The Attitude of Curiosity

0:00 Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:06 So that's how you do it. Old school with no tunes. So anyway, it's nice to see everyone again. It's great to be back. I can't remember the last time I did this. It was like before the Vasa, our rains retreat. And you know, anything before the Vasa feels like last century. So here we are. So yes. Are you curious about what I'm going to talk about? Report an error in the passage at 0:06 Highlight the passage at 0:06

0:33 Tonight. Because I also am curious about what I'm going to talk about tonight. Because it will come out of my mouth. But the thing is, I think that that itself is a good thing to talk about. Curiosity. Curiosity. Have you ever heard the explanation or the, what do you call it, the idiom? Curiosity killed the cat. Report an error in the passage at 0:33 Highlight the passage at 0:33

1:00 So curiosity does not keep the five precepts. But curiosity might. It might kill the hindrances too, because it's one of those qualities which I've always really, I don't know, it comes quite naturally to me, curiosity. And so I quite enjoy it. I quite enjoy that part of your mind that is just, yeah, just wants to know, is interested, is curious. Report an error in the passage at 1:00 Highlight the passage at 1:00

1:31 And that's something which is so crucial when you're trying to... Develop meditation, especially if you're meditating on something like the breath, you know, which at first sight seems pretty blah. This thing going in, going out, going in. That's why people get bored and their mind starts wandering because it's not that interested in such a repetitive thing, which is not, there's no like fire. Report an error in the passage at 1:31 Highlight the passage at 1:31

2:03 It works when you begin with meditation. It's just a simple breath in and out and out again and again. And, you know, especially in this day and age, we have very little tolerance for repetition and boredom. You know, I can just see like the length of videos that people can pay attention to now. It keeps getting shorter and shorter. And that's the thing. Report an error in the passage at 2:03 Highlight the passage at 2:03

2:25 The breath is something that's even less, you could say, interesting than a video. And so imagine having to sustain attention on that for what we'll be doing is half an hour. But I mean, even an hour or 10 minutes or whatever can be challenging. Report an error in the passage at 2:25 Highlight the passage at 2:25

2:42 So what I've tinkered with a lot of different things to put between, as Ajahn Brahm has long ago, he had this like kind of model in your mind that you can think of is there's the object. that you're watching whatever it is any kind of meditation object it can be the breath it can be something else whatever it is you'd like to use um and then there's the observer and the the art and the trick of meditation is it's a space in between the two the um the the kind of quality Report an error in the passage at 2:42 Highlight the passage at 2:42

3:23 of mind you put in between the observer and the observed so There are many, many things you could put in that space to make that connection be something sustainable, but also enjoyable. And so that's the thing which sometimes you could try putting mettā in between, you know, like putting mettā between you and the breath so that you have a sense of, oh, what a nice breath, like that kind of attitude or feeling. Report an error in the passage at 3:23 Highlight the passage at 3:23

3:58 Or this is what I like to do is to. I mean, I like to do that too, but this is something that I also like to tinker with is I'm putting curiosity between the so-called you that is watching and the thing you're watching. And you can just play around with it. Notice how that makes your mind feel. And it's something which it reminded me of, you know, trying to figure out like, why does that work? Report an error in the passage at 3:58 Highlight the passage at 3:58

4:27 How come for me, when I try to be curious about... What it is I'm looking at or observing, it becomes quite natural for me to be able to stay in attention on it. And it made me think back to my first year in university. So I remember feeling like I was worried. How am I going to read all these books? In university, you have to read so many books, and there's so little time. I was wondering, how was I going to be able to do it? Report an error in the passage at 4:27 Highlight the passage at 4:27

5:00 And luckily, obviously, this is something everybody, many people worried about. So there was this thing called the Bureau of Study Council. So funny. I mean, only at Harvard, you have like a whole bureau devoted to like teaching how to study or counseling how to study. But anyway, they had this course in the beginning weeks of the semester on speed reading, how to speed read. Report an error in the passage at 5:00 Highlight the passage at 5:00

5:24 And I thought. I mean, I just imagined going and it'd be about like, you know, some sort of technique on like how you draw your finger across the page or you like, you know, train your eyes to move quickly. I thought it'd be something like that. But it was interesting. One of the most powerful tools that they talked about, which I found very unexpected, was the technique of reading with a question. Report an error in the passage at 5:24 Highlight the passage at 5:24

5:50 And I was like, huh? I mean, how's that going to make me read faster? But then I tried it and I realized that, oh, when you already have a question in mind, when you're reading it, there is already this natural interest and this sort of like enthusiasm to like read the thing that you'll naturally read more quickly because you're like, I want to find out the answer. Report an error in the passage at 5:50 Highlight the passage at 5:50

6:12 I want to find the answer. And so when you're doing that, you not only read more quickly, but you read more attentively. So because When you're interested in something, you're curious about finding out something, you naturally pay more attention to it, right? It's not something you have to force yourself. Oh, pay attention to this paragraph. Report an error in the passage at 6:12 Highlight the passage at 6:12

6:30 It'll be, you know, on exam at the end of the term. It's more like, oh, pay attention to this because, you know, I'm trying to find out about this thing and this paragraph might tell me. And so then I found, oh yeah, that actually helps me read more quickly and with more quality. And so to this day, I thank the Bureau of Study Council. Report an error in the passage at 6:30 Highlight the passage at 6:30

6:50 We're not only that sort of technique on speed reading, but a more like, you know, broadly applicable, not really a technique even, but an approach that is handy for meditation practice. Because when we approach meditation as something like a discovery or a mystery solving or an unfolding, Where we're kind of like wondering, you know, how's it going to turn out? And even if we have so-called meditation instructions, if we phrase it as a question as opposed to a command, it makes a difference in our mind. Report an error in the passage at 6:50 Highlight the passage at 6:50

7:37 We'll try this later in the guided meditation. But I remember, I mean, I have to credit my sources. I remember a long time ago. Ajahn Brahm did this Saturday guided meditation at Dhammaloka that I was able to attend. And he kind of just phrased the so-called instructions as a question. And sort of like, oh, you know. Or if you can remember, some of you might be familiar with the mindfulness of breathing. Report an error in the passage at 7:37 Highlight the passage at 7:37

8:12 You know, as you breathe in. you know know the breath is long as you're breathing out you know the breath is long as you're breathing you know the breath is short breathing out no breath is short but just try changing that too as you're breathing in is my breath long is my breath short And so that was kind of an aha moment. And so I said, oh, yeah, there's something sort of forceful about. Report an error in the passage at 8:12 Highlight the passage at 8:12

8:49 instructions that you're supposed to try to follow or even if you try to instruct your mind to like follow do this step one step two step three whereas there's something more open and and sort of gentle um about asking well what's going on and and that kind of combination i think is uh is really really helpful and i think curiosity brings with it Report an error in the passage at 8:49 Highlight the passage at 8:49

