Author: Teoh Kian Koon

Brother Teoh’s Thursday class dated 13^th December 2018 Outline Short Notes

1.       Brother Teoh read through last Thursday class outline short notes.

2.       Brother Teoh advised all Kalyanamittas to attentively read through this outline short notes which are very important (just as important as the earlier Heart sutra short notes). These outline short notes teaching by Brother Teoh are mostly linked to real life situations. Whereas the heart sutra’s short notes teachings are mainly the essential dhammas as taught by the Buddha and they are important understanding to develop the sainthood way cultivation, leading to the realization of arahantship. To cultivate the Bodhisattva way one has to go deeper via following the blue book, “cultivating the Bodhisattva way” and the other Mahayana sutras such as the 6th Patriarch platform sutra, the Diamond sutra and the Surangama sutra.

3.       The Bodhisattva way’s teaching is much deeper and much more profound. Understanding the Diamond sutra’s teaching can enable one to cultivate at a very different level which is way beyond the sainthood way. Sainthood wayonly touches on the realization of the 3 universal characteristics of impermanence, suffering and non self nature. However, the Diamond sutraand 6th Patriarch platform sutra’s teachings as taught by Buddha and Master Hui Neng brings you directly to the true mind to develop your cultivation thereby bypassing all the unnecessary thought based meditation.

4.       A lot of cultivators cultivating the sainthood ways are using their thought to develop their meditation. Not understanding what sati is, they use thoughts rampantly. Most of them do not have proper teachers to guide them, thus ending up deviating and entangling themselves in thought based techniques and methods of cultivation. Most of them develop the focusing and concentration (Samantha meditation) via one pointedness concentration, eventually leading them astray. Not understanding that only wisdom frees the mind.

5.       To cultivate the Bodhisattva way, you must also go through the sainthood way first. The Bodhisattvas develop profound understanding but not merely to be enlightened via the sainthood way only. They cultivate to penetrate and realize all dharmas, develop the perfection, not only to be enlightened, but fully enlightened, after perfecting all aspects of virtues, understanding and wisdom. Here virtue is not only the usual avoiding of evil and doing good. They have to perfect them all – the 10 perfections. It is a very extensive and rewarding cultivation. With this understanding, you will come beautifully life after life as per what is stated in the heart sutra, ‘true emptiness is wonderful existence’. Meaning when one has realized true emptiness, Life is not only meaningful but becomes wonderful. You can live life to the fullest, experience all of the pristine beauty and wonders of life. You are most of the time happy. You are blessed and grateful with all the virtues and understanding you received from your rather beautifully cultivated karmic and spiritual natures. They will support you all the way.

6.       When you cultivate the Bodhisattva way via the six patriarch platform sutra’s teaching, it will brings you directly to the state of no  thought. There is complete silence and awareness only. You will realize your true mind, which is beyond your mundane mind. All of your speeches, thoughts and actions are based on the profound understanding developed. As you stabilized your wisdom and understanding, you will come to realize the stage of no mark.There is no mark of a self cultivating, no mark of living beings, and no mark of dhamma. Everything isn’t what you think. The form and mind is unreal. When you have this understanding, you would finally progress to realize the final stage as an advance Bodhisattva to realize the last hallmarks of Master Hui Neng’s teaching of having a mind with non-dwelling. The nature then shines forth, not dwelling anywhere but just aware, either in specific phenomena awareness or spacious awareness without a centre. You will know that the mundane mind is not real. It is just a tool for you to use, thus you are not deluded by it, and you will also know that the form and mind is subject to karma. Hence you will do your duty, perfecting your karmic and spiritual nature. With this understanding, you are a completely a different class of cultivator.

7.       For you to have the condition to be born a human being is already very rare and to encounter the Buddha dharma and the higher teaching of the bodhisattva way is even more rare. You must be very blessed with good karmic past. Or else you won’t be able to hear all these special dhamma.

8.       This window of opportunity when the sasana is still around is very precious,you should determine strongly with faith, understanding and sincerity to go this way, to have this understanding so that life after life, whether you choose to come or you have to come, this understanding is present.

