Keeping Your Appointment

0:00 Okay, thank you very much, Ajahn. So, I haven't been here for a few weeks. Is anyone here? Who was here for the first time? Just out of business? Two, three. Okay, cool. Okay, very good. Have you meditated before? Is this your first time? Yeah. I have tried to. You've tried to? Fair enough. That's fine. No, no, that's okay. I just... No, Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:31 no, I just want to make... uh... Report an error in the passage at 0:31 Highlight the passage at 0:31

0:33 So just make sure someone has a general idea of, everyone's got a general idea of what we do here. So as Ariel said, I'm Ajahn Jhar. We have a little hermitage down on Stocker Road, which is where we live. And yeah, we come out and this is our Thursday group. But we've been running a weekly group in Rollystone for the last five, six years now. So yeah. Report an error in the passage at 0:33 Highlight the passage at 0:33

1:02 It's been about, well, I mean, we started building in 2020. I can't remember if we did any classes here at that time, but maybe it was after we moved in 2021. But anyway, about five years at least. Yeah, at least five years. And we were using the seniors club on the other side of the oval as well before we found this facility. Report an error in the passage at 1:02 Highlight the passage at 1:02

1:25 But we've been here for a number of years and it's been a really good place because we've got a nice, comfortable room, nice and quiet. Report an error in the passage at 1:25 Highlight the passage at 1:25

1:33 Is everyone warm enough? I've got my woolly socks on today. It's just turned that time of year. So, yeah, we just like to start out just with a few words about meditation. Nothing too involved. I think the half an hour of meditation is sort of the... Report an error in the passage at 1:33 Highlight the passage at 1:33

2:57 Come out here and we have a sort of symbiotic relationship with the lay people so we're happy to come out here and teach for free and yeah no we're very fortunate that a lot of people come and help us out and feed us every day and yeah no so that's sort of the tradition that we're in we don't handle money so. Report an error in the passage at 2:57 Highlight the passage at 2:57

3:24 We're looked after by the Buddha Society, but especially just people like you that come and support us. So yeah, so this is our practice. Report an error in the passage at 3:24 Highlight the passage at 3:24

3:39 We have this regularity in what we do. So, you know, we have as monks, you know, there's... There's this idea of following the lunar calendar, but I think just having this weekly schedule of just one hour a week that you try to come to whenever you can makes a huge difference. Because if you have a regular practice, even if it's only half an hour a week, it just builds on itself over time. Report an error in the passage at 3:39 Highlight the passage at 3:39

4:08 And I think, really, it just... just, it's just, I don't know. It's just practice, it's just practice. It's not very complicated. I like to teach a very simple style of meditation, sort of body sweeping meditation, where we just, in the present moment, so we bring our mind, we close our eyes, we don't have much to look at, don't have much to listen to, don't have much to smell. Report an error in the passage at 4:08 Highlight the passage at 4:08

4:39 We just start to... Just pay attention to the body itself, the way it is in the present moment, and we just go through the body part by part and just have a bit of kindness towards the body. And what you'll find is that as the body relaxes, the mind relaxes too. By the end of 30 minutes, I think, it's often fine. Report an error in the passage at 4:39 Highlight the passage at 4:39

5:05 You just have that sort of sense of peace, sense of ease. and yeah it just sort of gives you a bit of a bit of a boost i think yeah for the rest of the week and you know it's always good if you if you want to to you know have a bit of have a practice at home as well um but uh just having a little group you can get together with you know so just keeping your keeping your thursday meditation appointment is a good place to start yeah so yeah welcome to the new people and welcome to the people who the uh the regulars here. Report an error in the passage at 5:05 Highlight the passage at 5:05

5:40 Yeah, so unless anyone has any questions about the group tonight or anything like that, we'll make ourselves comfortable and I'll lead the guided meditation. And as Ariel said, both the talk and the guided meditation are recorded and the questions afterwards. But yeah. After we're done, I'll switch off the recorder, so you can always come up and say hello and ask something personal if you need to, yeah. Okay, so, yeah, I've got my woolly socks on. Report an error in the passage at 5:40 Highlight the passage at 5:40

