In the society, they are doing everything with limits: “this life”, “this place”, “this person”, “this job”. That is the wrong view. They cannot accept not something, not someone, no I, no you. That’s why they are not using-only, doing-only. They are doing with grasping and attachment. Therefore, there will be side-effects for sure. However, it is possible to change the tradition to work not for money, not for oneself and one organization but for merit and for the development of the whole world. If you emphasize education, you cannot get much merits because you may not be able to do good deeds all the time by staying at meditation centers. Therefore, you must do good deeds in your jobs, so try to emphasize on merits, good deeds and try to emphasize the whole to develop the system of the whole country and the whole world. It is possible as the government and like the president of the country who are working for the whole country. For us, we are free, so we can represent the whole country and to the whole world according to the condition. In this way, we should emphasize working for merit. We can collect money, it is possible to make donations for social organizations or for meditation centers like this. It is also possible to work not for ourselves but for other people or organizations. We are working for all and we are doing which is good. We can do this and we can change. Instead of using the money for us, we can use it for the others. Several donations are not for meditation centers, not for Thabarwa centers, they are for my personal use, but I have nothing to use. That’s why I can use my own money and belongings to the center. It is possible, so try to emphasize merit and try to represent others or the Truth to be doing-only.

I establish more and more Thabarwa centers. In this way, people are easy to support us. They can work for Thabarwa centers by donating and volunteering. If you do more and more good deeds, you can be what you want. If you want to make the right decisions, it is not much difficult. But it’s concerned with the time also. This is not a good time for Myanmar, not the worst time also. That’s why we have difficulties. Many Thabarwa centers are in Myanmar, so we are effective by the condition of the country. If we pass through when the time is good for the country, we can do many things at Thabarwa center. So it is the same for the organizations in society if the country is not in the good time and condition by doing good deeds more and more. We are sure to be skillful in making decisions also. Now it is difficult but it will change.

Meditation is similar to medical check-ups. With medical check-ups, we can know what is wrong in our body. When we are mindful we will know what is happening in the mind at the present moment and what is inside the mind. If we keep many experiences in the mind, we will know when we are mindful. If we keep good memories and good actions in the mind, we can be mindful of only the good experiences. If we keep many bad memories in the mind, we will experience only bad memories for sure. If we are not mindful, we cannot know our present mind and the memories of experiences that are grasped by the mind. The more we grasp in the mind, the more we can experience when we are mindful. Medical check-ups at the hospital are just to know about the truth of our bodies. Mindfulness is complete not only showing us the condition of the mind but also purifying the mind to be better and better. We just need to understand and then we just need to continue practicing. We need nothing to do if we are mindful. The action of mindfulness will do everything. We should emphasize to be mindful at every present moment. The objects of mindfulness may change from time to time. We should not stop the action of mindfulness. If we are not mindful, we need to do many things. If we are mindful, we need nothing to do. Just continue the practice of mindfulness regardless of time, place, person, condition.

In the beginning, the objects of mindfulness will be everything except the knowing mind. The more we are mindful, the more we know about the truth that Ever-new-impermanent Nature is true. Something, someone, time, and place we are using are not true. If we are mindful, we can know the truth of every object. The Truth is Ever-new-impermanent Nature which is not something, not someone, not I, not your, not living-beings, not non-living-beings, not male, not female, not men, not animal, neither attaching nor rejecting, to use-only or not to use-only. This is the Original Truth which is permanent and sure. Because of not knowing the Original Truth which is Impermanent Nature, we misunderstand that all living-beings and non-living-beings, something or someone are true and real. In fact, misunderstanding or wrong views or ignorance and attachment are real. We are free to be mindful of any objects of our body and mind although there are many objects to be mindful of. The answer to the Truth is the same: Ever-new-impermanent Nature.

If we are able to know the Ever-new-impermanent Nature, we need to know the Ever-new-impermanent Nature of the knowing-mind. Knowing-mind is the second object to be mindful. Because of listening to the teachings, knowing-mind happens. The action of listening is new and the sound of the teachings is new; also knowing-mind is new. All these haven’t existed before. From nothing, the action of listening and the sounds appear. They meet each other and then the knowing-mind happens. Appearing of the actions of listening and the sounds and the knowing-mind, all these disappear again. All these appear at the present moment and then disappear soon. Appearing and disappearing happens only at the present moment which comes from nothing, appears from nothing, and then disappears into nothing again. There is cause and effect only, not something, not someone, not living being, not non-living-being, just Ever-new-impermanent Nature. Knowing-mind about cause and effect of Impermanent Nature is also the same as Impermanent Nature. If we are able to know the Impermanent Nature of knowing-mind, we need to be mindful of that object which is the action of mindfulness itself.

In the third step, mindfulness and the objects of mindfulness are the same. The speed of mindfulness needs to be fast to practice this step successfully. Both attachment and ignorance are concerned with all these three objects of mindfulness. We need to practice to be mindful of these three objects to know the cause and effect of Impermanent Nature. In this way, we can be free from ignorance and attachment. At that time, only mindfulness and detachment will remain.

Now we are meditators here in a meditation retreat. Because of doing good deeds together, it is easy to get good results to overcome difficulties. When we go back to the society after the retreat, we are sure to deal with our family members and our friends. We have to continue our jobs for earning. We should try to accept the society and activities in the society as the nature. We cannot reject but we can detach. In order to detach from society and social activities, we can continue using the right view of meditators or Ever-new-impermanent Nature. This is just a training round. Society is the real battlefield. When we are bad in society, we need to protect the life of a meditator or the right view or Ever-New-Impermanent Nature. Most of the people in society are using the wrong views and doing only for themselves, not much for the others and the Truth. We all are here doing not only for ourselves but also for the others and the Truth. This is a meditation center. There is not much business, education, healthcare, family life; therefore, there are not many people and things that are against our practice. In society, there are many people and things against the practice of mindfulness and detachment. Even if we cannot get success in our practice of doing good deeds by keeping precepts and stable and pure mind. In society, we should not give up. We should continue the practice, not to get enlightenment but to educate the people in the society about doing good deeds by our own experience. We need to think of others and the Truth, try to against thinking about only oneself. We need to save or accumulate merits or doing good deeds, try to against saving money. Maybe it is difficult but if we are skillful, it will become easy. We need to be patient and to endure. We need to be gentle and natural. We need to be mindful at every present moment. We should not give up seeing from the side of the Truth. This is Ever-new-impermanent Nature. Even if we cannot change our family members as meditators, we should not give up our view. Right view, right speech, and right action are concerned with Ever-new-impermanent Nature are the most needed in the society. By practicing like this we need to fulfill needs of the society. Meditation is not only for the meditation centers but also for the society.

Here in the center, we all are using the right view as a meditator or as Ever-new-impermanent Nature. In the society, we need to practice to keep the right view, against the wrong view of something or mine, someone or I. It is a real examination. If we are not skillful in the practice in this retreat, we may have many difficulties in society. Anyway, we have no choice, just to continue practicing in the society whether we want or not, whether it is easy or not. Just need to go ahead, there are many things we can do for ourselves and for the society. If we dare to do this, we are sure to get success at the right time.

Sayalay Pañca Khandha transcribes