Bro Teoh’s 14 May 2019 Tuesday class

Dear Kalyanamittas,
Enclosed below are the audio and short notes links for our 14 May 2019 Tuesday class for sharing by all.
Teoh

Bro Teoh’s 18 April 2019 Thursday class

Dear Kalyanamittas,
Enclosed below are the audio and short notes links to our 18 April  2019 Thursday class for sharing by all.
Whiteboard link: 

From: Teoh Kian Koon <teohkiankoon@hotmail.com>
Sent: 02 May 2019 03:07
To: Pheyyuen Chong

Dear Angie Chong,
Below is the above edited outline short notes for sharing by all.

Outline short notes for Brother Teoh’s Thursday Talk dated 18th April 2019

1.       Sister Tammy reported her meditation. She was aware of her body’s sensations (heat building up) and thoughts. She was also aware that her body moved (like spinning).

2.       Brother Teoh explained that when you feel heat or movement, it is due to the energy built-up inside. Regarding the heat it is actually due to the yin and yangimbalance. Sometimes it is just a test to see whether you are affected by it. Thus do not be deceived. Whatever state that arises, just relax into it and maintain awareness. Relax and silent your mind and let things be. Understand that when your sati is not stable these movements can happen. Those who do or practice Reiki, their body has a tendency to shake due to the energy built-up.

3.       Sati leading to heedfulness needs to be established during meditation. Understanding the meditation as taught by the Buddha is most important. Do not doubt. Relax and stabilize the awareness, then go back to the heart. Swaying will eventually stop when awareness has stabilized. Do not create any mental hindrances (especially the likes and dislikes).

4.       During meditation, there will be different experiences and states of mind that arise. You need the skill to understand what meditation is and what you are doing in the name of meditation. You need to be heedful and develop the understanding of who and what are you. Also to see clearly that all these movements (physical, mental and nature’s) are all dependent originating and condition arising phenomena. In pure awareness you can see all this.

5.       Brother Teoh shared his experience 30 years ago, when he was just aware at the heart area without any thought then all of a sudden he realized there was no one inside there. It is just an awareness from the nature arising and passing away, awareness is one with the heart beats.

6.       Thoughts are response from memory hence they are condition arising/dependent originatingnothing to do with the nature. Understanding comes by itself through the silent mind. You are the awareness which is beyond all these creation. All of your knowing is mainly thought based knowledge,accumulated as memory, not the reality. Reality is when your awareness seesand experiences all this and you are able to be with it and sees the whole movements without fragmentation to awaken.

7.       When the silent mind in pure awareness is with all phenomena, it can awakenvia an understanding which is not rigid. After this only can you relate to the teachings. Not the other way round. The other way round is to read the teachings and go look for those mind states mentioned in the teaching,believing you are in those states. All these are thought based meditation. Dharma in written form are merely words pointing to the truth. It is not the truth itself. Thus you cannot use words and concepts to realize the truth which is beyond thought and mind. Instead you need to meditate via sati (the silent mind without thoughts and concepts) to awaken.

8.       Thought is for you to use. When you awaken you will understand that your 5 aggregates of body and mind is subject to karma because it is Karmically conditioned from your karmic nature. Hence you will also understand that you have to have right duty to take care of karma even though the true unconditioned dharma is about emptiness; I.e. hey no you and hey no me, no form, no mind. You need the understanding of both the conditioned and unconditioned dharma to truly live life.

9.       Once you are able to locate your gateway to your nature, all the yin yang energy will melt into it to become pure energy.

10.   There are people who go into occult (pure psychic) energy practices and use it for healing and performing psychic ability. Since only wisdom andunderstanding frees the mind, nothing else so being involved in energy field does not free. With awareness based meditation leading to wisdom, you can also avoid threading on the evil or wrong path.