9.       One of the kalyanamitta (Brother Kok Loon) who came for dhamma sharing just about a year ago, shared his experience. He acknowledges his mundane mind. He was then able to be more aware and can see his own fears and delusion. He then turns inward to inquire, “Who am I, what am I”?

10.   Brother Teoh stresses the importance of training one’s mind to listen attentively and mindfully so that it will serve you well. When you acknowledge your mundane mind with wisdom, you can use it to arise right thought, speech, action and livelihood via cultivating the 4 right efforts and right views with regards to law of karma and mind. Then you will not be heedless and deluded like before. Neither good nor bad. Not blaming but understanding.You needs to train your mind to be aware and heedful to cultivate following the steps stated in avijja sutta. The avijja sutta is a good sutta to check your cultivation.

11.   With faith, sincerity and diligence, you will awaken. With these, you will cultivate appropriately and persevere along the dhamma path, whereby you just do until sati comes. You will know when sati is established. Mindfulness (awareness) is vital for you to investigate the dhamma. When you realize the dhamma stands up to investigation, your faith strengthens. You then develop viriya to cultivate diligently then you will have joy and understanding to see the benefits of what you do. You will know this is the right path leading to wholesomeness, virtues and good life. It also transforms you completely, personality wise, character wise and understanding wise to become a blessing to all.

12.   Money cannot buy you wisdom and dhamma understanding. The user of money is most importance. If the user is wise, money becomes useful and wholesome. Not when you have to sacrifice your precious time and life to chase after money until your health is affected. You need to have the balance.

13.   When you have developed the dhamma understanding, money will come on its own. You need to have virtue and generosity to receive karmic wealth. Without it, money won’t come. Not with your greed and delusion. With dhamma, your virtue and generosity will be there to bring forth the money. You will have good blessings and everything will go your way. If you do your duty well, you will have good children, good parents, good kalyanamittas, good bosses and colleagues because you have been good to these people in the past. Your subordinates will support and sacrifice for you.

14.   Brother Teoh shared that in this life, his form and mind is truly blessed. It has nothing to do with luck but mainly through dhamma understanding which brings about the wonderful inheritance from his well cultivated karmic and spiritual natures. This is what we truly need, to become beautiful human beings.

15.    Brother Teoh further shared how Sister Padmasuri develop the understanding of her students and others after she has developed understanding of herself via being heedful.  When she marked the exam papers of her students, instead of seeing just their grammar and points, she can feels her student’s mind states and understanding of life in their writings and expressions. Brother Teoh’s lower six’s GP form teacher once commented on his essay as, “Rather deeply thought out”. His thoughts were deep and he understood life deeply even at that early age. After having develop mindfulness and awareness, you will start to know who you are, what you are and how you interact with the world and how you live your life and response to situation.

16.   Brother Teoh developed most of his understanding via his own contemplative wisdom. He contemplate constantly and deeply into the dhamma. His teachers’ didn’t really teach him much because brother Teoh was able to pick up the important truths that they shared while listening and talking to them.

17.   When he came out to share his understanding, his nature just inquire, how can he let kalyanamitta who attend his class, understand the dhamma. When he inquire and reflected, on what the kalyanamitas need to develop the understanding, he realized that his nature is ahead of time. At first he thought, everyone was like him. But when he started to share the dhamma in 2004, he realized hardly anyone understood what he shared. That’s why he has to reverse his sharing by going back to basic. Starting from basic dhamma leading to the understanding of the essential dhamma (linking them all together) then only go on with the teaching of the 4 noble truth and its 3 turnings cumulating to the 3 types of corresponding wisdom.

18.   If you cultivate correctly, you will develop your own understanding. You can then share through your own style and understanding with others.