6:25 This class is quite, or this group is quite relaxed, so whatever works for you. There was one girl who came in a onesie, I think, and hugged boots, so that's fine if you want to sit on a chair. Report an error in the passage at 6:25 Highlight the passage at 6:25

7:04 He doesn't want to disturb you. no oh that's fair enough too yeah but we're pretty relaxed i mean if there's any if you have any costs right now that's okay um but yeah so you can sit in a chair you can sit on the floor and uh just whatever whatever's comfortable for you so um cool we can i'll just sip of water so i can have my good uh guided meditation voice Report an error in the passage at 7:04 Highlight the passage at 7:04

7:44 So as usual the first thing we do What we do when we start the meditation is just to close our eyes. Report an error in the passage at 7:44 Highlight the passage at 7:44

7:59 Once we've closed our eyes, the sense of sight just closes off by itself. The inside of our eyelids isn't that interesting. The mind starts to pay a bit more attention to the body. Report an error in the passage at 7:59 Highlight the passage at 7:59

8:23 So, just take the... A moment or two just to check in with the body and just see if it's comfortable where you are right now and just scratch anything that's itchy or shift your posture if you need to. Report an error in the passage at 8:23 Highlight the passage at 8:23

8:48 Just adjust any clothing that might be uncomfortable. I Report an error in the passage at 8:48 Highlight the passage at 8:48

9:03 think tonight we can start with the right foot today. Report an error in the passage at 9:03 Highlight the passage at 9:03

9:13 Yeah, so we just direct our attention to that part of the body, the toes, the toes in particular on the right foot. And just notice how they feel. I know my toes are nice and cozy in my socks. Report an error in the passage at 9:13 Highlight the passage at 9:13

9:35 And we just have kindness to that part of the body. We allow it to relax, that ambience. And Report an error in the passage at 9:35 Highlight the passage at 9:35

9:51 we just notice how that sense of relaxation. Starting with the toes there on the right right foot and there's that sense of kindness and relaxation starts to spread across the the sole of the foot there and across the the ball of the foot and the arch just Report an error in the passage at 9:51 Highlight the passage at 9:51

10:21 having that sense of kindness and peace as it spreads right across to the heel of the foot and Report an error in the passage at 10:21 Highlight the passage at 10:21

10:44 we allow our attention to Just notice the instep of the foot, the upper part of the foot. We have kindness to that part of the body. Report an error in the passage at 10:44 Highlight the passage at 10:44

11:02 Just enjoy that feeling of peace and relaxation as we rest here in this posture. And Report an error in the passage at 11:02 Highlight the passage at 11:02

11:15 little by little that sense of peace and relaxation spreads up into the ankle of the right foot there. We Report an error in the passage at 11:15 Highlight the passage at 11:15

11:40 let that sense of kindness and peace spread right into the joint of the ankle. And slowly allow that feeling to creep up, up the Achilles heel, the back of the foot. Slowly Report an error in the passage at 11:40 Highlight the passage at 11:40

12:02 rising up into the calf muscle of the right leg. And Report an error in the passage at 12:02 Highlight the passage at 12:02

12:25 we just let that part of the body relax to become loose. For the muscle to be at ease. Report an error in the passage at 12:25 Highlight the passage at 12:25

12:41 And we let that feeling of kindness and relaxation. also spread up through the shin as well up through the shin bone and creeping all the way up to the kneecap there and Report an error in the passage at 12:41 Highlight the passage at 12:41

13:18 allow that your kindness to spread into the knee joint there on the right hand side and just just permeating that part of the body just Report an error in the passage at 13:18 Highlight the passage at 13:18

13:38 feeling the aches and pains there alleviated and Report an error in the passage at 13:38 Highlight the passage at 13:38

