Mahasi Sayadaw Quotes
Mahasi Sayadaw (U Sobhana, 1904-1982), Burmese Theravada Buddhist monk and meditation master, developed the modern vipassana movement. His systematic approach to mindfulness meditation has influenced Buddhist practice worldwide and spawned numerous meditation centers.
The path to liberation is through understanding the true nature of mind and matter through direct observation.
Mahasi Sayadaw
True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The path of insight is a path of discovery, not a path of creation. We are discovering what is already there.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Sensations are not your enemy. They are your teacher. Through observing them, you understand the truth of existence.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The practice of mindfulness leads naturally to concentration. Concentration leads naturally to wisdom.
Mahasi Sayadaw
In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The noting mind and the object noted appear to occur as a pair. Through concentration they are seen to arise and vanish together.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are not philosophical concepts but realities to be directly perceived through mindfulness practice.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Don't expect or desire anything. Just keep noting whatever arises in the present moment.
Mahasi Sayadaw
In true vipassana practice, there is no room for likes and dislikes. There is only observation.
Mahasi Sayadaw
When you understand that all phenomena are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self, attachment naturally falls away.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Real peace comes from seeing things as they really are, not as we want them to be.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The more clearly you see the arising and passing of phenomena, the less you will be attached to them.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Through continuous mindfulness practice, the true nature of physical and mental phenomena becomes clear.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced mind that sees things clearly without reaction.
Mahasi Sayadaw
When you note effectively, there is no time for defilements to arise. The mind becomes pure through noting.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The purpose of meditation is to gain right understanding of the true nature of mental and physical phenomena.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Each moment of noting is a moment of purification, a moment of cultivating the path.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Every moment of mindfulness is a step on the path to liberation. Each step is valuable, no matter how small.
Mahasi Sayadaw