March 05, 2023

Meditation Q&A - March 4th, 2023

1 hour

This talk / Q&A was originally posted on Ven. Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu’s YouTube Channel. To watch it on YouTube kindly click here.

00:00 Meditation Q&A Starting Soon

01:16 Meditate Together

15:50 I have been meditating for about a month using mantras. I see that I am slowly getting dependent on meditation to live a life that I can tolerate... When I think of my meditation journey, I am afraid of depending my life on something. Can always depending on meditation be a good thing? If itis a good thing, how can I cultivate my mind so that I accept this dependence?

20:07 I go to school and all the other kids use harmful speech and do bad things. Instead of talking to them or spending time with them, I remain silent and keep to myself. Is what I'm doing right?

23:48 To what extent should sense restraint be developed before practicing meditation?

25:19 Does labeling have a positive impact on the development of panna? When we are labeling, can we Say we are observing with panna?

27:16 Even with the noting and naming, my mind wanders very often. I just Started this practice a month ago. Do you have any tips if I need to make any adjustments?

29:44 I have ADHD and have problems associated with that. Medication helps me concentrate better and that helps me meditate better as well. Is it wrong for me to meditate while taking medication?

31:48 Is there a way to help with tension? My tension in the jaws is literally moving my head in meditation and I hear my jaw clenching and crackling, and I'm a bit worried about that

32:58 How should we understand Sati? Is it focusing attention on the object to the exclusion of everything else, or is ita relaxed and open awareness in which a small part is focused on the object?

35:25 How does one go about being mindful of others testing and challenging one’s precepts beyond what might be one’s capacity to honor them?

37:08 During meditation, I will occasionally Slip into a state where I dream, but it doesn't have the same qualities as sleep, losing mindfulness. Inevitably it goes away and mindfulness returns. What shoud I do?

38:11 Is there a way to meditate without my legs going numb?

38:56 Can vipassana meditation make you more arrogant and angry? Sometimes I feel I am more angry than before when I did calming meditation or even when I didn't meditate at all.

43:19 While I label, I am also aware of the background of my consciousness. Should I continue labeling or how Should I proceed?

44:56 Should I meditate as much as possible if I have the time? I'm just getting so dispassionate about life through meditation that it feels like there's not much joy or point in engaging in senses too much.

46:32 Would it speed up progress to use willpower and force to keep the eight precepts?

47:22 Did you ever teach meditation to someone with some form of autism? How did it go and did you have to adapt the technique?

49:17 Pleasure and pain are intrinsically neither good nor bad. Why is it bad to suffer? Why should we wish to end suffering?

54:48 Should I note the experience going on as an experience or object of mediation where there is a watcher? Sometimes the experience just Is there with no experiencer.

55:56 Which would be more detrimental to the practice: intentionally killing a mosquito or indulging in a sexual act?

57:11 Mindfulness is better than maximizing pleasure. But being mindful is still all about myself. What is Buddhism's perspective on altruism? Why shouldn't I give altruism priority over my mindfulness?

1:00:00 Sadhu...

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By Yuttadhammo Bhikkhu