11.   There are 2 ways to cultivate the Bodhisattva way: one way is to develop the wisdom first; then locate the gateway to our nature to speed up our cultivation. The other way is to make use of the pure energy to locate the gateway first then only use it to develop the wisdom leading to all the other perfection. Without wisdom developed via the dhamma make available during the Buddha sasana or from a good guide (teacher), it is very difficult to go thewisdom way firstSimilarly without the help of a true guide or a good teacher, it is also very difficult to develop the understanding of the gateway cultivationwhich is beyond thought and time.  But the first way is safer because the wisdom will protect the cultivator from going into the occult or psychic fields. (For more detail please do listen to the recording to develop the complete understanding. Especially the part relating to my last teacher and what is captured in this outline short notes is just a small part of what has been shared.)

12.   Brother Teoh further explained his last teacher’s meditation. If you do not know how to silent your mind to locate or realize your nature which takes you straight to the No thought state, you tend to go for thought based meditationwhich cannot lead you to the truth which is beyond thought. It is very difficult unless you have a good teacher. Even with a good teacher, it takes time for you to build up the confidence. The Six Patriarch Platform teaching helps you to understand this. For one to realize the 3 universal characteristics of impermanence, suffering and non self states is already very difficult if not for the Buddha’s teachings within this sasana because it involves understanding oftruths within conditioned and unconditioned.

13.   Thought is both matter and energy (). Matter is trapped energy. Thus thought based is related to energy field. Since thought is also matter so without thoughtform will not come about. Since Form is the product of thought therefore thought can see form because thought has higher intelligence. But thought cannot see awareness because thought is a product of spacious awareness. Thus awareness has higher intelligence then thought.

14.   Theoretical dhamma are mainly concept and ideas. Theoretical dhamma has nothing to do with the direct seeing via the silent mind in pure awareness. You can awaken with this pure awareness which is beyond thought and beyond mind. Hence strive on with heedfulness. The moment you are heedful, you aredestined for enlightenment. Daily mindfulness leading to heedfulness is a must. Meditate with sati to see your defilements and to realize the essential dhamma leading to wisdom.

15.   When you are mindful of all mind states, you will understand how your wrong thoughts (with the 3 evil roots) which arise due to your deluded and conditioned mundane mind (borne of accumulation and memories of the good and bad experiences) can cause your negative emotions leading to suffering. You will also understand how all these wrong thoughts and negative emotion (like anger, hatred, envy, jealousy, trapped phobias and insecurity, etc.) condition your fear, worry, anxiety, selfishness, sorrow and lamentation etc. leading to suffering.

16.   It should be the awareness which is aware of the thoughts and emotions by being one with it and not via another thought knowing an earlier thought or emotion like anger, fear, worry, anxiety, etc. For example, aware when fear arises. When fear arises, stay with it and see clearly what happens when you are just aware (be with it) and don’t do anythingWhat happen to thatmovement or emotion? Fear will cease to be then you will understand Fear was never you but just a condition arising or dependent originatingphenomenon. It arises due to conditions (ones delusion or wrong view) then when condition cease to be it cease to be. It arises and passes away depending on condition hence impermanent and empty. Relax and aware and you will understand all this. All these condition arising mental states will disappears and cease to be because the original state of the true mind before its stirring is just pure awareness and there is none of this fear. It all comes about due to one’swrong view conditioning ones wrong thoughts leading to one’s reaction of mind.

17.   Brother Teoh’s daughter shared her earlier experience (before she understands the dhamma): After making a donation, the thought of being cheated arise in her mind for some time. She then recalled the advice from a previous dhamma sharing by Bro Teoh – “why this thought and not any other thought.” It made her investigate further into the suffering that arise due to this wrong thought. She realized that she was attached to the feeling – ‘I got cheated’ due to memory and thought. She then inquire: Who is it that has all this negative thoughts? Is this her? She started to experiment with her mind. When shechanged her perspective to think positively she realized her suffering was gone. They may be sincere and even if they are not sincere, it is because they need my money. Moreover what happened is already over why cling on to that wrong thought of ‘I have been cheated’? They will have their karma. She then realized her mundane mind really controlled her when she think that wrong thought. It was like holding to that red hot burning thing that was tormenting her.

