Guided Meditation

0:00 So welcome everybody to the ongoing class of meditation. This is the first day of the introductory class to meditation, which is in the room to my right. Over here is the ongoing class for those people who are skilled in meditation or the oldies who haven't seen for a while. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:24 Is that correct? Yeah, good. But anyway. So over here we give the first instructions for about 50 minutes on one of the subjects which is important in meditation and that will be followed by usually a 45 minute meditation. It's a longer class and I try and go a little bit deeper. One of those things which I usually go deeper with It's actually learning how to first of all relax the body and then to relax the mind. Two totally different things, but connected. Report an error in the passage at 0:24 Highlight the passage at 0:24

1:13 And one of those similes which I was giving in Vietnam, which people liked, was a simile of the Thousand Petaled Lotus. And that particular simile is really helpful because it shows the next stage of meditation. It's right inside the stage of meditation you experience in the present moment, right now. And your job is actually to go inside, kind of open things out. Report an error in the passage at 1:13 Highlight the passage at 1:13

1:43 And as you go deeper inside your body-mind, you tend to leave the body stuff a long distance away. It's like when you're first meditating, you can feel the whole body. But after a while, the body kind of disappears. Somebody told me over in Vietnam, I just came back from yesterday morning, that in Vietnam, the lady just, she couldn't feel her nose. Report an error in the passage at 1:43 Highlight the passage at 1:43

2:18 And that was quite sort of disturbing for her, but then her whole body vanished. So what happened to her? First nose disappeared, then body disappeared. And the answer is? Yes, they are yesterday morning. Report an error in the passage at 2:18 Highlight the passage at 2:18

2:33 Nobody knows. Report an error in the passage at 2:33 Highlight the passage at 2:33

2:39 Thank you, that's one of the reasons why elderly people come here rather than young people, because they like new dad jokes. Report an error in the passage at 2:39 Highlight the passage at 2:39

2:48 Anyway, but that's kind of getting into the idea that real meditation, you get things in your body, they kind of go further and further on the outside and you go further and further on the inside. Report an error in the passage at 2:48 Highlight the passage at 2:48

3:07 To see what's inside that thousand petaled lotus. What's inside of you? What is this you? What is this body and mind? And to be able to get deep, deep, deep, deep inside. And the other thing about the thousand petaled lotus simile is the fact that what opens up the petals of a lotus is the warmth and the light of the sun. Report an error in the passage at 3:07 Highlight the passage at 3:07

3:36 When the sun goes up in the morning, the sunrise, and the light falls on the lotus flower, which is all closed up, that's when the light opens up those outermost petals, as long as it's accompanied by warmth, the light and the warmth. And in this simile, the light stands for mindfulness, the warmth stands for kindness. You need both of those two things, the warmth, And the light, the kindness and the mindfulness to open up the lotus. And as you open up, first of all you have your body, and your body is old or young, male, female, transgender, whatever, you find that that becomes kind of insignificant. Report an error in the passage at 3:36 Highlight the passage at 3:36

4:26 As it opens up you go to what's inside of that. And in this meditation as long as you maintain The mindfulness and the kindness, those two things is all you have to do, kind of. So it's not a complicated method of meditation, but it's also very, very effective. So once you go inside your body, the next thing which I usually ask people is to go inside the mind. Report an error in the passage at 4:26 Highlight the passage at 4:26

5:01 One of the first things to do is to go inside of time. Report an error in the passage at 5:01 Highlight the passage at 5:01

5:07 Inside of time there's no past, no future, but it's going to this, right in the center of this present moment. There's one beautiful method which, you know, sometimes I forget these methods, but I was reminded of when I was in Ho Chi Minh last week, was the simile of carrying the suitcases. And I'm sure you've all done this before. Report an error in the passage at 5:07 Highlight the passage at 5:07

5:37 Carrying two heavy suitcases. When you keep carrying them for too long you do find that you get very tired and you get very weak and sometimes it aches so much it can even hurt your arms. So in this part of meditation to get into the present moment I imagine I'm carrying two heavy suitcases and I imagine I can feel the weight on my arms And my hands too, scrunched up all the time. And then I pause and I imagine. I imagine the suitcase in my left hand represents my past. Report an error in the passage at 5:37 Highlight the passage at 5:37

6:22 Not just the good memories, but many of the troubling memories. And as I'm worrying about the past, there's like so much stuff in that suitcase. That's what makes it really, really heavy. And instead of just throwing the suitcase away, I find that's too difficult. There's also some good memories in there. How can I let it go without any worries or concern that somebody's going to make it disappear along with the good memories? Report an error in the passage at 6:22 Highlight the passage at 6:22

6:56 So what I do, I imagine myself leaning to my left and lowering that suitcase gently to the ground. And as I lower it closer and closer to the ground, There's that magical moment when the suitcase touches the ground and all the weight vanishes and that allows me to unloosen my grip, take my hand away from that suitcase and then move my hand upwards so my arm and shoulder can rest. Report an error in the passage at 6:56 Highlight the passage at 6:56

7:30 The suitcase has not disappeared, it's safely by my side. Then I do the same to the suitcase in my right hand, which represents my future. All that stuff in the future which you can worry about, as well as your hopes and dreams. But the heavy stuff is mostly all the problems one's afraid of. And then one leans to the right, which allows you to lower that suitcase closer to the ground. Report an error in the passage at 7:30 Highlight the passage at 7:30

