Practice Ven . Mahasi Sayadaw tradition

I spend most of my unproductive time (traveling , when nothing special to do ) on reading Dhamma books using my iPhone.

These moments are not appropriate for sitting or walking meditation , so I follow "daily life" instructions can be found here http://www.sirimangalo.org/teachings/how-to-meditate/chapter-six-daily-life

But when I try to make a clear thought "reading" while reading I find it interfere with reading . How should I use clear thoughts to be mindful when reading ?


Yesterday I have answered a question similar to yours where i write about being mindful when studying/reading with basis in the Mahasi Sayadaw Tradition. There are also references to books and videos by Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw and Ven. Yuttadhammo.

You can find it here. Maybe it might be of some help to you.


  • sorry that answer did not help me in the context of reading ,noting interfere with reading . it is not like walking , we can not keep noting as "reading , reading ". – nish1013 May 30 '15 at 10:40
  • As I understand it the actual reading is just one element of the entire reading process. There are other elements such as; the changing and adjustment of one's posture, the moving of the hands when turning pages, the arising of mental formations etc. You could try expand your observation and noting of them too. – user2424 May 30 '15 at 10:58

Here, you just have to be mindful of reading since you are reading mindfully. That is not to get distracted as much as possible while reading. In reality, our mind is so swift that even in one second, without noticing, it runs so many topics. When the mindfulness quality is built up, you will get the hidden meaning of what you read. If you make clear thought while reading is actually multitasking and simply thinking, not reading. So let me rephrase, you can't make your clear thought to be mindful. Clear thought is just a thought. Mindfulness is a mental quality that you can have while reading.

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