9:18 Not just a sense of openness, but a sense of joy. In Australia, I don't know if you have these children's books, but in America they had this series called Curious George. So Curious George goes and does different things in different books. Curious George might go to the supermarket or Curious George, whatever. It's a series. Report an error in the passage at 9:18 Highlight the passage at 9:18

9:42 So Curious George is this little monkey who... He's named George and he's very curious as monkeys are. They want to go and they want to like get their hands into this and get their hands to that and open this thing and, you know, peek under that carpet and figure out, oh, what's this? What's that? And that's kind of the spirit of curiosity. It's really playful and it's really kind of, yeah, it's inquisitive but in a... Report an error in the passage at 9:42 Highlight the passage at 9:42

10:13 Not in an interrogative way. It's more like in a spirit of joy and wonderment and discovery. And that's something which I feel is also really helpful about bringing curiosity to your meditation practice. So on the one hand, it helps you sustain your intention in a natural way. On the other hand, it also, at another level, it brings a certain kind of attitude. Report an error in the passage at 10:13 Highlight the passage at 10:13

10:42 An emotional experience to meditation that is fun. And when you enjoy your experience meditating, then it's obviously going to be something you're going to want to keep doing. And you'll be able to sit with different experiences. So the thing about Curious George is he's not only curious about a certain type of experience. Report an error in the passage at 10:42 Highlight the passage at 10:42

11:06 It's not like in meditation. Sometimes it's like... Oh, you go on with this. I want to get peaceful. After 30 minutes, I want to feel more peaceful. And after an hour, I want to be in jhāna or whatever. It's like you bring an agenda to when you meditate. Whereas if you're bringing a sort of a curious mindset or approach, then it's like you're not demanding a certain result. Report an error in the passage at 11:06 Highlight the passage at 11:06

11:35 You're not going in like looking to find that particular thing. But you're going in sort of with a blank slate, like what? I wonder what's going to happen in my meditation today. And even if it's not peaceful, you can be curious about not peaceful. This is what not peaceful feels like. This is what not peaceful feels like after 25 minutes. You can always be curious about whatever it is you're experiencing. Report an error in the passage at 11:35 Highlight the passage at 11:35

12:01 So it's like no fail. is like one was like Like multi-applicable universal attitude you could have to anything. Because anything can happen in your meditation. And that's something which you will find, right? As more you meditate, you can see your mind does weird stuff. Like sometimes it just completely flips from being not peaceful to very peaceful. Or sometimes, you know, it's just full of hindrances. Report an error in the passage at 12:01 Highlight the passage at 12:01

12:26 And you're like, well, that was one distracted day. It wasn't a distracted meditation. And you can be not discouraged. But curious about why. And that's the third leg of curiosity is that it helps to cultivate an inquiring mind, which is what develops your wisdom faculty. So being able to be mindful, you know, is not all there is to it. Even though that's the most popular word, that's not all there is to it. Report an error in the passage at 12:26 Highlight the passage at 12:26

13:03 Really, you know, in the scheme of... of the buddhist path it's a hyphenated term mindfulness and wisdom mindfulness wisdom is that they're a pair that you have to develop together because if you're just mindfulness like it is kind of this dullard way where you don't know the context of things and you don't really know what's the big deal about what you're watching then it's kind of not really going to lead you to to the whole point of the path which is freedom from suffering So having a curious attitude or developing that sense of curiosity as you meditate is another way of saying you're developing your investigative skills and that kind of momentum of the mind that is trying to understand your experience more deeply. Report an error in the passage at 13:03 Highlight the passage at 13:03

13:57 So it's being able to look not only at, okay, this is the breath, but... How is the breath changing? Or what is the nature of the breathing as the meditation experience keeps progressing? This is something which we can't develop that if we're only going in with the sense of, I want a particular result, you know, because we can only learn. Report an error in the passage at 13:57 Highlight the passage at 13:57

14:36 from the experience fresh as it's happening and that's something which you can't you can't make that you can't force that but if you start inquiring into it then you can learn about cause and effect you can try to observe cause and effect as it happens well what was it i was doing before i meditated that makes my mind peaceful or not peaceful or how is it that i'm Report an error in the passage at 14:36 Highlight the passage at 14:36

15:03 Looking at the objects, what am I putting in between that space between the observer and the object? What's that? And why is it working or not working? You know, and all of this is all feeding your wisdom, wisdom about meditation practice, but also wisdom about the nature of your mind. And so having curiosity, I think is actually... Report an error in the passage at 15:03 Highlight the passage at 15:03

15:29 Essential. It's not like a cool trick that I'm teaching you today. I think it's essential for the path because that sense of trying to understand your own experience, it comes from a mind that wants to know. It wants to be able to know from your own experience and not know for the sake of knowledge, but know for the sake of freedom. Report an error in the passage at 15:29 Highlight the passage at 15:29

15:53 And we can only free ourselves by what we understand. How we understand things. And so that's why, yeah, curiosity is really good. It's really deep. It's not just, it's not, it can be whatever level, you know. But I think that kind of attitude is something which isn't hard to tap into. It's something that's actually, it's quite natural to all of us, I think. It's something which... Report an error in the passage at 15:53 Highlight the passage at 15:53

16:24 I think it allowed the human species to survive and evolve, you know, because you keep trying to understand, you know, the world around you. And now we try to understand the world inside us. I also wanted to bring up another memory I had as I was curious about what I would, you know, talk about for half an hour. I remembered one of my professors, he was the head of the department at my master's degree program. Report an error in the passage at 16:24 Highlight the passage at 16:24

16:52 And he was just this, like, He's an enthusiastic, energetic guy. And in his lectures, honestly, I have to be honest, I can't quite remember very much about the content of his lectures, but I remember something that he would always pepper his lectures with. He would pepper with the word, you know, interestingly. And he would always pronounce it in his very unique way. Report an error in the passage at 16:52 Highlight the passage at 16:52

17:17 Like I would say interestingly, but he would say interestingly. Interestingly, you know, whatever, whatever, you know, in 18th century Burma, this or that happened. But interestingly, most people think 18th century Burma is kind of boring, right? But he would make it interestingly, and he would point out, you know, various things, this and that, and everything would be interestingly. And so sometimes I just bring that up, that word reminds me when things are getting a bit heavy in the meditation and getting a bit... Report an error in the passage at 17:17 Highlight the passage at 17:17

17:47 Like, you know, it seems a bit dreary today. It's not so joyful or whatever. Just bring up the word, interestingly, interestingly, I'm feeling dull. And that already brings the, it brings it, it taps back into my, my sense of curiosity when I bring up that kind of a memory or a phrase or a catch word. Report an error in the passage at 17:47 Highlight the passage at 17:47

18:06 So you can think in your own life that there's some kind of, yeah, catch word or catch phrase that would. That would help you just tap into that spirit of curiosity again, when sometimes it gets a bit faded out as you meditate. And that kind of bringing that curiosity back, it brings a freshness back into your mind and a freshness back into your approach to meditation and your meditation experience. Report an error in the passage at 18:06 Highlight the passage at 18:06

