This talk / Q&A was originally posted on Ven. Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu’s YouTube Channel. To watch it on YouTube kindly click here.
07:51 How do you stay focused during meditation? I try to focus but I feel like I keep getting distracted by my thoughts?
09:53 I've been meditating 2 hours per day and some trauma has been uncovered. I've started feeling very depressed. Should I take a break?
12:12 I use a lamp instead of the breath to combat falling asleep when doing lying meditation. Is progress in your tradition possible with this technique?
12:44 I see a lot of different things (sensations, vibration etc..) during one movement (for example lifting, or raising). Is that ok to feel many different things for one noting?
13:28 What if a feeling arises which has no word? Or we don't know about it, so how can we form a mantra?
13:52 Is it advisable to start by observing the inner feelings of the body?
14:12 When performing Prostration Meditation “touching, touching, touching” do I actually touch physically 3 times the spot, or do I place my hand on the spot and think to myself “touching, touching, touching”?
14:52 I see the chaotic nature of reality. So it seems impossible to see clearly because it arises and ceases so fast. Is there a point where it is possible to see each arising and ceasing? Is it the goal?
15:37 How do you advise to get the most out of the meeting of the course? I am afraid of disturbing with stupid questions (or too personal, maybe). Any tip on how to draw the line in a beneficial way?
17:22 When meditating how do I note thoughts? They are not happy sad past or future thoughts; just stories.
17:49 I have never broken the 5th precept, yet am constantly peer-pressured to do so. People often cite my total lack of experience to incite me to try drugs/alcohol. How should I think or respond to this?
21:13 How is it possible to see each arising/passing away when the Visuddhimagga says there are millions of arising/passing away each second?
23:52 I'm used to feeling the breath at my nostrils during meditation. Now that I’m watching the belly instead should I redirect to the belly during the day when my attention comes back to the nostrils.
24:42 I am very much attached to my ego which causes me a great deal of suffering. How can I dissolve my ego?
26:04 As you go along with the path, do you find yourself feeling suffocated by people around you?
26:30 How to keep awareness of death every moment?
28:38 As I along with the path, would I find myself feeling suffocated by people around me?
30:49 Any paranoia about the practice should be labeled as "worry", right? The observation should feel natural and easy while as precise as possible, for example not putting too much pressure on the label?
32:15 Is it okay to breathe through the mouth occasionally? Especially when one has a cold or is it harmful?
33:25 Should I investigate and cultivate kindness towards myself when there are recurring painful thoughts, like a particular memory or regret?
34:22 Sometimes I apply effort, yet I can't see clearly, while other times clear-seeing is easy. I see this as impermanence, however: Should I try to always see clearly? How so, if effort does not always help?
35:58 When should I note seeing, and when the reaction of seeing?
36:29 Is Vedana based entirely on the body? You often mention “mental” pain and pleasure but I don’t quite understand what those terms refer to.
38:22 What is the procedure for noting swallowing during meditation? I find myself needing to swallow a lot during walking meditation.
39:24 Sometimes I don't know if, with labelling, I'm actually forcing the foot, like giving an order instead of noting. With breath, it's more clear when we are forcing it. How would you discern when walking?
40:15 Would meditation affect my drive? I work in an environment that's very competitive and I decided to take up meditation to deal with stress better. But I am a bit worried that it would reduce my drive. I work in an environment that's very competitive and I decided to take up meditation to deal with stress better. But I am a bit worried that it would reduce my drive.
43:39 If I as a meditator have very much physical pain all the time, is it better to be mindful of it, rather than dulling the pain with medication?
44:47 How to pass from walking to sitting? As a beginner, just bending touching crossing (the legs) touching sitting would be ok?
45:27 Is there any need to seek teaching from only one school of Buddhism? I am asking because I find many beneficial teachings in all the different schools of Buddhism.
47:20 Is it harmful speech to talk to amuse oneself?
48:27 Is it right speech as long as your intention of speaking is good?
50:52 Buddha taught that we don’t need the total cessation of suffering to experience the proper joys of the present. So is it correct to say that meditation is the practice of relieving self-judgement?
52:24 Did the Buddha ever give instruction on how to meditate?
53:29 Is it possible to not react even with a body in constant very bad condition? I feel it is possible but I'm not sure.
54:46 I have been practicing meditation one hour per day. I'm a smoker. Does meditation, in a certain moment, help me not to break the precept? I feel a lot of guilt for smoking.
55:59 Ahimsa towards all creatures is important, I have become vegan but cannot help killing mosquitoes! How do I abstain from killing them with so many people suffering from mosquito-related diseases?
56:29 Is this practice a more narrow context than mahasi lineage? i find encouraging for the practice hearing mahasi students teaching the same method with different personality
58:44 Would it be ok to incorporate your simple samatha meditations as described in your how to meditate videos for kids into the practice?
1:00:26 End
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