notes from serving Vipassana courses

"When the instructed noble disciple experiences a painful feeling, he feels one feeling- a bodily one, and not a mental one."

"He does not regard feeling, perception, volitional formations, or consciousness as self... that consciousness of his changes and alters"

"Thinking arises from elaborated perceptions and notions"

"Ability to maintain clarity and comprehension in the midst of feelings, perceptions and thoughts"

Look not for recognition, but follow the awakened, and set yourself free.

Never neglect your work.  Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

To explore the truth about ourselves, we must examine what we are: body and mind.  We must learn to observe these directly within ourselves.  Accordingly, we must keep these points in mind:
1) The reality of the body may be imagined by contemplation, but to experience it directly one must work with sensations arising within it.
2) Similarly, the actual experience of the mind is attained by working with the contents of the mind.  In the same way that body and sensations cannot be observed separately, the midn cannot be observed apart from the contents of the midn.
3) Mind and matter are so closely interrelated that the contents of the mind always manifest themselves as sensations in the body.
For this reason the Buddha said:
Vedana samosarana sabbe dhamma
Everything that arises in the mind flows together with sensations.
Observation of sensation offers the only means to examine the totality of our being, physical as well as mental.

The six kinds of feeling are always being experienced at their respective sense bases.  However, those lacking in right view take it as "I see it, I hear it", etc.  This is the tenacious, mistaken view called "personality-belief" or "ego-belief".  The ego is always assumed to exist with respect to all feelings that arise and vanish at the six sense bases.  Just as the microbes infesting a sore can only be observed through a microscope, so only through insight knowledge can one observe the six kinds of feeling rapidly arising and vanashing at their respective sense bases.


Mae Chee Kaew:
Don't doubt the value of meditation or underestimate your abilities.  Be content with whatever progress you make because it reflects a part of the truth you are seeking.  As such, it is something you can rely on.
Cultivate your mind, as a farmer cultivates his fields.  Gradually clear the land; prepare the soil, plough the rows; sow the seeds; spread the manure; water the plants and pull the weeds.  Eventually, you'll reap a golden harvest.

Forest Desanas
The Buddha said that Nibbana is permanent.  When the heart has attained absolute contentment, and has let go of all sammati, it won't be upset by any problems, because it is totally devoid of them.  What problems can there be?  Living or dying poses no problem because they are part of nature.  This heart has transcended all the problems of the world.

Lovingkindness can be characterized as promoting the aspect of welfare.  Its function is to prefer welfare.  It is manifested as the removal of annoyance.  Its proxmiate cause is seeing loveableness in beings.  It succeeds when it makes ill will subside, and it fails when it produces (selfish) affection.

"For the Great Beings' minds retain their balance by giving preference to beings' welfare, by dislike of beings' suffering, by desire for the various successes achieved by beings to last, and by impartiality towards all beings.  They are unshakably resolute upon beings' welfare and happiness.  Through unshakable lovingkindness they place them first (before themselves).  Through equanimity they expect no reward.