18:31 And that's something that sometimes you have to keep renewing throughout not only one meditation sitting, but each time you meditate, it's like... The more you do it, the more you might get into a certain routine of how you meditate. I start like this and I do that. And then it becomes a bit stale. But if you bring a curious mind to it, it's a sense of wonderment. I really like that phrase, wonderment. It's such an open thing. Report an error in the passage at 18:31 Highlight the passage at 18:31

19:05 And it's so rare we have the chance, I think, in this day and age to experience wonderment. You know, you just kind of. Report an error in the passage at 19:05 Highlight the passage at 19:05

19:12 We have so much information about everything, you know, like everything. You have the Google map, you know exactly how to turn, how to find, you know, this route, that route. You go to a foreign country and then you can you can translate all the signs. It's like we're armed with so much information now. It's so hard to have a like experience where I wonder what's going to happen. Report an error in the passage at 19:12 Highlight the passage at 19:12

19:31 You've already like read all the reviews in advance of this restaurant. You know, this this is everything is reviewed. on the internet now everything um and so you can't just have your own your own adventure you know that's something which i used to really enjoy doing one of like one of the most relaxing and enjoyable things i i like to do before was just to go to a some kind of neighborhood i didn't know very well you know and just wander and just sort of wander the streets and find out oh okay this just knows into like a just whatever some street stall what they're selling And what is that? And then maybe like poke into like, you know, a shop or a restaurant that I've never been before. I don't know what it's about. Report an error in the passage at 19:31 Highlight the passage at 19:31

20:16 I've never read a review. And I don't even know exactly where I'm going. I have no, like, I don't have a itinerary. I'm just sort of wandering here and there and hope somehow I managed to find my way back to public transport, you know, so that kind of thing. We can't do so much in our world these days. But we can do that in our meditation, because Every time we sit down, it's like a new adventure. We have no idea what's going to happen to our mind. And even if you're listening to the same guided meditation, as we'll do soon, everyone's mind will go in all different journeys, all sorts of different places, their own adventures. Report an error in the passage at 20:16 Highlight the passage at 20:16

20:53 And if you're armed with curiosity about it, then it'll be a very enjoyable experience. It will feel less like a kind of like a pre-mixed kind of, you know. Like, you know, those like packet soups where everything is already mixed and then you put in water and everybody's going to like drink it and they get the same taste. Well, this is going to be different. Report an error in the passage at 20:53 Highlight the passage at 20:53

21:15 Everybody's going to mix their own mental soup today as we do the same guided meditation. And so it's a great opportunity for you to just wonder what's going to happen and never lose hope. Even if for 25 minutes your mind is completely distracted. You never know. In the 26 minutes, your mind could just flip, and then something will drop, and you'll let go of something. And then it's like suddenly, oh, my mind is very different. Report an error in the passage at 21:15 Highlight the passage at 21:15

21:43 So how's that for a cliffhanger ending? Shall we try? Shall we try? And then we'll find out. We'll compare notes at the end. Well, we probably don't have time to compare everybody's notes, but you can yourself find out after 30 minutes of doing this together what will happen. Report an error in the passage at 21:43 Highlight the passage at 21:43

22:03 All right, Report an error in the passage at 22:03 Highlight the passage at 22:03

22:24 everybody settle down and you're wherever you are. happen. I hope I will not fall asleep because this is being recorded and I'm supposed to be the one leading the meditation. But if you find that there's a lot of silence at the end, just check the screen. And if I am asleep, then please nudge me virtually. Okay. All right. So let's, let's get to it. All right. Report an error in the passage at 22:24 Highlight the passage at 22:24

22:33 Get to know, get to know how your body feels and how do we do that? Well, we just, we just ask ourself, does my body feel comfy? Report an error in the passage at 22:33 Highlight the passage at 22:33

22:51 Do I feel balanced? And if not, I can adjust. Just Report an error in the passage at 22:51 Highlight the passage at 22:51

23:02 checking if my neck is feeling straight, my back is feeling straight. But not tense. I'm leaning not too far forwards or backs. Do I feel like I am? And then adjust. Then Report an error in the passage at 23:02 Highlight the passage at 23:02

23:29 you can wonder, how does my face feel? Report an error in the passage at 23:29 Highlight the passage at 23:29

23:37 Is it actually tense in places? More tense than I expected, maybe. Report an error in the passage at 23:37 Highlight the passage at 23:37

23:46 How can I loosen that? Report an error in the passage at 23:46 Highlight the passage at 23:46

24:00 Especially in areas around my mouth. What happens when I do that? How Report an error in the passage at 24:00 Highlight the passage at 24:00

24:11 does it make my... Body feel when my face is relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 24:11 Highlight the passage at 24:11

24:21 Let's make my mind feel when my face is relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 24:21 Highlight the passage at 24:21

24:39 Areas in my body. As I work my way down from my face, my head, downwards. Places of tension. I wonder if I can relax those. What Report an error in the passage at 24:39 Highlight the passage at 24:39

· · · silence, 1 minute

25:42 if I did something weird like trying to breathe throughout my whole body? Try taking a breath. In from your nose. Then imagine it doesn't go just to your chest. It goes all over your body. Sweeping right through your body. All the way down to your toes. From the nose to the toes. How Report an error in the passage at 25:42 Highlight the passage at 25:42

26:17 does that make you feel? Can Report an error in the passage at 26:17 Highlight the passage at 26:17

26:41 you say your body feels more relaxed? How do you know you're relaxed? How does it feel? Report an error in the passage at 26:41 Highlight the passage at 26:41

27:01 If you do feel it, just enjoy that feeling for a little while. Report an error in the passage at 27:01 Highlight the passage at 27:01

· · · silence, 1 minute

27:47 At some point, the mind feels, wants to kind of explore when it feels like to breathe. I mean, we do it all the time, but we do it, we do it so automatically. Report an error in the passage at 27:47 Highlight the passage at 27:47

28:10 It's like, if I had to describe it, would I be able to? Report an error in the passage at 28:10 Highlight the passage at 28:10

28:17 Where does the air actually come in? Where do I feel it as it comes in? Report an error in the passage at 28:17 Highlight the passage at 28:17

28:28 Where do I feel it going? Do I go upwards, then down, or just down? But then how far down? We can investigate. Let's try it again. You can just try breathing in and out, breathing in and out, and see if you're going to be able to describe the experience to someone else or Report an error in the passage at 28:28 Highlight the passage at 28:28

29:01 even to yourself. Report an error in the passage at 29:01 Highlight the passage at 29:01

29:26 So right now, as we're starting, does my breath feel like it's short? What Report an error in the passage at 29:26 Highlight the passage at 29:26