14:00 very slowly allow that That attention, that kindness, that sense of peace to spread from the knee and up into the upper part of the thigh there, those quadricep muscles. Report an error in the passage at 14:00 Highlight the passage at 14:00

14:20 And allow those muscles at the top of the thigh there just to relax, to loosen their grip on the body, just Report an error in the passage at 14:20 Highlight the passage at 14:20

14:36 to be there at ease. And Report an error in the passage at 14:36 Highlight the passage at 14:36

15:02 also, again, with that sense of kindness. Just notice how that feeling of peace creeps from the back of the right knee and up through the muscles at the back of the thigh. Those hamstring muscles there. And again we just notice how that part of the body relaxes and just loosens up. And Report an error in the passage at 15:02 Highlight the passage at 15:02

15:49 very gently just turn our attention to the toes on the left foot. And again we just... Just notice how that feels and we just spread kindness to that part of the body. Allow it to relax and be at ease. We Report an error in the passage at 15:49 Highlight the passage at 15:49

16:35 allow that peaceful feeling to spread through the sole of the foot there on the left hand side, from the toes, through the wall of the foot, across Report an error in the passage at 16:35 Highlight the passage at 16:35

16:53 the arch and to the heel of the foot. And Report an error in the passage at 16:53 Highlight the passage at 16:53

17:02 we let that part of the body relax. And Report an error in the passage at 17:02 Highlight the passage at 17:02

17:23 little by little, that kindness and relaxation spreads through the rest of the left foot there, through the instep. And flowing up through the heel, through the Achilles, and into the ankle joint there. And Report an error in the passage at 17:23 Highlight the passage at 17:23

17:48 just notice how that sense of kindness and relaxation spreads through that part of the body. Report an error in the passage at 17:48 Highlight the passage at 17:48

18:16 That kind attention to spread up from the ankle and just slowly up through the back of the lower leg there on the left hand side up Report an error in the passage at 18:16 Highlight the passage at 18:16

18:31 into the calf muscle there and just allow that part of the body to relax. You have kindness to it and allow it to be peaceful and Report an error in the passage at 18:31 Highlight the passage at 18:31

18:59 also we allow it to flow up through the shin creeping up the front of the leg. And that peace flows up, up into the knee, from the kneecap all the way to the back of the knee. And we relax that part of the body too. With Report an error in the passage at 18:59 Highlight the passage at 18:59

19:44 kindness, we let that feeling of peace spread up from the knee, first through the upper part of the left thigh, up through the quadricep muscles, from the kneecap and all the way up to your hip. and allowing all those muscles just to be at ease to be calm and that Report an error in the passage at 19:44 Highlight the passage at 19:44

20:30 kindness that peaceful feeling spreads through the back of the thigh there as well from the back of the knee the left knee and all the way up the back of the leg just Report an error in the passage at 20:30 Highlight the passage at 20:30

20:48 gradually that part of the body starts to become calm starts to become at ease and Report an error in the passage at 20:48 Highlight the passage at 20:48

21:26 now we notice Just the feeling of the seat beneath us. And we allow that feeling of relaxation to spread up through us. Up through the hips. Just having kindness to that part of the body. Report an error in the passage at 21:26 Highlight the passage at 21:26

21:50 Relaxing it. And Report an error in the passage at 21:50 Highlight the passage at 21:50

21:58 little by little that feeling just spreads up through to the lower part of the back. And Report an error in the passage at 21:58 Highlight the passage at 21:58

22:09 getting any aches and pains there. Any difficulties, we just spread a bit of kindness in that part of the body. Allow it to relax and to be at ease. And Report an error in the passage at 22:09 Highlight the passage at 22:09

22:35 from that lower back, we allow that sense of kindness and ease to slowly spread up through the lower part of the back, through the lower vertebrae there, the muscle, and Report an error in the passage at 22:35 Highlight the passage at 22:35

