(Biodata of Bro. Teoh Kian Koon)

Bro. Teoh graduated from University of Malaya in Civil Engineering in 1979. He has been a spiritual practitioner cum ‘Meditator’ since 1971. Since his retirement in 2001 from his Engineering career, he has been sharing his understanding and experiences with those who are keen in their search for true happiness, peace and liberation from birth and death and all mental suffering. With these understanding it is hoped that they can become more virtuous, nobler, and wiser so that they can be a blessing to all. He gives dhamma talks and holds meditation classes & retreats and weekly Dhamma classes at various meditation centres, Buddhist societies and places that invite him.

For more details of Bro. Teoh’s dharma activities and his Kalyāṇamittaship grouping please go to his dharma website at: http://broteoh.com

1 Preface

It is Brother Teoh’s sincere wish that Dharma friends, spiritual practitioners, seekers of truth, and cultivators will be able to make use of the enclosed dharma transcript notes to develop a better understanding of the Buddha Dhamma as taught by the Buddha so that they may progress along the path of dharma to become more virtuous, nobler, and wiser human beings to be a blessing to all of humanity and the world.

As these notes were mostly compiled based on a transcript from the recording of the lesson 71 of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings dhamma class (dated 24.8.2021); the text is aligned as closely as possible to the colloquial speech in the talk. However, some editorial amendments have been made to the text without detracting from the essence of the talk. With this, it is hoped that readers can accordingly adjust themselves to better understand its true meaning and intent. A good way to do this is to listen to the recordings first before reading the transcript notes.

To listen to the recording (audio file) you can go to our https://broteoh.com website under Repository of Dharma material OR Google ‘Bro. Teoh’s Kalyāṇamittas – A Repository of Dharma Material’ to view them.

2 Acknowledgement

It is the donors’ sincere intentions that these dharma transcript notes be shared with those who are interested and have the affinity to receive them. I would like to take this opportunity to thank and rejoice in the generosity and wholesomeness of all those Dharma friends or Kalyāṇamittas who have donated and helped in the transcription, formatting, proofreading, publishing etc. to make this free distribution of dharma dāna possible.

Special thanks should be accorded to Sister Lim Eng Bee, Sister Sandra Chan, Sister Chew Poh Lian, Sister Lee Siew Gaik and Sister Susan Teh who had volunteered and taken the initiative to help prepare the initial draft transcripts for my subsequent editing thereby enabling this dharma transcript book to be printed.

By the power of all these wholesomeness, may all beings be well and happy, free from all mental and physical sufferings and dangers and may there be love, peace and joy - deep within their hearts. And may it also pave the way for there to be causes and conditions for all dharma friends who have donated or helped in one way or another to realize their good and noble wishes/aspirations soonest possible.

With Metta always,

Brother Teoh Kian Koon

(Dated: 30th Sept 2021)

3 Lesson 71 of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings (Dated 24th August 2021)

3.1 Pre Pūjā chanting and sharing

Legend:

Black: Brother Teoh sharing (to expand on its deep meaning)

Black italic underlined: is the original texts of the reference book

Black underlined: sharing by Kalyāṇamitta

Greeting by Bro Teoh: Today is 24th August 2021, Tuesday, and we will be continuing our sharing from this book, “The Essence of Infinite Meanings” teaching from the ‘Sutra of Infinite Meanings’ (無量義经). We are at page 370. Let us compose our mind and develop the Saddhā, vīriya and sati to commence our pre-Puja chanting now. …………. End of Puja chanting.

3.2 Awareness-based Meditation

As usual, we will have our half an hour of awareness-based meditation. We will turn off the lights and you can proceed with your meditation. Just relax the body and mind and maintain some form of attention, then we shall have our half an hour of “awareness-based meditation”. Always remember “awareness-based meditation” is to develop the awareness within. So, we just silence our mind, relax the body and mind, then maintain awareness. Just do that, no need to know anything, no need to do anything. Make your mind alert, attentive, and aware. Just aware. Whatever arises, “aware-finish”. No need to continue with the thinking or mental stirring or proliferation of thought process. Just aware, silence; aware, silence; to have more and more moments of awareness. Then later, the “awareness” will become your main activity. Meaning your mind is most of the time just aware. Then whatever object of awareness (initially it can be a heartbeat or any vibration within your heart area) that you use to anchor your awareness, rest there. Later, when all these activities and movement have become very subtle and very still, then there is nothing for you to hold on or anchor to. During that time, you just stay around the heart area or if you are using your breathing, Ānāpānasati as your object of meditation, then stay with your Ānāpānasati to develop awareness of in and out breath. Meaning maintain the awareness, just aware like what the Buddha said, ‘breathing in aware, breathing out aware’. Whenever the mind wanders off, bring it back and develop the training of your awareness until this breath becomes very subtle, very still.

So, it is the same whether you start with the object of meditation or you straight away start at your heart area or wherever you can place your awareness, you just stay there. Those who are familiar with the rising and falling of the abdomen can also do the same, you can stay there at the abdomen and maintain awareness there. Those are the activities to allow you to centre your mind, to allow your mind to stay there but finally, ultimately, you must return to your heart. So, if that's the case, you might as well go to the heart straight away. But for those who do Ānāpānasati, you don't worry. Ultimately, the Ānāpānasati will take you down to the heart area, because the in-breath will take you down to the heart and from the heart, it will develop the movement outwards.

So, when you can stabilize your awareness (sati), your mind will start to become different. You will have no more thought. You are only aware. When you are aware, you cannot think. And because you don't think, you will be very quiet, very peaceful, and very still. That's why you can experience pīti, sukhaṃ and finally passaddhi (the tranquillity of mind, stillness of mind, the silent mind). When everything becomes very quiet and very still and very subtle, don't do anything, just stay at the heart area, stay there. The mind will stay there without any movement of thought, nothing. Then let it stays there until the mind enter sati. You must develop it until the awareness nature within is so stable, so clear until like no more movement of thought, no more saṅkhāra activity. Everything is very quiet, very still. That is your true mind, your meditative mind, your silent mind, your awareness nature within. That is the one you need to realize. Without that, you cannot realize the first hallmark of Hui Neng. Master Hui Neng said you must realize the first hallmark of no thought: 無念的境界. 無念 is without thought. Inquire: without thought, who are you? What are you? You will understand when you reach that state. That is why the initial training to be aware is very important. Spend time on it, stabilize it. Then you will progress in your meditation. Okay, now I will let you meditate on your own. I will now set the alarm for 30 minutes so that you can have 30 minutes of awareness-based meditation.

The four supports are very important. Allow your body and mind to be completely relaxed. Relax means don't do anything, be at ease, let things be. Whatever arises, just aware. Because you are relaxed, all your stresses, tensions and whatever tighten and unrelaxed part within your physical and mental, they will slowly adjust itself and reach a state of at ease. Meaning, you are truly relaxed. When you are completely relaxed, means there is nothing troubling you. Your mind is at peace, your physical body is without stress, without tension. So, when that physical body is so relaxed that you are completely without tension or any stress, that is the meditative body, that is the mind that can be aware because it is at ease. There is nothing to trouble the mind. You got nothing to attend to. You can just let things be and the “awareness nature” is very important. That is your true mind, your inner nature, your true nature, your silent mind. So, that “awareness nature” you must stabilize and realize it. Okay now I will let you meditate on your own.

Ting! x3 (End of 30 minutes of awareness-based Meditation).

3.3 Post Meditation Dhamma sharing

You can now slowly, and mindfully come out of the meditation. Try to maintain whatever inner peace, inner calmness, and inner awareness that you have developedfor as long as you can. These are the mind states you need to use, to live life and to develop the daily mindfulness (awareness), to be aware throughout the day, leading to Heedfulness

3.3.1 Sharing from Essence of Infinite Meanings

Okay, you can be seated, we shall continue from where we stopped, we are at page 370, at the adapted verse of this book, “The Essence of Infinite Meanings”. This teaching is very beautiful because all these teachings are from the adapted verses of the “Sutra of Infinite Meanings”. I will read on.

