Memory and Mindfulness

0:01 Alright, so let's get started. So welcome everyone and tonight I'm going to talk a bit about memory and mindfulness and the connection between the two and how to use this in practice. And this is something that What is the connection between mindfulness and memory? may not be so clear to you but in the suttas it is a very important connection between these and I'll come back to that in a second but one of the reasons I want to talk about this is because of the workshop that we have been doing, you may have heard about this gradual training workshop that That Bill was mentioning before. Where's Bill? Bill is gone, disappeared. Oh, there he is. Okay, way in the back over there. And what is very interesting about this gradual training, by the way, are you coming to the gradual training workshop? Report an error in the passage at 0:01 Highlight the passage at 0:01

1:01 Okay, one of you is nodding. Okay, a few nodding. Okay, great. Good. Because this is the real word of the Buddha. That's when you get the real deal. Tonight is like more of a kind of a mixture of various things. yeah, but in the... On the Saturday workshop, that's kind of the real, the word of the Buddha in detail. Anyway, you can do whatever you prefer, of course, but it's nice to hear what the Buddha had to say, of course. Report an error in the passage at 1:01 Highlight the passage at 1:01

1:27 And one of these teachings of the Buddha I'm just mentioning now is this idea of the gradual training. The idea that the mind develops gradually, the practice starts in a certain place and it ends in a certain place. And you have to know how to apply yourself where you're at in that gradual training. It's very important. But what is kind of extraordinary about this gradual training, it kind of starts off It starts off with ordinary people starting the spiritual path and it ends up with awakening. It's kind of extraordinary. It means everyone here can get awakened. Report an error in the passage at 1:27 Highlight the passage at 1:27

2:04 That's what it means. Do you believe that? You believe? Wow, I'm very impressed. That's good. I'm glad to hear that. Sometimes people think, me get awakened? That's impossible. The fact that you have confidence already is a very good sign. Because you are human and if you are a human being you can get awakened. That's kind of the really good news. Report an error in the passage at 2:04 Highlight the passage at 2:04

2:24 But what is interesting about this path, you would think that this path begins with something that you have to do. Because it is your practice. It is your gradual training. So you think it begins with coming to the Buddhist society. That's where it starts. For some people it starts here. So you think that's kind of where the path begins. But actually no. Report an error in the passage at 2:24 Highlight the passage at 2:24

2:49 The Buddha says that the path begins, and this is kind of extraordinary when you think about it, it begins with the arising of a Buddha in the world. That's where the path begins. And you may wonder, what's that got to do with you? A Buddha arises in the world, it's kind of a random event, it happens every now and again. Report an error in the passage at 2:49 Highlight the passage at 2:49

3:08 What's that got to do with you? What's that got to do with your practice? It's got nothing to do with your practice. And that's kind of the point. Buddha arises in the world, allows the insight, allows the path to exist. Without that Buddha, there is no path. But not only that, not only the fact that the past spiritual practice begins with something that's got nothing to do with you, but that is really significant because it means not only that aspect of it, The entire path at the end of the day has actually got nothing to do with you. The path is something that arises. The path is something that kind of works on you. Report an error in the passage at 3:08 Highlight the passage at 3:08

3:50 And you are almost like a passive recipient of these Buddha's teachings. And then the path works through you because you think, okay, that makes sense. They're probably going to make me more happy. They're going to reduce the suffering in my life. They're going to make, you know, maybe the world a better place or whatever, at least our private world. Report an error in the passage at 3:50 Highlight the passage at 3:50

4:10 And so they're worthwhile practicing. And so it is this idea of non-self, of the path being impersonal, the path being something that happens rather than something that we do. Often it feels like we are doing it, but ideally we get out of the way and we allow the path to happen. And that is why we're just doing the meditation before. Report an error in the passage at 4:10 Highlight the passage at 4:10

4:30 The idea of being the passive observer, being the passenger on the train, rather than the driver of the train, is such an important part of this practice. You allow it to happen. You are just aware. You're just observing what is going on. And so this is kind of the extraordinary thing. It really only occurred to me recently how strange it is that the gradual training begins in this way. And I thought, wow, that's kind of fascinating. Report an error in the passage at 4:30 Highlight the passage at 4:30

4:56 Sometimes the reason you see that is because someone says to you, okay, let's do another workshop. What are we going to do? Gradual training? Okay, so then you start to look at it with new eyes because you're doing this workshop. And so it's all very non-self. Impersonal, this is this beautiful word we have in the Pāli language called Anattā which means impersonal or non-self or something like that. And it shows us a lot about how the Dhamma actually works. Report an error in the passage at 4:56 Highlight the passage at 4:56

5:28 And so what this means is that if there is no, you know, if it is kind of things are working from the outside or working in whatever way, in a conditioned way, it means that we have to get the conditioning right. And so that conditioning, how does that conditioning express itself? Well very often it expresses itself through your memories. What is it that you remember at any particular time? Report an error in the passage at 5:28 Highlight the passage at 5:28

5:55 Sometimes if you are conditioned in the right way, through maybe listening to Buddhist teachings, this is a very Buddhist kind of way of thinking about it, the right way of course means the Buddhist teachings, we're here at Dhammaloka after all, so the right conditioning is Buddhist teachings. But if you get that kind of conditioning, after a while your memories are Buddhist memories. Report an error in the passage at 5:55 Highlight the passage at 5:55

6:17 You remember the dhamma. You remember how you're supposed to live. You remember how to react in particular situations. This is this idea of bringing memory into the practice, allowing the dhamma to express itself through you because you remember these things. This is the power of memory when you do it right. And of course that memory requires a lot of brainwashing. Report an error in the passage at 6:17 Highlight the passage at 6:17

6:44 Is that right? People don't like the word brainwashing. I think it's a beautiful word because actually that's a very Buddhist way of thinking about things. You're going to get brainwashed anyway. Might as well get some good brainwashing. That's kind of the idea here. There's something very realistic about that. That's actually what is going on from a Buddhist point of view. Report an error in the passage at 6:44 Highlight the passage at 6:44

7:06 So get that good brainwashing. Keep coming here every Friday or whatever. Allow Ajahn Brahm or whatever to brainwash you or the suttas or the word of the Buddha or whatever. So the word mindfulness that we use in Buddhism should be imbued with this kind of memory. And when you start to look at the way the word mindfulness is used in the suttas, the suttas for those of you who are new is the word of the Buddha. If you look at the way this word is used in the Pāli language it's called sati. Report an error in the passage at 7:06 Highlight the passage at 7:06