29:39 does short mean? I guess we'll only know if it becomes longer. So you don't have to force it. You can just see naturally, what is my breath doing? And how does that length of breath change? Report an error in the passage at 29:39 Highlight the passage at 29:39

30:03 So Report an error in the passage at 30:03 Highlight the passage at 30:03

30:07 we can try that for a little while and just see if it does change. You Report an error in the passage at 30:07 Highlight the passage at 30:07

· · · silence, 3 minutes

32:46 notice your mind sometimes wanders off. And just quickly check, what kind of thought is it wandering to? What do I like to think about? Just a quick check. And then wondering, well, Why am I losing interest in the breath? Is there some aspect of the breath I could become more curious about? Report an error in the passage at 32:46 Highlight the passage at 32:46

33:21 Maybe I could explore whether I feel more enjoyable as I breathe in, or is it I feel it's more enjoyable as I exhale? Which part do I feel gives me more relaxation? And play with putting more attention on the in-breath. And then maybe... Later, putting more attention on the out-breath. See what your mind likes. Report an error in the passage at 33:21 Highlight the passage at 33:21

· · · silence, 3 minutes

37:22 As our minds start to settle down more, the Report an error in the passage at 37:22 Highlight the passage at 37:22

37:30 nature of our breath might soften. Does it feel like that? Report an error in the passage at 37:30 Highlight the passage at 37:30

37:42 Is there much difference between how the in-breath feels or the out-breath feels after a while? Report an error in the passage at 37:42 Highlight the passage at 37:42

37:59 And at some point, your mind feels so peaceful, you don't feel like asking any more questions verbally. Then just let that go. Just be with the experience wordlessly. Report an error in the passage at 37:59 Highlight the passage at 37:59

· · · silence, 5 minutes

42:52 If your Report an error in the passage at 42:52 Highlight the passage at 42:52

· · · silence, 2 minutes

45:20 mind has been peaceful for a little while, what time is it good to check? Is it peaceful in an alert way? Peaceful in an energized way? Or peaceful in a kind of semi-sleep way? Sort of a dull kind of peace? Ask yourself. Ask your mind. Report an error in the passage at 45:20 Highlight the passage at 45:20

45:50 What is that quality of peace? And if it is sort of dullish, what helps to wake it up? As Report an error in the passage at 45:50 Highlight the passage at 45:50

· · · silence, 6 minutes

51:56 we're coming towards the end of the meditation, we can ask our mind, how does it feel now? Does Report an error in the passage at 51:56 Highlight the passage at 51:56

52:12 it feel different in any way? More Report an error in the passage at 52:12 Highlight the passage at 52:12

52:20 quiet? Less quiet? Report an error in the passage at 52:20 Highlight the passage at 52:20

52:35 Peaceful or not? It doesn't matter what your answer is. What matters more is asking, why? Report an error in the passage at 52:35 Highlight the passage at 52:35

52:49 What happened during the course of this 25, 30 minutes? Being Report an error in the passage at 52:49 Highlight the passage at 52:49

52:58 curious helped? Did it feel forced? Did Report an error in the passage at 52:58 Highlight the passage at 52:58

53:09 using questions agree with my mind? Or do I not like it? What Report an error in the passage at 53:09 Highlight the passage at 53:09

53:21 did help? What did work? I just investigate. There's no right or wrong answers. Just wondering, what was my experience? What can I learn from it? Report an error in the passage at 53:21 Highlight the passage at 53:21

53:45 And finally, we can take a little time to share whatever peace or stillness or joy or even just the act of taking 30 minutes of your life to cultivating the mind and the spiritual path and Report an error in the passage at 53:45 Highlight the passage at 53:45

54:15 taking joy in that. And we can spread that beyond us to everyone, really. I mean, sometimes we can think of particular people or... Report an error in the passage at 54:15 Highlight the passage at 54:15

54:35 You can go through certain sequence categories of people. Sometimes it's nice to just spread it in the directions around you, beginning with in front of you, just beaming all that good energy, positive, wholesome energy to everyone, human, non-human, whatever, to the front of you. To Report an error in the passage at 54:35 Highlight the passage at 54:35

55:18 your right side, behind Report an error in the passage at 55:18 Highlight the passage at 55:18

55:24 you, and Report an error in the passage at 55:24 Highlight the passage at 55:24

55:31 to your left side. So Report an error in the passage at 55:31 Highlight the passage at 55:31

55:36 you can imagine this both in your real world, but also all those people on the gallery screen of this Zoom. Report an error in the passage at 55:36 Highlight the passage at 55:36

55:48 So above, below you, all around you, may all beings share the goodness of my practice, my life, my mind, happy. Report an error in the passage at 55:48 Highlight the passage at 55:48

56:15 And then we Report an error in the passage at 56:15 Highlight the passage at 56:15

56:25 can ease ourselves out of meditation, taking Report an error in the passage at 56:25 Highlight the passage at 56:25

56:34 a few breaths. When Report an error in the passage at 56:34 Highlight the passage at 56:34

56:40 you're ready, you can open your eyes. Report an error in the passage at 56:40 Highlight the passage at 56:40

56:56 Gosh, don't you want to just keep meditating? Which you are free to do. But if anyone has questions, I'm happy to take any questions. So just raise your hand. Report an error in the passage at 56:56 Highlight the passage at 56:56

57:23 Is that a hand or is that a clap? Yes, yes. Oh, that's a hand. That's Kim. Kim from Maine. Would you like to ask your question? I do. And it's more back to the speed reading thing. So like when you were reading a book that you hadn't read before, say like a Middlemarch or something like that, what would you ask yourself before you started reading it? Report an error in the passage at 57:23 Highlight the passage at 57:23

57:53 Oh, I hadn't read it before? Well, maybe, you know, if I... There were some character names that would start to come up in the first page. I'd be like, I wonder if this is going to be a good guy or a bad guy. Report an error in the passage at 57:53 Highlight the passage at 57:53

58:12 I wonder what the relationship will be between this character and that character. I wonder what Middlemarch actually refers to. I read Middlemarch when I was in high school, but I can't remember anymore. Is that the name of a town? Report an error in the passage at 58:12 Highlight the passage at 58:12

58:29 So you could even ask something so basic like that. It doesn't really matter. It's just whatever you are genuinely curious about. And you'd like to find out. And as you go along, you might, you know, have answered one question and then more questions come up. And so that's how, you know, that's what books become page turners. Report an error in the passage at 58:29 Highlight the passage at 58:29

58:49 Like Middlemarch is very thick. But if someone was really curious about what was happening. Then it wouldn't feel like, oh my God, I have to get through this whole book. It'd be like, you just keep on reading. You wouldn't like put it down. You'd like stay up all night reading it. Have you ever done that? Report an error in the passage at 58:49 Highlight the passage at 58:49