When we give rise to an unwholesome thought, that thought destroys the seeds of goodness. As a cultivator, we must bear in mind this understanding. That is why The Buddha’s advice is to avoid all evils. When you give rise to an unwholesome thought, that has the evil roots of greed, hatred, and delusions, that thought will destroy the seeds of all goodness. So be mindful of them. Similarly, the opposite is also true. When we give rise to a wholesome thought, that thought destroys countless evils. That’s why you must constantly follow the advice of the Buddha, to avoid all evils, meaning not to give rise to any unwholesome thought to cultivate wholesomeness, goodness, and to purify your mind. This understanding is very important. The absence of evil is good. When you do not give rise to an unwholesome thought, you will become beautiful. That is the reason why The Buddha taught us the four Right Efforts under the Noble Eightfold Path cultivation. He said if you are not able to do that, then your heedlessness and habitual tendencies, can cause you to arise these wrong, unwholesome, and heedless thoughts that have the evil roots of greed, hatred, and delusions. When this happen, what must you do? You must be aware; you must have the “awareness nature within” to enable you to be aware of these wrong thoughts. Also, you need to understand clearly what constitutes evils.

3.3.1.1 How to recognize unwholesome thought (Defilements)

What are unwholesome thoughts? Thoughts that have the greed, hatred, and delusion. And you must understand what these major evils of greed, hatred and delusion are. If you don’t understand the deep meaning behind the three evil roots of greed, hatred, and delusion, then you cannot cultivate, you cannot develop the training to abandon them because all precepts start with “we undertake the training rule to abstain from all evil”.

How do we do that? We must be mindful, aware and understand what constitutes evil. And when we had identified that this is an unwholesome/evil thought, a wrong thought that has the evil roots of greed, hatred, and delusion, what must we do? We must arise the first Right Effort to abandon it. How do we abandon it? If you have gone through the mind map that Soo Yee has done for you, you will know.

3.3.1.2 Five ways to overcome unwholesome thoughts

There are five ways to overcome unwholesome thoughts. The most important ones are the third and the fourth ways. First two ways are still thought-based cultivation, but they are suitable for normal people with certain types of negative tendencies.

The Buddha said: The first (1st) way is to apply the direct opposite wholesome thought to overcome whatever unwholesome thought that has arisen. Take for example: if you have given rise to a selfish thought, that has these evil roots of greed, selfishness, possessiveness, and covetousness, so the direct opposite wholesome thought of generosity and sincerity are very important. We must have the sincerity not to be selfish. To be sincere, generous, kind, gentle, and pleasant, - all these are virtuous thoughts needed to counter the unwholesome thought. So, when we have the angry thoughts or unwholesome thoughts of anger, hatred, envy, and jealousy, we must arise the opposite wholesome thoughts of love, compassion, and kindness to overcome them. Then the other one is when there is this cruelty in you; you must arise compassion. And if there is envy and jealousy, you must develop sympathetic joy (muditā), to rejoice in the wholesomeness of others. This is how the four Brahmavihāra can also help you. Then the other one is when you have lustful thought, you must develop contentment. Otherwise, this thought cannot go away.

In the 2nd way the Buddha said, you must reflect on the danger of having such wrong thought, that is the consequence of holding on to that wrong/unwholesome thought, - will make you evil, cause your karmic downfall. If that is not what you want, then you better abandon it.

The third (3rd) way is the meditative way - whatever unwholesome thought or wrong thought that has arisen they will have the evil roots of greed, hatred, and delusion (whether it is craving, desire, selfishness, anger, aversion, fear, worry, anxiety, insecurity, phobia or whatever). All these are unwholesome thoughts with the evil roots of greed, hatred, and delusion that can cause you to stir your mind via making you evil.

The Buddha said: to abandon it you just silence your mind, like how we learn to develop the awareness-based meditation, don’t doanything. Initially just aware that they (any of the negativity of mind states) has arisen. Then just silent everything and stay with it, be with it. It’s just like when you are meditating, you are just aware of your ānāpānasati or meditation object, or your heartbeat, or whatever object of meditation located within your body (kāya) where you maintain your awareness. When it comes to defilement, wrong thought, unwholesome thought, it is the same. You allow your awareness to go there, meaning the awareness and the emotion becomes one. Whether it is anger, hatred, fear, worry, anxiety, sorrow, lamentation, unhappiness, phobia, panic attack or whatever mind state it may be, just stay with it, silent and don’t think, don’t do anything. Stay with it, just relax, maintain awareness, then find out what happened? You will come to a very beautiful realization or insight. I.e., whatever mind state that arises, they are all dependent originating. They are not intrinsic within your true mind. They arise because of wrong thought, wrong view. Because you react to sense experience, you stir your mind, you create the evil roots, the wrong thought via your delusion. When you silence everything and just stay with it, you realize it ceased. That’s wisdom.

According to J. Krishnamurti, “the very flowering of that emotion or that thought, is the very ending of that thought”. So let it flower, let it cease because these are negative energy, evil root borne of wrong thought, borne of deluded mundane thinking. When you allow it to be, and don’t feed it with anymore wrong thought energy, then what happens? That emotion will slowly flower and disappear/cease as per J Krishnamurti’s explanation. Like the flower, when you allow it to flower until it cannot flower, what happens? it will wither off and it disappear. That is how thought ceases because they are dependent originating. So, when you cut away the fuel or the causes and conditions for its arising, meaning no more wrong thought, no more wrong view, then it will cease.

How to have no more wrong thought and no more wrong view? If you have not trained your mind, you will surely think. Also, when you try to reason or analyse, thought becomes more active. Then it will not cease. This analysis/reasoning will cause you to come out with your own version of right and wrong, good, and bad, and that is not the way to solve spiritual problems or develop spiritual understanding. The true understanding is you don’t go and think. How can you stop all this thinking? Our awareness-based meditation is the answer, the solution. That is why you must silence everything and be with it and allow this awareness to stay there, then finally everything will cease because no more thinking. Then this true mind, your silent mind, or your intrinsic true nature, which is your meditative mind will arise or return. That is how you meditate, that is how you develop the wisdom. All these emotions whether it is greed, hatred or delusion, anger, fear, insecurity, envy, jealousy, phobia or whatever, they are all dependent originating, condition arising, causal phenomena. If you do not feed upon it, and silent everything, then what happened? - without thought everything ceases. Then you will realize your true mind, your silent mind. That is how you develop the meditate. Then you will come to realize anger was never you, fear was never you, then why must you go and suppress the fear, the anger, or try to do away with the anger, - all these doing is delusion. When you have the wisdom, it will cease on its own. You don’t have to do anything. The abandoning of defilement is through wisdom. When you straighten your view, silent your mind, then everything ceases.