7:39 It translates into English as mindfulness. And so if you really want to know what it means, you have to go and read the word of the Buddha. And it says, very often, if you have good sati, you remember things that were done and said a long time ago. In other words, you have a good memory. That's what it means. This is one of the crucial, maybe the main definition of sati in the suttas, where it's defined very precisely. Report an error in the passage at 7:39 Highlight the passage at 7:39

8:07 You remember and... Things that were said and done long ago. And you may see that in your own life. If you are feeling at ease, you're feeling the mind has a certain degree of clarity, maybe after meditating here for half an hour or whatever, afterwards you feel a sense of clarity. And you can see that you remember more as a consequence. In the suttas it also says that if you want to remember things, like you want to... Report an error in the passage at 8:07 Highlight the passage at 8:07

8:38 Recite something, maybe you want to recite a verse from the Buddha, or you want to remember something that you read somewhere or whatever, that too is done through mindfulness, the clarity of the mind. The memory is good again. This is mindfulness. Things occur to you easily if you want to remember something. It's a very important part of this idea of sati. Report an error in the passage at 8:38 Highlight the passage at 8:38

9:05 So sati is... A mixture, on the one hand, of this idea of awareness, which is what we're trying to develop in meditation practice, awareness, and on the other hand, the memory. Memory and awareness coming together, that's really what sati is. And when you think about it, I was just thinking about this this afternoon because I decided to talk about this topic, and I thought, actually, is meditation just about awareness? Report an error in the passage at 9:05 Highlight the passage at 9:05

9:37 Very often we say meditation is about awareness. You are aware of the breath. You are aware of loving kindness. You are aware of whatever meditation object you're doing, just aware of what is happening. You're just present. But is it ever just awareness? And of course the answer is no. It is not ever just awareness. Report an error in the passage at 9:37 Highlight the passage at 9:37

9:58 All meditation All mindfulness is imbued with a sense of remembering what you're doing, the instructions that you're supposed to have, that comes with the mindfulness. When you have clarity of mind, when you are fully aware, you're not just that you are present, but you also have a feeling of what you're doing, why you're doing it. Report an error in the passage at 9:58 Highlight the passage at 9:58

10:19 Often called sampajjanya in the sutta, sampajjanya is really a way of thinking about bringing the memory of the teachings into your practice. So actually I think it is false when we say that mindfulness or meditation is about awareness. It's always about this mixture of awareness and memory. Sati sampajjanya, as you see in the sutta. Sampajjanya is really wisdom, but that wisdom is the memory and understanding and presence of the teachings of the Buddha as you do your practice. Report an error in the passage at 10:19 Highlight the passage at 10:19

10:53 So this is the idea here. Memory, bringing it into this A whole path of practice that we are doing. I will give you some examples of how this works. This is a very broad way of thinking about it. This is a simile that I've been using recently and I will tell you this simile again tonight. Some of you have probably heard it before. I think it illustrates the power of memory very clearly. Report an error in the passage at 10:53 Highlight the passage at 10:53

11:24 And this simile, which I started using, I don't know, a year or two ago or something, is the simile of someone crossing a street. Report an error in the passage at 11:24 Highlight the passage at 11:24

11:35 If you are about to cross the street, what do you do? There's two options. Either you can just walk straight into the street, like down in Perth, at St. George's Terrace, you can just walk straight in the middle there, just walk straight in. That's one possibility. Report an error in the passage at 11:35 Highlight the passage at 11:35

11:53 Not recommended, right? Too dangerous. If you just walk without looking, you don't know what's going to happen next. The alternative, the better alternative, and please take this away, otherwise someone might sue me for kind of malpractice or something, saying just walk into the street, is of course you look left and right before you go into the street. Report an error in the passage at 11:53 Highlight the passage at 11:53

12:14 That is the appropriate way. How often do you see people just walking into the street? And how often do you see people looking left and right? Almost everyone looks left and right before they walk into the street, unless you are maybe suicidal or something, right? You wouldn't do that. And what is interesting about this is that even if you are completely distracted, Even if you have your mobile phone in your hand and you're doing whatever, certainly not watching what's happening around you, walking into lampposts, walking into people or whatever, even if you're almost 100 % distracted, when you come to that street, you always remember to look left and right. Report an error in the passage at 12:14 Highlight the passage at 12:14

12:59 Isn't that interesting? It's very interesting because even when mindfulness is very low, we remember to do the right thing. And so there is something that comes in addition to the idea of awareness that is more important than awareness. Sometimes we focus too much on the idea of awareness in Buddhism, not enough on the idea of remembering the teaching, having right view, looking at the world in the right way. Report an error in the passage at 12:59 Highlight the passage at 12:59

13:25 In many ways that is more important because even if you have no awareness, as in this case, you're on your mobile phone doing whatever, then when you come to that street, Because you have been pre-programmed, because you have been brainwashed at Dhammaloka Buddhist Center enough times, whatever it is, when you come to that street, you look left and right, even if you have no awareness. Report an error in the passage at 13:25 Highlight the passage at 13:25

13:51 In your life, as a Buddhist, as someone who wants to practice the spiritual path, even if you don't call yourself a Buddhist, you remember the Dhamma, you remember the teachings. You look left and right before you act, before you speak. Even before you think, that is the power of having the memory, the right view, that imbues, that remnant of mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 13:51 Highlight the passage at 13:51

14:16 You may not have much mindfulness at all, but whatever remains of mindfulness is imbued with that idea which allows you to do the right thing. It shows you the power of right view. The right view when you come to that street is the view of danger. Cars are harder than human bodies. If there is a kind of a collision between the human body and the car, the car is going to win every time. Report an error in the passage at 14:16 Highlight the passage at 14:16

14:42 You know what that is like. Hopefully you don't actually, but you get what I mean. So this is a way of thinking about the power of memory, the power of right view, and how to bring that and how to use that. Report an error in the passage at 14:42 Highlight the passage at 14:42

15:02 That shows you that what we have to do to kind of have that strong memory when it is required in our practice is of course we have to keep on contemplating these teachings. We have to keep on coming back to them. We have to keep on understanding what they are about. So that memory is strong. That right view is strong. Report an error in the passage at 15:02 Highlight the passage at 15:02

15:24 It is embedded deeply inside of us. And so when you need it, it is easy to bring it out. It is easy to know what is going on. Report an error in the passage at 15:24 Highlight the passage at 15:24

15:33 So that is one kind of way of thinking about this. Another way of thinking about this is another kind of little simile that I've been using recently. It gives an idea of how to, again, allow the dhamma to percolate through your mind, arise when you need it. And this is the simile of what happens when I go back to my little kuti. Report an error in the passage at 15:33 Highlight the passage at 15:33

