Sawatdee krub! Welcome to Lesson 4. Luang Por is teaching about the nature of the "Middle Way" เส้นทางสายกลาง (Sain-tang Sai-klang). In this clip, he emphasizes that the path to inner peace should be effortless and joyful.
As a beginner, this video is perfect for learning adjectives and adverbs that describe feelings and states of being.
Luang Por uses a string of words to show just how easy meditation should be:
In Thai, repeating a word makes it softer or more emphatic:
ง่าย = easy → ง่าย ๆ = nice and easy
มาก = much → มาก ๆ (Mak-mak) = very much
แสน (Saen) literally means "one hundred thousand" but is used here to mean "extremely."
He explains that if meditation feels ยาก (Yaak) — which means "difficult" — you should stop and reset. He warns against:
If you feel มึน (Muen) (dizzy) or ตึง (Teung) (tense), Luang Por says it's because you are using the wrong method.
Luang Por gives advice using the word อย่า (Ya), which means "Don't."
อย่าไปตั้งใจเกินไป (Ya bpai tang-jai gern-bpai): Don't try too hard.
อย่าไปเค้นภาพ (Ya bpai ken-pap): Don't force the image.
"Relaxed and easy." Try to describe your day using this phrase — it's a Thai life philosophy in a nutshell!
When things get stressful, just remember Luang Por's advice: if it's difficult, just ลืมตา (Leum-taa) — open your eyes — and start again naturally.
How are you finding the double-word pattern? Once you start hearing it, you'll notice Thai speakers use it everywhere!
| Thai | Romanized | English |
|---|---|---|
| ง่าย | Ngaay | Easy |
| ง่าย ๆ | Ngaay-ngaay | Nice and easy (casual) |
| สบาย | Sa-bai | Comfortable / Relaxed |
| ธรรมดา | Tam-ma-da | Normal / Ordinary / Natural |
| สนุก | Sa-nook | Fun |
| เบา ๆ | Bao-bao | Gently / Lightly |
| ลืมตา | Leum-taa | To open one's eyes |
| มาก ๆ | Mak-mak | Very / Very much |
| แสน | Saen | Extremely (lit. 100,000) |
| ยาก | Yaak | Difficult |
| เกินไป | Gern-bpai | Too much |
| อย่า | Ya | Don't (prohibition) |
| มึน | Muen | Dizzy |
| ตึง | Teung | Tense |