So, this third (3rd) way is for you to experience the true mind, the silent mind, the awareness within that has no duality, because it does not think. When it does not think there is no thought, no thought means no duality; no duality means no good, no bad; no right, no wrong; no wholesome, unwholesome; no pleasant, unpleasant; nothing, neutral. Just that nature, aware, everything else ceases. Then you will realize the profound meaning of what The Buddha taught, sabbe saṅkhāra aniccā because all these are saṅkhāra (mental activities, mental states, emotion, wholesome and unwholesome); And all saṅkhāra are impermanent (aniccā), because dependent on conditions, they arise; when condition ceased to be, they ceased. If you cling on to it, hold on to it and give meaning, it led to suffering; reason why the Buddha said, ‘sabbe saṅkhāra dukkhā’ (it brings about suffering, misery, affliction), that is what the dharma is. Then finally because it is impermanent, it is not a permanent unchanging entity, where you can hold onto, cling onto and grasp onto and say this anger is me, this hatred is me, there is no such thing. That is delusion because you were never the anger or the fear, and when you realize that it becomes so beautiful. If anger is not me, fear is not me, I don’t have to do anything, because these are not intrinsic within my nature. So, I don’t have to suppress it, control it, or push it away or do away with it, that is wisdom!That is theunderstanding! Then you will come to realize that the five aggregates of form and mind is not a permanent unchanging entity hence Not You, exactly as explained by the Buddha in his teaching, - that is, because it is impermanent, it is not a permanent unchanging entity, hence non-self. And because it is non-self, it is empty; empty nature of existence, it comes and it goes, condition arising, causal phenomena.

Like the Buddha said: “Whatever that arise, there are causes and conditions behind; when causes and conditions ceased, it ceased to be”. So, it is just nature’s conditions evolving and moving, transforming. Only mighty Nature rolling by. When you silence your mind to observe, then you realize you don’t have to do anything to understand the above. So that is how you develop the meditative wisdom through the third (3rd) way.

Fourth (4th) Way to Overcome Negativity (unwholesome thought): After that you still need to cultivate the fourth (4th) way to develop the ultimate wisdom. The Buddha said, ‘Through the 4th way (which is also meditative), you can trace the origination factors of the wrong thought and retrospectively via wisdomreverse it to develop the ultimate wisdom. So that in future when you confront the same sense experience or similar nature of sense experience, you are no longer deluded because you are no longer with the wrong view; then you will not stir your mind anymore. The Buddha said: When you are silent, aware, mindful,you can investigate, observe, to trace the origination factor, or recollect through memory, how did you get angry? How did fear arise in you? Then you will come to a very clear understanding that it is through one of your sense doors. Either when you see somebody, you don’t like, or you hear something you don’t like, or you recall through memory something very negative (it could be your phobia or scars of memories that triggers off). Then you realize, at that moment, you stir your mind and develop “the fear” and “the anger” because of your wrong perception borne of wrong view.

So, you must reflect, contemplate, why did I do that? Yes. This is a habitual tendency. How does it come in and make me the way I am? How come I am so conditioned to do all these things? I am like a robot, very mechanical in my reaction to what I see, hear, smell, taste, think and tactilely feel. That is mindfulness leading to dharma understanding. So, The Buddha said: Trace the origination factors. Now that you have traced it coming through one of the senses, you can then via wisdom retrospectively reversed it. Which means - why can’t you accept that reality? Why can’t you see things as they are? Like what the Buddha always said: ‘Things are just the way they are. Conditions like that, things will be like that. Whatever that arise, there are causes and conditions behind’.

So, if I understand this Law of Dependent Origination, Paṭicca Samuppāda, then I will not have any more problems or doubt, because everything is just the way it is, condition arising, causal phenomena. I react and stir my mind because I have wrong view. So how can I straighten my view? So that I will not perceive him with negativity, so that I will not perceive whatever recollection through memory, to arise my phobia. I must develop the wisdom, the understanding, to be at peace. To do that, we must reflect and contemplate on what the Buddha had taught us. The Buddha always said: ‘Learn to see things as they are, not the way you perceive it. Not the way you are being conditioned into believing it, because that is wrong view’. Before you become enlightened, you will perceive things wrongly. You will create all the wrong thinking and the thought processes that conditioned you to stir your mind, react to sense experience and entangle yourself, to develop all the evil roots leading to all the karmic negativity and affliction. And this is how the true dharma is to be understood. How can I see things as they are? I must develop the understanding, right? That is why, to help cut short your training, I straight away teach you all the wisdom I had realized from my past cultivation. I always said, according to the dharma, every phenomenon has its universal characteristics of Aniccaṃ, Dukkhaṃ and Anattā. The Buddha also said: ‘Whatever that arise, there are causes and conditions behind, so they are just the way they are. So, if I can learn to ‘see things and people as they are’, then I can accept all situations and people for what they are. Which means it is no longer about right and wrong. And that Acceptance is not about I am agreeing with what they do. No! Acceptance here means accept them for what they are, accept whatever that arise, that reality. Because at that moment and that instant, the causes and conditions already fix (or decided), it must be this phenomenon, this arising, this reality (that has arisen). That is, this phenomenon and happening are there because of nature’s laws. So, if I accept first, it means I can be at peace, via my ability to see things as they are. I can accept the reality of the moment, I can accept “What Is”, but it doesn’t mean I can’t, or I don’t act. After that I can still act. So, acceptance through wisdom and right understanding, frees the mind. Then I start to reflect and contemplate; Ya, the Buddha is very wise! Why? Because He said: ‘Learn to see things as they are’. So, if I see things as they are, meaning I can see the world as it is, and I can see human beings the way they are, then I can be at peace to accept what is.

Then you all can also come to this profound realization as taught by me to you all. I.e., angry people do angry thing, deluded people do deluded thing, and selfish people do selfish thing. They are just the way they are, meaning I don’t condemn what they do. I don’t even fear what they do, I don’t even want to react or stir my mind because of what they do. I accept them for what they are, but I may not agree with what they do, because what they do may be delusional, is wrong action, that has the evil roots. That is how, they become what they are. So, when I accept through this Right View and Right Understanding, I can be at peace, then I can act.Act with what? – with Noble Eightfold Path. Because that is the meditation as taught by The Buddha under his 4th Noble Truth teaching.

The Buddha said: If you act according to Noble Eightfold Path, via cultivating its noble eightfold qualities, it will lead to the end of all suffering. So that is the answer, that is the wisdom, that is the way to live life, to act. That is why you must have the embodiment of the Noble Eightfold Path, starting with having the Right View to accept the reality of the moment, to be at peace first. Then when you are at peace, you don’t stir your mind, you don’t get angry, you don’t get emotional, and you don’t become fearful, then you will have clarity of mind, then you can act. Act with wisdom and understanding.

Then you inquire “how can I resolve this amicably?” How can I move on, how can I avoid negativity, meaning resolve all these amicably? So that nobody gets hurt, or nobody gets affected, or what our society says, “develop a win-win situation”, that is free of negativity. So, to resolve issues amicably, the only way is to follow Noble Eightfold Path. Because Noble Eightfold Path is the advice of The Buddha, which is basically Sīla, Samādhi and Paññā. When you have Noble Eightfold Path, you have the Right View leading to Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood and Right Effort, Right Sati and Samādhi. There is no negativity at all. You are incapable of evil; this one leads to wisdom. That is how the dharma teaching can become very powerful, very effective and it can solve every human problem. And it can let you develop the understanding. Then when you can see things as they are – meaning you can accept the reality of the moment, you are always at peace. No matter where you are, under any circumstances, any condition, any situation, you are always at peace with the wisdom. When you have that wisdom, to come to terms with the reality, to see things as they are and accept the reality of the moment, that is the most beautiful Dhamma understanding.

3.3.1.3 How to break (root out) habitual tendencies

These 3rd and 4th ways are both meditative ways needed to develop the understanding to free your mind, so that you no longer stir and react like before, - that is how you break your habitual tendencies, otherwise these habitual tendencies cannot be rooted out. Without wisdom, it will always be there. A lot of cultivators used to discuss this topic with me. They will ask, ‘Brother Teoh, the monkey mind is very, very cunning, and creative, sometimes they come through the back door!’ Such habitual tendencies are so difficult for them to root out because according to them, they keep on experiencing these emotions of anger, hatred, fears, worry and anxiety, phobias, etc. So, I told them the reason; it is because it has been there for so long, they are so conditioned until it has become so habitual, then to root it out demands a lot of understanding and wisdom. You must reflect and contemplate why you must root it out? Why is it so important that you must root it out? Because The Buddha already said: These are evil roots, root of all evils, it will make you evil; cause your karmic downfall. To cultivate the 3rd and 4th ways successfully one must first train one’s mind to develop a very stable daily mindfulness and awareness nature within. Otherwise, the 3rd and 4th ways cannot be cultivated.