19.   Who are you? In the Buddha’s final summary of the first noble truth, the Buddha said, ‘It is due to our self-delusion that condition us to grasp and cling to the 5 aggregates of form and mind, thinking it is you and it is real that conditioned our suffering. With self-delusion, grasping arise leading to suffering.  5 aggregates of form and mind, 1st aspect of who are you and what are you: As a human being, you have a form aggregate which is your physical body and a Consciousness which is your mind trapped inside. There are 4 aggregates of mind: namely feeling, perception, sankhara and consciousness. This 5 aggregates are impermanent, dependent originating, hence empty and not so real. It is not a permanent unchanging entity but it is subject to karma.

20.   When you are conscious you can interact with the world with your senses. You need to meditate to understand if this is you. If it is impermanent and you deludedly cling via worrying about it (your physical form) getting old, sick, and die you will suffer. Thus the 5 daily contemplations are vital.

21.   The form and mind comes about through the three conditions of having a physical body, consciousness and karmic force. Without any one of this, death happens. It is a karmically conditioned vehicle and tool for you to come to this world to live and experience life, meditate and realize deeply who you truly are.

22.   Within this 5 aggregates of form and mind, you can use it to cultivate the 4 foundations of mindfulness and this is the only way for the purification of being, for the overcoming of sorrow and lamentations, for the destruction of suffering and grief, for reaching the right path and the realization of nibbana.

Four foundations of mindfulness:

1^st foundation – kayanupassana: mindfulness of the kaya (physical body).

2^nd foundation – vedananupassana: mindfulness of feelings.

3^rd foundation – cittanupassana: mindfulness of the mind states.

4^th  foundation – dhammanupassana: mindfulness of dhamma.

23.   Brother Teoh has shared these 5 aggregates of Form and Mind teachings back in 2005. The transcript book containing this sharing will soon be printed for free distribution to all. This book explains clearly what this 5 aggregates of Form and Mind is. It also teaches you how to see form, the unreality of form and see beyond form.

24.   How does the 5 mental aggregates of Form and Mind arise? How does the external forms enter your mind?  Perception brings external form into the mind. The moment you perceive external form, the 4th aggregate (sankhara) becomes active. Law of dependant origination is related to this 5 mental aggregate of form and mind which is happening at every moment of sense experience. Every moment of seeing/hearing etc., there is this 5 mental aggregate of form and mind arising and passing away. The 12-links or law of dependent origination happens very fast, it is multi-dimensional; sometimes the links are not completed.

The 12 links:

Avijja pacaya sankhara – ignorance conditions mental activities. Due to your delusion and not understanding the truth, you think a lot. Thus creating contact with the mind. Your views, likes and dislikes create thinking and then mental volition etc.

Sankhara pacaya vinanam – Mental activities via contact conditions pure mental consciousness. Vinanam is pure consciousness. The moment you input your content of consciousness via your views, opinions and conditioning, the 5 mental aggregates of Form and Mind (Namarupa) will arise.

Vinayam pacaya nama rupa – mental consciousness conditions Namarupa …….

(Above draft is prepared by Sister Phey Yuen).

Bro Teoh Thursday Talk 6^th December 2018 Short Notes

1.       The main purpose of the Buddha’s teaching is to help living beings overcometheir life problems and be free from all suffering. Especially mental suffering of fear, lamentations, sorrow, as well as confronting  the realities of birth old age, sickness and death as experience in life. Our physical body goes the way of nature. When you don’t understand this law of nature, you will have wrong view, attaching to the body thereby worrying about this body of our getting old, sick and die. You need to apply the dhamma (the 5 daily contemplations) to overcome this wrong thoughts and when you understand it, there is less suffering and your mental states are more calm and peaceful. Then when you have progressed along the path of dhamma the 7 enlightenment factors will keep on arising. You are mindful, heedful and peaceful, your actions, speeches and thoughts are in accordance with the right views borne of wisdom. You will have  yoniso manasikara  (wise attention) at the moment of sense experiences. You are then able to communicate and act appropriately and beautifully with people through the 3 ways of right conduct after having diligently cultivated the 4 right efforts to purify the mind. With the daily mindfulness cultivated you will have sense restraint, leading to the 3 ways of good conduct to cultivate the 4 foundations of mindfulness within life itself. With sati sampajana stabilized, you will have clarity of mind to develop the understanding and wisdom. Thus you will awaken and transform.