16:02 In Serpentine. In Serpentine, that's where the monk's monastery is, Bodhinyana Monastery. The nun's monastery is up in Gijaganap. So we are kind of two very different places. And so if you haven't been to our monk's monastery, anyone here who hasn't been to our monastery? Everyone has been to our monastery? Report an error in the passage at 16:02 Highlight the passage at 16:02

16:19 Okay, great! Yay! Come more often, that's what I say. So it's down in Serpentine, down kind of an hour south of Perth or whatever. And Kuti, the word I just mentioned before, is like a little hut. So we have like little huts in the bush, lots of trees around and all kinds of things. We have little huts. And my Kuti, my hut, I have my own little hut. Report an error in the passage at 16:19 Highlight the passage at 16:19

16:44 Venerable Dayalu has his own little hut. I'm sure Venerable Upeka has her little Kuti in Dhammasara Monastery. My kuti is about 400 meters away from the main building, so quite a long distance. We have quite large pieces of land down there. And when I go to my kuti, and Nicholas over here can vouch for everything I say, I'm not telling any lies, this is the truth of the monastery. Report an error in the passage at 16:44 Highlight the passage at 16:44

17:08 When I go to my kuti, I can't really see any other kutis around. I can see one kuti far away on the hill on the other side. 500 meters away, I can't even see any people there. So when I go back to my little kuti, it's like complete, a real sense of seclusion, you're really by yourself. It's just you, the kangaroos, a few ticks of course, a few mosquitoes or whatever, but it's actually really beautiful and peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 17:08 Highlight the passage at 17:08

17:37 And this is kind of how we live in our monastery. And I have this path going up to my kuti. And one of the things that I have in my QT, which probably many of you don't have, I have a viewer. I have the most magnificent viewer. Isn't that right, Nicholas? I have this extraordinary view. When I get to Makuti, it's kind of high up on the hill, right? This is the Darling Scarp. So high up on the hill, maybe 200 meters above sea level. And so I look out. Report an error in the passage at 17:37 Highlight the passage at 17:37

18:03 There's no trees in front of Makuti. It's kind of just open landscape. And I see the plain below. Yeah, and maybe 20, 30 kilometers away, I see the Indian Ocean. Makuti is kind of facing west and also a little bit northwest. So I look northwest and I think to myself, wow, that's where Sri Lanka is. Report an error in the passage at 18:03 Highlight the passage at 18:03

18:24 I feel really happy when I remember Sri Lanka. I love Sri Lanka. I've been to Sri Lanka many times. It's such a beautiful, green and marvelous little island. And when you go there, you feel at home. I feel at home here in Perth as well. But there you are kind of among other Buddhas. So I kind of look out to Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, in case you hadn't noticed, the earth is curved. Report an error in the passage at 18:24 Highlight the passage at 18:24

18:46 It's not flat. Some people claim it's flat. It's actually wrong. It's curved. If it was flat... I could see Sri Lanka, but I can't see Sri Lanka, so I guarantee you it is not flat. I guarantee it is curved. I wish there was a big mirror in the sky so I could see Sri Lanka in the mirror. We can do that one day. We can shoot up a mirror with a rocket if we become way too wealthy as Buddhists. This is the kind of view I have for my kuti here. Report an error in the passage at 18:46 Highlight the passage at 18:46

19:13 This is kind of how I think sometimes. Then north of Sri Lanka, very close, is India. So there's India, the birthplace of the Buddha, where Buddhism was so strong for about 1,500 years before it gradually faded away. So I look out to Makuti, I see Sri Lanka, I see India there, I think about the Buddha. Isn't that extraordinary? That's kind of what I get from Makuti. Report an error in the passage at 19:13 Highlight the passage at 19:13

19:42 This is how we live in Serpentine, on this beautiful hill, overlooking the Indian Ocean in this way. Now one thing, We also have in my kuti, because it's far away, I have a toilet. Because I can't go down to the main toilet, I can, but it's a long way and sometimes business is urgent, so you can't really, you know, what are you going to do? Report an error in the passage at 19:42 Highlight the passage at 19:42

20:02 And so behind my kuti, maybe 40 meters behind my kuti, I have a hole in the ground, that's my toilet. There's no building. There's nothing, there's just a kind of hole in the ground, some planks or whatever, and that's kind of my toilet. And that toilet is even higher up than the Kuti, so the view is even better. Report an error in the passage at 20:02 Highlight the passage at 20:02

20:21 So the toilet really has the best view in the world. And again, I can kind of look out to Sri Lanka on my toilet. Actually, it's not so nice to think about the Dhamma when I go to the toilet, so I look in a different direction a little bit when I go there, so it's kind of to make things different. Report an error in the passage at 20:21 Highlight the passage at 20:21

20:36 And this is kind of the open air toilet, and it's kind of exciting because sometimes maybe people might come by, right? Actually, this is really in the bush. The chance of people coming by is virtually zero, so it's kind of nice. But it's kind of really, really open air. It's really nice. But the reason I'm talking about all of this is because this is, first of all, to give you a feeling for what it is like to be a Buddhist monk. Report an error in the passage at 20:36 Highlight the passage at 20:36

20:58 So if you like these ideas, maybe you should consider becoming a monk or a nun, because this is kind of how we live. And if you ever want to see how we live in the monastery, come on the Katina Day. After the rainy season, we have guided tours of the monastery. You can see some of the kutis. You get an idea. Maybe Nicholas will take you on a special tour to my kuti. Report an error in the passage at 20:58 Highlight the passage at 20:58

21:19 Sorry, Nicholas, I'm just being very naughty. Report an error in the passage at 21:19 Highlight the passage at 21:19

21:24 But what happens, of course, because all of this relies on paths through the bush. Sometimes the paths grow over. And I have noticed in my mind, when my path to my toilet grows up, because that path is obviously important, often the mind gets very reactive. Okay, I've got to do something about this. Time now is to kind of clearing the path. Just like we clear the Noble Eightfold Path of problems or whatever. I want to clear the path up to my toilet or maybe to the main buildings or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 21:24 Highlight the passage at 21:24

21:56 So the mind gets very reactive. I want to do things. I want to sort this out now. Now is the time to do this. I want to go up to the main area and kind of tell the Anagarikas, please come down to my cutie or the nearest layperson. Report an error in the passage at 21:56 Highlight the passage at 21:56

22:11 Whoever, and say, oh, I need to get things cleared. Yeah, please chop down this branch or this tree or whatever is in the way here. And so this is one of the things we do. You may wonder, why don't I cut down the tree myself? And the reason is because we have rules against cutting down trees. And so instead we go to some non-monk and we say to the non-monk, we can't say... Report an error in the passage at 22:11 Highlight the passage at 22:11

22:34 Cut down this tree, because that's kind of tantamount to doing it yourself. So we say things like, this tree is in the way. Report an error in the passage at 22:34 Highlight the passage at 22:34