3.3.1.4 Four right efforts to avoid all evil and cultivate wholesomeness

The four Right Efforts are very beautiful teaching. When you can apply the 1st right effort to abandon them (the wrong thoughts) through the third and fourth meditative ways (as described above), the 2nd Right Effort can then fall into place. The next time when you confront a similar sense experience then you can prevent it from arising because you have developed the initial wisdom and the understanding already. Because you know, no point reacting. Why React? Why stirs your mind? That is why the 2nd Right Effort can only be developed when you have the initial wisdom (Yoniso Manasikāra) developed. Then after that you can cultivate the 3rd Right Effort, to cultivate whatever virtues or right thoughts and wholesome thoughts that are still not in you. Then the 4th Right Effort of course is to refine upon whatever virtue, right thoughts that are already in you until you can perfect them all. These four Right Efforts when you cultivate them consistently, you become beautiful. Then you can develop the understanding to free your mind and after that you can meditate very easily.

3.3.1.5 To cultivate the sainthood way

You can then develop the silent mind to cultivate the Four Foundations of Mindfulness following the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness cultivation will lead you to the ultimate wisdom, to liberate your mind, to free your mind of all the ten fetters, even the last fetter of ignorance is also rooted out. Then all the other fetters of restlessness, self-conceit, attachment to whatever, all can be rooted out. That is how you realize arahantship or full enlightenment. Initially the enlightenment of the sainthood way, covering the first stage of sainthood, second stage of sainthood, or the third stage of sainthood, which are Sotāpatti, Sakadāgāmī, and Anāgāmī will be realized. Finally, you will realize the Arahanttaship. That is how you transcend birth and death, after that, no more birth and death through the normal deluded, ignorant way.

3.3.1.6 To cultivate the Bodhisattva way

Then if you have the conditions to go the Bodhisattva way, you can still come back. To go the Bodhisattva way, you must take the four basic vows of a Bodhisattva, you must plant the seed of Bodhi to arise the Bodhi mind, develop the faith, the sincerity, and the perseverance to go this way. And you must aspire strongly, out of love and compassion to develop the first basic vow of a Bodhisattva. Meaning you vow to take across all sentient beings, the limitless sentient beings throughout saṃsāra until they are all liberated, or take them across to the other shore, to realize Nibbāna. That one is out of love and compassion, to arise the pure mind,so that you can come again, so that you can take rebirth through a pure thought, a wholesome thought, with no more delusion or ignorance. This understanding is very profound and very much deeper than the ordinary cultivation of the sainthood way. This cultivation of the Bodhisattva way, following the Mahāyāna tradition is very different from that of the Theravāda tradition. Because it is as if not mentioned in their teaching at all, it is only briefly mentioned that the Buddha did it, that’s it; finished. But there is no teaching on how to develop it, how to cultivate and perfect it? Not until you go into the Mahāyāna teachings. Then all these are clearly explained or spelled out. So, these are the extra understanding which I hope will be useful for most of you.

Okay now I will continue with our sharing from the commentaries of this book. I will read the title again. When we give rise to an unwholesome thought, that thought destroys the seeds of goodness. This one I had explained. Similarly, the opposite is true. When we give rise to a wholesome thought, that thought destroys countless evil. As a cultivator we must understand this, properly and act appropriately.

3.3.1.7 Our intrinsic Buddha nature and True nature

Then according to the commentaries, it said: Everyone intrinsically has a pure, clear, and thoroughly undefiled treasure trove within. This is very true, because our Buddha nature, our true nature within is intrinsically pure, clear, and thoroughly undefiled. It is because of ignorance that conditions living beings to stir and arises the Mundane Mind. That’s how evil comes to be. Before that, there was none. That’s why you must meditate to realize that Buddha Nature, that true nature, that self-nature or your true mind, which is your silent mind. And the only one who can open-up your own treasure trove is you, which Is very true! Because the Form and Mind has the gateway to the treasure trove and only you, your 5 aggregates of Form and Mind can develop the understanding during the meditative training to realize that: and to open-up that treasure trove. That’s why you must realize that true mind, that self-nature, that Awareness Nature within. If you don’t touch it, you can never develop Wisdom. You can never understand the true teaching, the dhamma. That’s why the 1st Hall Mark of Hui Neng, is to realize “No Thought (无念)”. No thought means the Silent Mind. That Awareness Nature (which is without thought) is your true mind.Without thought you are already aware. That is your Nature. That is your True mind. It is so simple. To meditate is not to think, not to enquire or do anything. Instead, just relax and maintain awareness to realize our True Mind. Understand this and you will transform. That’s why this type of awareness-based meditation is very different. You straight away silence, relax, and maintain Awareness. Don’t have to do anything. That is the correct understanding and the correct way to do it. Okay, then I will read on and maybe you can understand better.

Only by looking within and uncovering this true nature can you manifest infinite wisdom. See, the Author also knows you must go within. Silent your mind and use that Awareness to see within. If you don’t go within, you cannot develop the understanding. If you don’t go within, you cannot realize that True Mind, that silent mind, that Nature within. And that is the one that can give rise to infinite wisdom. The Silent Mind can insight into phenomena, and awaken to the 3 universal characteristics of Aniccaṃ, Dukkhaṃ and Anattā. That Silent Mind can observe and develop the Wisdom needed to straighten our view after developing the understanding. It is the silent mind that can see things as they are and awaken. That’s why the silent mind is very important. That self-nature, the true nature, the Awareness Nature within is very important.

Then the Buddha comes into this world repeatedly to teach us the dhamma. He tells us all, repeatedly that we all intrinsically havethisBuddha-nature within, but we remain unaware of it and therefore cannot put it to good use. Why? Understanding this is very important because most human beings are deludedly caught up in their thinking. The thought processes. They do not realize that they have another Nature within, the True Mind, the silent mind. They thought, the Mundane Mind (the heedless thinking mind) is what they are. That’s how they get themselves deluded. And that one obscures their true nature, causing them to think a lot. That’s why they cannot realize that nature within. That nature can only surface or manifest when your thoughts stop. Living beings are so heedless, even when they sleep, they still have activity of mind. Their subconscious and unconscious mind, their phobia, everything else still moves. That’s why you tend to dream a lot, you cannot have a peaceful sleep. You cannot have a good, very well-developed type of sleep. When you sleep, if you have the dhamma understanding, to silence, your mind can relax in still awareness, to allow your nature to heal your body, so that you can recuperate and you wake up fresh as if you have rested very long. Initially you only need to be in the meditative state for 5 to 10 minutes. You will feel the big difference. Then later, you will know the body is just the body, and as it ages, you will need a longer period to recuperate, but it is beautiful. That’s why if you know how to meditate, it can make so much difference to the way you get to understand life, to live the meaningful life and how you get to maintain a relatively healthier physical body. Otherwise, it is not easy. That’s why normal human beings are completely heedless, lost in thought most of the time and they cannot do it. So, this understanding is very important.

I will read on:

So, as we learn the Buddha’s Way, we are learning the methods for uncovering this treasure trove within ourselves. In a way this is very true! “When we give rise to an unwholesome thought, that thought destroys the seeds of goodness.” If we give rise to a single unwholesome thought, the seeds of goodness cannot be planted in our minds. This is like when a field’s soil is littered with trash. This prevents the nutrients in the soil from being properly absorbed. Even if the field is tilled and seeds are sown, nothing will sprout. The same applies to the field of our minds. We need to diligently cultivate the mind so it will not give rise to any unwholesome thoughts. Otherwise, not only will the seeds of goodness not sprout and grow, but they will also be ruined.