2.       The 3 important qualities of mind for progress in cultivation and meditation are: Faith, sincerity   and diligence.

• Faith (Saddha) in the Buddha and his teaching  via knowing clearly who He is and how unique  and special a being the Buddha is and how great his teaching is.
• Sincerity – means you don’t waiver to develop the understanding of the essential dhamma especially the 5 spiritual faculties and the 3 phases of dhamma (Pariyatti, Patipatti and Pativedha to awaken.
• Diligence – means to persevere diligently and sincerely.

3.       Faith will drive you. With sincerity, you won’t deviate into fame, psychic powers etc. because of your right view/understanding that only wisdom frees and liberates our mind – nothing else. You will cultivate diligently, the 3 turnings of the 4 Noble Truth leading to the awakening/enlightenment.

4.       With the above 3 qualities of mind you can then use the Avijja sutta to further check on your progress along the path of dhamma.  Avijja sutta highlighted 10 important steps leading to enlightenment in the here and the now. As kalyanamittas, most of you would have completed the first 4 steps of:

• Having associated with noble friends and dhamma friends.
• With dhamma friends, you will have the conditions to constantly listen to the true dhamma to straighten your view and develop the faith.
• You will then have Faith in the Triple Gem.
• With faith comes the development of the initial wisdom (yonisomanasikara) via having cultivated the 1^st and 2^nd turning wisdomof suttamaya panna and cintamaya panna.

5.       With yonisomanasikara, mental hindrance won’t arise, mind won’t stir. You are calmer, and will have the stability of mindfulness to see things as they are.You are diligent in cultivating sati sampajana (ever mindful and constantly meditative). When   mindfulness and clear comprehension has stabilized, it further leads to sense restraint. Sense restraint enables you to develop the 3 ways of right conduct. By then you would have realize at least Sotapanaship.

6.       As you move on practice, you can cultivate the satipatthana (or the 4 foundations of mindfulness) with relative ease because of your   stability of daily mindfulness already developed. You will find that the teaching is easy to understand and those Enlightenment factors keep arising. Sati (1^st enlightenment factor) is always there. You then use it to investigate dhamma(dhammavicaya, the 2^nd enlightenment factor). You are able to reflect andcontemplate constantly to develop understanding to straighten your view. When you realize that the dhamma always stands up to investigation, yourfaith is deeply strengthened and this will conditions viriya, the spiritual zeal(the 3^rd enlightenment factor) to arise. You will then cultivate diligently to experience piti (spiritual joy, the 4^th enlightenment factor). As you relax into it, your mind becomes calmer and more refined, you will then experience sukham(spiritual blissfulness of mind). If you continue to relax into it, the mind becomes more tranquil leading to the realization of the silent mind (passadhi, the 5^th enlightenment factor). When you realize the silent mind (which is also your true mind), you will come to know clearly, who you are and what you are. You are home. There is wisdom. When passadhi is stabilized, the mind becomes collected  and   unwavering leading to Samadhi (the 6^th enlightenment factor). Mind can then see things as they are and your memory, conditioning etc. won’t interfere. One can then insight into phenomena to realize the 3 universal characteristics of impermanence, suffering and non-self. This awakening and wisdom bring about the final (7^th) enlightenment factor of   Upekkha(equanimity borne of wisdom) whereby the mind becomes peaceful and equanimous because it understands. You will not react or become emotional  anymore. Nothing affects you anymore. There is no more suffering. You are free. You can confront the 8 realities of life easily. Life is simple. You will come to understand that finally there is – ‘hey no you, hey no me’, only mighty naturerolling by.