22:58 also spreading. Report an error in the passage at 22:58 Highlight the passage at 22:58

23:17 having kindness to it. Report an error in the passage at 23:17 Highlight the passage at 23:17

· · · silence, 1 minute

23:59 relax all the all the muscles around that area just Report an error in the passage at 23:59 Highlight the passage at 23:59

24:09 resting that that part of the spine allowing it to be in a comfortable position and Report an error in the passage at 24:09 Highlight the passage at 24:09

24:33 we let that feeling of relaxation spread out through to the the front of our body the center of our body that solar plexus the area just blow the ribs there and again with kindness We allow that part of the body to relax. Report an error in the passage at 24:33 Highlight the passage at 24:33

25:14 And that sense of peace, of relaxation, of kindness spreads up through the upper part of the back. Right up to that area just below the shoulder blades, the scapula there. Report an error in the passage at 25:14 Highlight the passage at 25:14

25:35 And we allow all those muscles there to relax as well. And Report an error in the passage at 25:35 Highlight the passage at 25:35

25:48 again we let that feeling of relaxation spread through to the front of the body as well. All the way through the chest through the Report an error in the passage at 25:48 Highlight the passage at 25:48

26:07 heart and just notice the rise and fall of the chest as you breathe in and breathe out and Report an error in the passage at 26:07 Highlight the passage at 26:07

26:41 very gently we now turn our attention to the right hand and starting with the fingertips the thumb the index finger the middle finger ring finger and pinky finger we just notice how that sense of relaxation starts to flow through the right hand through Report an error in the passage at 26:41 Highlight the passage at 26:41

27:13 the palm of the hand the back of the hand and slowly but surely creeping up into the wrist and Report an error in the passage at 27:13 Highlight the passage at 27:13

27:41 little by little we allow our attention to turn to our right forearm again with kindness and we just notice how that sense of peace Creeps up through the outer part of the forearm first and the outer part of the wrist and just creeping up all the way to the point of the elbow there and Report an error in the passage at 27:41 Highlight the passage at 27:41

28:23 from the inner part of the wrist also flowing up through the inner part of the forearm all the way up to the crook of the elbow from Report an error in the passage at 28:23 Highlight the passage at 28:23

28:48 the elbow the outer part first From the point of the elbow, we just notice how the feeling of kind relaxation starts to spread up through the outer part of the upper arm, through those muscles there. We just allow them to become loose, and we notice how that sense of warmth fills all the way up into the shoulder there, flowing Report an error in the passage at 28:48 Highlight the passage at 28:48

29:26 up from the inner part of the right arm. The biceps as well, the bicep muscles there. Report an error in the passage at 29:26 Highlight the passage at 29:26

29:37 Just relinquish their grip, they loosen up, and you feel that relaxation flowing right up into the shoulder joint there. Just feeling that part of the body feel very relaxed. And Report an error in the passage at 29:37 Highlight the passage at 29:37

30:10 again, gently turning your attention to the hand on the, to your left hand, to the fingers there, the thumb. The index finger, the middle finger, ring and pinky finger. Report an error in the passage at 30:10 Highlight the passage at 30:10

30:35 And we notice how one by one they become more relaxed, more at ease. And Report an error in the passage at 30:35 Highlight the passage at 30:35

30:46 we allow that feeling of kind relaxation to spread into the rest of the hand, flowing through the palm of the hand, the back of the hand and up into the wrist and just relaxing that part of the body. Report an error in the passage at 30:46 Highlight the passage at 30:46

31:17 And slowly but surely that feeling creeps up into the left forearm, from the outer part of the wrist and through the muscles of the outer part of the forearm, all the way up to the point of the elbow there, the Report an error in the passage at 31:17 Highlight the passage at 31:17

31:41 funny bone, and Report an error in the passage at 31:41 Highlight the passage at 31:41