So, like I always shared with you all, our mind is very important. A very good analogy is to use the analogy of your garden in your house (if you have some empty land). Do you know what a garden is? If you don’t take care of the garden and don’t weed it and trim it or clear the “lalang” or vegetation and allow it to be invaded by all these untidy undergrowth of weeds or wild plants, there is no way you can have a proper garden. So, to have a proper garden, you must look after it, manage it. Then initially, pull out the weeds and do the thing that you have to do.

To take care of the mind is the same. You must clear whatever unwholesome thought within, whatever wrong thought within. Then you must give it space, you must not clutter the mind with a lot of belief systems, tradition or taboo, superstition, rites, and rituals. Because all these prevent movement, prevent freedom. It's like you don’t have space to move. It is just like at home you have a table, if you put many things on the table or take the example of an altar is the best. If there is no space, you can’t even move, but if there is space, orderly, neatly, you can still put certain items, then you can still move around because there is space. Space is energy, allows freedom of action and movement. With space, there is also clarity. Then you can reflect, contemplate, your brain is not cluttered. So, space is what the mind needs. Especially space between thoughts. Space between whatever saṅkhāra or mental activities that arise. When there is space, there is beautiful pure energy from the Nature. When there is no space it means you are lost in thought, heedless, cluttered with all the ignorant, heedless thinking, giving rise to all the wrong thought. Space is Awareness. Space is silent, tranquillity, stillness, that is your True Mind, your silent mind, your nature. So, space is needed to realize the meditative mind. So, hopefully, with this understanding, it can help you all develop the cultivation.

Then I will read on and see what they have shared:

On the other hand, “when we give rise to a wholesome thought, that thought destroys countless evils.” If we can form and sustain a wholesome thought, even if we still have many habitual tendencies and unwholesome thoughts, these can be slowly eliminated. Then we will no longer be tainted by the negative causes that surround us and would have caused us to become more deeply ensnared. Since good and evil arise and cease in opposition to each other, when a bit of evil arises, a bit of goodness is destroyed. By continuing to sustain our wholesome thoughts, even evils as numerous as the sands of Ganges can be eliminated, one by one. This one is given as an analogy only. The actual happening is after you have developed wisdom, right view, and right understanding, only then it can root out all these. You don’t have to root it out one by one. It will just go when the wisdom is there. Before that, it may be very difficult.

The same applies to karma. It is often said, “we take nothing with us when we die, (来也空，去也空) only karma follows us to our next life.” The karma we have in this life is what we brought with us. If we can encounter good conditions, negative causes and conditions can be dispelled. But if we do not give rise to wholesome thoughts, even if we encounter good conditions, we will not be able to make use of them. That’s why you need to be heedful. Therefore, we must constantly nurture a wholesome state of mind. This is beautiful.

“New things constantly arise and cease, (which is very true) and then arise again.” continuing endlessly, to give rise to good and evil phenomena. So that is what Nature is. Within nature we can see the ups and downs of life. We can see phenomena. The way people perceive it, is all different. That’s why you will constantly give rise to duality which we call good and evil phenomena. The Buddha comes to this world to explain the difference between these two, so that we can cultivate the field of blessings with wisdom and good deeds.

So, this title is very unique, very special! If you understand, it will help you develop profound wisdom. When we go through life, when we observe nature, we realize every moment, every instance, new things arise. They constantly arise even within our own life, our own society, our own country, and the world. Every moment, every instance, phenomena arise, new things arise, and they continuously evolve, then there is a lot of dualities. All these arising and passing away will continue endlessly. That’s why you have this duality. Sometimes if things go your way, then there is joy, there is happiness and there is a celebration. When there is this good occasion to celebrate or do something wholesome it can give rise to joy and happiness.

But when there is a catastrophe, when there is war, riot or whatever; like what happened recently, I think a lot of bad weather, heavy flooding, natural disaster, and war happening everywhere. Then there is this political situation, scenario and crisis that arise due to world conflict, misunderstanding, economic problem, and humanitarian crisis, - the world is full of all these issues and problems.

So, how do we develop understanding to free our mind so that we can stand above all these? And made use of it to develop the wholesomeness to be a blessing to all and to improve on the totality of our planet’s consciousness. Like J. Krishnamurti said: “To arise change, the individual must change”. When the individual changes, the totality has a possibility of change. Unless the individual changes, the totality can never change. Because the totality is a massivemovement of forces, the collective consciousness which can condition the weak mind, the deluded, to move in certain pattern. That’s how a lot of cults with different views and opinions and racist ideology (like Trumpism) can arise to influence humanity and create a lot of problems for the world.

You look at the United States, they have so much problem, the racial problem, the various types of conflict between the politicians, religious groupings, and fanatics. You have the democrats and the republicans always fighting. Then you have the issue of too easy access to weapon possession, threatening the American public. Sometimes the individual can just, maybe because they have this funny thinking, they can just take out their weapon and shoot around. A lot of these illegal unlawful killings are happening. And this is happening very often, not a rare occasion, happening almost every week within the United States, even in some European countries. Then there are war-torn countries having conflict, civil war, and economic crisis. All these are happening in the world. So as a cultivator, as an individual, how do we develop understanding of all these and how do we move and act so that we can be a blessing to all. So, this is what the Dhamma is, the topic is. We will go back to the adapted verse.

In this world, whether in time, space, or among people, “new things constantly arise and cease.” Then arise again. Continuing endlessly to give rise to good and evil phenomena or duality. The Buddha comes to this world to explain the differences between the two. That’s how the Buddha's teaching becomes relevant and useful. So that we can cultivate the field of blessing to be a blessing to all. This field of blessing comes with wisdom and good deeds.

In this world, whether in time, space, or among people, “new things constantly arise and cease.” – this part we have gone through. The second that just passed may be said to have “ceased”. The second that follows can be said to be “arising.” The sentence I just spoke has ended, and the next sentence is now beginning. At every instant, new thoughts continue to arise and at the same time old thoughts continue to cease. In the world, in everything from people to matters to objects, “new things constantly arise and cease, and then arise again.”

3.3.1.8 Samsara, Karma and Afflictions due to Ignorance

In our daily living, things all around us are arising and ceasing every second, yet we are unaware of this because of heedlessness, because we lack awareness and mindfulness within. During the brief span of time between their birth and their death, the arising and ceasing of their lives, sentient beings continue to create karma, accumulate afflictions and ignorance, and be dragged along by karmic forces down the ever-flowing river of time (Saṃsāra). As a result, we constantly hear about and witness natural and manmade disasters as well as conflicts among people. This is an example of how things “continue on endlessly to give rise to good and evil phenomena.”

Okay I think we stop here.

3.3.2 Meditation reporting and Q & A session

Now I will open the class for meditation reporting and questions and answers session. You can also share whatever dhamma in daily life experience that you had. Whoever want to come in can just on the mic and come in.

Poh Cheng:Can I say something?

Bro Teoh: Can, Can, no problem.

Poh Cheng:It was said in the book, constantly there is this arising and ceasing phenomena happening, yet we are not aware of it. What I want to share is, during one of my so-called daily cultivations in daily life; you know this oximeter, right? I want to use the oximeter. But I have never really used it before. I just started to use it sometimes last week. It was with me, but I didn't go and put the battery and use it. So, I recently started testing it and trying it, to find out what my oxygen level was. So, I use it and put in my finger. Anyway, the manual’s words are too small to read, and my eyesight is also not good. So, I don't read it. I just do, test it myself, try it out. So, the reading shows like 97, sometimes 98, sometimes 99 percent.

Bro Teoh: That is good, reading above 95 is already good.

