Strategies for Anxiety | Discussion 

It sounds like a good reflection

Sādhu. Very glad it might have been helpful. Definitely, yoniso manasikara is crucial for reducing anxiety and suffering in general. Basically everything in the video would come under yoniso manasikara. It is probably best translated as 'appropriate attention'. It basically involves attending to things in such a way that defilements are abandoned. It is explicitly defined in MN 2. One can also see the context of it's use in many places. Tracing things back to the origin can certainly be skillful at times. This can especially be the case when one is trying to develop dispassion for things one clings to. Yoni can be translated as 'womb, origin'. It can also be translated as 'cause or method'. The second definition may be more in line with the broad way the term seems to be used in the suttas. However, it would not exclude the first definition. MN 2: “Monks, the ending of the effluents is for one who knows & sees, I tell you, not for one who doesn’t know & doesn’t see. For one who knows what & sees what? Appropriate attention & inappropriate attention. When a monk attends inappropriately, unarisen effluents arise, and arisen effluents increase... “And what are the ideas unfit for attention that he attends to? Whatever ideas such that, when he attends to them, the unarisen effluent of sensuality arises in him, and the arisen effluent of sensuality increases; the unarisen effluent of becoming arises in him, and the arisen effluent of becoming increases; the unarisen effluent of ignorance arises in him, and the arisen effluent of ignorance increases. These are the ideas unfit for attention that he attends to...

@@DhammaVinayaPatipada Thank you Bhante for further clarification on yoniso manasikara. It is well taken. Anxiety is a real life experience for most people and it is also a real opportunity to apply yoniso manasikara. One of the reasons for the symptoms of anxiety to get exacerbated is when one identifies with anxiety and takes it as “mine or me”. So through the process of yoniso manasikara (breaking it down to elements or links (both physical and mental links) that gave rise to the anxiety experience one learns to accept it as a passing phenomenon and nothing to cling onto negatively or positively. Further yoniso manasikara will facilitate the understanding of anxiety experience as part of suffering. Thus the suffering is understood live, here and now. One can also plug the whole chain of anxiety experience into the links of Paticca samuppada and see for oneself in real time and live the arising of suffering, the first noble truth. Thank you.

Sādhu. Am glad you asked the question. It was a good one for a discussion. Definitely, it's important to develop anapanasati when not anxious. This can be a 'dwelling', which helps to prevent anxiety from arising. However, anxiety is a hindrance and it's also important to deal with it when it arises. There are many ways in which one can do this with breath meditation. There will be times when taking an approach that 'eliminates' the feeling is be important. This can also help to build the 'dwelling' in times when the mind is calm.

@@DhammaVinayaPatipada Thank you !

This is more the Sri Lankan style

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