31:47 from the inner part of the wrist all the way up the inner part of the forearm, and a sense of kind relaxation. just spreading through the muscles there all the way to the crook of the arm there and Report an error in the passage at 31:47 Highlight the passage at 31:47

32:19 little by little from the from the elbow creeping up into the upper arm slowly Report an error in the passage at 32:19 Highlight the passage at 32:19

32:35 that feeling of peace and kindness spreads up through the muscles from the point of the elbow there and just creeping all the way up to the shoulder there the outer part of the shoulder and Report an error in the passage at 32:35 Highlight the passage at 32:35

32:59 From the crook of your arm. Also starting to relax the bicep muscles there on the left arm. And we notice how that feeling of calm spreads up into the shoulder. Right into the joint there. Just allowing your arm just to sort of hang there comfortably. Now Report an error in the passage at 32:59 Highlight the passage at 32:59

33:42 just notice that part of the body. The area from the shoulders to the back of the neck there especially. And we notice all those muscles all the way across there. We notice any tension that's there to just dissipate. And Report an error in the passage at 33:42 Highlight the passage at 33:42

34:17 we notice just that feeling of kind relaxation spreading up the back of the neck. Just Report an error in the passage at 34:17 Highlight the passage at 34:17

34:30 notice how the chin just droops a little bit, even Report an error in the passage at 34:30 Highlight the passage at 34:30

34:41 rising up the front of the neck there, up through the throat and also right up into the jaw there. Report an error in the passage at 34:41 Highlight the passage at 34:41

34:52 We just allow that part of the body to relax and to be at ease. And Report an error in the passage at 34:52 Highlight the passage at 34:52

35:17 that feeling of kind relaxation starts to spread up through the face to the area around the mouth, to the whole area, even your tongue, your lips. And we just allow that part of the body as well to be just at ease, peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 35:17 Highlight the passage at 35:17

35:58 Just slowly allowing that feeling of relaxation to spread up, up through your nose, up through to that area around the eyes. Report an error in the passage at 35:58 Highlight the passage at 35:58

36:18 Again, we give that part of the body just a bit of kindness and relaxation to Report an error in the passage at 36:18 Highlight the passage at 36:18

36:34 the brow as well. And Report an error in the passage at 36:34 Highlight the passage at 36:34

36:53 rising up from the back of the neck, up that area at the back of the head. Again with kindness and we allow that area just to relax and we let it creep up, creep up the back of the head all the way up to the crown of the head to the very top of the head and Report an error in the passage at 36:53 Highlight the passage at 36:53

37:21 once again we allow that part of the body to be at ease. We have kindness to it and we just enjoy that sensation. So Report an error in the passage at 37:21 Highlight the passage at 37:21

37:46 we've taken the time today to just to be with with the whole body just One part at a time. So just notice how now at the end of the meditation the whole body feels. Report an error in the passage at 37:46 Highlight the passage at 37:46

38:06 Hopefully it's nice and relaxed and maybe the mind has followed along as well a bit. Maybe the mind is a bit more peaceful than it was just 30 minutes ago. Report an error in the passage at 38:06 Highlight the passage at 38:06

38:25 So I shall ring the gong three times and at the end of the gong, end of the third gong, we can come out from the meditation. Report an error in the passage at 38:25 Highlight the passage at 38:25

· · · silence, 1 minute

39:05 www Report an error in the passage at 39:05 Highlight the passage at 39:05

39:16 .ajahnarato.com coming down and as usual we'll be we'll be here next week as well but we've got 15 minutes or so so if anyone has any questions about the meditation or anything at all really you can ask now and otherwise we can just get get Get our gear together and we can can pack up. pack up so Report an error in the passage at 39:16 Highlight the passage at 39:16

40:06 www.jhanarato.com welcome to come and visit sometime. We have our lunch at about 11 o 'clock, so all's welcome. Alright then, thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Report an error in the passage at 40:06 Highlight the passage at 40:06