3.3.2.1 Feeling pulsations and vibrations

Poh Cheng:And then just a few days ago, I sit down and try. Then Brother Teoh, do you know what happened? Suddenly, the awareness at the finger, like you said, arising ceasing, arising ceasing, arising ceasing, so strong!

Bro Teoh: Sādhu. You can feel the vibration and the pulse there is because your whole body has the pulsation. We call it the pulse of life. That is our life force arising from our heartbeat. It triggers off and sends the blood to all the organs and locations within our body where there are these arteries and veins. So, all this pulsation or vibration, if you have trained your mind to be mindful, to be aware, you can feel them even when you lie down to rest. There is a lot of vibration within your entire body, not only the place that is in contact with the cushion or with the bed or with whatever you sit on, the couch or whatever. Even your heart area. The other tactile activities that are within you, you can feel them all. The vibration is very clear. That is why when you are sensitive, when put on the oximeter, you can sense it, the movements, the activities. Sādhu to you. So, you can feel them. Very good, sādhu.

Poh Cheng:Yes, I don't know what the oximeter is doing. It's just a black box to me. But when I put the finger in, instead of the oximeter giving me a reading, I am reading my own pulsation. Do you know what I mean? It was like as long as I can feel it, it keeps on pulsating. It is rising, ceasing, rising, ceasing.

Bro Teoh: Your ability to have such sensitivity to be aware, is very good. That is why when I read the sharing from this book (Essence of Infinite Meanings: Teachings on the Adapted Verses of the Sutra of Infinite/Innumerable Meanings), that verse that says, ‘the phenomena, they keep on arising…’ you straight away can understand. But most people are hardly aware. They don't really perceive it or know what is happening. They are mostly too busy thinking, planning, heedless and worrying about life so much so they never live. So, that meaning is very deep. If you are not aware, it means you existed through life. Indirectly, you are not awake (living life). You may be conscious of life, but you are not aware, which means, you are not really living life because to me, to live life is to be aware; then only you live. Otherwise, you are lost in thought, heedless. You are not aware. Not aware means heedless or indirectly unconscious of what life is. So, that understanding is very important. I used to share this understanding with Kalyāṇamittas in the early days. I said, you may be conscious that you are alive but are you aware of life? Meaning, are you truly aware and living life? Most people never live life. Why? Because they are heedless, they are lost in thought, they are hardly aware. So, I always use the word, they existed through life. “Gong gong tua, gong gong chiak, gong gong si” (In hokkien with meaning: growing up with delusion; deluded while living life; and die deluded too. 傻傻的长大，傻傻的生活/ 吃，傻傻地死去.) They exist, they go through all these phases of life, but they are not aware. That is why they are not living life.

Unless you have the dhamma, you are aware, and conscious. Then you can truly live life. You can experience all the pristine beauties and wonders of life - every moment and every instant. Your mind is completely silent, aware and with the moment, not lost in thought, not agitated, not worrying here, worrying there, thinking here thinking there, then stirring here and there, creating all the emotions. Sometimes you laugh, sometimes you cry. The reaction to sense experience is so strong. The duality keeps on arising, like and dislike, pleasant and unpleasant. All this is heedless living. This is not true living. True living is when you are fully aware, in charge of your life. When you can understand things so clearly, you have that understanding, the wisdom, the dhamma and you can understand what the true nature is, the wisdom that is connected to it and what those five aggregates of form and mind is, what thinking is, what saṅkhāra is, what the karmic process is. Then you will know how to use it to live the meaningful life. That is why I always say, the highest wisdom is to understand that the form and mind is a karmically conditioned “vehicle and a tool” for us to come to this existential world. So, use it and do not be deluded by it. Like what the Fifth Patriarch told Hui Neng. And when Hui Neng heard that, he immediately came to a great awakening. My nature also can understand what this thing was before I even read this “Sixth Patriarch Platform Sutra”. That is why when I saw it on the internet, I knew that was the correct translated version. The other versions, I will know is not so correct. That version that I choose and share in the Heart Sutra is the correct version, - so far, that version is the best and I only amended a bit of the English words. Most of it was beautiful because to translate from dhamma into English is not easy. Translating it into Mandarin is easy because Mandarin is a dhamma language. But English is not so easy because English is a language that is not so spiritually orientated and conducive for spiritual communication, elaboration, and explanation. So, to express it in English when you translate, the meaning may not come up clearly unless you have the understanding within your nature; or the profound understanding of its deep meaning, when the mandarin words are used.

That is why all these are so beautiful. Then I take that internet source, that version, because the other versions were less accurate. The first two versions sent to me were not correct, the explanation did not really reflect its true meaning, my nature understands and knows. Then I suddenly clicked onto the internet’s “Six Patriarch Platform sutra” link, and I so coincidentally came across this version which is very good. Then I modified it a bit and shared it in the “Heart Sutra” text. That is why the sharing turned out to be very good. Very good, Sister Poh Cheng, sādhu to you.

3.3.2.2 Feeling heartbeat, qi, and warmth

Yoon Chun:I just want to add on to what Sister Poh Cheng mentioned. I have experienced this before, for a while. I can feel the heartbeat and after a while, the heartbeat sends the chi to the palms. Then I can feel the warmth in the palm. I can also feel the warmth that goes to…

Bro Teoh: Can you feel the vibration in your palm area? That one is more important. You tend to be more sensitive to the chi flow. Yes, I think you have been trained in reiki.

Yoon Chun:I can feel, it is the heartbeat that sends, …

Bro Teoh: Correct, that is the life force. Life force triggers off that pulsation. They call it the pulse of life. Then, this one can be transformed into heat energy or whatever energy, and they can also be translated into vibration within your palm. That is why I asked you, can you feel the vibration within your palm? All the vibration.

So, next time you try, you just put your palm on the floor or on your bed or on anything. Initially you need to feel something to feel the vibration but later without putting on anything, you can also feel it. Wherever you locate your awareness, you can feel it. That is why, for those who have really train their mind, the “awareness nature” is very stable already; then wherever you put your awareness, you can feel everything, and the mind is like an X-ray. And of course, you cannot see, but you can feel the sensation, the vibration. And which part of the brain is being responsible for that movement, that activity. That is why we can feel our body’s condition very well. With the “awareness”, you can know many things.

What you experience is also good, and you are more sensitive towards “chi” because you used to do reiki.

Yoon Chun: Ya, last time.

Bro Teoh: Then, later, you can try to feel the vibration or pulse on your palm. Initially, put it on the ground or on the cushion where you sit, then silent your mind to feel.

Yoon Chun: I can feel the vibration on the palm.

Bro Teoh: Oh, very good, if you can feel it. Which means you know how to be silent. If you are not silent, you cannot feel at all because of the saṅkhāra activity, the thinking which is actively moving. But when you are completely silent, you become sensitive. That is why you can feel it, especially on the floor because the floor is more cooling and the vibration becomes very distinct, very clear. Then, later, you can feel it on any cushion or surface. Then, finally the true sensitivity is when you don't put on anything, you just silently relax and maintain awareness. Then you develop the awareness of your palm area, you can feel it. So, all these are exercises of awareness that you can do. That is why when you are at rest waiting for someone or resting, you just stay “silent”; then you can feel all these movements and vibrations. Initially it is very gross, then as you allow it to be, don't do anything; it is like slow down... slow down... slow down. Then it becomes more and more subtle, more and more subtle. Then later, very quiet, very still until no more saṅkhāra, no more thought activity and movement. Then you experience a type of tranquillity, stillness within your mind. That is meditation. Do give it a try and do all these exercises and see how it goes. Then maybe later, you will be able to share a lot more of this beautiful happening. Very good, Yoon Chun, you can continue.