22:44 And then we just remain silent and see what happens. And if they kind of look at you, some people are really stupid. Even if they give a hint like that, they don't get it. And they say, yeah, it's in the way, so what? And then they kind of walk off or whatever. But usually, when they give a hint like that, people kind of get the idea. So they maybe help you out. Report an error in the passage at 22:44 Highlight the passage at 22:44

23:04 But I've realized that actually, Stupid, huh? Report an error in the passage at 23:04 Highlight the passage at 23:04

23:07 It's not a good way of clearing a path. There's often no need for cutting down the tree. So I allow the reactive mind to actually just be there. I stay with it instead. Okay, forget about the reactive mind. Wait a little bit. What is amazing when you wait a little bit is that an alternative view starts to arise. Report an error in the passage at 23:07 Highlight the passage at 23:07

23:31 You start to see, actually, I don't have to cut down any trees. There is an alternative path. On this side over here or on that side over there. There is a dead tree over there that I can remove and when I remove that dead tree there is plenty of a path. Or maybe after a while the branch falls off or whatever. There's always alternatives. And it's exactly the same thing on the spiritual path. Report an error in the passage at 23:31 Highlight the passage at 23:31

23:56 Very often we just need to wait. We shouldn't be so reactive. Very often when we are reactive, we are actually blocking the path instead. We are doing too much. Instead of allowing things to open up in a natural way, which is far more easy, far more beautiful, far more satisfactory, we go in there and we kind of want to destroy and take things down. Report an error in the passage at 23:56 Highlight the passage at 23:56

24:19 In the same way, in our spiritual practice, we try to destroy the obstacles on the path. We want to do something. We sit in our meditation. Watch the blooming breath. Watch, watch the breath. Get rid of that anger. Squeeze it out of the mind. And we are too reactive. We force ourselves too much. We don't wait long enough. We don't sit back and allow the dharma to kind of arise in our mind. Because you have it in your mind already. Report an error in the passage at 24:19 Highlight the passage at 24:19

24:48 Most of you have been coming here for a long time. You know so much about these dharma teachings. Be less reactive in your life. Wait more. Be patient. Allow the dharma to arise because you have it inside of you. And if you do that, then you will have a far easier and also a far more wholesome and skillful life as a consequence of that. Report an error in the passage at 24:48 Highlight the passage at 24:48

25:13 All this doing. All this activity, the trying to kind of make the path work, actually very often it does the opposite. We end up messing things up because that doing, that trying to kind of make the path work usually comes from the sense of self, comes from an ego. It comes from a place that is not dhamma, not the teachings of the Buddha. The Buddha said that the ego is a problem. Report an error in the passage at 25:13 Highlight the passage at 25:13

25:40 The ego gets in the way. The ego doesn't understand what is right. The Buddha understands what is right. And so we need to allow these teachings to take over our minds. And then you are on the right track. So these are two simple ways of allowing mindfulness in our ordinary daily life to rise in your mind. Report an error in the passage at 25:40 Highlight the passage at 25:40

26:03 Stop. Be patient. Don't react. Wait until you know what is the right way. Allow the path to open up by itself. Then you see the right way of moving. Going left, going right. Taking a step backwards before you take two steps forwards is often the right way of going about things. And so this changes your attitude a little bit. Report an error in the passage at 26:03 Highlight the passage at 26:03

26:27 It changes the way you think about dharma. Don't be the doer. Don't be the agent. Don't try to make the path work. Allow the path to arise inside of you because you already know. The memory is already there. This memory that has been fell down or put down within you over a long period of time. You just have to allow it to come back again. Report an error in the passage at 26:27 Highlight the passage at 26:27

26:50 So this is how you can use it in ordinary life. But you can also use these ideas in your meditation practice. It's not just about orna, but also in meditation we need to do these things. And there is various ways of doing this. One of the most basic ways of using the idea of memory in meditation is what we call the recollection meditations. Report an error in the passage at 26:50 Highlight the passage at 26:50

27:16 These are ways the Buddha talked about and encouraged us to use to kind of give rise to joy and happiness. These are called anusati. Sati is mindfulness, anusati is recollection. It's the same word except for anu in front, a little prefix in front. And so we use our understanding of the dhamma and we recall that. Report an error in the passage at 27:16 Highlight the passage at 27:16

27:39 And when you recall that, it has a powerful effect on your mind. Six different kinds of recollections. One of these very simple recollections that I really recommend you to do, and it's very beautiful and very powerful, and it gives you a sense of self-worth, it feels good about yourself, is to recall your own sīla, your own virtue, your own goodness. Report an error in the passage at 27:39 Highlight the passage at 27:39

28:05 You've been coming here for a long time, many of you are really good people. At the very least you are trying really hard, and what a wonderful thing that is, that we try to do what is right in the world. And so you remember that, actually, I'm trying my best. Yes, I have conditioning that makes it difficult, and sometimes I make mistakes. Maybe I make mistakes often, but so what? Report an error in the passage at 28:05 Highlight the passage at 28:05

28:26 I'm trying. And then you think about the things that you have done. You think about the precepts you have undertaken. You think about how you've treated other people well, for the most part. And you feel a sense of warmth inside of you, because you know that you are, really, you are a good person. This is called sīla nusati, remembering your sīla. And to be able to do that, you have to remember it, right? You have to remember the good things. Report an error in the passage at 28:26 Highlight the passage at 28:26

28:52 Don't remember only the bad things you have done. Actually forget about the bad things you have done. Who cares about the bad things that you have done? Are you able to forget about the bad things you have done? It's hard. Most people complain, oh, I can only think about the bad things. I can't think about the good things. Take a leaf out of Ajahn Brahm's book. Report an error in the passage at 28:52 Highlight the passage at 28:52

29:12 Ask Ajahn Brahm, he can never remember anything bad that he has done, right? And of course he hasn't done many bad things, but he can't even remember anything bad things I have done. I have done a few bad things, right? But if I ask Ajahn Brahm, he's completely erased it from his memory. If I say to Ajahn Brahm, oh, do you remember that this monk, he did this two years ago? Report an error in the passage at 29:12 Highlight the passage at 29:12

29:33 No, I can't remember that at all, completely forgotten. All I can remember, he did this nice thing, this beautiful thing. Ajahn Brahm only remembers the good things. This is why he tells this story of, you know, the, I think, what is it, the, anyway, I'm not going to try to remember Ajahn Brahm's stories, they're going to fail utterly miserably. Report an error in the passage at 29:33 Highlight the passage at 29:33

29:50 But one of the stories of not picking up the chicken dung, but picking up what is actually valuable in the world. Yeah, and so train yourself to do that. Train yourself to see the good in other people and the good in yourself. Because most people have good aspects to them. That is what is interesting. Report an error in the passage at 29:50 Highlight the passage at 29:50

