Today is 10 of Jan 2020. The 4th day of 9 days meditation retreat at Phuoc Son, Vietnam.

This morning session is guided meditation together.

We can keep our arms and legs as we are convenient to sit for a long time. Close our eyes gently. Relax our body and mind. Keep our head, neck, and back straight. Relax our muscles. Let go of all nervous energies. Stretch ourselves upwards. Don’t let our body weight sink down. Both our body and mind should be quiet.

We are different from one person to another but our mental actions or the action of mindfulness should be the same at every present moment. We can be different from each other by colors, beliefs, genders, appearances but we should be the same mind in practicing meditation. We should emphasize the mind rather than our body and life. We may have different attitudes, but we should emphasize being the same mindfulness at every present moment. The mind is the most important of all, everything and everyone. We should keep the mind to be stable and pure at every present moment. The time for us to be mindful is in each of the present moment. The place to be mindful is everywhere. The condition to be mindful is every condition, good or bad. The method to be mindful is doing-only. We should be mindful gently and naturally, not forcefully and deliberately. We need to represent ever-new-impermanent nature. We don’t need to represent someone or something or a certain time or place. All these rules and disciplines are essential to obey or follow to get success when we are mindful.

Question: Hi Sayadaw, could you please explain to me what is created mindfulness and created detachment. And what is nature mindfulness and natural detachment? Thank you!

“I have been teaching for many years. From the beginning, I have many difficulties because I have not gotten used to teaching regularly. Therefore, I have to create, to teach intentionally to have the habit of teaching regularly. Before having that habit, it was difficult, I have to teach intentionally which called created teaching. I have to be mindful to teach regularly. That is created mindfulness. This is the same for the Samanera and monks who are learning Buddhist literature. In the beginning, they don’t have the habit of learning Buddhist literature; therefore, they have to be mindful to do it every day. That is created mindfulness. Once they get that habit, no need to be mindful intentionally anymore, it becomes a natural mindfulness on learning. Once I got used to teaching regularly it becomes natural mindfulness on teaching meditation. To detach from our home, we need to stay at a meditation center intentionally because we are not used to stay there. When it becomes a habit, we can successfully detach from staying at home. This is the same as detaching from our family by staying at the center with other volunteers and meditators, we should try to detach from our family. That kind of detachment is created detachment, we need to do intentionally first; once we are able to stay at a center and deal with volunteers and meditators, we can successfully detach from our family. And then it becomes natural detachment. To know the natural mindfulness – detachment we need to know the created one very well, the more we know about the created mindfulness – detachment, the more we can know about the natural one. Because both are connected. For example, about Sayalay Saddhamma, in the beginning, she can only stay at home, she cannot stay at a meditation center, she didn’t want to be a nun; now she already became a nun to stay at a meditation center. Therefore she had to struggle a lot to be a nun also, she had to do good deeds continuously for many years together with the others. That’s why she was able to stay at the center as a nun naturally; no need to emphasize to leave her house and her life as a layperson. Because she was able to do good deeds for many years, it made her easier to stay at a meditation center as a nun. You will also be the same if you try. “