7.       One will see the power of wrong thought to divide via words, concepts and mundane conventions leading to dualities and conflict. Division will lead tochaos because one lack wisdom to bring about harmony. You will see these wrong thoughts clearly. The beauty of dhamma is, it can lead one to arise the right thoughts, speeches and actions, right livelihood, etc. borne of right views. One is able to apply dhamma in life via following the noble eightfold path toresolve all problems and issues amicably. Dhamma can liberate one’s mind, bringing about awakening in the here and the now. One is transformed from a heedless being to an enlightened being (an ariya) who is wise and very noblein all aspects of life, always heedful and mindful. One also has the embodiments of all the noble 8-fold path factors.

8.       All ariyas have good conduct, upright conduct, wise and dutiful conduct. They do their duty well. They know form and mind is not real, but is subject to karma. Thus one can’t simply do things inappropriately while living life so having right duties to avoid all karmic negativity is very important for the Law of karma recognizes relationship and there is such thing as life, loved ones, right thoughts, speeches and actions etc. in life.

9.       Within the mundane world, law of karma exists. Life itself has its own reality.But in true emptiness, the realization is different because it is the unconditioned wisdom. As stated in the Heart Sutra, in true emptiness there is no old age, no sickness and no death. Within ultimate reality or in true emptiness, there is ‘hey no you hey no me’. No one is born, no one sick, no one old and no one dies. There is also no 4 noble truth: no suffering, no cause of suffering, no cessation and no path leading to cessation of suffering. When onerealize these profound truth of the conditioned and the unconditioned one will awaken and one will know how to live the noble life of an ariyabeautifully. With this understanding, you won’t attach and cling deludedly to the conditioned world and the phenomenal world of consciousness. In theDiamond Sutta, the Buddha said, “everything is conditioned dhamma. And all conditioned dhamma are not real, impermanent, and lead to suffering, empty and non-self. They are dreamlike, illusionary, like bubble (arising and gone) and shadows”. Feeling is like bubble, arise and pass away very fast.

10.   It is one’s mind through ignorance which clings and develops sorrow leading to suffering.

11.   You can have faith and confidence in the Buddha and his teaching throughunderstanding clearly who Buddha is? He is not only enlightened but He is thefully enlightened one. To have such a wise and great teacher to be your guide, you will have great gratitude and deep respect for him and you will also deeply cherish his teaching because his teaching is so unique for it can brings about liberation from all suffering and delusions. Money cannot buy such understanding. Humanity needs this. Without comprehending this teaching, you will suffer in life. But with dhamma, everything becomes simple and clear.You are able to live life well. You will know the importance of following the advice of the Buddha, in regards to the law of karma to live the good life.

12.   Faith leads to balas which is the unshakable faith. With sincerity, you won’t go astray and become gullible in your search for truth. Nothings frees except wisdom. Thus your sole purpose in cultivation is to develop wisdom. Without wisdom, Psychic powers only entangles you more. Through faith, sincerity and diligence in cultivation, the way will be there and you will definitely progress along the path of dhamma.

13.   It is important to have kalyanamitta (dhamma friends) to help strengthen our bond and dhamma understanding via learning to counsel, motivate, encourage and help each other to develop the fellowship faith, sincerity and diligence to cultivate the dhamma. This brings about wholesomeness. It can also arise the causes and conditions, so that in future, there will be kalyanamittas who will motivate and help you to walk this path in return. They will share all their understanding with you just like what you did unto them now. We should count our good blessing and have gratitude for our ability to be part of the big kalyanamitta family.

14.   Having true dhamma/noble friends, is an important prerequisite for enlightenment. Remind yourself to constantly listen to the true dhamma to develop the 1^st turning wisdom of suttamaya panna. Then contemplate diligently to develop the 2^nd turning wisdom of cintamaya panna to straighten your view and develop the initial wisdom to stabilize your faith in the triple gem. You will then be able to cultivate the rest of the cultivation following theavijja sutta steps leading to the enlightenment in the here and the now.