18.   Instead of acting with wisdom, you allow your wrong thought to condition you to act negatively. On the other hand, with right view, you can trust your karma. After all it is not what you think; it is just a form and mind meeting another form and mind due to karmic conditioning.

19.   You need wisdom to root out insecurity. All is subject to karma. Karma creates the thought to project into the future causing you to feel insecure. You need to take care of karma, in turn karma takes care of you. With wisdom, understand that it is just form and mind and thoughts arise and pass away following the 12 links. Always remember only self-delusion can cause you to have such negative mind states leading to misery.

20.   Eric’s sharing: “some learns the dharma but do not practice because they thought they know already. This is dharma knowledge. But for me I learn and I put into practice what I have learnt.” He went through suffering, experienced them until he understands them deeply. Just like the burning hot charcoal analogy, if you know how it has been burning and tormenting you when you keep holding it, you will never touch it again.

21.   Fear, worry and anxiety cannot solve your problems but only conditions more negative karma in your life. Instead you need wholesome mental states borne of right views to give rise to good emotions coupled with faith to transform you into a beautiful being. Also understanding the 1st Noble truth’s 8 realities of life is very important because under the 2nd turning of the 1st Noble truth, it is stated that suffering is to be understood.

22.   You live a beautiful life through the dharma way i.e. following eightfold noble path. By developing inward beauty, your nature is beautiful and you will have right view, right thoughts, right speech, right action and livelihood, this leads to inward transformation. When inside is okay, outer no problem.

23.   When you understand the noble truth, you understand suffering. You are heedful and able to apply what you learn. When negativity arise, you are awareof your wrong thoughts, you understand they are impermanent, condition arising wrong thoughts borne of self-delusion. Thus the mind releases and is not deceived. You need to contemplate when it happens. This way is suitable for those who suffer a lot. When you are aware of all these negative mind statesconditioning your suffering you can retrospectively reverse them with the understanding, this itself is meditation. Awareness is very important.

24.   Meditation in daily life: any thoughts or emotions that arise, be aware (silent) and stay with it, eventually they all cease to be. Only true nature is real. No point clinging and grasping which only cause unnecessary suffering. You will understand that the body and mind is merely a karmically conditioned vehicle and tool for you to come to this existential world, hence use it well. You cannot control the form and mind from going the way of nature because it is dependent originating and not a permanent unchanging entity which you can call the ‘Me’ and the ‘I’.

(Outline short notes prepare by Sister Angie Chong)

Bye! and with metta always,

Teoh

Bro Teoh’s 12 May 2019 Sunday class

Dear Kalyanamittas,
Enclosed below are the audio and short notes links to our Sunday class dated 12th May 2019 for sharing by all.
Regards,
Teoh

Subject: Re: Outline short notes for Sunday class dated 12th May 2019

Dear Mun Yuen and all,
Enclose below are the above edited outline short notes for sharing by all.

Outline short notes for Sunday class dated 12th May 2019

Brother Teoh’s transcript book: Cultivating the Bodhisattva Way, pages 78-97

  1. The 4 great/basic vows of the Bodhisattvas are very important as they will help to take us through the 5 stages of Bodhi mind developments cumulating to Buddhahood.

    Stage 1Aspire to plant the seed of Bodhi deep into your nature’s consciousness to arise the Bodhi mind.

    To arise the Bodhi mind to walk the Bodhisattva way sincerely, with faith and perseverance via taking its 4 basic vows. These will set the conditions for us to be awakened. As our vows are being nurtured, the Bodhi mind becomes active even during era where there is no Buddha Sasana.

    Stage 2Bodhi mind that subdues all vexation or suffering.

    Able to develop the wisdom not to be deluded by the phenomenalworld so that one will not grasp, cling or hold on to them. That is how one is able to renounce the world, all worldly things which are unreal, condition arising and dependent originating. That is the reason why when we take this vow to endure and sever all vexations and suffering, we are cultivating renunciation.