8:02 And when it reaches the ground, the weight disappears. Allowing you to pull your hand away from that suitcase which you've been carrying and you forget about the future. So you let go of the past and the future. You look down, they're safe. No one is going to take those suitcases away, unfortunately. But nevertheless you put them down on the ground. Report an error in the passage at 8:02 Highlight the passage at 8:02

8:31 When you put them down on the ground you notice your arms can recover. From all that stress of holding heavy weights for too long a time, you feel your shoulders can expand and just feel more natural. They recover, they recuperate, they become strong again. And if you wish to pick those suitcases up, you can. Report an error in the passage at 8:31 Highlight the passage at 8:31

8:57 But you notice where you're staying right now in this simile is in the beautiful present moment where you've got nothing much to handle. Or nothing at all. It gives you the first sense of kind of freedom in meditation. You're in this present moment. And once you're in the present moment, really getting into the present moment, right in the center of now, you find how pleasant it is. Report an error in the passage at 8:57 Highlight the passage at 8:57

9:26 And it's the pleasure of being in the present moment, the pleasure of it, that allows you to relax and stay there. And every moment you get... More focused in the present than before. And as you get more focused in the present moment, then you learn how to be silent. Report an error in the passage at 9:26 Highlight the passage at 9:26

9:50 Sometimes I gave a simile of being a host at a party. And you greet all the members as they come through the door. But all you can do is just maybe shake their hand. You can't say their names or any sort of small chat. Because there's so many people coming in, if you talk to the first person you meet, the second person coming behind doesn't get any of your attention at all. Report an error in the passage at 9:50 Highlight the passage at 9:50

10:19 So what it does, when you're really in the present moment like this, you can't say anything. You can shake their hand or just wave, but you can't say anything because talking takes time. If I talk to any one of you, Report an error in the passage at 10:19 Highlight the passage at 10:19

10:39 Available? See how I disturbed him? And he has to speak back? Sorry about that. But this is what happens with speech. We do actually waste time. And so instead, as experiences come into our mind and go out of our mind, all we can do is to notice them, not to actually discuss things with them. And as you're in the moment, You start to become quiet. You find that peace is so beautiful. When no one says anything or you just ignore whatever they say, you find life becomes so much more easy. Report an error in the passage at 10:39 Highlight the passage at 10:39

11:25 You're not asked to do anything, you're not criticized, you're not praised. There's no problems arise, which means that you can be more and more peaceful. You're going deeper into the lotus flower. You're going into the present moment. into silence. I don't know why that people don't appreciate silence that much. Whenever we see anybody we tend to talk with them. Report an error in the passage at 11:25 Highlight the passage at 11:25

11:54 It's nice sometimes you know someone so well you don't need to talk. Just a little smile is more than enough communication. So anyway, as we get silent and peaceful we find that the business Which we have to do in our mind gets less and less and less. Because the business gets less, even the amount of breath which you need to keep your metabolism going gets less and less. Report an error in the passage at 11:54 Highlight the passage at 11:54

12:30 And there's nothing else to watch except for your breathing. It just happens so naturally. You're sitting there in this present moment, in this silence. You relax the body as much as you can. And you're nice and comfortable. And the present moment and silence become so gorgeous. It's like watching a sunset. Report an error in the passage at 12:30 Highlight the passage at 12:30

12:54 As you watch the sunset, it's such a beautiful view. It satisfies you. You don't need to say anything or do anything or check your emails or just distract yourself. You don't want to miss a moment. Report an error in the passage at 12:54 Highlight the passage at 12:54

13:12 And that's the kind of mindfulness which happens as you go deeper into the petals of the lotus that represents you. And as you're experiencing this, the breath comes up automatically. Report an error in the passage at 13:12 Highlight the passage at 13:12

13:28 I've said this so many times to people, I never, honestly never go looking for my breath. I calm everything else down until there's nothing else left but my breathing. Report an error in the passage at 13:28 Highlight the passage at 13:28

13:45 And so it's an unconditional awareness of the breath, unforced. You just watch the breath come in and go out, come in and go out. And there's not much needed because you're pretty still. Not even your brain is burning up much energy. And so from that breath it gets calmer and more peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 13:45 Highlight the passage at 13:45

14:10 And as it gets calmer and peaceful, if you do it in the correct way, You find you never feel tiredness. It's not like you want to fall asleep. It's you're perfectly aware of what's happening. And that awareness, it gets to a point, just like again watching a sunset. Watching a sunset takes time, but it also means that you're just aware, silently aware, no need to talk, no need to take photographs. Report an error in the passage at 14:10 Highlight the passage at 14:10

14:44 You're just silently aware in a peaceful state. Watching the development of the sun as it goes down in the evening. And as you do things like this, you may also notice the most beautiful sunsets occur when there's a bit of a smoke or clouds on the horizon. Those little clouds or wisps of smoke, they spread the beautiful redness across the horizon, horizon, making the whole horizon gold or crimson at the different stages of the sun. Report an error in the passage at 14:44 Highlight the passage at 14:44

15:21 And then that makes the mind experience happiness and stillness. And then you don't need to do anything. It is the mindfulness and the kindness is already strong. There'll be more petals open up as you go deeper into your lotus, that is your body and mind. As you go deeper in, I've told many people on retreats, the next thing which happens is the breath becomes the beautiful breath. Report an error in the passage at 15:21 Highlight the passage at 15:21

16:03 In other words, it's not just breathing in, it's, wow, breathing in the most beautiful, delightful breath you've ever experienced, and breathing out so gently, so naturally, but it's all, Report an error in the passage at 16:03 Highlight the passage at 16:03