59:03 I have. Not with Middlemarch, but sorts of different kinds of things. And so, yeah, I think then, you know, that's how sometimes I have to admit, you know, sometimes it's like you do, you do like, I don't know, maybe 30 minutes of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 59:03 Highlight the passage at 59:03

59:23 Sometimes feels like a long time, but then you watch like even like even a dharma YouTube thing, you know, even a Q &A that's like not like movies or anything. It's just like a dharma thing. Somehow that sometimes it goes faster because you're like you're it's more there's something that can keep your mind focused because it's a more it's not such a subtle object. Report an error in the passage at 59:23 Highlight the passage at 59:23

59:48 Like even the difference between watching a Q &A and watching a dharma talk. Do you feel the difference? Like your mind is a bit more engaged with Q &A because it's like, it's easier to be curious about it, you know, because it's short, right? It's like, okay, this question is answered. So the thing is, like when you're reading a long book, like Middlemarch, or you're sitting for like, you know, half an hour, one hour, two hours, is to like, not think of it as a long thing, but just have a question for this part, this moment, this page. Report an error in the passage at 59:48 Highlight the passage at 59:48

1:00:19 And then the next page, you know? And so then it becomes like you're constantly engaged and engaging with your object of meditation. So have you read Middlemarch? Maybe you can try. Try reading Middlemarch. You know, have a different question on page one and then page two. It'll naturally happen as you get into the story and see how that goes. Yes. Did that answer your question? Okay, thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:19 Highlight the passage at 1:00:19

1:00:52 Okay, now it's, how do you say your name? Kaloyan, is that right? Kind of. Kaloyan, is that right? It's a bit difficult to pronounce because it's not in English, but that's all right. Where are you from? I'm curious. From Bulgaria. Where are you from? Bulgaria? Yeah, it's a balcony. Wow. Yes, yes, I know where Bulgaria is. But that's great. That's great that... Report an error in the passage at 1:00:52 Highlight the passage at 1:00:52

1:01:22 Yes, what's your question? I have lots of questions actually that came up, but I'm gonna ask one of them, which is that we, as far as I'm aware, we have to, in a sense, look for the peace and the happiness in meditation so that our mind can incline towards it. At least that's what I've heard. But earlier in the talk, I think you said that we shouldn't be demanding, so to speak. So we shouldn't... Report an error in the passage at 1:01:22 Highlight the passage at 1:01:22

1:01:51 want, you know, to make it peaceful, to want the happiness to appear, yeah, so kind of I want to make the difference between the two of them. Yeah, that's a really interesting question because it's like this fine balance where it's not that you're expecting or wanting or demanding to have peace arise in your experience. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:51 Highlight the passage at 1:01:51

1:02:23 But it's about being able to start recognizing it when it does arise. And when you do have even a moment of peace or just a few, you know, 10 seconds or 20 seconds of peace and to be able to notice and, you know, get to know that feeling, what that feels like, so that when your mind becomes more familiar with it and it can recognize it. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:23 Highlight the passage at 1:02:23

1:02:53 more quickly, then it's easier for the mind to find a foothold in that piece. It's like if you're not inclining the mind or training the mind to go towards that piece, then it's harder to stay with it. So when we first start to meditate, it's like the most obvious thing is like how our thoughts are going here, there, everywhere. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:53 Highlight the passage at 1:02:53

1:03:23 And it can feel frustrating because it's like, I thought meditation is supposed to make my mind more peaceful. Why is it just making my mind go all over the place? But actually it's that we're not knowing where to look because between those thoughts, there's just this microsecond of space between one thought and the next. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:23 Highlight the passage at 1:03:23

1:03:48 And just being able to like, even notice, you know, When we're breathing, right, normally we're just like, oh, it goes in and it goes out. But actually, when you actually start to pay more attention, you notice that, oh, after the in-breath, there's like a little bit of a gap, like an ever slightest gap before the out-breath. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:48 Highlight the passage at 1:03:48

1:04:08 And so there is that same gap between our thoughts, you know. And if, you know, as you meditate, you're able to experience a bit of a longer gap between thoughts, you have a bit of a longer. experience of peace and silence then when you were able to be with that and actually appreciate it as opposed to just gloss over it you know if we haven't started training our mind we don't even notice it because it's just so much more what draws our attention so much more the thoughts and the content of our thoughts but once we start to notice the peace and we're like oh that's what it's like oh it feels nice you know Then without having to like tell our mind that, oh, you should go and, you know, look for the peace or whatever. It's like your mind naturally, it inclines to it. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:08 Highlight the passage at 1:04:08

1:04:56 And then when it does that, then it's the real thing. It's not forced. And because it naturally, you know, it's like the same thing, like when you're reading a book and you're naturally curious about what's going to happen next, then your mind is naturally going to go towards the next page. And so it's the same way when you're like, oh, this feels so good. You know, the peace in the mind feels better than the thoughts. Then your mind is naturally going to go to that place and stay with it. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:56 Highlight the passage at 1:04:56

1:05:21 So I guess that's, I don't know where you've heard or in what context you've heard that thing about, you know, you should look for the peace. That would be how I would interpret it. So it's actually always there. It's just sometimes it's a bit more obvious than other times. And so we can, you know, It won't happen if we're saying, I need to have peace in my meditation. I need to be able to get the peace so that I can, you know, focus on it and, you know, look for it. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:21 Highlight the passage at 1:05:21

1:05:49 Then you're just not going to be peaceful because every time you're wanting it, that's like, that's already, it's like going in the opposite direction. And so sometimes I really don't like to lead guided meditations because it's so artificial. Everyone's mind is doing something different, but I have to say something at a certain time. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:49 Highlight the passage at 1:05:49

1:06:08 May not be the right rhythm for the various people on the thing. And if I'm like, oh, your mind is getting more peaceful, then there's somebody who's like, my mind is not getting more peaceful. Then they feel like there's something wrong with me. By now, my mind is supposed to be peaceful. But this is just guided meditation. You have to say something at some time. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:08 Highlight the passage at 1:06:08

1:06:26 And so it's better, I think, to do your own meditation. Just get the sort of idea of how you might approach it, but then do it in your own time so your mind can naturally... settle down in its own time and the peace will naturally arise you don't have to make it happen you don't have to you know find it don't try to find it in that sense does that help Report an error in the passage at 1:06:26 Highlight the passage at 1:06:26

1:06:51 yeah it's just yeah it's been confusing me kind of because I've been noticing it that the moment you notice getting peaceful and you start wanting it yeah it's gone There you go. That's a very important discovery. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:51 Highlight the passage at 1:06:51

1:07:08 Yeah, noticing that, oh, right, when I do that, the peace goes away. And so then you can see, well, you know, next time it happens, if, you know, if it's like, and also the more times it happens, it gets less like exciting. It's not like, oh my God, there's peace afterwards. Oh, right, that's the peace. And then when we're not so like, you know, then naturally, you know, it won't go away so fast. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:08 Highlight the passage at 1:07:08