30:10 That is what is valuable. That is where the treasure lies. The treasure doesn't lie in fault finding. The treasure doesn't lie in being a clever critique. Some people, they think I'm a clever critique. I criticize everything in clever and fancy ways and they kind of take a certain pride in that. Actually, it's a very bad idea because it leaves these traces of memory that are not usable in the future that actually drag you down. Report an error in the passage at 30:10 Highlight the passage at 30:10

30:36 But if you remember the beautiful qualities, then when you sit down to meditate, you can bring that recollection up, that memory up, and it makes you, the meditation, joyful and happy because you remember the good things. Forgive the bad things that you have done. You may have done some bad things. Report an error in the passage at 30:36 Highlight the passage at 30:36

30:56 Actually, almost certainly you have. Yeah, I have. There are certain memories I have tried to erase from my memory as well. I'm trying to follow Ajahn Brahm's path, erasing all the memories. I haven't quite succeeded yet. Ajahn Brahm is kind of a long, long way ahead of me, but I'm kind of trying to follow in the slipstream of Ajahn Brahm's giant truck pulling me along in the slipstream. Report an error in the passage at 30:56 Highlight the passage at 30:56

31:18 So try to follow that. It's very powerful and beautiful when it happens. That's one way of using recollection, memory, mindfulness and memory coming together. Another way is to remember the teachings of the Buddha. Sometimes you may remember maybe a single verse, something very beautiful and powerful you have read in the suttas, something you have heard here. Hatred never ceases through hatred in the world. Report an error in the passage at 31:18 Highlight the passage at 31:18

31:45 Hatred only ceases through love. This is an eternal law. It's a beautiful saying. If you can remember that simple saying, wow, that's actually, and it's so true, right? Hatred only begets more hatred. Then there's revenge, there's more problems. The way to end hatred is to not kind of pay it back with more hatred, but instead to change the attitude and bring something positive out instead. Report an error in the passage at 31:45 Highlight the passage at 31:45

32:12 So you remember little simple things like that. Wow, that's so inspiring. Did the Buddha really say that? And you understand, the Buddha is this towering spiritual genius in human history. To me, the Buddha is head and shoulders above everyone else, bar none. Not bar none, but bar nobody. I didn't mean you, Ayopeka. So, yeah, the Buddha is really extraordinary. And so just remembering those teachings, remembering what the Buddha was about, remembering that you're part of this here at the Buddhist Society. Report an error in the passage at 32:12 Highlight the passage at 32:12

32:44 Wow, what an amazing thing that is. And you lift yourself up and you use this idea of recollection to do something powerful to your own mind. Feeling a sense of joy, uplift, happiness, meaning, purpose in life, going somewhere real. Not just kind of going in circles all the time. Something real, powerful happening in your life. This is another way of thinking about these recollections. Report an error in the passage at 32:44 Highlight the passage at 32:44

33:10 There are more. There are six recollections altogether. I've given you two. Imagine how exciting the other four are when you only heard two. You're not going to hear about them tonight. You're going to have to come back another time to hear about the other ones. This is how we lure you back to the Buddhist society. This is how the conditioning works. I just want to give you a flavor tonight. I don't want to give you a full detail of these things. Report an error in the passage at 33:10 Highlight the passage at 33:10

33:35 Usually when I talk about these things in great detail it's on meditation retreats. This gives an idea of what is happening. But that is not the end of it. That's the recollections. Report an error in the passage at 33:35 Highlight the passage at 33:35

33:50 There's a bit of static noise coming through the speakers, maybe a microphone is on or something, I'm not sure. Report an error in the passage at 33:50 Highlight the passage at 33:50

33:58 So the other way of doing this, another important part which kind of fits in with how we are doing things here at the Dhammaloka Center, when we're doing mindfulness or breathing or just awareness in the present moment or whatever, even then you have to remember the teachings. I mentioned before that when we meditate you have to have the memory of the teachings like the instructions have to be there with you. Report an error in the passage at 33:58 Highlight the passage at 33:58

34:30 If you forget the instructions then you may be aware and then you lose your awareness, you are gone and you don't really know what's happening. And you forget about the instructions or you are aware but you forget to watch the breath and you are aware of the sounds or you are aware of somebody at the back of the room doing something they shouldn't be doing. Report an error in the passage at 34:30 Highlight the passage at 34:30

34:49 Falling asleep, actually falling asleep is okay. And then maybe you get irritated by somebody. Yeah, that's the last thing you should be doing while you meditate. Please don't get irritated by anyone. Everyone here is doing their best. Everyone here just needs to relax and sometimes that means you fall asleep or whatever. That's okay. Have compassion with people when they fall asleep. Report an error in the passage at 34:49 Highlight the passage at 34:49

35:06 That's what I mean by not remembering the teachings. And so you have to bring the memory of the teachings with you. While you're doing the breath meditation, while you're just being aware, knowing what you're doing. And if you have that clarity of the mind, it is as if the teachings are there with you. Report an error in the passage at 35:06 Highlight the passage at 35:06

35:27 You know whether what you're doing is suitable. You know whether it will achieve the right kind of purpose. You are aware. A bit of ill will, ok, I know that that is wrong. You know it straight away because you have the awareness. And this is this idea of sati sampajjanya in the Pāli language. The knowledge of whether what you're doing is right and appropriate for the occasion or not. And that you take with you into the meditation. Report an error in the passage at 35:27 Highlight the passage at 35:27

35:55 And the mind state that you kind of have when you do this is this kind of... It's a large, broad mind state. It's not a mind state where you have just an awareness without any kind of clarity. It's a clarity about what is going on. Often this is called full awareness in translation into English. Or sometimes it's translated as clear comprehension. Samparjanya, one of my favorite monks, translated as situational awareness. Report an error in the passage at 35:55 Highlight the passage at 35:55

36:24 Which is kind of a bit technical, but in other words you have awareness regarding the situation you are in, and you know whether what you're doing is appropriate to that. Situational awareness. It's a large mind. It's a mind that encompasses more than awareness, but has this feeling of the presence of the Dhamma right here, right in the present moment. Report an error in the passage at 36:24 Highlight the passage at 36:24

36:49 That's beautiful when you feel the Dhamma is with you. It's like you're carrying it with you. And this shows you why making too much effort in your meditation is the enemy of your practice. If you try too hard in your meditation, you block out that awareness of the dhamma. Because the trying often comes from the sense of self. The trying is the activity of the ego. And it doesn't allow the dhamma to percolate, to shine through, to rise to the surface. Report an error in the passage at 36:49 Highlight the passage at 36:49