16:17 Combined with a sense of mental happiness, a joy which is not inherent in the sunset, it's not inherent in the breath, it's just the way the mind is so peaceful, sees so much, and sees everything as really, really beautiful. And as that happens, the mindfulness stays with the breathing and doesn't want to go anywhere. It just goes deeper into it. Report an error in the passage at 16:17 Highlight the passage at 16:17

16:48 And inside that breathing, inside that layer of petals, then you go to the center of the breathing. There's just one way of putting it, which is you see the beauty without the breath happening. In one of the books which I wrote years ago, I call this like the Cheshire Cat in the book by Lewis Carillon. Report an error in the passage at 16:48 Highlight the passage at 16:48

17:19 Alice saw a cat was appearing and disappearing appearing and disappearing and then she mentioned to the cat you come and go so fast it really makes it having a headache so Report an error in the passage at 17:19 Highlight the passage at 17:19

17:37 the cat said okay I'll vanish slowly and described the cat vanishing part by part the ears of the cat disappearing The head disappearing, the eyes disappearing, the nose disappearing, until all that was left was the smiling lips of the cat. Cheshire cats are supposed to be always smiley. And so the Cheshire cat, all that was left were the smiling lips, until finally the lips disappeared, leaving only the smile. Report an error in the passage at 17:37 Highlight the passage at 17:37

18:16 I thought that was kind of cool at the time. That you have a smile with nothing doing the smiling. That was such a beautiful simile of how it occurs in meditation. The breath vanishes, but the happiness of the breath remains. And that happiness of the breath, once it remains, what you're seeing there is the thing which we call the mind, the jitta. Report an error in the passage at 18:16 Highlight the passage at 18:16

18:46 And there it's starting to appear. It's like a happiness. However, the way that people interpret that, the most common way, is seeing it as a beautiful light in the mind. It's not a light. If you did open your eyes, you'd find there's no sun beam shining through the windows, or there's no one with a flashlight shining in your face. Report an error in the passage at 18:46 Highlight the passage at 18:46

19:13 It's just how we interpret the beautiful light coming from within the mind. And if you experience this many times, you find that light, whatever color you interpret it as, is always more beautiful than any color you can see in the real world. In the real world you may see a beautiful blue color, but in the meditation it's more blue than blue. It's more white than white. Report an error in the passage at 19:13 Highlight the passage at 19:13

19:41 Sometimes it's dazzling. But never mind, you'll never go blind. This is the way the mind is interpreting. The happiness, the beauty. And as you go deep in that meditation, that light becomes stable. And as that light becomes stable and very, very beautiful, then those are the two things, the two things which you'll see, even the Buddha described what to do next. Report an error in the passage at 19:41 Highlight the passage at 19:41

20:08 You're going deeper into your lotus. And inside of that is a beautiful, stable light. And inside of that, it's the pīti sukha, the happiness and joy which remain, which become your first jhāna experience. And of course, if you do experience that, and you wonder what's the second jhāna, you stay in that first jhāna. Report an error in the passage at 20:08 Highlight the passage at 20:08

20:31 And then you go deeper into it. And you go deeper into that, and deeper into that. And you go through all these beautiful jhānas, and more and more things disappear, and more and more beautiful things remain. Report an error in the passage at 20:31 Highlight the passage at 20:31

20:46 So you're going, letting go of what's on the outside by the outermost petals and you go into the inner petals and inside the inner petals is the more inside petals. You just open one after the other as you go deep inside. So that is an approximation of similarly the way of meditation here. And as usually I've talked too much. I apologize for that. Report an error in the passage at 20:46 Highlight the passage at 20:46

21:16 But I find it's useful to tell that simile. So now, if you are not in your meditation posture already, see if you can adjust your body on the chair, on the cushion, or on the armchair. For those people who wonder, there's another armchair there as well. Somebody brought another one when I was away. That's excellent. Report an error in the passage at 21:16 Highlight the passage at 21:16

21:42 So if anyone wants to use armchair number two. You're most welcome. Don't be embarrassed, please. So anyway, so now get your body nice and comfortably, as comfortably as you think you can. You'll soon find you become an expert on the awareness of the body to find the most comfortable position for it. Report an error in the passage at 21:42 Highlight the passage at 21:42

22:25 So now we can begin the meditation. You don't need to be concerned about anything. Towards the end of the meditation I will ring the gong just before 4pm to let you know the meditation period of stillness has ended. So Report an error in the passage at 22:25 Highlight the passage at 22:25

22:58 I'm putting all my awareness plus kindness onto my body. It's the general getting to know my body at the beginning. Report an error in the passage at 22:58 Highlight the passage at 22:58

23:18 I do notice my sinuses are a bit inflamed. But other than that, my body feels really relaxed. But now I'm going to take that relaxation to a much deeper level. When I left Vietnam, the people asked me for a statement, something to remember me by. Report an error in the passage at 23:18 Highlight the passage at 23:18

23:47 So I got them all to repeat what I taught once in South Korea. Relax to the max. The most important part of that was to the max. See how much you can relax your body. Report an error in the passage at 23:47 Highlight the passage at 23:47

24:08 And I usually do this by focusing on parts of my body and sweeping that attention upwards starting from my toes. I am now putting all my awareness on my toes. I can feel them. Report an error in the passage at 24:08 Highlight the passage at 24:08

24:32 And I add Then the second ingredient of kindness. I'm kind to my toes and I'm adjusting my legs because of that kindness to make my toes even more comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 24:32 Highlight the passage at 24:32