3.3.2.3 Question on cultivating Daily Mindfulness

Yoon Chun: Let's say for daily mindfulness, we are doing something, and you are concentrating on what you are doing and then you forget to be aware of your bodily movements ….

Bro Teoh: Oh yes, I understand what you mean. You are in the initial stage of your cultivation. You are trying to be aware and yet want to do things. I already told you, you can only do one thing at a time. So, when you are trying to understand something, you are aware from inside, your awareness is there. When you are aware from inside, you can continue with your thinking, your planning, your reflection, your contemplation but it is a creative process, you are not lost in thought at all.

Any movement, any activity, the awareness is there. You want to be aware; you can be aware but most of the time is like “specific phenomena awareness”. Your awareness and the thing you are doing just move together as one; so, it will not disrupt your whatever planning or things that you are doing. Like when you cook, you can still be aware and cook very well, because you are able to do it with that understanding and training. The moment you are silent, you are already aware, so don’t try to be aware. What you are doing is, you are trying to be aware, then you recall that you have totally lost your ability to be aware of your bodily actions and movement because you think that is meditation. Having that thought is quite important, which is not wrong; but the actual understanding is not to go and allow the thought to come in and want to be aware. When the thought wants to be aware it cannot be aware. You only need to remember to silent and relax. So, when you train, you just determine to be mindfulness of all your actions and movements, maintain that ability to be aware first. Only, after you have trained until the awareness is very stable, only you can move on to the next step of developing awareness while walking, while driving, while doing things. Do you understand, Yoon Chun?

Yoon Chun:Yeah ah. Yes! (acknowledging)

Bro Teoh: Actually, before you stabilize your daily mindfulness, you cannot do it. That’s why I know why you have such a problem. Like you explain, when you are concentrating on something, or trying to resolve something; your thoughts take over completely and make you heedless because you have not developed the stability of “daily mindfulness” to enable you to be aware from within (the heart area). That’s why I always advice, when you need to stabilize that mindfulness, you train to stabilizeit first. How do you stabilize it? Listen again, this one will help you, Yoon Chun.

A Lot of people are like you trapped at that level. First in the formal meditation, silence everything, even if you are doing rising-falling or ānāpānasati, etc. Just Relax, maintain awareness, and develop ānāpānasati until that breathing becomes very subtle and very still. Until the mind enters sati. When the mind enters sati, you become very different, and your form and mind will know. You must stabilize the awareness until that level.

Even if you stay at the heart area, is also the same. Meaning: you need to stabilize the awareness of your heartbeat until it becomes very subtle and very still. Whatever meditation you do is also the same, if you can maintain the awareness then you are doing it correctly. It can be anywhere within your body (kāya). Or you can do your walking, or you can be in a lying down posture or bowing movements to do your awareness/mindfulness training. When you do all these training to stabilize the mindfulness/awareness until body and mind becomes one (move as one in complete synchrony), that is the stability of mindfulness that you must have, then there is no more issue of “like you want to be mindful”. Then suddenly you realize, how come all your actions and movements; the awareness is with it. It's like the awareness is a part of you already, automatic already. That is the stability you need.

When “the mind has entered sati”, you will know because when you come out of it, all your movements are like “magnified”. All your actions and your movements, even the slightest shift or movement is like “magnified”. Then the awareness is all the time there. Then you realize, last time you cannot be aware, now strangely the phenomena and awareness can be seen to move as one. When you come out of the formal meditation, like the Buddha says, the four (4) postures, from lying down to arising, sitting to standing, the awareness is always there. Then not only while walking, but whatever you do the awareness is always there. You must reach that stability first, then only you can translate it into driving, going to office and everything else. That awareness training you must develop it in stages. You must realize it, stabilize it. That’s why the daily religion routine is important. Determine to be aware throughout the day, - whatever you do. Initially you cannot be aware, never mind. Just do. Like playing badminton. Initially the stroke is very clumsy; like not skilful, not graceful, not smooth, never mind. Try, keep on trying until suddenly the stroke becomes very graceful. Daily mindfulness is the same, when you can be silent and determined to be awareof every action, every movement in the present moment, then the daily mindfulness will come.

The other way is through formal meditation. Silent until the mind becomes very quiet, very still, very subtle and the object of meditation becomes very subtle, very still until the mind enters sati. All mindfulness training is the same. When your formal meditation reaches that stage, its result is the same as your daily mindfulness development. And when you come out of the formal meditation you can see your mindfulness/awareness and other movements acting and moving together as one entity. So that is the stability that you need to establish. That is why it is not easy but can be done. And I did it within two weeks when I was determined to be aware in 1989. Then I realized after that, my awareness is with me all the time.

Then later when my mundane mind collapses, I don't have to do anything already because that nature has shine forth. And the specific phenomena awareness and the spacious awareness without a centre becomes a part of me already, automatic awareness; like that mundane mind is completely gone. At that time, I also don't know what happens to that mundane mind. I just know there is nothing to cloud my nature already. The gross mundane mind with a lot of images and saṅkhāra movements is gone. That's why in everything I do, I’m in that silent awareness. That is why my nature can be aware of so many things, it is very sensitive. But no need to know everything. Why do you want to know everything?

A lot of information is not necessary, but you are sensitive, you are aware, that's why I can see signs, I can feel signs, I can understand many things including what a particular form and mind is going through. From their feelings, their sensations, their expression, and the way they express themselves, my nature can know roughly what the likely cause of their present conditions are.

That is the understanding and sensitivity that this nature can have, when the awareness within is so stable. Then of course it comes with the wisdom borne of cultivation and when my nature inherits from my past all these understanding come back to my nature. Then together with the form and mind, it animates and manifests into what you call Brother Teoh, this life’s segmented form and mind of mine. But that nature within, behind is different. That nature is like any of the cultivator’s nature.Even Guan Yin has his nature, all the great beings, they have their nature. So, my form and mind also have that nature behind. All these as you go through the cultivation, you will come to understand. You will develop all this understanding that you can hardly find in books. And I also believe you cannot hear from another cultivator unless that cultivator also has that understanding and ability, which is very hard to come by, very advanced, and very beautiful. It is not easy to encounter cultivators who have all these understanding because these are not the normal Dhamma that you can find in textbooks. It is about cultivation, perfections, mindfulness, and awareness development. These are all words, but the actual thing is so different.

That is why after my explanation to you today, if you can listen to it again attentively, like what Song has done you will progress very fast. Listen to it attentively, over and over again. Then slowly, when you reflect, and contemplate on them, do the cultivation, the understanding will come to you, then you will progress very fast.

Without the “daily mindfulness” it is very difficult. A lot of the things I share, for people without that stability of daily mindfulness, they cannot penetrate, cannot go in “deep enough” to develop the true understanding. Today’s sharing is very good and will help you a lot, Sister Yoon Chun.

Yoon Chun:Okay, thank you Brother Teoh.

3.3.2.4 People being unhappy with life

Chin How:Recently I encountered one thing which is very strange, - ‘a lot of people are not happy with their life’.

Bro Teoh: Oh Sādhu! That is a very profound discovery.

Chin How:Yes, when I ask them if there is a next life, will you come? A lot of them say, they don't want to come.

Bro Teoh: Hahaha! Because they are so fed up with life, they don't see happiness in life. They don't see a reason to come back. These are people who don't have Dhamma understanding. Please continue. Very good.

Chin How:I mean they are seeing a lot of suffering, regardless of whether they are young or old. Even elderly people, because they notice that life is no longer the same as it was in the past, you can see society and the value system has changed so much.

Bro Teoh: Yes, it's very stressful for them. They cannot cope with what is happening. So that stress makes them miserable, frustrated, and unhappy. It is like everything is not right. The world is so competitive and like there is no place for them and there is so much problem. What you say is very true. In fact, 90% of human beings are like that, suffering, miserable, unhappy. Very seldom you can find one, genuine one, who has the understanding who can tell you that life is beautiful, meaningful. You please continue.

