Sayadaw U Tejaniya's Three Yogi Jobs are the core instructions he gives for the practice of meditation, emphasizing a relaxed, continuous, and wise approach.
They are:
- Begin with Right View (or Right Attitude):
- This is the fundamental understanding of why you are practicing—to know the nature of mind and body, not to achieve a special state or suppress anything.
- It involves having the correct attitude, which is one of relaxed curiosity, investigation, and non-striving.
- The aim is to develop wisdom (pa\tilde{n}\tilde{n}\bar{a}) from the start.
- Be Mindful of What is Happening Now (Develop Awareness):
- This is the job of being aware (sati) of whatever arises in the present moment, whether physical or mental.
- It means noticing the experience—like seeing, hearing, thinking, or a feeling—as an object of awareness, rather than getting lost or entangled in it.
- Bring Persistent Willingness to be Aware All Day (Continue to be Aware with Right View):
- This is the job of continuous effort (viriy\bar{a}) and perseverance, maintaining the awareness and right view throughout all activities, not just formal sitting.
- The awareness should be continuous, but the effort should be relaxed, not strained or forced.
In essence, Sayadaw U Tejaniya teaches that the yogi's job is not to fix or fight defilements, but to know and understand the mind by consistently applying these three jobs. The continuous, relaxed, and wise observation is what allows wisdom to develop naturally.
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In other words:
- Curious investigation of mind and body.
- Notice experience.
- Continuous effort.