24:53 Mindfulness comes first and then the light and then the warmth of kindness. As I'm kind to my toes, you can feel them. And in my right toe, It's a bit squashed in the angle between my calves and my thighs. I just moved again and Report an error in the passage at 24:53 Highlight the passage at 24:53

25:27 then I'm mindful again of my toes. It's like they say thank you. This is not restlessness because every time there's a purpose behind this. That is to make my toes more and more comfortable. I kind of like practicing on my toes. Report an error in the passage at 25:27 Highlight the passage at 25:27

25:50 Because it's like a training to relax other parts of my body which are way more sensitive. When my toes say thank you, that's how my mindfulness works. I ask them questions. Report an error in the passage at 25:50 Highlight the passage at 25:50

26:10 I move them, adjust them, relax them to the max. And this is the result I get. My toes feel actually so much more comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 26:10 Highlight the passage at 26:10

26:25 And then I move upwards on my feet to the balls of my feet and Report an error in the passage at 26:25 Highlight the passage at 26:25

26:33 I find just through awareness and adding kindness I can relax more deeply than when I started. The awareness allows me to relax and the kindness is the method by which it all relaxes. And I go to the soles of my feet. Report an error in the passage at 26:33 Highlight the passage at 26:33

27:02 My feet feel fine there. Go to the heels of my feet. Report an error in the passage at 27:02 Highlight the passage at 27:02

27:10 They feel pretty at ease. And the uppers of my feet. Report an error in the passage at 27:10 Highlight the passage at 27:10

27:18 If there's any part of your feet which need a bit more attention, please take the time to give it to your feet. And always have that kindness as a medicine. I said yesterday, and I said many times over when I was... I was teaching a retreat in Vietnam. I taught many times and I remember my mother, if ever I injured my legs playing soccer in the street, I would cry. Report an error in the passage at 27:18 Highlight the passage at 27:18

27:55 I was five or six years of age. And then she would run towards me, lean down, inspect the wound. A lot of times all she would do was put her lips on that wound. To kiss it better. And that's all I needed. The kindness of a mother to her son. Report an error in the passage at 27:55 Highlight the passage at 27:55

28:23 And as soon as she kissed it better, the pain went away. And off I was playing soccer again. It never got infected. The kindness was the great panacea. And Report an error in the passage at 28:23 Highlight the passage at 28:23

28:43 that's what I'm doing now to my feet. It's like my feet, like separate beings saying, thank you, thank you, thank you. And then for my alchols, I go up to my lower legs, the calves and the bones inside and all the other, her tubes taking stuff up and down to keep my feet and my legs healthy. Report an error in the passage at 28:43 Highlight the passage at 28:43

29:16 It's like I look at them with gratitude and kindness and then they all relax a bit more. I don't know if there's no pain or aches there. This method reduces any possible aches or pain later on. I go to my knees. So many people have sore knees by accidents, playing aggressive sport, or just sitting too long. Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:53 When I start my meditation, I look at my two knees. I imagine I'm expanding. So any pipes, They never get blocked when they expand. Things flow through them, up and down, without ever getting clogged. And my knees feel fine and happy. They also, like human beings, the parts of your body appreciate attention. So I'm giving every part of my body my attention. Report an error in the passage at 29:53 Highlight the passage at 29:53

30:41 And gratitude. And then I go up my thighs. I don't usually have any problems there, but I don't just assume they're healthy. I swing my attention upwards, relaxing everything to the max, using the mindfulness and kindness, the light warmth of the sun. And Report an error in the passage at 30:41 Highlight the passage at 30:41

31:12 my thighs relax. It's kind of a weird sensation. I often feel like my thighs are sinking into the cushion. They're not held tight, they're not afraid, but they're at peace with the cushion which I'm sitting on. At the top of the thighs I come to my buttocks and that part of my body always has a sensation when I'm sitting down. Report an error in the passage at 31:12 Highlight the passage at 31:12

31:52 It is the pressure of my upper part of my body passing through my buttocks onto the cushion so I can be supported. I can feel that sensation and I make sure at the very beginning of meditation that that sensation is well balanced. A little bit of pressure on the right buttock, a little bit on the left buttock so that when it's balanced Report an error in the passage at 31:52 Highlight the passage at 31:52

32:25 You know it's being cared for and I know that after a minute or two that feeling disappears. And Report an error in the passage at 32:25 Highlight the passage at 32:25

32:38 when it does, I recognize I've now relaxed my body from the waist down to the toes. Report an error in the passage at 32:38 Highlight the passage at 32:38

32:52 And that part of my body feels so at ease. And then my waist, I have a belt up to keep my lower robe on. It's a little bit tight, but not that tight, because I know that that's not going to disturb me. I know from experience, if your robes aren't on properly or too tightly bound with the belt, that might hurt later on. Report an error in the passage at 32:52 Highlight the passage at 32:52

33:27 But I check it out and I think it's fine. I also notice the position of my waist, so the upper part of my body is comfortable. Report an error in the passage at 33:27 Highlight the passage at 33:27

33:40 I just allow my body to be in that position. It's a kind of a strong position, not leaning forward, not leaning back, needing no support, just a good posture to begin with. And then I go scanning my awareness and kindness up the body. Report an error in the passage at 33:40 Highlight the passage at 33:40

34:07 And I usually use the digestive tract as I go up my colon. Report an error in the passage at 34:07 Highlight the passage at 34:07

34:18 My digestive system is pretty relaxed, especially because we don't eat in the afternoon. So for the last three hours, my colon, intestine, have been in just do-nothing mode. They Report an error in the passage at 34:18 Highlight the passage at 34:18