15.    There are 10 important steps stated in the avijja sutta. As kalyanamittas, you would have completed at least the initial 4 steps via having kalyanamitta (noble friends) as the first step. The 5^th step is to cultivate the daily mindfulness. The6^th step is sense restraint developed via cultivating the 4 right efforts. The 7^thstep is to arise the 3 ways of right conduct. The 8^th step is cultivating the 4 foundations of mindfulness. The 9^th step is when the 7 factors of enlightenment keep arising. The 10^th step is knowledge and vision, leading to enlightenment in the here and the now. In this era with the Buddha sasana still around, it is quite easy to realize such truth.

16.   Meditation reporting – A sister asked regarding the meaning of sati being defined as ‘awareness before the knowing’. She realizes in daily activities, she only is aware after something happens. Brother Teoh answered that it is good for her to ask – for him to know where she is at with her practice. He further explained what Sati means. Awareness before the knowing mean awareness before perceiving something. For example, just be aware of your hand movement. It is not the concept of perceiving what the thing is. But just aware. Mind and movement move as one. For example, body and mind as one while bowing. The moment you are without thought, you are already aware because you are not perceiving. The 4 supports for awareness based meditation is: relax, aware, 24 hours and trust.

17.   Relax body and mind and let things be. Awareness is mindfulness, being silentbecause without thought you already aware. Whatever heedless thinking, let it arise, don’t fight, control or suppress it, just let it be and it will slow down. These are habitual tendencies arising due to your lack of mindfulness. Whenmental hindrances arise, they hinder mind from becoming aware. But if youjust let it be, and don’t give it meaning, it will die down and you willexperience the tranquility or stillness of mind after that. Bow until body and mind as one. Do until mindfulness comes. Then the form and mind will know what sati is, when it has arisen. There is no thought involved so don’t try to know for thought based mediation is doomed to fail. Sati is there when everything you do, you are aware. Mind sweeping method in combination with metta can also help one to decondition the heedless thinking.

18.   Train via anapanasati until the awareness stabilized, and breathing has become so subtle until the silent mind arise. Mind then enters sati. After coming out of meditation, you will come to realize that your mind (awareness) and all your physical movements, they move as one. Your mundane mind needs to be trained. The 5 spiritual faculties are vital. Just do and don’t try to know, until sati arise.

19.   When you live life, you have to perceive and interact with others. Mindfulness must come naturally. Thus you train during formal meditation or while at home when you are alone, when your senses are not so active. You need todevelop awareness of all actions and movements in daily life. Maintain awareness at the heart area, aware of outside from inside. This is your new way of living life – heedful living. You can’t think when you are aware. When you cultivate – just do (walk, standing, sitting and lying down etc. aware), you do until the sati comes. Not until your mind has entered sati, you can’t do daily mindfulness. When sati is there, whether walking, bending, stretching, etc. you are always aware. Sati becomes very natural for it has become a part of you already. You then use it in living. Then only your sati sampajana (or mindfulness and clear comprehension) practices can come to be. There must be a sincerity of purpose – that is you are not doing this to develop fame or psychic ability, but to train the mind, to develop wisdom only. This is daily mindfulness and it can see a lot of things thereby arising the self-knowledge or initial wisdom needed to awaken. You can see how you (the form and mind) function as a human being. How you become emotional, fearful, sad etc. How your wrong views and opinions condition you to react to sense experiences to arise the duality of likes and dislikes which are your mental hindrances of sensual desire and ill-will. You can see them in real life. You know how you become afflicted, when things don’t go your way. How when your thoughts project, fear, worry and anxiety arise to makes you miserable/suffer. You will come to know that thoughts are respond to memories. Hence acting according to memory is not acting at all! Instead you should act with wisdom and understanding (right view). Right view with regards to the law of karma (karma niyama) and law of mind (citta niyama). We are what we are because of our karma. Sokarma is very important. Thus you need to understand what constitutes good and wholesome karma. The 3 ways right conduct are vital. Buddha advices us tocontemplate this law of karma via his 5 daily contemplations. To take care of karma we must follow the advice of Buddha to avoid all evil, cultivate goodness and purify our mind to arise a beautiful karmic nature. To avoid evil it is vital for us to keep the 5 precepts, deeply reflecting on each precepts to understand clear why we must keep our precepts well.