37:19 The ego is there in its stead. And you know what it is like. If you try to remember something, I'm sure you have all been there. Oh, what is the name of that person again? Oh, I can't remember. It's on the tip of my tongue. And the more you try, the less you can remember it. You know what I mean? I'm sure everyone has been there. Or maybe it's just me. Report an error in the passage at 37:19 Highlight the passage at 37:19

37:39 Maybe I'm just really weird. But I'm sure I'm not just the only weird person here. We're all a bit weird. And then you let go. You stop trying. And the moment you let go, bang, it comes into your mind straight away. That is because you are allowing that memory to come through. You're allowing it to arise in your mind. It's exactly the same thing with the Dhamma. Report an error in the passage at 37:39 Highlight the passage at 37:39

38:00 If you want to have success in your meditation, instead of doing it, instead of trying to kind of be ego-based or self-based, you want to reduce that as much as possible. And the more you reduce that, and you'll be surprised how many layers of this there are. You may think that you're not doing anything too much in your meditation, but actually, probably you're doing too much already. Report an error in the passage at 38:00 Highlight the passage at 38:00

38:21 You're just not aware that you're even doing it. The more you let go of that doing, The more you get out of the way, the more the dhamma shines through. The more you have that ability to recall what you're supposed to be doing right now in the present. This is one reason why we should not be trying to harden our meditation practice because it blocks our ability to have sampajjhanya, clear comprehension, full awareness, the clarity about what you're supposed to be doing here and now. Report an error in the passage at 38:21 Highlight the passage at 38:21

38:54 So again, remember, The teachings are so important. All of these things together require you to understand what the Dhamma is, require you to study what Buddhism is all about, require you to reflect on what these teachings mean for you. How should you apply them in your life? What does it mean in your daily life to use the Dhamma teachings? What does it mean to use it here at the Dhammaloka Center? Report an error in the passage at 38:54 Highlight the passage at 38:54

39:21 What does it mean to use them when you are on retreat? The more you understand what these things are about, the more you have included them in your daily life, the easier it is to remember them when the time is right, because you have the right conditioning in your mind, the right view, the right understanding that allows those memories to come out. Report an error in the passage at 39:21 Highlight the passage at 39:21

39:43 This is what is happening here. So this is how you build up that thing and allow the whole path to... And this is one of the reasons, as I mentioned many times before, why right view, right understanding is at the very foundation of the Buddhist path. Because this is what allows all of these other things to unfold in the right way. And as you keep on practicing in this way, there comes a day when maybe you too have a very deep insight into these teachings. Report an error in the passage at 39:43 Highlight the passage at 39:43

40:16 And that deep insight into the teachings of the Buddha Really deep. It's called stream entry. You enter the stream of the dhamma. From now on, the dhamma is natural. It just happens all by itself. And the reason is because now it's no longer a memory. What used to be a memory... What used to be allowing the dhamma to come to the surface in your mind has now been integrated into your personality because you have seen what it is all about. Report an error in the passage at 40:16 Highlight the passage at 40:16

40:46 It is integrated into your psyche, into your psychology. You have in a sense become that dhamma. That dhamma has become a very powerful part of you. You no longer need to... Remember it so much. It is a natural part of who you are as a human being. And this is where memory turns into wisdom. Memory turns into a final kind of faith, the full faith in the Buddha, because you know the Buddha was right in what he was saying. The confidence in the Buddha is complete. Report an error in the passage at 40:46 Highlight the passage at 40:46

41:17 And that is where ultimately this path of memory leads to the understanding. to the full insight into the teachings of the Buddha as the Buddha himself taught them. Okay, so I'm going to stop there. And so, there you are, that's tonight's talk. Report an error in the passage at 41:17 Highlight the passage at 41:17

41:43 Alright, so now we have an opportunity as usual to ask questions and to make comments. Mr. Prem is quick off the mark over here. So, you know who Prem is. yeah. Report an error in the passage at 41:43 Highlight the passage at 41:43

42:00 Yeah, you know Prem already. Prem is known by everyone. No one does not know. How do you say this? Thank you, Ajahn. Thank you so much. What is your name, by the way? Alastair. Alastair. Thanks, Alastair. Please, Report an error in the passage at 42:00 Highlight the passage at 42:00

42:25 Prem. Just go ahead. Okay, Ajahn. Recollection of one's weaknesses or things that one could not achieve, etc., would that help in cutting down or lowering the sense of self, Sakaya Diti? Okay, so by reducing your weaknesses or whatever... Or recollecting your weaknesses. You mean like your pride maybe? Report an error in the passage at 42:25 Highlight the passage at 42:25

42:50 Yeah. So you're reducing your pride because you don't think you are such a goody-goody? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that way you reduce your sense of self, don't you? I don't think so. I don't think that's the... Well, I mean, sure, it is good to be aware of one's weaknesses. But, you know, I mean, it's not... Report an error in the passage at 42:50 Highlight the passage at 42:50

43:08 One shouldn't be... Some people are conceited or narcissistic and think that one is an arahant when you are just an ordinary person. Some people are like that. So sometimes, yeah, it is important to have some awareness of our weaknesses. I agree with that. But most people tend to overdo it dramatically. And so the problem is really the other way around. Report an error in the passage at 43:08 Highlight the passage at 43:08

43:29 We think too much about that. We think too much. Not only about ourselves, but we see the negative in other people too, too much. Instead of rejoicing in other people's good qualities. It's amazing that anyone has any good qualities in this world. Everyone should, you know, it's remarkable. But what I would do to reduce your sense of self and conceit is not so much thinking about your flaws but more thinking about yourself as a conditioned person. Report an error in the passage at 43:29 Highlight the passage at 43:29

43:55 It's not because of you that you are a great person, Prem. It has nothing to do with you. You're not the reason. It's because of the Buddha that you are a great person. You should thank the Buddha for that. No need to get conceited about your good qualities. I have a lot of respect for you and I think of myself in the same way. Report an error in the passage at 43:55 Highlight the passage at 43:55

44:12 Why should I be conceited about this? is then. Report an error in the passage at 44:12 Highlight the passage at 44:12

44:16 I'm not going to say that I have any good qualities, but maybe I do. If I do have some good qualities, then I should be grateful for the Buddha. I should be grateful maybe to my parents. Maybe grateful to my fellow monks and my fellow nuns for being so kind and compassionate to me. Grateful to Ajahn Brahm. Grateful to the Buddhist society for providing me with a cutie in the bush. Report an error in the passage at 44:16 Highlight the passage at 44:16

