This talk / Q&A was originally posted on Ven. Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu’s YouTube Channel. To watch it on YouTube kindly click here.
01:25 On the topic of... Nothing Worth Clinging To
15:40 I'm having trouble discerning "sitting" after rising and falling. Maybe I'm overthinking it...? Is it the same as a touching point in a sense? I find the latter much easier. Is this expected?
16:22 Is it fine to note with emphasis on letting go of individual cravings or feelings to get rid of the hindrances? Or is it better to use my time to investigate the characteristics of reality?
17:25 How can I deal with extreme states of overwhelming and stress in the mind and body during practice? Should I pick one thing and focus on it even though everything happening feels so strong and overwhelming?
18:09 Sometimes I feel like I'm going to fall backwards but I have trouble discerning the physical feeling from the thought that I feel like I'm falling backwards. Should I just note knowing?
19:07 Lately if I get pulled from the object, I tend to recognize that I'm distracted, and I note distracted, rather than recognizing what distracted me, like hearing, pain, etc. Is this ok?
19:41 Is there a distinction to be made between everything you notice and everything that pulls you away from your object and should be noted?
20:14 In regards to the intention toward the practice, what does it means to practice with an ardent attitude (atapi sampajano satima)? How would you recommend to somehow get ready for the meditation session?
22:59 After a week of practicing a lot of meditation, as soon as I was going to get sleep I experienced some sort of “invasion” like a spirit talking to me (the best way I can discribe it) is this common?
24:51 When noting, I often get caught up in finding the right word to describe what I'm experiencing; this feels distracting. How do I avoid this? Should I stick to a limited set descriptors?
25:53 When the mind ts hyperactive after some achievements (a positive development), I find myself reliving it so acutely that it dominates most of the meditation session. Noting doesn’t work. How to remedy this?
28:17 The main obstacle I find is aversion, I find it everywhere, in sadness, boredom, worry etc. It feels like I have aversion of aversion, too! Should I just continue observing this or adjust something?
29:23 I understand we should not cling, and that we should live in present. Still the brain cannot escape memories and it is been 3 years of heartbreak and still cannot move on. How do I forget and move on in life?
30:58 Is it right practice to not resist falling asleep while sitting? Just like we don't try to solve anything?
33:31 Without some resolve to stick with an object to a small extent, I find that I jump around from object to object, and never clearly see anything, only creating stress and bad habits. Do you have any advice?
34:40 Wouldn't clinging to Nibbana and goodness be a good guide on this path?
37:27 I notice with greater and greater clarity than ever that attention is like a pinball, and noting "distracted" does not usually slow it down, so I simply try to follow the basic instruction. Is that fine?
38:42 I've been clinging to flesh desires. I can keep it under control for two or three weeks, but after that it feels just as eating and sleeping, you need it to stay alive. How do I let go of attachment to bodily desire?
41:38 In sitting meditation, should one always return to the breath after noting something and it having disappeared, or is there leeway for noting many things sequentially?
42:04 Through my noting, I have noticed that the only thing I now feel is relevant to look at in my practice is my feelings towards things, so nothing else is of any importance to me. Is this right view?
43:03 What is "right effort" in meditation? Often I feel as if I should "put more effort" into sending the mind out - Should this be noted as simply ‘thinking’ or ‘wanting’?
43:30 When observing ‘rising’, the image of my stomach rising pops up in the mind. How can we stop mental proliferation so that rising becomes rising alone and not imagination of “stomach is rising"?
46:59 Is meditation of the breath, as it enters and leaves the nostrils, as effective as meditation on the rising and falling of the stomach? Sometimes I don't feel my belly move, even when laying down.
48:03 When letting go of things like opinions, I often feel like like I’m being too apathetic or stepped on or used by others. How should I work on these feelings?
50:13 How can something be prominent and something else be less prominent if experience is momentary? Wouldn't it be collective moments of prominence? I'm not trying to be pedantic, just trying to understand.
51:43 How do you overcome fear while meditating?
54:04 Yesterday in the practice it felt like every moment of observation had its own "life" and realm, my reaction was "oh!" so I noted "surprised" and "knowing", could I catch other things to note too?
55:22 If you are suppose to have right thought which is about seeing reality for what it is and not what we think it is, then why do you often talk about past lives and reincarnation. Isn't that a belief?
56:49 Will I attain Nibbana by observing rising and falling alone?
57:45 Can I reach a state of enlightenment by practicing daily what is taught in the at-home course, or will my progress be stunted if I cannot make it to the centre for the more advanced course offerings?
58:46 Sometimes I experience all my senses like just one big sense door, and then I only note feeling, feeling. Is this a good moment to go back to the stomach?
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