34:41 kind of like that. They have a chance to relax to the max. But as I speak my attention upwards, getting closer and closer to my stomach, Report an error in the passage at 34:41 Highlight the passage at 34:41

34:56 If I feel any part of my lower body is aching or hurting, Unusually so. then I'll pause there. And give extra kindness. The kindfulness I imagine has the same effect as my mother kissing it better. Report an error in the passage at 34:56 Highlight the passage at 34:56

35:26 Immediately the pain went away. Now immediately. You can relax parts of your inner body and the ache and the pain get less and still keep going up my intestines to my tummy, my stomach. Report an error in the passage at 35:26 Highlight the passage at 35:26

35:51 That's pretty peaceful this afternoon. But nevertheless I'll check everything there. And what's amazing is when you practice mindfulness you can be aware of these parts of your body. Your own awareness. Report an error in the passage at 35:51 Highlight the passage at 35:51

36:16 It's like doing an expensive scan of your body. You can feel it. You know your body better than the machine knows it. I'm Report an error in the passage at 36:16 Highlight the passage at 36:16

36:30 relaxing my stomach muscles. Report an error in the passage at 36:30 Highlight the passage at 36:30

36:35 Just above the stomach muscles are my lungs. They've been having a hard time the last couple of weeks simply because I had a cough. Report an error in the passage at 36:35 Highlight the passage at 36:35

36:50 And that cough... It's not the same cough. It matures and changes as it heals. Report an error in the passage at 36:50 Highlight the passage at 36:50

37:00 And then my poor lungs have been extra working. So I'm kind to my lungs. Aware of them, but then kind as well. Report an error in the passage at 37:00 Highlight the passage at 37:00

37:18 Honestly, the response I feel is like a big thank you for my lungs. Because I trust them. And Report an error in the passage at 37:18 Highlight the passage at 37:18

37:34 for my lungs, I go to my heart region. Report an error in the passage at 37:34 Highlight the passage at 37:34

37:43 I give that a lot of peace with mindfulness and kindness. It's amazing when you practice like this, you get to know your own body and different parts of it. And Report an error in the passage at 37:43 Highlight the passage at 37:43

38:05 then I go up from my heart, physical heart, up to my shoulders. Report an error in the passage at 38:05 Highlight the passage at 38:05

38:16 Usually I can feel some aches in my shoulders. And I know if I don't put my shoulders in a good position, they can, A, can disturb my meditation. So I've learned many ways of relaxing my shoulders. Report an error in the passage at 38:16 Highlight the passage at 38:16

38:38 Often I imagine that they're the muscles of my shoulders. They're like two connected bunches of strings, one on either side of my, spine. I experiment a Report an error in the passage at 38:38 Highlight the passage at 38:38

39:24 lot, so find better ways of doing that. The mindfulness gives you feedback, which means you get more efficient at relaxing any muscle. Which are mindful of with kindness. When my shoulders are as relaxed as they could be, I let my attention, my mindfulness and kindness sweep down my arms from the shoulders to the elbows, making Report an error in the passage at 39:24 Highlight the passage at 39:24

40:01 sure the elbows like my knees are free, relaxed, so any healing can happen. Going down from my Elbows to my wrists and relaxing those wrists. Report an error in the passage at 40:01 Highlight the passage at 40:01

40:25 It's amazing how your body appreciates you looking after it. And it comes to help and make sure that everything relaxes to the max. I feel my hands and my fingers. And Report an error in the passage at 40:25 Highlight the passage at 40:25

40:50 as I said last night, I ask my fingers, are you comfortable where you are? Do you want any sort of movement or scratching or what would you like? That's the kindness part of things. The mindfulness can actually feel. Report an error in the passage at 40:50 Highlight the passage at 40:50

41:10 And then my fingers, I help adjust them. Report an error in the passage at 41:10 Highlight the passage at 41:10

41:18 Sometimes on short meditations, just wherever my fingers happen to be, but on a long meditation like this, I find my fingers go into this position of right palm over the left palm. Thumbs slightly touching. They're comfortable like that. And Report an error in the passage at 41:18 Highlight the passage at 41:18

41:40 then I go back up to my shoulders and I look at my neck. I make sure my head is not too far forward, not too far back, not to the left, not to the right. And often I like just to move it backwards a tiny bit. Kind of keeps me more alert. I'm Report an error in the passage at 41:40 Highlight the passage at 41:40

42:21 also aware of my throat. Where sometimes a tiny irritation can make a very loud cough. But right now, my throat is at ease. I do not need to cough. And Report an error in the passage at 42:21 Highlight the passage at 42:21

42:45 I go up past the throat to my head. And the place I usually put my awareness at first is on my face. Especially the muscles around the eyes, the nose. Your physical feature can show whether you're tense, afraid, kind, relaxed, just the way the muscles are configured on the face. So make sure that any connection with fear or anger or anything which screws up those muscles is put away. Report an error in the passage at 42:45 Highlight the passage at 42:45

43:36 I let my face relax, and Report an error in the passage at 43:36 Highlight the passage at 43:36

43:44 that's as far as I can go. So I join my parts of the body together, check them one last time, and my body feels really, really well positioned. But I don't discard it yet. I'll Report an error in the passage at 43:44 Highlight the passage at 43:44

44:12 wait a few seconds to Report an error in the passage at 44:12 Highlight the passage at 44:12

44:18 experience a well-positioned body as a feeling of pleasure to it. Report an error in the passage at 44:18 Highlight the passage at 44:18