44:36 Grateful to the whole world for kind of making it possible. This has nothing to do with me. My sense of self has no wisdom. My sense of self is stupid. The Buddha, that's where the wisdom comes from. Every time I do something wise, it's because of something that has been input in my life. That is a much better way of overcoming conceit and the sense of self and sakaya ditti. Understanding has nothing to do with you. And then if you have a good quality, you can just be happy about it without feeling conceited. Report an error in the passage at 44:36 Highlight the passage at 44:36

45:05 You can feel joy, yeah, I've got this good quality, what a wonderful thing that is to have these good qualities. It just brings joy and happiness in the world. I'm living well, marvelous. You can enjoy the goodness without being conceited about it. That's what I would do. Report an error in the passage at 45:05 Highlight the passage at 45:05

45:24 Your microphone is not working, I think. Report an error in the passage at 45:24 Highlight the passage at 45:24

45:35 Sati and sammasati, could you touch on the difference and also is there something called samma memory? I think there is actually, I think you have a good point there, it's an interesting point. The sammasati is the kind of mindfulness of the satipatthanas, when you do meditation properly. And that arises once mindfulness has been really established in your life. So when you sit down, your mindfulness is clear and bright, and you are watching the breath, that's when you have sammasati. Report an error in the passage at 45:35 Highlight the passage at 45:35

46:09 Mindfulness is no longer blurred, your mind is not going off to the future and the past all the time, you don't lose your sense of awareness, you're kind of fairly strongly... Present in the here and now. So much so that you're able to follow the breath quite easily. That's sammasati. That's the satipaṭṭhāna practice. Report an error in the passage at 46:09 Highlight the passage at 46:09

46:28 Sati is broader than that. Sati happens also earlier on the path. Every stage of the path requires a degree of sati. When you are saying, maybe I shouldn't say that, maybe I should say something nice instead. At that moment you have sati about the teachings. And that moment is a mixture of awareness, And Samma memory, as you put it, right? Because you have the right memory. You could call it Yonisomanesikara, right? That's one way of thinking about it. Report an error in the passage at 46:28 Highlight the passage at 46:28

46:57 Yonisomanesikara, the wise attention, is that your attention is imbued with the memory of the teachings, with an understanding of the teachings, with the kind of wisdom that you have, with the brainwashing that you have achieved in the past. And that Samma memory is basically the memory... The memory of the Dhamma, the memory of what is right, what is good, what is appropriate, Yonis or Manasikara, Samparjanya, whatever. Report an error in the passage at 46:57 Highlight the passage at 46:57

47:24 Sure. Okay, please, Eddie. Report an error in the passage at 47:24 Highlight the passage at 47:24

47:39 Ajahn Brahmali, in your talk tonight, you mentioned about memories and you also talked about the recollection of the Dharma. Isn't the recollection of the Dharma the first of the seven factors towards enlightenment? Report an error in the passage at 47:39 Highlight the passage at 47:39

47:59 The first of the seven factors of enlightenment is, it can be that, the sattisambodhanga, the mindfulness awakening. One of the ways of practicing that is the recollection of the dhamma specifically. You remember the dhamma. That's one way. There's only one way. That factor can mean different things depending on the context. Report an error in the passage at 47:59 Highlight the passage at 47:59

48:21 It can also just be ordinary satipaṭṭhāna practice. It's also that. So it can just be... practice in the breath meditation or whatever, that's also sattisambhujanga. Or it can be recollecting the dhamma. So it is a recollection. But it's not so much the other recollections. The other recollections are a bit on the side of that. What I'm trying to say is, if it is this thing, okay, bhujangas, it's a healer, isn't it? Report an error in the passage at 48:21 Highlight the passage at 48:21

48:47 It's a healer. You're recollecting the past dhamma, you know. You know the seven factors, the different stages towards enlightenment. The final one is Equanimity, isn't it? Equanimity, yeah, yeah. So it is deep. It was said, you know, that when Buddha was sick, Chunda recited this. Yeah, actually that was something I wanted to mention actually during the talk, but I never got to. Report an error in the passage at 48:47 Highlight the passage at 48:47

49:09 And that is the recollection of the dhamma. When the Buddha recalled or asked someone else to recall the factors of awakening, he arises from illness. Very, very powerful recollection. Powerful. It's powerful. It's very interesting. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, yeah. Good. So let me just take a few of these from overseas. Maybe it's a good idea. So that means we can carry on here for as long as you want afterwards so that these don't have to wait for too long. Report an error in the passage at 49:09 Highlight the passage at 49:09

49:36 Let's have a quick look at what people are asking here. So a question from Germany. Dear Ajahn, how do I cope with a crazy world full of insane people without starting to hate? How can I protect myself from this hell? The cruelty makes me angry. What to do? Okay. So... I think the word that you are, the one word which is really useful here, what you say, is kind of crazy. Report an error in the passage at 49:36 Highlight the passage at 49:36

50:04 That is really the right kind of word to think about this. That people, everyone is a little bit, maybe not crazy, but everyone is deluded. No one, very few people see clearly what is going on. And so everyone is walking around in darkness. And because everyone is walking around in darkness, they don't know what they're doing. Report an error in the passage at 50:04 Highlight the passage at 50:04

50:24 They should turn on the light first. Turning on the light means to come to Dhammaloka Center, it means to practice the Dhamma, and gradually the light goes up and you start to see what is there and you understand how to emerge from that darkness. So have compassion for people in the world. We are all deluded a little bit, some people more than others, and the right response to that is compassion, because they don't know what they're doing. Report an error in the passage at 50:24 Highlight the passage at 50:24

50:49 To get angry with them doesn't make any sense. They're not doing this out of their own free will. They're doing it because they haven't got a clue what is going on. And despite that despite the world being full of problems and troubles there's still so much goodness in the world. There's lots of goodness. Maybe I'm very especially kind of... Report an error in the passage at 50:49 Highlight the passage at 50:49

51:09 You know, fortunate being a Buddhist monk, because as a Buddhist monk you meet only good people pretty much. Well, maybe not only, maybe occasionally once in a blue moon you meet some dodgy people, but not very often. And there are lots of good people in the world. The ordinary people in life, the ordinary people that you meet in the shops, on the street even, most of them are going to have good hearts, they're going to be good-hearted. Report an error in the passage at 51:09 Highlight the passage at 51:09

51:33 That's why they became human beings in the first place. And so look for the goodness in the world. It is there. Forgive the people for the delusion. Don't focus too much on the delusion because you might get depressed. But remember the goodness. That lifts you up. That makes you feel better. This is how you overcome that. Hate is a... If you start hating, you too are becoming deluded. Report an error in the passage at 51:33 Highlight the passage at 51:33

51:56 You too will be going down the same path. Don't do that. Have compassion. Have mettā. That is the right way. Report an error in the passage at 51:56 Highlight the passage at 51:56