3.3.2.5 Career problem, Life struggles and Depression

Chin How:The other one that I encounter, is a lady friend. She is working in a big corporate company. She is going through a lot of office politics ….

Bro Teoh: Ya! Ya! That one also causes a lot of stress, mental energy wastage, proliferation of mental thinking. And a lot of negative emotion.

Chin How:And she is quite soft. She is not that aggressive type. She was like being bullied, taken advantage of, until she wanted to learn to be like those kinds of cunning characters in the drama (those that can fight back) I don't know how to talk to her because I also understand her feelings. Mainly because she has been taken advantage of in that kind of corporate environment. People want to present the best of themselves. They “stab” each other and a lot of them only “talk without action” or doing or working on it. If you don't know how to talk your way out ….

Bro Teoh: The corporate sector has a lot of this type of people, they can put on a strong impression and talk their way out of situations. And sometimes they take advantage of the situation. I mean that is life, that is the career, corporate sector and I have heard about corporate sector, and it is not easy to survive because there is a lot of politics, backstabbing, very competition environment, and a lot of other problems associated with work environment, and sometimes their life will be threatened. If you put too much emphasis on your job security you will be afraid, frustrated, and unhappy and like what your friend had described to you, she is a soft and timid type, not the aggressive type (not like sister PG). Sister PG is small size but can take care of herself very well.

So, she doesn't have that ability but for you, if you want to help her, you can apply the Dhamma provided she is willing to listen because life is not about competing. It is not about trying to be better and all those ugly career related things. Life is to be understood so that we will live honestly. Do your best. I always tell people who are working, try your best, do your best as long as you are sincere and true to yourself, there is no need to fear. That is why take care of Karma, Karma will take care of your life. That is, it. If you don't have any negativity, nothing will harm you, unless it is a past karmic thing.

Then a lot of this thing they must understand. It is like what the Buddha said, “whatever arises there are causes and conditions behind and most of it is Karma related”. The Buddha states under his fifth (5th) daily contemplation very clearly: “We are all born of our karma, heir to our karma, conditioned and supported by our karma. We are what we are because of our karma”. So very likely, it is all karmic related.

So, when you say that, they may understand. You can explain by telling her, very likely you face this type of boss or this type of superior or this type of colleague, is because in the past you also created this type of stress to others. So now you become the victim, the condition is reversed via karma (you reap what you sow). So, you must resolve all these work issues amicably via dhamma way. If she is willing to listen and develop some understanding then maybe you can help, otherwise just let things be. If there is no condition, just let things be. Just listen to them; then see how it goes. Also provided you yourself have the ability, otherwise there is not much impact as far as I know.

So, it all depends. If they really want to develop some form of understanding, the Dhamma can help them, the Dhamma can give them solutions and understanding. And life need not be that way, suffering need not be.Career is career, life is life. So, those two, they are independent. But when you have Dhamma, you can have both, career, and life. You will know when to retire. When to stop, otherwise human beings, they are caught in between. On the one side, they say they need the money, the salary, the pay. On the other side, they feel the stress, they feel the pressure, they feel the unhappiness within the corporate environment, the politics etc.

So, for those who don’t have the Dhamma or the right view and the right understanding, they will react, they will stir, they will project their thoughts to trigger offfear, worry, anxiety, phobia, and job insecurity. Then at night they cannot sleep, develop insomnia, fear, worry, anxiety, phobia, and stress, etc. So, that is the reason why most people are unhappy with their career, their life, with whatever they do. Maybe with this sharing it can help you develop more understanding to see how you can help her the next time. Okay Chin How. Before we continue, I want to find out, how is your sister’s covid 19 situations?

Chin How:Oh, she fully recovered already.

Bro Teoh: Oh, that is good news, so continue to take care.

Chin How:And then back to the topic. Like you say, I want to talk to her, but I see there is no condition at this moment...

Bro Teoh: Then let it be.

Chin How:There is no condition and then I also reflected, when I was younger, in my 20’s or 30’s, I also went through all these kinds of similar issues. At that time, the very hot topic, I tend to read and follow, is the topic on “how to be successful” ...

Bro Teoh: Yeah, motivation stuff and all those career improvement seminars ...

3.3.2.6 See purpose in Living Life

Chin How:And now I'm so glad that I follow the right way, the right path, the dhamma way, otherwise ...

Bro Teoh: That is why with the Dhamma you become different, you see things very differently, do things very differently. Not only you have understanding, but you also have contentment because of your clear dhamma understanding. You are very contended with life, and more appreciative of life because you understand life differently. Not following the old thinking, the traditional conditioned thinking of most people to chase after materialistic success at the expense of one’s health and life.

They want to be successful, so they are like that. Who is that young man that got depression? What is his name? The one that came to the Thursday class, saw me, and recovered, ah, Eric. Do you remember? He used to share with us how he was so badly affected because according to him half of his life was trapped in severe depression with suicidal thoughts. He went through those depression phases that he can never understand. He can’t understand why his life is like that, until he finally even came to “believe” what the mother had told him may be true, - like ‘maybe he is “stupid”, maybe he is not upto the mark or whatever ‘

So, when you have such a situation the mind becomes so confused, so conditioned, so trapped by the cocoon of depressive thoughts and they cannot break free. So, you finally need the Dhamma. That is why when I explain to him about memory, then he starts to understand how the accumulated fear, phobia, and various wrong thoughts caused him suffering and misery. Because these are all wrong thoughts, thoughts with the evil roots that condition his misery, his suffering, his unhappiness. Then he starts to understand because he held on to those wrong thoughts he deposited in his memory. And they became very strongly accumulated memories that trigger off the wrong thoughts via response to those psychological memory of fear, sorrow, lamentation, scars of memories, insecurity, and phobia, etc. And whenever he recalled through those memory, those unconscious and subconscious phobias always spring out; like the words of his mother telling him off, then being scolded by the boss, etc. So, all these are the mind states of living beings who don't have the Dhamma understanding. And, they will continue to go through all these, until they can meet somebody who can help them understand all these. So I use the Dhamma to explain to him in layman terms, using normal day to day language, like the type that J. Krishnamurti used. He understood and he came out of depression. That's why it can be done. So, all these are possible.

3.4 The End – closing puja

Okay so we shall end our today’s sharing. Let us rejoice one more time. Sādhu! Sādhu! Sādhu! Then we will chant the closing puja.

Table of Contents

(Biodata of Bro. Teoh Kian Koon)

1 Preface

2 Acknowledgement

3 Lesson 71 of the Sutra of Infinite Meanings (Dated 24th August 2021)

3.1 Pre Pūjā chanting and sharing

3.2 Awareness-based Meditation

3.3 Post Meditation Dhamma sharing

3.3.1 Sharing from Essence of Infinite Meanings

3.3.1.1 How to recognize unwholesome thought (Defilements)

3.3.1.2 Five ways to overcome unwholesome thoughts

3.3.1.3 How to break (root out) habitual tendencies

3.3.1.4 Four right efforts to avoid all evil and cultivate wholesomeness

3.3.1.5 To cultivate the sainthood way

3.3.1.6 To cultivate the Bodhisattva way

3.3.1.7 Our intrinsic Buddha nature and True nature

3.3.1.8 Samsara, Karma and Afflictions due to Ignorance

3.3.2 Meditation reporting and Q & A session

3.3.2.1 Feeling pulsations and vibrations

3.3.2.2 Feeling heartbeat, qi, and warmth

3.3.2.3 Question on cultivating Daily Mindfulness

3.3.2.4 People being unhappy with life

3.3.2.5 Career problem, Life struggles and Depression

3.3.2.6 See purpose in Living Life

3.4 The End – closing puja