1:07:36 But the thing is to really reorient our whole paradigm about meditation. Meditation is not about finding success by experiencing peace. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:36 Highlight the passage at 1:07:36

1:07:51 Meditation is about being with mystery and letting things unfold in miraculously unexpected ways and to be able to... Learn from that, no matter what's happening, to be able to learn from any experiencing, whatever that is, whatever that is. That is, for me, how I feel like succeeding. I don't even like the term succeeding, succeeding in meditation. It just becomes another thing you have to achieve or do or be successful at. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:51 Highlight the passage at 1:07:51

1:08:25 So I think the more, for me personally, being able to learn from... All of my experiences, meditation otherwise, is the way I find I can always feel like it's working because you can always learn from it, right? So you've just answered your own question, right? You already know that when you want or, you know, expecting something, that peace, or when it comes and you're like, oh, great, here it is, it goes. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:25 Highlight the passage at 1:08:25

1:08:51 So then the more you recognize that, the less, we have a natural intelligence. You know, after a while, you're going to be like, oh, okay. Let's not do that. So then, yeah, it's something we have to keep exploring and experimenting with. We answer our own questions, ultimately, because no one else can. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:51 Highlight the passage at 1:08:51

1:09:09 I can try, but it won't be satisfying for you until you kind of find it in your own experience, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:09 Highlight the passage at 1:09:09

1:09:20 Okay. Thank you very much. And the talk was very good, in my opinion. Just saying. Thank you. Thanks for the question. Okay, Eva? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:20 Highlight the passage at 1:09:20

1:09:31 Yeah, thanks. Thanks a lot for the meditation. Can you hear me okay? Yes, yes, I can. Excellent. Yeah, I was wondering, so it seems to me it's such a fine line to walk, right? When you have curiosity and then something comes up, as Kalyan just basically said, you automatically almost get into wanting, right? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:31 Highlight the passage at 1:09:31

1:09:57 Or let's say something exciting comes up, you see something, oh, oh, oh, that's great. I find that very difficult to maneuver between. between you know kind of yeah sleepiness and kind of peacefulness and nice and relaxed and then you kind of almost falling asleep or on the other side being kind of curious and then like oh oh there's something and then suddenly it's it's you know it's gone so I mean how do you move between that Report an error in the passage at 1:09:57 Highlight the passage at 1:09:57

1:10:48 Meditation is such a refined skill. skills and It's something, you know, you can't really explain in a kind of a to-do, you know, like a recipe. That's why there's some people who like baking and some people like cooking. Like baking is very precise. You use one-fourth cup of flour, level it off, and then you put in exactly, you know, X amount of whatever yeast or whatever, and then it's sort of assured that the product will be a certain way because it's all chemical and whatever. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:48 Highlight the passage at 1:10:48

1:11:27 But, you know, cooking sometimes it's like a splash of this. And then, oh, it depends on, you know, I don't know, the brand of the soy sauce and this and whatever. It's like it's a bit more of a like a rough thing. And so like I myself preferred baking because like you never knew what would happen when I cooked. But see, meditation is more like a cook kind of thing. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:27 Highlight the passage at 1:11:27

1:11:48 And so many variables. It's not just like, you know, like. Whatever, tomato, parsley, salt, pepper. It's like all these different causes and conditions that make your mind peaceful or not peaceful. And I guess we just have to develop a feel for it. Have you ever flown a kite? I know this is so old-fashioned. I don't know if any kids these days even know what a kite is. But I remember when I was a kid, when you fly a kite, there is a certain, you have to have a certain tension in the string. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:48 Highlight the passage at 1:11:48

1:12:19 Like if it's... Too loose, the kite just falls down and like, you know, just like crashes down. But if it's too tight, the string can break, you know? And it's like, it's just that thing. It's exactly what you're talking about. Like when you're like, when you're too loose and you're just getting relaxed and dull and whatever, then it's like your meditation just crashes, you know? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:19 Highlight the passage at 1:12:19

1:12:43 But then when you're too tight, you're like, oh, oh, oh, oh, I'm so curious about this. Oh, how exciting. Then it's like, it's like too tight that you're like, it's restless and it's tense, you know? So it's being able to like know the right balance, the right amount. And it'll be different for each person. And even for yourself, it'll be different at different times. So sometimes you might need a bit more questioning to get your mind engaged. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:43 Highlight the passage at 1:12:43

1:13:08 And sometimes it's like, oh my God, shut up already. Like, it's like too distracting. you know and then sometimes you just need you just need like a bit of a chillax into it and then sometimes and it keeps shifting through the course of even 30 minutes sometimes chillax and you're right then you're like wait a minute am i am i am i like chillax or am i like am i starting to go into dreamland here and then so it's like that constant you know mindfulness and um situational awareness is one translation that will keep track of what's going on with your mind and to adjust adjust tension in your kite stream And then that's something which, oh boy, oh boy, is a fine art. And so it's okay if our kite crashes every, you know, so often, like very often. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:08 Highlight the passage at 1:13:08

1:13:54 But just try again. Just try again. Because all you have to do is pick it up again, wind up the string, let the wind pick it up again, and you just try again. And so, yeah, that's why meditation is so interesting. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:54 Highlight the passage at 1:13:54

1:14:08 You feel like you've figured it out, and then the next meditation, you're like, no, no, I have not figured it out. And it's like, it's just a whole other set of factors, circumstances. The mind is such a, it's so intriguing in that way. And in a way, it's good if you don't always have like, oh, I sit down, as soon as I cross my legs, deep meditation, instantly. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:08 Highlight the passage at 1:14:08

1:14:31 Then it's like, you, I don't know. For me, I mean, I'm sure it's nice once you get to that point, but. I think until you can get to that point, you have to go through this where you have to be learning and understanding and figuring it out. Because if it comes too easy, then there's no way you could actually be able to... Report an error in the passage at 1:14:31 Highlight the passage at 1:14:31

1:14:50 They say the greatest meditators are not the best teachers. And if someone's a good meditation teacher, it means they had a lot of problems in meditation. It took them a long time to figure it out. So they're actually able to articulate it. So either way, it's win-win. If you're a terrible teacher, but your meditation is great, win. And if your meditation is like, you know, it took you a while to develop it, but you're a great teacher. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:50 Highlight the passage at 1:14:50

1:15:17 So either way, win-win. So enjoy whatever it is you're going to become or already are. So, yes. Anyone else? Report an error in the passage at 1:15:17 Highlight the passage at 1:15:17

1:15:30 Oh, I thought we were cultivating curiosity. It's not really a question, but I think I always need to be. Careful not to turn my curiosity into obsession because I have a tendency of like when I think about a question and I really want to find out the answer and I spend hours to read on it and then I was like and I went when it's like I always got to a point when I felt like I need to stop, but I just can't because I'm really, I started getting obsessed with it. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:30 Highlight the passage at 1:15:30

