'Is sati mindful of all one's actions, such eating or driving a car?', was another question asked during the sessions.

When there is thinking of oneself as eating or driving a car it is not sati but thinking of concepts. Eating is not a reality, driving a car is not a reality. Sati is mindful of realities, of namas and rupas, and it is mindful during actions such as eating or driving a car.

While one eats there are hardness, flavour, or thinking. These are realities and they can be known one at a time, as only different elements, nobody, no self in them. Being mindful of realities as elements is the way to develop right understanding. When there is no mindfulness one is bound to cling to one's body and one's mind.

We read in the 'Satipatthana Sutta' (Middle Length Sayings, no.10) in the section on bodily postures.

A disciple while walking understands 'I am walking'; while standing, he understands 'I am standing'; while sitting, he understands 'I am sitting'; While lying down, he understands 'I am lying down'. He understands every position his body assumes.

Thus he lives contemplating the body internally or externally or both internally and externally.

He lives contemplating the arising nature of the body, or the perishing nature of the body or both the arising and perishing nature of the body.

Should we be aware of walking? We should read the whole context of the sutta in order to understand its meaning. How does one contemplate the body internally and externally? Body is only a concept, not a reality; it does not arise. What we take for body are only different elements which arise and fall away. Hardness, softness, heat, coldness, motion or pressure, no matter whether they are internal or external should be known when they appear. In this way one will know later on the arising and falling away of these elements.

This sutta reminds us to be aware of any reality which appears, when we are walking, standing, sitting or lying down. Is it possible to give simple instructions for the development of vipassana? This was a question asked during the discussions.

It would be very easy if a teacher could tell us what to do first and what next, and if we in following these instructions would be sure of attaining enlightenment. However, the Buddha taught us not to follow a teacher blindly and to develop the Path ourselves. A good friend in Dhamma can explain the right way of development. We should listen, consider what we have heard, and then study with mindfulness any reality which appears. We have to develop the Path ourselves, right now, nobody else can do that for us. It is right understanding, not we, which will eventually see things as they really are. We may wonder how wisdom can ever know impermanence, dukkha and anatta, and how it can know nibbana.

'Don't underestimate the function of panna' Khun Sujin said. It is not self which will know realities, it is panna. The present moment is very precious. If there is the study of realities panna can develop.

If sati arises only when there are conditions for its arising, we cannot do anything. Are we not bound to be lazy when we cannot do  anything?

Should we make an effort to have sati? When we hear the word effort we are so used to thinking of a self who exerts effort. Effort is a cetasika (mental factor, accompanying citta), not self. Effort arises with all cittas except 16 ahetuka cittas.1 Effort arises not only with kusala citta, also with akusala citta.

When there is mindfulness of any reality which appears now there is right effort already; we do not have to think of effort. If we think of effort there is bound to be akusala citta with desire. Akusala citta is accompanied by wrong effort.

We read in the 'Analysis of the Truths' (Middle Length Sayings, no. 141) about four right efforts:

And what, your reverences, is right endeavour? As to this, your reverences, a monk generates desire, endeavours, stirs up energy, exerts his mind and strives for the non-arising of evil unskilled states that have not arisen...for the getting rid of evil unskilled states that
have arisen... for the arising of skilled states that have not arisen... for the maintenance, preservation, increase, maturity, development and completion of skilled states that have arisen. This, your reverences, is called right endeavour....

When do these four right efforts arise? We read in the Gradual Sayings (Book of the Ones, Ch. VI):

Monks, I know not of any other single thing of such power to cause the arising of good states, if not yet arisen, or to cause the waning of evil states, if already arisen, as earnestness. In him who is earnest good states, if not yet arisen, do arise, and evil states, if arisen, do wane.

When right understanding of the eightfold Path has been developed in being mindful of nama and rupa, it conditions right effort of the eightfold Path. If there is still the idea of self which makes an effort, it cannot be considered right effort of the eightfold Path.

People were still wondering what can be done in order not to sit in idleness and wait for the arising of panna.

There is no self who is 'not doing anything'. Each citta which arises performs a function. Even when one thinks that one is not doing anything sati can arise and be mindful of thinking as not self. If there is right understanding of the object of mindfulness there cannot be
laziness. When there are conditions for sati it arises before there is intention to be aware. If there is intention to be aware there is bound to be attachment.

We may find it very difficult to be mindful. What should we do during all those moments that there is no mindfulness of nama and rupa? Is there not bound to be a great deal of akusala then?

The Buddha taught us many different kinds of kusala. Sometimes there is opportunity for dana, sometimes for sila, sometimes for calm when we think of the Buddha's virtues or while we develop metta. Sometimes mindfulness of nama and rupa may arise. We cannot 'switch' the citta from this kind of kusala to that kind of kusala. It depends on conditions which kinds of kusala arises at a particular moment. Knowing about the different ways of kusala and seeing the value of them prevents us from laziness.

As we have seen intellectual understanding is the condition for the arising of sati. That is why we had discussions about realities such as seeing, visible object, hearing or sound. We still have so many misunderstandings about namas and rupas. We talked about hearing and paying attention to the meaning of words we hear. Paying attention to the meaning of words is not hearing, it is thinking of concepts; we remember concepts. Remembrance, sanna, is a mental factor which arises with each citta. There is remembrance all the time of visible object, sound, of the other realities, and also of concepts.

As an example Khun Sujin spoke the word 'E-li-za-beth'

She repeated: 'E..., arises and falls away completely, LI..., arises and falls away, ZA--, arises and falls away, BETH--, arises and falls away.' These are different sounds and in between them there are many moments of citta. Ignorance may arise in between, or there may be mindfulness. When we recognize these different sounds, it is not hearing, but remembrance of concepts. Memory conditions thinking of different stories of Elizabeth. Each one of us thinks of the Elizabeth he or she knows. We think of the appearance of the person we know by that name, her voice, or the letters she wrote. Thinking conditions different feelings: pleasant feeling, unpleasant feeling or indifferent feeling. In reality there is no Elizabeth, there is only a concept of Elizabeth.

This example reminded me that there can be ignorance and wrong view even in between the syllables of a word we speak. It reminded me that there are many realities within a short period of time and that there has to be study of them in order to know them as they are. There can be study of realities even instead of ignorance, even in between the recognizing of different sounds.

'When there is mindfulness of nama and rupa one truly lives alone', Khun Sujin reminded us. There may be many people around, but in reality there are no people. There is visible object, there is seeing, there is sound, hearing, many different realities which can be the object of mindfulness, one at a time. They do not belong to anyone. If one thinks of one, two or more people, there are people in one's world. But in reality there are no people, only namas and rupas which arise and fall away. Life exists only in one moment of experiencing an object.

Sarah said that she found it difficult to know the moment when there is just seeing, different from paying attention to shape and form. When we pay attention to shape and form it is not seeing.

Khun Sujin answered that right understanding is not a matter of watching this or that moment. The characteristic which appears should be known, we should not think of moment. If we think of this or that moment or a certain order in the appearing of realities there is thinking of concepts instead of sati. There may sometimes be mindfulness of seeing, sometimes of thinking, sometimes of visible object. There is no rule which object sati will be aware of.

We all are inclined to try to know the difference between seeing and paying attention to shape and form and then we are clinging. We forget to be mindful of clinging, when there is clinging. When we have doubt about characteristics, or when we are despaired of sati also such moments should be studied. Any reality can be object of mindfulness, no matter whether we like that object or not.