    Stage 3Bodhi mind that illuminates the true nature or Buddha nature as enlightenment.

    Vow to penetrate and understand all Dharma to realize the perfection of all wisdom leading to one’s ability to illuminate one’s true natureuntil it becomes so clear which means you are able to connect to the gateway to your nature. You are able to transform and illuminate that nature within. This third stage will make you a true Bodhisattva. This third stage is very powerful because after this stage, you will never regress.

    Stage 4: Bodhi mind that renounces samsara.

    Time or duration in samsara is not an issue anymore as by then we would have understood the profound diamond sutra cultivation of no thought, no mark and no dwelling. Cultivation and Perfection becomes easy at this stage onwards.

    Stage 5: Bodhi mind that realizes the consummate of Sammasam Buddhahood.

    Perfection of all the 10 Perfections. This stage is not difficult becauseas you cultivate the first four stages you would have started perfecting many of the 10 perfections especially Love, Renunciation, Sila, Panna, Viriya, Dana, Khanti, Adhitthana and Sacca.

  1. Master Sheng Yen taught silent illumination (awareness) meditation which is similar to Brother Teoh’s teaching of the silent mind.
  2. Silent without illumination is samatha meditation. This type of meditation is not with a free mind but with a conditioned mind. The 5 mental hindrances are all suppressed through energy field. They are mainly Jhana and one pointedness concentration type of practices. The mind is like blank because there is hardly any awareness within. You are like a Buddha statue and this type of mind cannot develop wisdom.
  3. Brother Teoh’s silent mind with clear awareness within is a wisdom based meditation via a free mind, where one’s mind is relax, aware and without thought naturally borne of understanding/wisdom. The mind is not in concentration and has the ability to realize the true mind.
  4. The mind needs the 5 spiritual faculties to root out the 5 mental hindrances to be in the meditative state. All methods and techniques are only initial skilful means to train the mind to have sati. They are not the meditation.
  5. Renunciation to the Mahayana tradition, means to renounce all thingsthat are not real, conditions arising and dependent originating. When we vow to sever all vexations and all suffering, we are cultivatingrenunciation. However, the Theravada tradition mainly teaches physical renunciation, i.e. to be a monk.
  6. We need to cultivate all the 10 steps listed in the Avijja Sutta’s enlightenment cycle. Most of us kalyanamittas already have the first 3 steps of having true dharma friends, able to listen to the true Dharma& have faith in the Triple Gem. Now, we need to work on the 4th and 5th steps, (i.e. 4th Step: cultivating the initial wisdom (yoniso manasikara) while attending to step 2 and 5th step: Cultivating the daily mindfulness leading to sati sampajanna, the real meditation). These are the two most difficult steps. Step 4 is relatively easier.
  7. Yoniso manasikara is cultivating the initial wisdom via the 1st and 2ndturnings of the Four Noble Truth’s wisdom to straighten our views after listening to the Dharma to weaken avijja (ignorance). The 1st turning wisdom is suttamaya panna (wisdom borne of hearing the Dharma) and the 2nd turning wisdom is cintamaya panna (Wisdom borne of reflection, inquiry, contemplation and Investigation to put to test all Dharma). This is also the advice from his teacher Phra Ajahn Yantra to Brother Teoh – ‘we choose contemplate all dharma until very, very clear’.
  8. With yoniso manasikara in place, there will be less thinking and more moments of mindfulness leading to the 5th step cultivationof Mindfulness and clear comprehension (Sati Sampajanna) which is the real meditation. At this step, apply the 4 Right Efforts and the 5 Ways to overcome unwholesome thoughts as taught by the Buddha to progress. Especially the 3rd and 4th ways which are the meditative ways. Use the 3rd way (silent the mind) and the 4th way (trace the origination factors of the negative thought or mind state and then reverse it retrospectively) to cultivate.
  9. After step 7 (the 3 ways of right conducts), one would have realize at least Sotapanaship (1st stage of sainthood) already where the first 3 fetters of sakayaditthi, rites and rituals and doubt in the Triple Gems have been severed. After finishing step 7 one might also realize sakadagamiship (2nd stage of sainthood) where the 4th and 5th fetters of sensual desire and ill-will have been attenuated.
  10. At step 8 (cultivating the 4 Foundation of Mindfulness) onwards, one may realize at least Anagamiship (3rd stage of sainthood).
  11. For those who understand, broteoh.com website is truly a dharma Gem. All the Dharma there are shared for free. So do make use of it.Develop the understanding of it then put them into practice. If you do not put them into practice, Dharma will remains as knowledge and it will not benefit you.