1:16:04 And yeah, sometimes it's a little bit difficult to maintain it. I mean, yeah. Do you get obsessed about your breath? Are we talking like stuff? No. Yes. It's always like, it's always like maybe. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:04 Highlight the passage at 1:16:04

1:16:24 Questions about the worldly things, I mean. That's it. So if we could harness that and become obsessed about the breath so much that you want to meditate 10 hours a day, then try that. And once you get to that point and that's your problem, well, then ask again. But let's get obsessed about our minds and our breath. See how much obsession we can sort of sustain. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:24 Highlight the passage at 1:16:24

1:16:51 Sounds like a good idea. I should tell myself that. Okay, so Elle, did you have a question? Can you hear me, Ajahn? Yeah, I can hear you. Hello. It was more of a comment, I guess. Thank you very much for your teaching today on curiosity. It's a really good reminder. I don't think I've used that for a long time. I wonder why. Yeah, I don't know, because I think you get in that habit of doing, Hello. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:51 Highlight the passage at 1:16:51

1:17:24 The thing that you normally do. And it reminded me of a teaching. I can't remember who the teacher was or the book that I read that used this phrase, you may know. But they told you to use the phrase, what am I practicing now? And I thought that tied in well with your curiosity talk. And it reminded me of that. And so that's what I was doing in the meditation was just like if my mind wandered or something, I just asked myself, oh, what am I practicing now? Report an error in the passage at 1:17:24 Highlight the passage at 1:17:24

1:17:54 Because I guess whatever our mind is doing, we're practicing that, right? We're going to get really good at that thing, if good, bad or otherwise. Yeah, so it was really helpful because it just kind of like cut the thoughts and brought me back into the moment. And then I could. choose if I just wanted to be aware if I wanted to add some mettā or whatever but to be aware of what it is that I'm actually practicing yeah right right now that's a really good one I hadn't heard that one before but um that's a very it's very clever play on words you know it's like what am I practicing meaning like oh am I practicing by using mettā meditation or the breath or it's exactly what you're saying what am I habituating my mind to doing What am I going to get really good at? Yeah, that is a very useful thing to remind ourselves that, as the Buddha said, you know, whatever, you know, wherever your mind likes to dwell or what it likes to ponder on, that's going to become a habit for you. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:54 Highlight the passage at 1:17:54

1:18:54 And so if we indulge in that kind of, well, just think one more thought. I mean, it's just a quick little interesting thought. But the thing is, the more we let ourselves do that, then the more we're habituating our mind to like, Drifting away, wandering away, and not learning how to appreciate the beauty of a meditation object like the breath. And we're going to be constantly bedazzled by our thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:54 Highlight the passage at 1:18:54

1:19:18 And so then that's a very good way to approach what it means to be practicing meditation. Basically, it means you're practicing whatever it is you're letting your mind do, or wherever it is you're allowing your attention to dwell. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:18 Highlight the passage at 1:19:18

1:19:33 Someone just reminded me of this chilling quote. Ajahn Brahm in his younger days when he was fiercer and you know a bit scarier he said he was telling you know in some like talk to the monks that you know if you if you get angry you're just training your mind to go to hell you know kind of thing wow that's that's intense okay well Yeah, I don't want to get angry, man. I mean, I'm training my mind to like, yeah, but basically, you know, it's training your mind to be a hell realm animal. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:33 Highlight the passage at 1:19:33

1:20:07 And so if you're, I don't know, I guess if you're like into like distraction a lot, maybe you're training your mind to be a butterfly. I don't know. But it's definitely your, don't take it lightly. Whatever we're doing with our mind is deepening some kind of habit. And so that also gives us encouragement that even if we have one moment of like, oh, dropping the thought and coming back to our meditation object, you are also deepening that habit. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:07 Highlight the passage at 1:20:07

1:20:33 So it's kind of like, you know, it's like they're both gaining points, but like which side is going to gain more points? The like distracted mind or the focused mind, like this is something which we are practicing. Indeed, it's a good one. I should ask myself, what am I practicing now? Talking too much. So yes, but that's, thank you for sharing that, Elle. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:33 Highlight the passage at 1:20:33

1:20:53 That's really cool. Thank you, Ajahn. Well, anyone else? Otherwise, I can ask myself questions. I'm like, oh, okay, go for it. Go for another one, Kalyan. I wanted to ask something I think I've seen in the suttas, but I can't remember which one, was the Buddha basically described different ways we can handle thoughts of ill will or Report an error in the passage at 1:20:53 Highlight the passage at 1:20:53

1:21:27 or of desire or delusion and they were like progressive and the first one was to judge between the bad the bad ones and the good ones and I'm not sure what the simile was I don't know why I have a certain memory that it was compared to putting them into boxes or something like that but yeah the problem is that I've noticed that doesn't work for me Actually, the more I judge my thoughts, the worse it gets, usually. The more you what your thoughts? The more I judge my thoughts between the good and the bad, the worse it gets, you know, the more agitated it becomes. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:27 Highlight the passage at 1:21:27

1:22:12 That's the thing with language, you know, like when you have a term in Pāli and then you translate into English, the English terms are sort of culturally loaded in a different way. And so when we say there's, I think you might be talking about Ajahn Manichaya 19, two kinds of thoughts, right? Like, you know, the wholesome thoughts, the unwholesome thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:12 Highlight the passage at 1:22:12

1:22:33 And so when we, but when we label it as like good thought and bad thought, just the nature of that language invites judgment. Good is good and bad is bad. And if I'm an angry thought, it's bad, which is, you're right. Then we start judging it. And that's like, so not helpful. Because whenever we judge things, then we're going to try to push it away or repress it or make it be something to use as something to make us feel bad about ourselves, you know? Report an error in the passage at 1:22:33 Highlight the passage at 1:22:33

1:23:01 But the thing is, I think what the Buddha was really pointing to there was what thoughts are going to help lead you to freedom from suffering and what thoughts are not. So what are helpful thoughts and what are unhelpful thoughts? Maybe that's another way you can think about it. Or beneficial thoughts and unbeneficial thoughts. Freeing thoughts or imprisoning thoughts. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:01 Highlight the passage at 1:23:01

1:23:26 If you make that the distinction, maybe that will feel less like a judgment, but also more like motivating. It can feel quite heavy to be motivating yourself. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:26 Highlight the passage at 1:23:26

1:23:42 To try to be a good person who thinks good thoughts. And then every time you slip up, you think bad thoughts and you think I'm a bad person. And it's just really heavy to try to be good all the time, you know. But if it's like, oh, I love myself. I want myself to be free of suffering. And, you know, what kind of thought is going to help me be free of suffering? Report an error in the passage at 1:23:42 Highlight the passage at 1:23:42

1:24:04 Yeah, I would like to think those thoughts because it's something that actually is helpful, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:04 Highlight the passage at 1:24:04