44:29 It feels good. It feels relaxed. And Report an error in the passage at 44:29 Highlight the passage at 44:29

44:45 that relaxation does have a sense of pleasure. And when I notice that, and it comes now, when I notice that it's not indulgence in a sense pleasure, it actually causes the relaxation to go deeper. That's why I do it. My Report an error in the passage at 44:45 Highlight the passage at 44:45

45:16 body now is almost perfectly relaxed. Report an error in the passage at 45:16 Highlight the passage at 45:16

45:23 Now's the time to go inside that layer of petals of my lotus, my body. The body is at ease enough to not to disturb me. The Report an error in the passage at 45:23 Highlight the passage at 45:23

45:43 first place I go to is in the center of time. If Report an error in the passage at 45:43 Highlight the passage at 45:43

45:51 you find it hard to be really in the present because you've got things to worry about or things you feel are unfair, Imagine those two heavy suitcases, one with your past, I mean all of your past, and the other one with your future. When Report an error in the passage at 45:51 Highlight the passage at 45:51

46:17 you hold them all the time, you get so weakened and so tired. Report an error in the passage at 46:17 Highlight the passage at 46:17

46:24 Now you imagine, you just imagine leaning to the left, which allows you to lower the suitcase in your left hand, your past, all of your past. Report an error in the passage at 46:24 Highlight the passage at 46:24

46:42 It allows you to lower it to the ground, and once it meets the ground, then you realize how heavy that weight was. You're still holding the handle, so uncurl the fingers from the handle, move your hand upwards together with your arm, straighten your back, and allow your left arm and hand to recover, to get strong, pain-free. Report an error in the passage at 46:42 Highlight the passage at 46:42

47:18 And then you notice the suitcase in your right hand. Your future. Because the future is uncertain, sometimes we have all sorts of possibilities and responses. Report an error in the passage at 47:18 Highlight the passage at 47:18

47:35 Plan A, Plan B, Plan C. Even though the thing hasn't happened yet, the suitcase in your right hand is always packed solid. And you lower that suitcase to the ground. Leaning to the right, lowering it to the ground. And when that moment happens, the earth takes the weight of that suitcase. Report an error in the passage at 47:35 Highlight the passage at 47:35

48:05 You feel free, but you still have to move your hand away from the handle. Straighten the back and let your right arm, hand, shoulder all relax to the max. Report an error in the passage at 48:05 Highlight the passage at 48:05

48:22 Very simple exercise. It does the job of helping you. Let go of the real past and the real future. And you can do that. It's not doing something you're not supposed to do. It's allowed. It makes you stronger. And as for the future, I always say that now is where the future is made. Report an error in the passage at 48:22 Highlight the passage at 48:22

48:52 Now is the only place you can do anything about the future. You've done a beautiful job by putting it down and relaxing in the present moment. There's petals of time. You're in the now. It's a beautiful place to hang out. You Report an error in the passage at 48:52 Highlight the passage at 48:52

49:19 notice so many things that you kind of have hardly seen before. There's so much beauty occurring in the present moment. But we really get deeply into the present moment petals. We stop trying to describe things in words. We stop thinking. Instead we know. Report an error in the passage at 49:19 Highlight the passage at 49:19

49:47 We can feel, and Report an error in the passage at 49:47 Highlight the passage at 49:47

49:52 that feels really nice. The layer of petals at this stage are kind of very beautiful, fragrant. And Report an error in the passage at 49:52 Highlight the passage at 49:52

50:07 because there's nothing to do, this is why this is usually the place where the breath comes to me. It's always happening, the breathing. Now I've got nothing interfering with my awareness of the breath. But Report an error in the passage at 50:07 Highlight the passage at 50:07

50:29 I must not forget the kindness. I'm kind to my breath. I'm not going to tell the breath how to breathe. My job is only just to hold its hand, metaphorically, as it brings oxygen to my body, pauses, and takes the waste products out, and pauses and does the same again. Report an error in the passage at 50:29 Highlight the passage at 50:29

50:57 And I trust my breathing. I never ever want to tell it what to do. And Report an error in the passage at 50:57 Highlight the passage at 50:57

51:10 the awareness of the breath becomes so easy. Because it's enjoyable. I haven't forced it. It's there very easily. And Report an error in the passage at 51:10 Highlight the passage at 51:10

51:26 I'm kind to it. And Report an error in the passage at 51:26 Highlight the passage at 51:26

51:32 all of those levels of meditation in Ānāpānasati, you just notice them happen automatically. Report an error in the passage at 51:32 Highlight the passage at 51:32

51:44 Until your breathing, your breathing appears delightful. It's Report an error in the passage at 51:44 Highlight the passage at 51:44

51:54 not just breathing in air. It's also breathing in joy as well. Breathing out joy. Report an error in the passage at 51:54 Highlight the passage at 51:54

52:05 This is where the mind, when it sees things in peace and stillness, really appreciates it. If you stay like this a long time, you'll experience the joy of just simply breathing with not a care in the world, as Report an error in the passage at 52:05 Highlight the passage at 52:05

52:38 you're breathing in and out. Soon the joy increases. As the joy increases, let the joy Petals dominate the breathing. So the breath is still there, but it's in the background. The pleasure is something which you can't avoid noticing. Like the sunset, your perception of sun kind of disappears, but the beauty of the sunset remains. Report an error in the passage at 52:38 Highlight the passage at 52:38

53:19 And you see that beauty in such a deeper, more full way. Report an error in the passage at 53:19 Highlight the passage at 53:19

