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 noting mind and the object noted appear to occur as a pair. Through concentration they are seen to arise and vanish together.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Wisdom arises when you see the true characteristics of phenomena through direct experience.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The practice of mindfulness leads naturally to concentration. Concentration leads naturally to wisdom.
Mahasi Sayadaw
When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Just observe whatever arises. Don't try to create anything, and don't reject anything.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Through continuous mindfulness practice, the true nature of physical and mental phenomena becomes clear.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The moment you note a thought, it disappears. The noting mind keeps the hindrances away.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The purpose of meditation is to gain right understanding of the true nature of mental and physical phenomena.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced mind that sees things clearly without reaction.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The knowledge of dissolution comes when you see both the noting mind and noted object dissolving together.
Mahasi Sayadaw
In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Each moment of noting is a moment of purification, a moment of cultivating the path.
Mahasi Sayadaw
Concentration develops naturally through continuous noting. Don't try to force concentration to arise.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The path to liberation is through understanding the true nature of mind and matter through direct observation.
Mahasi Sayadaw
The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.
Mahasi Sayadaw
When you understand that all phenomena are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self, attachment naturally falls away.
Mahasi Sayadaw