20.   Why do you take the precept to abstain from killing? It is because those who kill are evil people with the 3 evil roots. If you break this precept, it constitutes evil karma. Precepts is to protect you so that you will not be miserable or afflictedby these potential evil karmic fruition. Do good begets good, do evil begets evil. You reap what you sow. Thus you need to be mindful to cultivate wholesomeness instead. Virtuous thoughts, actions, and speech bring about goodness. When you are sincere, kind, generous and caring towards others, others will respond the same to you. For parents, if you sacrifice for your kids and do your duties well, in future, you will have parents who will provide, sacrifice and care for you. This is karma. Thus it is important to do your duty. For children, if you care for your parents, in future, you will have kids who will take care of you.

21.   Thus be determined to follow the advice of the Buddha. Make vows for causes and conditions, that life after life when you come, you will have these right views and understanding. You can follow the Bodhisattva vows as given by Brother Teoh in his blue transcript book – ‘Cultivating the Bodhisattva way’. You are supposed to renew your vows daily, then later once a week, then once a month, and finally repeatedly once over 3 to 6 months. If you do this with understanding sincerely and invoke power of merits for causes and conditionsfor it to arise, then even when there is no Buddha sasana, you will still have these right views and understanding when you come, either by choice or by karmic.

22.   When daily mindfulness is there, you will have clarity of mind to perceive, to be aware and move. There is no more fear and anxiety. You only perceive when needed. There is no need to worry about your problems because no amount of worry can help you solve your problem (won’t help). Also when you worry, you are not aware, you are preoccupied with those thoughts or lost in thought. For example when you are driving and thinking, in those moments of heedlessness, you could end up in an accident. Thus you need to discipline yourself especially when driving. It is not wise to get addicted to phone messages or calls which is dangerous. If you have to please stop at the road side to answer urgent calls or wait until you are home to do so. To be on the safe side, don’t use phone whilst driving unless it is hands free.

23.   It is important to listen attentively, then reflect to develop the understanding.Determined to be constantly mindful. Brother Teoh advised us to cultivate daily mindfulness. The moment you know you are lost in thought, you should anchor your awareness back to the movements (physical, mental and nature’s) in daily life. For example, when you observe people, your awareness and their activities are as one (specific phenomena awareness). Like the moving car, your awareness and the car move as one.

24.   You need to be tested in real life – your relationship with nature, society and fellow human beings. You need to interact with them. While living life, if you are aware you can see clearly your own delusion, selfishness, emotions etc. You also understand how your mind stir because of your wrong views and self-delusion. When you have this understanding, your mind need not stir or react to sense experience like before. The mind reacts and stirs because of your like and dislike or mental hindrances of sensual desire and ill will. Without these wrong thoughts, you won’t have mental hindrances. Instead with mindfulness,you can live your life heedfully. No more panicking nor reacting. You arepeaceful within, always aware with little orno thought when you have developed the initial wisdom through listening and reflecting on the dhamma. You will have the right view to ‘accept people as they are’ and ‘the world as the world’. You will smile more, have gratitude towards all things. You will be more sensitive, sincere, kind, contented and appreciative of life. There will no more conflict.

25.    If you are contented, there is no more desire or craving. Your mind won’t always want things your way because you are contented with the way things are and your karmic nature in life. Without wisdom, the ego always wants to become something better leading to cravings via your strong and deluded views.

26.   Contentment is your greatest wealth. A rich person not contented is poor because he still wants (has cravings). Brother Teoh shared about him retiring early via having contentment – with enough savings to live a simple, yet decent and relatively comfortable life. He does not need much to sustain himself and his family after having paid his mortgages. Brother Teoh retired in May 2001, after his eldest daughter graduated; when he did not have any more burden. He is contented with what he has and spends time do things he likes to do. Life is simple. Later he came to realize after his retirement is, he makes more money after retiring as compared to when he was working. He did it through investment. With wisdom, one will also know how to grow one’s moneythrough proper investment understanding.

Bye! and with metta always,