Unbiased Attention

0:01 Okay, so, yes. And sometimes we have to think about why we attend these classes. And I think one of the reasons is because we want some sort of peace in our lives. So, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 0:01 Highlight the passage at 0:01

0:23 And I think meditation is a fantastic way to experience some peace in one's life. So when it comes to this practice, there's always a method to how to attain the peace. And if you've been to meditation classes and spoken to different people about it, you have many different versions of how to find peace in one's meditation practice. Report an error in the passage at 0:23 Highlight the passage at 0:23

0:53 So what does that mean? I think that kind of means that On one part, meditation is experimental because you have all these different teachings. For example, you have teachings of letting go of your distracting thoughts or teachings of being kind to whatever is happening in your mind and also some of the teachings to just help you encourage you to just let go of your thinking. Report an error in the passage at 0:53 Highlight the passage at 0:53

1:28 Because sometimes we can start to see how weighty or how heavy our thoughts can be. And if you think about it, the problems that we have are problems that we can't create ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 1:28 Highlight the passage at 1:28

1:49 And for one of the Buddhist principles is... is, um, the, the The mind is the forerunner of all things. So it's basically how we look at the world. Take for example, what do you think about this wet weather we've had during the winter? I mean it's November and it's still raining. And it's like, how does the mind see it? Report an error in the passage at 1:49 Highlight the passage at 1:49

2:29 You know what I mean? It's like if you're... And then if you ask different people, they'll give you a different answer. So if you ask somebody who's concerned about the amount of water we have for the Perth homes, they'll be like, oh, great, it's good to have the rain. But if you ask somebody who likes to go to the beach, then you talk about the rain, they go, oh, no, I don't want the rain. I want the sun to come out because I want to go to the beach. Report an error in the passage at 2:29 Highlight the passage at 2:29

2:58 So life in a sense is how we look at it. So we say the mind is the forerunner of all things. So in a sense you paint your world whatever colour you want to paint it. And there's also like a key to lift up your mood is how you paint your world from when you wake up. Report an error in the passage at 2:58 Highlight the passage at 2:58

3:59 It doesn't work like that. You know what I mean? So you carry whatever you have in your heart or in your mind into the meditation practice. So in a sense, if your life is a peaceful life, you don't have too many dramas going on. I think we are very fortunate living in a peaceful country like Australia. Report an error in the passage at 3:59 Highlight the passage at 3:59

4:25 You don't really have... too many too many challenges to really you know disturb the mind you know we have you know our jobs are good enough we've got food on the table you know and things like that life is pretty chill chill in W So our lives here are pretty good and so having seen it from that perspective Report an error in the passage at 4:25 Highlight the passage at 4:25

5:26 Oh, what can I talk about? Because sometimes we have to sit up here and we have to talk all the time and we've got to think about ways to kind of describe a simple practice in different ways. So a way to describe it is having an unbiased attention, unbiased attention to what you are experiencing in your meditation practice. Report an error in the passage at 5:26 Highlight the passage at 5:26

5:57 So, and having that unbiased attention to what is going on and having that understanding that peace, peace and stillness and the results that you want arises from that unbiased attention. Report an error in the passage at 5:57 Highlight the passage at 5:57

6:17 So what does it mean, like having an unbiased attention? So, I think like for humans, like we are creatures who, like to crave for things. Report an error in the passage at 6:17 Highlight the passage at 6:17

6:58 There's always a craving for preference of what you like to eat. So if you look at the mind, the mind kind of craves for things. And it's the same thing that happens with your meditation practice. So say when you're sitting down and meditating, and you meditate. What do you meditate for? You meditate for peace. So you're sitting down, close your eyes, and your your wish for the meditation and the duration of it is to obtain some peace so when you meditate in that way that is meditating with a bias with the bias attention because you want something So how do you switch that bias into unbiased attention to the meditation practice? Report an error in the passage at 6:58 Highlight the passage at 6:58

7:50 practice. So the idea behind that is when you sit down Report an error in the passage at 7:50 Highlight the passage at 7:50

7:59 So, can you understand that? You don't want anything. You don't want your mind to be quiet. You're not looking for peace in the mind. And you're just sitting there, just watching. Watching the experience happen in front of you. Just being able to sit there and just watch. That's how you meditate. Without a bias, so you're not complaining. So the other bias that we have, instead of craving, is we start to complain. Report an error in the passage at 7:59 Highlight the passage at 7:59

8:31 So he starts to complain. It's like, we sit for three minutes. It's like, oh no, my mind is still thinking. My mind is still thinking. It's not settling down. This isn't working. And then you start to complain. So usually when you complain about something, it kind of spoils it. So when you see yourself start to complain in the meditation practice, You're spoiling the meditation, you're spoiling the potential for you as the meditator to experience peace. Report an error in the passage at 8:31 Highlight the passage at 8:31

9:07 So we can kind of have it in our minds, like the two biases that we can fall into is one is the complaining mind, complaining that this is not working, I've been trying it out, blah blah blah. So one kind of becomes dejected or one thinks that it doesn't work. And because of that, there's no peace in the mind. And the other one is just craving for the peace, like thinking about what peace feels like, thinking about how do I get the peace. Report an error in the passage at 9:07 Highlight the passage at 9:07