(Above outline short notes draft is by Sister Mun Yuen).

Bye! and with metta always,

Teoh

Bro Teoh’s 30 April 2019 Tuesday class

Dear Kalyanamittas,
Below are the audio and short notes links to our 30 April 2019 Tuesday class talk for sharing by all.
Bye! and with metta always,
Teoh

Bro Teoh’s 22nd May 2018 recording

Dear Kalyanamittas,

Below are the audio links to our 22nd May 2018 Tuesday class recording for sharing by all. Also attached is outline short notes as blow for your further reference:

22nd May 2018 Tuesday Class outline short notes 

  1. Recap of 1st May 2018 Tuesday class short notes.
  2.  5 great universal laws of nature (2  scientific + 3  spiritual)
  • Physical order [Utu niyama]
  • Biological order [Bija niyama]
  • Law of karma [Karma niyama] (Do good begets good and do evil begets evil & you reap what you sow) 
  • Law of the mind [Citta niyama] (12 links / paticca samupada)
  • Law of truth / Dharma [Dhamma niyama] (4 noble truths, etc.)

3  Buddhism (Teaching of the Buddha) = Dhamma = Truth. The essence of the Buddha’s teaching is the Four Noble Truths. Noble Truths are truths that can make you noble ones or enlightened ones when you had understood (awakened to) them.

4 Bro Teoh’s sharing from the Book, “The Buddha and His Teachings” – Chapter 17 – The 4 Noble Truths, until page 321 ‘….Insatiate are all desires.’

4(a) The 3 Lokas (31 planes of existence) 

  • kama Loka (sensual world) – 6 realms of Devas, 1 human realm and 4 woeful states/realms.
  • rupa Loka (form world) – 16 Brahma realms.
  • arupa Loka (formless world) – 4 formless realms.

4(b) Why is your form and mind (the human being) so important?

  • It allows us to live and experience life to the fullest and we can also use it to cultivate the 4 foundations of mindfulness (kaya-, vedana-, citta- and dhammanupassana) to realize the enlightenment.
  • Everything you cling and grasp onto (including all sense pleasure) is a prelude to dukkha (suffering), as they are impermanent – arising and passing away following nature’s conditions. Hence not a permanent unchanging entity where you can cling onto and grasp onto.

4(c) The MISCONCEPTION of defining the 1st Noble Truth of dukkha as – “life is suffering”

  • The Buddha never say that. The Buddha proclaimed that there is a noble truth that explain to you clearly the prevalence of suffering when one confronts the 8 realities of life without the requisite wisdom.
  • The Buddha teaches instead the prevalence of suffering, how suffering comes to be due to delusion, the secret of life and suffering need not be if we understand his teaching.  The liberated mind can live life without being affected / afflicted.

4(d) 3 types of craving/tanha

  • Kama tanha (sensual craving)
  • Bhava tanha (craving to ‘be’ – becoming)
  • Vibhava tanha ( craving ‘not to be’)

4(e) Ambition is not a craving

  1. As Buddhist we can have ambition to realize our good and noble wishes via cultivating the Noble 8-Fold Path following the Dhamma way of no delusion.

(Outline prepared by Teoh Soo Yee)

Bye! and with metta always,

Teoh


From: Sis Hui Rung 
Brother Teoh Tuesday Class on 22/05/2018 record :
or at:
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