52:06 Okay, we have a question from Australia. Dear Ajahn Brahmali, thank you for the talk. You made a lot of valuable points. My question is, what is yoga and how does yoga relate to Buddhism? For example, in Vajrayana, the deity yoga, devata yoga, is the fundamental practice. Are these practices exclusive to Vajrayana Saṅgha members or do Theravāda Saṅgha members also engage in these practices? Report an error in the passage at 52:06 Highlight the passage at 52:06

52:33 Devata yoga. It presumably means some kind of practice where you recall the deities and you kind of use them in visualization and this kind of stuff. I think that's probably what it is. Do we have that in Theravāda? The answer is yes, to some extent we do. And now, unfortunately, I said I was not going to talk about the other four recollections, but now I have to get into it because the question has been raised. Report an error in the passage at 52:33 Highlight the passage at 52:33

52:59 And one of those recollections is the Devata Nusati, the recollection of the Devatas. And in the Theravāda tradition the way we do that is to remember that those qualities that those devatas had when they were human, before they were reborn as devatas, as devas, those qualities they had as humans, which made them reborn as devas, I have those qualities now. Report an error in the passage at 52:59 Highlight the passage at 52:59

53:26 You think, wow, isn't that cool, these devas, these beautiful beings were really... Pure and beautiful qualities, they're kind of bright and shiny beings, you know, whatever they are. I'm heading in that direction. Is it maybe a little deva inside? Report an error in the passage at 53:26 Highlight the passage at 53:26

53:43 Yeah, like many of you, there's a little deva inside. Isn't that beautiful? Many of you are like little devas. That's how I think about you, because you have all these good qualities. You too start to think about yourself in that way. Yeah, it encourages you. It doesn't make you conceited. So that is kind of the Buddhist or the Theravadan idea of deva yoga. Yoga just means practice. I'm not talking about the yoga kind of standing in various postures here. Report an error in the passage at 53:43 Highlight the passage at 53:43

54:10 We're talking about the Buddhist word yoga which just means practice or exertion. You're practicing in a certain way. That's how the word yoga is used in the suttas in the word of the Buddha. And so that's kind of one way we do that. So that's kind of the devata yoga in Theravāda Buddhism. Report an error in the passage at 54:10 Highlight the passage at 54:10

54:28 Anyway, I'm not sure if that's what you wanted to hear, but that's the reality of it. So then we have another question from some... I can't really read that name, so we'll just go with the question. I have been stuck in the same position in terms of spiritual development. How can I keep moving spiritually? So what you have to do is you have to inquire very carefully into why you are stuck. Report an error in the passage at 54:28 Highlight the passage at 54:28

54:58 If you are stuck there is a reason for that. There is something that you haven't been developing properly in your life. And one of the things that I would recommend you to develop is develop more compassion and more kindness in your life. Really develop compassion and kindness. Kindness means be as kind as you possibly can through your actions and through your speech. Report an error in the passage at 54:58 Highlight the passage at 54:58

55:22 Treat other people with gentleness. Bring people together. Create harmony in the world. Be as truthful as you can. Say meaningful things. These are the four kind of ways of right speech. And do this. Be kind. Come from goodness inside when you speak. And do this. If you feel that you are not able to come from goodness because you're having a bad day or whatever, then don't say too much. Report an error in the passage at 55:22 Highlight the passage at 55:22

55:48 Now it's a bad day? Okay, best not to speak too much. Don't allow... The compulsion of anger, the compulsion of negative states to drive your speech, because often these defilements can be very compelling. They make you do things. Don't allow that to happen. Do what I was saying before. Wait. Wait for the dhamma to arise inside when you know that you're doing the right thing. Report an error in the passage at 55:48 Highlight the passage at 55:48

56:12 Develop more compassion for the world. It's very easy now to complain about the world and to see, oh, everything is going wrong. But actually, when everything is going wrong, it's a wonderful opportunity for compassion because people suffer more in the world when there's more wars, when there's more problems. Report an error in the passage at 56:12 Highlight the passage at 56:12

56:29 Compassion is the right response to what is happening in the world now, not despair, not anger, not ill will. So develop these things. Develop more generosity in your life. How can you help out more? These basic things are the most important ones. These basic things are what will feed back into meditation and make your meditation powerful. Report an error in the passage at 56:29 Highlight the passage at 56:29

56:51 If your practice consists mostly of meditation, you may very well stagnate. By doing these basic things and then bringing that into your meditation, that's where your meditation starts to work. Report an error in the passage at 56:51 Highlight the passage at 56:51

57:05 Alright, question from Karen Lawrence. Ajahn, six months after the death of my friend from cancer, I am troubled. I made choices that Report an error in the passage at 57:05 Highlight the passage at 57:05

57:20 led to his dying, being far from peaceful. I do not feel guilt, but I do fear that I have affected his rebirth. Alright, so what you... What you have to remember here is that when people pass away, it takes quite a while before they get reborn. Most people will go through a state, an in-between state. Report an error in the passage at 57:20 Highlight the passage at 57:20

57:51 This is often called bardos in Tibetan Buddhism or antrabhava in Pāli language. It means a state in-between. And in that state in-between, that's kind of where your kamma... Report an error in the passage at 57:51 Highlight the passage at 57:51

58:14 not peaceful at the moment when they died or before they died is not going to be the most important thing. What is going to be the most important thing is how they live their life. All of those things coming together. In fact, exactly what happens when you die at the moment of death may not have any impact at all on what happens afterwards. Report an error in the passage at 58:14 Highlight the passage at 58:14

58:32 It is your overall kamma that is what directs your rebirth into the future. So I don't think you have to feel guilty and I don't think you have to think that you affected that person's rebirth. Very unlikely that you did. It is their kind of general kamma that will affect where they went afterwards. Then we have a question from Julian. Report an error in the passage at 58:32 Highlight the passage at 58:32

58:51 Murielty Rodriguez. Report an error in the passage at 58:51 Highlight the passage at 58:51

58:59 Sorry, I apologize for not being able to pronounce your name properly. So thank you so much, Adam Romali. Reflection is important to turn the teachings into beliefs that underlie our decisions. Analyzing our experience and how the teaching fits with them helps. Yes, that is exactly right. So analyze your experiences, see how they fit with the teachings, reflect on what is going on, understand the dharma, how it is in your life, and then you are going to be on the right track. Report an error in the passage at 58:59 Highlight the passage at 58:59

59:31 Very good. All right. So any further questions or comments from people here? Sorry. Thank you. Everyone else is happy? Yeah. One, two, you get a final chance not to be happy, but you are happy, so what can you do? That's wonderful. So let's just pay homage to the Triple Gem here. Report an error in the passage at 59:31 Highlight the passage at 59:31