9:39 So those two things, we kind of just try not to let those things arise within one's own mind. And instead, when we meditate, we're just meditating and just looking on, looking on without any bias. Report an error in the passage at 9:39 Highlight the passage at 9:39

9:58 And the reason why I say that is because I meditated for a long, long time. I meditated for a long time. So I've been a monk for about 21 years. And you go through all the different mind states, different types of craving, different types of emotions and all that kind of stuff. So you know what kind of works and what doesn't. Report an error in the passage at 9:58 Highlight the passage at 9:58

10:25 So, and then the point that I'm trying to make is, is like, what are you after when you're here? So you're after the peace, you're after the stillness, right? You want to bring that into your life. So life can be more peaceful, more calm, and things like that. And what I understand is, the less bias you have in your meditation, and the more you wait in the moment, these like, These mind states of peace and stillness and calmness, these things will just arise on their own. They'll arise naturally. Report an error in the passage at 10:25 Highlight the passage at 10:25

11:07 So that's the one thing that is a very important point as a meditator, is that we're not chasing for the peace. But we wait for the peace to come to us. Report an error in the passage at 11:07 Highlight the passage at 11:07

11:22 And just keep that in mind. As a meditator, I'm just waiting in the moment. I'm not craving for anything. I'm not complaining about anything. And I'm just waiting. And then you just see these things arise by themselves. So you can kind of compare it to a garden. Do you like gardening? Yeah? People like gardening. I like gardening myself. So you compare it to gardening, right? Report an error in the passage at 11:22 Highlight the passage at 11:22

11:59 So as a gardener, you're always kind of, you're always happy when you see new growth in the plant, right? You grow vegetables, you're happy to see the new leaf growing and then you see the peas or whatever, or you're growing like flowers, you see their buds and then they bloom. Report an error in the passage at 11:59 Highlight the passage at 11:59

12:21 And you're kind of happy just to see the progress. You're happy you see the results. And as somebody who knows how to grow things, you understand what you put into the process of growing something to get the results that you want. So as a gardener, you kind of fertilize, you kind of mulch, you kind of water, give the right amount, and then you just sit back and just enjoy the show, so to speak. Report an error in the passage at 12:21 Highlight the passage at 12:21

12:56 And in the same way, with the meditation. You have to put in the right ingredients or the right efforts or whatever you want to call it to create a peaceful mind. Report an error in the passage at 12:56 Highlight the passage at 12:56

13:12 One of the advices that I can give is to just be patient. Be patient. You don't make these things. These things come when the time is right. It's also the same with the flower, like the rose on a plant, you don't make the rose appear, it just comes through time. If you give it the right kind of, we call it conditions, or the right ingredients, or the right care. Report an error in the passage at 13:12 Highlight the passage at 13:12

13:47 I don't know what else to say but I just have an understanding that You know, peace is achievable. Yeah. That's why a lot of people use meditation as a way to find it. And I think the more you kind of learn about meditation, you can start to see it from different angles and get the understanding that it works. Report an error in the passage at 13:47 Highlight the passage at 13:47

14:22 And also, the other thing is to put in the time. Yeah. Put in the time, close your eyes and meditate. Pretty much. Yeah. And then you can just feel yourself calming down. You feel you're getting more peaceful. And then it's like, yeah, you know, this is something that I haven't kind of experienced in my life. And I can kind of feel that it's good for me. Report an error in the passage at 14:22 Highlight the passage at 14:22

14:51 So that's where I'll stop. I've given enough instructions. So usually what we do now is we have a guided meditation. So I'll guide you through for about half an hour. And in the half an hour, it's going to be like a... If you haven't meditated before, it's probably going to be like a roller coaster. Yeah, because we don't really like how... We don't really purposely, as human beings being so busy, sit down and face ourselves. Report an error in the passage at 14:51 Highlight the passage at 14:51

15:23 We hardly do that. I mean, the only time you probably do it is when you go to sleep, but... www.Ajahn Santutthi .com your own mind and as you're observing you kind of learn you learn like you learn what a peaceful mind is well you learn what a mind without thought feels like or you know what I like if you're stressing out you know what anxiety feels like in the mind or what anger feels like or what whatever other emotions feel like yeah and this is kind of the opportunity as one www.johnsantutthi.com We just have that direct view of what's going on inside. We're just working with it. Report an error in the passage at 15:23 Highlight the passage at 15:23

16:36 And what you'll find out is, I think the longer you work with it, the more you work with it, you'll start to see that there's enough inside of us to give us that kind of peace and contentment. That we kind of search for in our lives as human beings. Like that happiness. It's not like the happiness of winning the lotto or happiness of, I don't know what else. Report an error in the passage at 16:36 Highlight the passage at 16:36

17:09 What other happiness can you get in the world? Going on holiday. But it is a happiness. I was just thinking about that. I think the pursuit of happiness is something good for humans. Report an error in the passage at 17:09 Highlight the passage at 17:09