53:32 I'm going to be calm now and quiet and let you experience the last five minutes of the meditation in silence. It's Report an error in the passage at 53:32 Highlight the passage at 53:32

· · · silence, 5 minutes

58:53 very close to the end of the meditation now. The Report an error in the passage at 58:53 Highlight the passage at 58:53

59:02 final outcome, how do you feel? What did you experience and why? This Report an error in the passage at 59:02 Highlight the passage at 59:02

59:18 is where you get the insight, the understanding from going deep into your lotus of how meditation works. How beautiful is the result. Just Report an error in the passage at 59:18 Highlight the passage at 59:18

59:36 pause for one more minute. I Report an error in the passage at 59:36 Highlight the passage at 59:36

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:00:51 always felt the ringing of the gong, gong, gong, gong. It was just too coarse. So thank you for allowing me just to let the bell resonate. Now we usually have opportunities for questions and answers. But I usually like to do the Q &A from the computer first of all. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:51 Highlight the passage at 1:00:51

1:01:22 Question number one from UK. How does one practice letting go when meditating? It's easy. You don't practice it. You observe it happening. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:22 Highlight the passage at 1:01:22

1:01:36 You observe it happening. You don't do it. You let it happen. When everything else... How do you learn how to watch a sunset? It's not what you do. You can see the beauty and make sure you're not disturbed. That's like with meditation. Find a nice quiet chair to sit on or a nice cushion. Relax to the max. And then it's not what you do. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:36 Highlight the passage at 1:01:36

1:02:09 The body and the mind incline towards that. Question two. How can we maintain kindness in our daily lives, in relationships at work and with others? How can we maintain mettā? Find out what interferes with mettā. What interferes with kindness is the question, why not be kind? Why not have mettā? You will find that everything is much more successful, much easier. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:09 Highlight the passage at 1:02:09

1:02:46 Look, because I just returned from teaching in Vietnam, one of the places where I taught, a little company, and in the company they had a room. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:46 Highlight the passage at 1:02:46

1:03:03 He called it the kindfulness room. So in that place they made sure that as a new strategy they had and they said that any member of staff at any time of the day could always go into that kindfulness room to relax to the max. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:03 Highlight the passage at 1:03:03

1:03:29 Because sometimes at work he gets stressed out. Sometimes you're very tired. If that's the case, go into that room for a quarter of an hour, half an hour. Don't take any computer in there with you. And when you're in there, you really, really do relax. And when you go back to your office space or partition space in front of your computer, you'll find your mind is re-energized, which means that your productivity goes up. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:29 Highlight the passage at 1:03:29

1:04:05 I did mention the story I've told this to many of you before. That first book which I wrote, Opening the Door of Your Heart, just how easy that was to write. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:05 Highlight the passage at 1:04:05

1:04:17 Sixty percent of it was completed in fourteen days, working just one hour per day, strictly just one hour, all written out by hand, hardly any mistakes. There's no typos. Because I never typed it. I wrote it. Beautiful style. If ever you want to check me out, go to the WA Museum. There's a copy of it on there on display. What part of the museum is it in? I've never been in there, but anyway, it's supposed to be in there. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:17 Highlight the passage at 1:04:17

1:04:55 But even I have the original as well. And just looking at it, it's gorgeous. It's beautiful writing. Simply because I was mindful when I did it. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:55 Highlight the passage at 1:04:55

1:05:06 And I was maintaining kindfulness for that one hour of work because I was practicing kindfulness beforehand and afterwards I was doing on a meditation retreat. I noticed the power of that mindfulness and kindness, how it enhances the power of your mind. That's how you can maintain mettā and kindness. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:06 Highlight the passage at 1:05:06

1:05:32 Whatever place you work, have a kindfulness room. Even at home. It's amazing how many rooms people have in their home. Why not just devote one room to silence and kindness? Report an error in the passage at 1:05:32 Highlight the passage at 1:05:32

1:05:52 And last question, how to help a teenager with anxiety? I think it's because the teenager sometimes trusts the world when they're young, very young. Once they get to be a teenager they find out that life It's just you can't always control it. Don't try to control life for a teenager. Let them explore life and realize the consequences of life are just easily manageable. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:52 Highlight the passage at 1:05:52

1:06:26 One of the things is if your teenager makes a mistake, what do you do? How do you react? You say that life is about making mistakes. That's what life means. So if your teenager makes a mistake, That's where we learn. I always remember my teacher, Ajahn Chah, because whenever I made a mistake, he would think it's so funny. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:26 Highlight the passage at 1:06:26

1:06:56 Even, most of you have probably heard this, that in those early days, even his monastery was very poor. If I needed some, say, soap, because, you know, we run out, I'd go to his hut and say, can I have some soap, please? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:56 Highlight the passage at 1:06:56

1:07:17 But Ajahn Chah could not speak English. I had to learn the Thai word for soap, which was sabu. I said sapo instead of sabu, sapo. I think it's close enough. But sapo means pineapple. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:17 Highlight the passage at 1:07:17

1:07:39 And he burst Report an error in the passage at 1:07:39 Highlight the passage at 1:07:39

1:07:45 out laughing. He said, what do you need a pineapple for? To wash. He never let me forget that. He went around telling all the other visitors, oh, you know, in UK, they're far more advanced than here in Thailand. In the UK, they wash with pineapples. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:45 Highlight the passage at 1:07:45

1:08:11 I created so much humor for him. He laughed so much every time I made a mistake. He never got angry. It was just a stupid thing done by a so-called smart westerner. So that's actually how I overcame anxiety. When you don't make mistakes, you just make your teacher laugh. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:11 Highlight the passage at 1:08:11

