherwise you may have to disrupt the practise if you have the call of nature while meditating. These things are very interfering with the practice."
        [ Only then U Kyaw Thein realised his fault of having inconveniences while he was meditating earlier as he did not go to the loo before the six o’clock sitting. Now he did as he was advised and started the meditation from twelve noon till two o’clock. Later on he went to see the Mogok Sayadaw:in his room. Being a beginner he was given a special privilege to visit the Mogok Sayadawas often as he wished if he had any problems. ]
        Mogok Sayadaw: Have you developed a strong Samadhi now?
            Yes sire.
        Mogok Sayadaw: Right, you now have the Samadhi, but you must remember that Samadhi is like a column of mercury in a thermometer. It can go up and down according to the condition. When you are in meditation it is good. However, if you encounter with crude sensuality it can go down again.
            Yes Sire, but I have a strong Samadhi now.
        Mogok Sayadaw: All right, it’s enough. You can change over to Vipassana. First you must try to develop good Samadhi and then go to Vipassana.
            Yes Sire.

(to be continued)