17:25 Ajahn Santutthi is the type of happiness that we choose to pursue, which is also beneficial for us. And for myself as a monk or as a Buddhist, we're kind of looking for the happiness that comes from within. Happiness that is born within the mind. A happiness that we create ourselves. And it's not like a giddy or excited type of happiness, but it's almost like a calm, Report an error in the passage at 17:25 Highlight the passage at 17:25

18:11 little child, you ask a little child, what do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be happy. You ask somebody who's in their 20s, what do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be rich and blah, blah, blah. I want to be rich, I want to have fun, I want to go to school. Go to the Grand Canyon and travel around the world. And then when you get older like me, what do you want to do in life? I just want to be happy again. Report an error in the passage at 18:11 Highlight the passage at 18:11

18:34 But it's a different type of happiness. A happiness from within. So that's also what we find through the practice of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 18:34 Highlight the passage at 18:34

18:46 So that's where I'll end it today. Okay. Okay. We will... Report an error in the passage at 18:46 Highlight the passage at 18:46

18:57 We will meditate. So just get yourself into a comfortable position. Report an error in the passage at 18:57 Highlight the passage at 18:57

19:12 Meditation isn't about striving for anything. It's about relaxation. Report an error in the passage at 19:12 Highlight the passage at 19:12

19:34 It's about just being okay with the present moment. The Report an error in the passage at 19:34 Highlight the passage at 19:34

· · · silence, 1 minute

20:39 way we can look at meditation is the more time we spend Just being or just sitting quietly. Report an error in the passage at 20:39 Highlight the passage at 20:39

21:00 This is a way of making your life, just adding the benefits to your own mind. Report an error in the passage at 21:00 Highlight the passage at 21:00

21:19 It doesn't seem like much is happening when we're sitting down like this. Report an error in the passage at 21:19 Highlight the passage at 21:19

21:32 There's no results of peace or anything special happening. We Report an error in the passage at 21:32 Highlight the passage at 21:32

21:43 just Report an error in the passage at 21:43 Highlight the passage at 21:43

21:50 need Report an error in the passage at 21:50 Highlight the passage at 21:50

21:59 time to see how beneficial meditation can be. So Report an error in the passage at 21:59 Highlight the passage at 21:59

· · · silence, 1 minute

23:15 if we can just watch or just be unbiased with how we use our mind, we're not complaining, we're not... And sometimes we just need Report an error in the passage at 23:15 Highlight the passage at 23:15

· · · silence, 2 minutes

23:35 craving for peace but we're just being here we're Report an error in the passage at 23:35 Highlight the passage at 23:35

23:45 just being here and that's all we're asking from ourselves is to be here to be in this moment to be to have a silent mind if you don't want anything if you're not complaining and questioning if you can meditate or not Then you can have an unbiased or have a silence towards the experience of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 23:45 Highlight the passage at 23:45

24:42 You're not asking for peace. You're not asking for anything. But peace will arise. Well, not will, but peace arises when you can look on silently at this moment. Report an error in the passage at 24:42 Highlight the passage at 24:42

· · · silence, 2 minutes

27:29 You can allow your mind to be empty. Report an error in the passage at 27:29 Highlight the passage at 27:29

27:38 you can just give yourself this time to not think about things. Report an error in the passage at 27:38 Highlight the passage at 27:38

27:54 We spend too much time thinking anyways. Report an error in the passage at 27:54 Highlight the passage at 27:54

27:59 Meditation is an opportunity to give yourself a holiday from your From your own thoughts. And isn't it great that you can give yourself permission Report an error in the passage at 27:59 Highlight the passage at 27:59

28:33 not to think. Report an error in the passage at 28:33 Highlight the passage at 28:33

28:59 I mean, it's great not to think. It's such a stress free place to be. And Report an error in the passage at 28:59 Highlight the passage at 28:59

29:15 this is how meditation can be of benefit. Report an error in the passage at 29:15 Highlight the passage at 29:15

29:29 Meditation. It gives you a stress-free place to spend your time. So Report an error in the passage at 29:29 Highlight the passage at 29:29

· · · silence, 1 minute

30:22 now I'm just going to keep quiet and let you meditate on your own. And remember, there's no good or bad meditation. It's just an experience that we're going through and it gives us an opportunity to see what is living. And also to see the potential of having peace or having a place where you can be away from your thoughts and stress free. Report an error in the passage at 30:22 Highlight the passage at 30:22

31:14 These are the things that you can witness when you're spending time with your eyes closed, just being with yourself. So Report an error in the passage at 31:14 Highlight the passage at 31:14

31:35 I'll keep quiet. Report an error in the passage at 31:35 Highlight the passage at 31:35

31:38 Allow you the opportunity to see what's in your mind. Come Report an error in the passage at 31:38 Highlight the passage at 31:38

· · · silence, 14 minutes

45:59 out of the meditation. Usually Report an error in the passage at 45:59 Highlight the passage at 45:59

· · · silence, 1 minute

47:02 we open up for any questions that you may have. Even about your experiences over the last 30 minutes. Any questions you can ask. If not, we can finish up. Report an error in the passage at 47:02 Highlight the passage at 47:02

47:30 Okay, we can finish up. We can go home. No questions? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 47:30 Highlight the passage at 47:30