1:24:42 I want to be free of suffering. Why am I only keeping up the suffering more? So it's more about categorizing our thoughts into those kinds of two factions or two sides. Yeah, is it helpful or not? Beneficial or not? I think for me, that has been very helpful to me because when I reframe it that way, then it's not a matter of... Report an error in the passage at 1:24:42 Highlight the passage at 1:24:42

1:25:08 You can't say... I'm the beneficial. It's not that I am bad, but this thought is beneficial. It's not my thought. It is this thought. And it's not this thought is bad, but it is beneficial or it's not beneficial. And for me, that takes it away, that sense of judgment. So you might want to try that, see if it does for you. Yeah, I was more so talking about a certain occurrence when you try to resist a thought. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:08 Highlight the passage at 1:25:08

1:25:39 And the thought actually keeps coming back and becomes sort of stronger, it feels like. Yeah, yeah, exactly. That's what more I'm talking about, yeah. And even if that thought is bad or unbeneficial, the more you try to push it away, the worse it actually gets. Yeah, well, I mean, that's great. You noticed that because that is indeed a law of physics, right? And so reaction, there is a reaction, equal reaction. I forget what the physics was, but yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:39 Highlight the passage at 1:25:39

1:26:07 It's kind of like when you shove something one way, it's going to come back. And so if we're trying to resist and push away things, it's only going to boomerang back and it just backfires. But if we have that openness, that's why the curious attitude is very helpful because it's sort of open. It's like, oh, interestingly, I'm having an angry thought. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:07 Highlight the passage at 1:26:07

1:26:27 Oh, interestingly, this person is pushing some buttons in me. Oh, interestingly, this anger is lasting. For one day and one night, you know, interestingly, I can't let this go. And rather than think, oh, man, like, I don't want to think this anymore. I know it's bad. I don't want to think this thought, push it away. Just be like, oh, okay. Interestingly, I wonder why. I wonder why this makes me mad. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:27 Highlight the passage at 1:26:27

1:26:51 I wonder why I'm mad for so long. Nothing, rather than making it bad or good, it's just kind of more open. It's just, oh, I just wonder about it. I'm just curious about it. And so I find that that That really takes the sting out of it. It takes that judgment out of it. Because it's not saying it's not allowed to be here. We're allowed to inquire about everything. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:51 Highlight the passage at 1:26:51

1:27:11 Everything is allowed under the microscope. And so it's like if it's anger, very well, that is the specimen of today. That is what the lab sent me. This is a specimen. And if it's like, oh, a peaceful, loving, kind, you know, frame of mind, then okay, we put that under the microscope. And it's like... Report an error in the passage at 1:27:11 Highlight the passage at 1:27:11

1:27:29 Objective science, we study everything. We do not discriminate. It's like all bacteria can go under the microscope. This is the same. All the stuff of our mind can go under the microscope. And so then that will take away that need, that compulsion to push away those so-called bad thoughts because we've allowed them. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:29 Highlight the passage at 1:27:29

1:27:49 We've allowed them by reframing it in this way. And so, yeah. I don't know. Does that answer your question more directly? Yeah, I've been, because I've been doing something similar, not really with the curiosity, but sort of just accepting them. Like I can't really do anything about them. And that is a strange thing. When you kind of accept them, they just go away on their own most of the time. You don't really have to do anything. Exactly. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:49 Highlight the passage at 1:27:49

1:28:15 Exactly. Exactly. Isn't that so weird? Yeah. Of course, then you try to accept them and then it doesn't work. It's like, oh, I'm going to accept it. And then it's like, you can't fake it. You have to really. Yeah, come to the point where you're tired of struggling, so you're just going to accept it. And then you're like, oh, that worked. And so, yeah, no, that's it. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:15 Highlight the passage at 1:28:15

1:28:36 That's it. What a great discovery you've made. Indeed. So it's whatever, you know, these are all just different angles on it. It's like whatever works for you, whether it's to use the word acceptance or to use the word mettā or to use the word curiosity or to use whatever angle on it works for you to make you be able to let something go, put it down, you know, let it be. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:36 Highlight the passage at 1:28:36

1:28:57 And so that's kind of the ultimate feeling at the end is what allows you to have the freedom of letting something be. And whatever angle it's going to take you there, then use that. And it'll be different for each person. And so you just have to find out what works for your own mind. And I can only share what works for my mind. So that's what I did. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:57 Highlight the passage at 1:28:57

1:29:16 Yeah. So anyway, thank you for your questions. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:16 Highlight the passage at 1:29:16

1:29:22 Okay, well, it's already 834. So I don't know, Gloria, if we have to close it down or... What happens? Yes, we come to the happy end of the session. Thank you, everybody, for joining. Thank you, Ajahn, for coming as well. Yes. Thank you, everyone. Yes. And also thank you, Gloria, for organizing it and keeping it going. So lovely to see you all. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:22 Highlight the passage at 1:29:22

1:29:47 And thanks for all the reactions that have come on the screen. Peace out. Thank you, Ajahn. Thank you, Gloria. Thank you, Ajahn. Thanks, Gloria. Thanks, everybody. See you next time. Thank you, Gloria. Thank you, everyone. Bye-bye. Nice to see you all. Nice to see you, Ajahn. Yes, nice to see you. I love it when people say what country is there from. And look, there's Mandarin. We've been like seven times. Jennifer from Malaysia. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:47 Highlight the passage at 1:29:47

1:30:28 Where from Malaysia? Penang. Where are you? Who's talking to me? Jennifer. Oh, Jennifer. Oh, hello. I can't see you. Yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:28 Highlight the passage at 1:30:28

1:30:44 Okay. Thank you. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. Bye-bye. So, okay. I feel we just let people go and then at this point maybe. I might say goodbye. But thanks. Thanks, everyone. And nice to see you again. Thank you. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:44 Highlight the passage at 1:30:44

1:31:13 Oh, leave. Okay. I haven't saw you for a while, Sky. Are you okay? I think you came last week. I've been very, very tired. And I was away a little bit. And this daylight savings. Some days I wake up at three, four in the morning. And then, but last few weeks, I've been sleeping on Tuesdays and I'm wide awake on Monday and Wednesday. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:13 Highlight the passage at 1:31:13

1:31:46 So this morning I woke up. I said, oh, I can go. I don't want to force myself to lose sleep. Yeah, yeah. It's important to have more sleep. Yeah. Getting older. I'm okay. You look good. You're right. Yeah, I think so. I'm also tired, but I mean, yeah, I'm good. Kind of. Yeah, we're tired. We're tired, but we're good. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:46 Highlight the passage at 1:31:46

1:32:16 That's good. Yeah. I'm a sweetheart. Okay. Bye-bye. See you next week. See you next week. I hope, I mean, if you can wake up. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:16 Highlight the passage at 1:32:16

1:32:29 I can wake up. Yeah, just sleep peacefully. And if you're not too tired. Yeah. Okay, bye-bye. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:29 Highlight the passage at 1:32:29