This talk / Q&A was originally posted on Ven. Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu’s YouTube Channel. To watch it on YouTube kindly click here.
01:38 Meditate Together
15:34 How do our past experiences and memories affect our meditation progress? I'm not regular in my practice.
17:52 What can be done to stop being lazy and falling back to bad habits?
19:59 I've been noting for while & recently noticed that certain conceptual feelings like anxiety is a sensation like heat or pressure arising and me projecting it to the supposed thing that triggered it. Should I still note the conceptual feelings or note the sensations that are masked under the feeling? These days, all I note is "heating" or "pressure" (as in difficulty breathing) when it arises.
22:07 I find myself thinking ahead to remember the next touch point while I am still noting sitting. Is this from staying with the sitting for too long? Should I note this as knowing or something else?
22:53 How to work up more urgency towards meditation inside oneself? Should we scare ourselves into meditation?
24:36 When I am walking outside (not meditating) I want to stay mindful so I note each step as “walk" and "ing". Is this a suggested way to stay mindful of the body when not meditating?
25:37 What are some good, healthy thoughts to cultivate throughout the day?
28:16 What is the so-called "Transition Zone"?
28:39 Is swearing unethical?
33:34 If we haven't seen Nibbana, what drives us to begin practice and keep practicing? Is it desire? Do we note this desire to practice?
35:41 How does one distinguish the mental from the physical sensations when noting when they all seem one? Isn't the mental just thoughts or concepts? Aren't they just perspective and have no real reality?
38:38 When I note "thinking", I notice that my attention naturally goes just outside and above my head to the right. Is there anything wrong with my mind placing its attention there when I note "thinking" ?
39:34 I try practicing walking meditation according to your booklet, but I find it very hard to stay mindful and noting while walking. My mind keeps wandering. Do you have any advice other than practicing?
40:54 Should we practice being conscious while asleep and dreaming?
41:31 I’ve been meditating for a while and I feel like it changed my life very positively, but as the time passes by I feel I’m disconnected from myself. I’ve gotten bored, or my mind comes up with excuses. Why does my mind get bored or come up with excuses not to meditate? Should I try other meditation methods? Is there a better suggestion?
43:11 Can consistent meditation practice give us the ability to see past lives or any other supernatural powers?
44:07 Is it wrong to give punishment for evil or unfavored deeds, and is it comparable to causing suffering itself? Like the man who stole, or the dog that bites: is punishing them equally wrong?
45:26 Is compassion a form of craving, since it’s a desire for the well-being of others? What makes ill-will a hindrance in mindfulness but not compassion or kindness?
47:35 To be too harsh with oneself, ruminating auto-defeating things, or exaggerating perceived defects and in lucid moments recognising that you're lying to yourself: could this be a violation of the fourth precept?
49:24 Should I note the experience and reaction or note the feeling? For example: when I note fear, there is a physical sensation like heat, and the is a reaction to both the physical and mental.
50:11 Any advice on how to live one's life?
51:30 Does enlightenment evolve, or remain the same forever?
52:01 What is metameditation?
52:49 I would like to eat meat, but I don't want to take a life. I have considered switching to eggs to get my daily amino acids but I still crave seafood and meat. Can I eat animals that die of natural causes?
55:14 Is it OK to note pain just as "feeling?" I have noticed that when I note pain as feeling, the pain goes away much sooner and I don't react negatively to it.
56:20 Recently I was watching sexual material and tried to watch but not masturbate to it and I just felt my body heating up,craving sensations and deep discomfort arises. I noted this and noticed that there is always a reaction to these sensations, which ultimately is discomfort and the getting rid of it. In almost everything I pursue its almost the getting rid of this discomfort. Is this a progressive insight or just conceptualizations?
58:02 Can using different mantras with the breath (i.e. repeating “may I be happy” during the rising) be useful?
1:00:40 Drugs have been known to disturb the mind in some way. Some drugs, like mushrooms, or certain plants like marijuana, cause feelings of insight or even delusions. Can I take specific drugs to meditate?
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