1:08:35 And why be anxious about that? I was actually looking to make more mistakes as a gift to my teacher so he could laugh more. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:35 Highlight the passage at 1:08:35

1:08:46 Okay, thank you for those questions. Anything from the floor, Eddie? Report an error in the passage at 1:08:46 Highlight the passage at 1:08:46

1:08:57 Okay, no, it's quiet. The workplace stress is very critical, Ajahn Brahm. Yeah, it's everywhere, especially in profit-oriented organisations. Oh, I think the BSWA organisation is not authoritative, is it? Is it hard to work for the BSWA? No, not BSWA, I mean in outside work. For example, my place of work, looking back, you know. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:57 Highlight the passage at 1:08:57

1:09:31 People should be more like the BSWA. Have lots of fun. Lots of joy, much more energy. And people like to work here. Is that the case? It better be. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:31 Highlight the passage at 1:09:31

1:09:48 I remember my place of work. I was regarded like a guru among the staff. All problems come to me, this thing, and I help them solve the problem. Excellent. But you help them also with kindness and a smile. That's like an Ajahn Chah. He was my boss. So when I was in hospital with a terrible fever, he came so kindly to visit me. And his advice was very brief, he didn't have much time, but so wonderful. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:48 Highlight the passage at 1:09:48

1:10:18 He told me, he said, I'm either going to get better or I'm going to die. Either way, the disease won't last. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:18 Highlight the passage at 1:10:18

1:10:35 It's not the answer I expected. But please, if any of you have someone who's sick in hospital, You can use that. You know they're not going to last. You know they're going to get better. Okay, enough about that. Another question. I actually work at a hospital. Uh-oh, I'm in trouble now. There's a little chapel there which is quite a good spot for meditation, you know, on your lunch break and things like that. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:35 Highlight the passage at 1:10:35

1:11:09 But often there's people in there that are going through really tough times. They might have a relative that's dying or they might be dying themselves. So it can be quite heavy in there. Do you have any advice for meditating in that kind of environment? Yes, please go in that chapel and meditate. Your quietness will calm the other people down. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:09 Highlight the passage at 1:11:09

1:11:34 They notice that not everybody needs to take on a tragedy. And overreact to it. When I say this, and we all know this story, where opening the door of your heart statement came from, my father. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:34 Highlight the passage at 1:11:34

1:11:53 You know, when he told me, whatever you do in your life, however your life turns out, please always remember the door of my heart will always be open to you. I loved him for that. It was unconditional loving kindness. So when he died, I was only 16, I was there. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:53 Highlight the passage at 1:11:53

1:12:12 In my parents' bedroom, trying to wake up my father. He wouldn't wake up, he was dead. And I never felt sad. Kind of weird. The reason I never felt sad was because I remembered all the beautiful things he'd done for me. I thought, what a great dad that was. So honestly, at his funeral service, if I had the courage, I would have done what I felt. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:12 Highlight the passage at 1:12:12

1:12:46 Stood up and clapped. Well done, Dad. Later on, when I contemplated, how can I feel like that? Your dad, you loved him so much. And then, later on, I thought it was like going to one of these great concerts. And sometimes I felt so fortunate to have been in those great concerts. I knew the concert has to end. But before it ends, you go, encore, encore, hooray, play another tune, another song. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:46 Highlight the passage at 1:12:46

1:13:19 Sometimes you do hear the encore and that's just an extra blissful moment. But I know every time I walked out one of those great, out of the concert hall, one of those great performances, I never cried. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:19 Highlight the passage at 1:13:19

1:13:36 Never once. Do you think that the energy of the environment that you're in can have an effect on you and your meditation? It can have an effect. It's something you want to change. So you go into that chapel and change that environment. Have it a peaceful, happy place. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:36 Highlight the passage at 1:13:36

1:13:58 I can always remember that story. A couple of people here, they took that advice and they made this house and they had their meditation room. It was way before Harry Potter. They put their meditation room under their stairs. And they told... They told their two children, don't go under the stairs, this is mum and dad's meditation room. And then one day, it's a beautiful story, they had a boy and a girl, and they were very young, seven or five or something. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:58 Highlight the passage at 1:13:58

1:14:36 And then for the first time in her life, their little daughter was hit by her brother, who was two years older. And that just confused everything about her. My brother, I love him. Yeah, we fight, we say silly things, but it's the first time he'd ever hit her. And what she did, she ran into the house, to the meditation room under the stairs, and sat. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:36 Highlight the passage at 1:14:36

1:15:08 That was her own idea. Mum and Dad said, well done. You can't play in there, but if you want to use this as a refuge, a place of safety. A place when your emotions get so confusing you want to find some peace. Go in there. And the little daughter found that by herself. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:08 Highlight the passage at 1:15:08

1:15:33 It's wonderful if you have meditation rooms. People can go in there, they don't need to know meditation. They'll find what meditation is, what real meditation is. Learning how to be aware and make peace. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:33 Highlight the passage at 1:15:33

1:15:50 Any other questions? Going, going. Going, okay. Okay, when I say are there any more questions, there usually are heaps of questions, because you all come and stand in front of here. I don't mind. So anyway, thank you for coming this afternoon. I hope it was useful for you. And I'm going to bow three times so that those people who can stay, can stay. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:50 Highlight the passage at 1:15:50

1:16:19 Those people who need to go, can go. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:19 Highlight the passage at 1:16:19